Slovakia

Abstract

Slovakia was first settled by a Celtic tribe called the Cotini. It was not until the sixth century that the Slav Slovaks arrived from the east to contest the land with the Avars. Only in 830, by which time the Avars had been driven out, was the Great Moravian Empire founded (q.v.The Czech Republic). In time it came to include western Slovakia. At the Battle of Bratislava in 907 the Hungarians defeated the Moravians and their empire collapsed. During the course of the next two centuries Slovakia became a land of the Hungarian crown. It was to remain under Magyar rule for the next thousand years, although some areas were claimed by Bohemia.