The ancient roots of the Slavs can be traced through language and archeology to the time of late Babylon, and the Vedic culture of India, but more distinct records reveal them as a military force supporting the many tribes, the Avars, the Scythians, Visigoths and Ugrics who harried the edges of the Roman empire in 600s CE. They accompanied many Celtic and the Germanic tribes, down to Constantinople and Greece before retreating to the Black Sea and territories further North. Records of their early history were written by monkish historians, after conversion to Christianity swept across the most of lands beyond the old Roman Empire in the 800s and 900s. Their mythology is similar to the Scandinavians of the era, but their lands became more extensive as their influence settled into the broad categories familiar today, with East, West and South Slavs, incorporating the Bulgarians and Hungarians too. This fascinating new book locates the history and influence of the Slavic people during the some of the most important eras in the development of European cultures.
