Settlements '' in
Birów,
Poland , Germany Early Slavic settlements were no bigger than . Settlements were often temporary, perhaps reflected their itinerant form of agriculture, and were often along rivers. They were characterised by sunken buildings, known as
Grubenhäuser in German or
poluzemlianki in Russian. Built over a rectangular pit, they varied from in area and could accommodate a typical
nuclear family. Each house had a stone or clay oven in a corner (a defining feature of Eastern European dwellings), and a settlement had a population of fifty to seventy. Settlements had a central, open area in which communal activities and ceremonies were conducted, and they were divided into production and settlement zones. The Slavs also built underground shelters roofed with wood to keep out the cold during winter. Log cabin saunas were also used as recorded by Ibrahim Ibn Ya'qub: "They have no baths but they use log cabins in which gaps are stuffed with something that appears on their trees and looks like seaweed – they call it mech (original mh = moss)... In one corner they put up a stone stove and above it they open up a hole to let the smoke from the stove escape. When the stove is good and hot, they close up the opening and close the door of the hut. Inside are vessels with water and they pour out of them water onto the hot stove and steam comes from it. Each of them has in his hand a tuft of grass with which they make air circulate and draw it to themselves. Then their pores open up and the unneeded substances from their bodies come out..." '' of
Poznań, Poland, 10th century Fortified strongholds (
gords) appeared in significant numbers during the 9th century and were often found in the centre of a group of settlements. However, power centers probably appeared already in the second half of the 5th and first half of the 6th century, concentrated on the left and right bank of the Dnieper river, and persisted until the first third of the 7th century. Some were also on the Dniester river, and in general in Western Ukraine, Belarus and Eastern Poland. The Slavs preferred to live in hard to reach places to avoid attack, as recorded in Maurice's
Strategikon: "They live among nearly impenetrable forests, rivers, lakes, and marshes, and have made the exits from their settlements branch [out in] many directions because of the dangers they might face." Other tools, common throughout the rest of Europe were also used, such as iron hoes, sickles, wooden spades and others. Some were made from wood. Selective breeding was also done. Animals in the forest were hunted, prey included boar, deer, hare, elk and occasionally bear. Beavers and marten were trapped for their fur. When crops were ripe they were cut with sickles and threshing was then done with a wooden flail. The grain was then milled by stone querns, which were very valuable and difficult to come by. Cereal crops, wheat, millet and barley were common as they could thrive in even poor soil. Vegetables such as onions, carrots, radishes, turnip, parsnip, cucumber, cabbage, pea and beans were all grown in gardens. Herbs were mostly garlic and parsnip, hops were also grown for making beer. Fruit trees were cultivated in orchards, including cherry, apple, pear, plums and peaches. Walnuts were also loved. Animal were tended, not only for meat, leather or milk but also to fertilize the soil. Several breeds of cattle were bred and kept in large herds, as draught animals and for meat, female cattle provided milk. Pigs were prized for their meat. Goats and sheep were more rare but still bred. Horses were very rarely eaten, mostly used as draught or riding animals. Fowl were also kept, especially ducks and geese. Maurice's
Strategikon states that they had numerous cattle and cultivated
millet and
buckwheat. Seemingly they had agriculture and livestock which could be easily transported and adapted, as Procopius recorded that "every man is constantly changing his place of abode". The early medieval Jewish traveller
Ibrahim ibn Yaqub wrote: "The cold even when it is intense, is healthful to them, but the heat destroys them. They are unable to travel to the country of the Lombards because of the heat."
Marriage Capturing wives and
exogamy were traditions among the tribes and continued until the early medieval era. However, on some occasions in Bohemia and Ukraine, it was women who chose the spouse. The 12th-century
Primary Chronicle recorded that the
Vyatichi,
Radimichs and
Severians did not have
monogamous marriages but practiced
polygamy (
polygyny) instead.
Fornication had a sentence in Pagan Slavs that was described as
capital punishment by travelers,
Ibn-Fadlan: "Men and women go to the river and bathe together naked... but they do not fornicate and if anyone would be guilty of it, no matter who is he and she... he and she would be pinked by pole-axe... then they hang out each part both of them on a tree",
Gardizi: "If someone makes fornication, he or she would be killed, without accepting any apologies". One such customary law was the law of hospitality, which was very important to the tribal Slavs. If a tribe mistreated any guest, they would be attacked by a neighbouring tribe for their dishonour. Ibn Rusta wrote of Slavic law in c 903–918: "The ruler levies fixed taxes every year. Every man must supply one of his daughter's gowns. If he has a son, his clothing must be offered. If he has no children, he gives one of his wife's robes. In this country thieves are strangled or exiled to Jira [Yura by the Urals?], the region most remote from this principality."
Warfare Our understanding of Early Slavic warfare is based on both the writings of ancient authors, and archeological discoveries which mostly confirmed ancient accounts. Early barbarian warrior bands, typically numbering 200 or less, were intended for fast penetration into enemy territory and an equally-quick withdrawal. The Slavs favoured ambush and guerrilla tactics, preferring to fight in dense woodland, gorges or marsh. However, victories in the open, sieges and hand-to-hand fighting were also achieved. They often attacked their enemy's flank, and were cunning in devising stratagems, Axes and slings were also in use.
Description Procopius and Pseudo-Maurice described that the South Slavs did not use armour and lacked advanced weapons, being armed with spears, small light shileds and bows.
Ibn Rusta, regarding Slavs in Central-Eastern Europe, wrote: "They have very few horses...Their weapons are
javelins, shields and
lances...They obey a chief whom they call the
Župan and carry out his orders...Their supreme lord, however, is called 'chief of chiefs'...this king has many effective and finely woven coats of
mail...The
Župan is his lieutenant." In 595, some Slavic or Antes horsemen captured Byzantine scouts on the Lower Danube. In their dealings with the Sarmatians, Huns, Bulgars and Avars, the Slavs may have become skilled light horsemen. The archaeological findings of weaponry and horse trappings confirm influence of Asian steppe nomads on Slavic cavalry, being in fashion more Asian than European. By the mid-6th century the Slavs had skill and knowledge about naval warfare, building rafts and
monoxyles. These small, primitive vessels were used primarily for transportation, and they carried them also on land, giving them mobility on both land and sea. Byzantine writers mention several Slavic mercenaries who distinguished themselves as soldiers; Dabrageza (a Antae) and his subordinate Elmingiros (a
Hun), Svarun (a Slav), and impostor of
Chilbudius. Procopius also noted "bravery of an Antes' squad, especially their skill to fight in rough terrain". Some individuals managed to distinguish themselves as Byzantine officials and military commanders between the 8th and 10th century, like
Nicetas I of Constantinople,
Thomas the Slav,
Andrew the Scythian and
Nicetas Rentakios.
Menander Protector mentions a Slavic chief
Daurentius (circa 577–579) who slew an Avar envoy of Khagan
Bayan I for asking the Slavs to accept the suzerainty of the Avars; Daurentius declined and is reported as saying: "Others do not conquer our land, we conquer theirs – so it shall always be for us as long as there are wars and weapons".
Military organization Procopius noted that the Slavs attacked without military formation, but his description of Slavic archaic weaponry and military strategy is probably from a biased and misunderstood viewpoint, as would be highly improbable that poorly armed and organized military groupes could manage successful invasions, plunders and conquests against the Byzantine empire, overthrow the Avars and resist Franks expansion. Initially of lighter armament, since the end of the 6th and in the 7th century can be observed second phase of Slavic armament including heavier defensive armaments of more professional warriors particularly in Southeastern Europe. Historical accounts show that alongside people's army existed military leaders and development of professional warriors (who were also hired as mercenaries) even before the mid-6th century. The egalitarian society was steadily transforming into a stable military-social hierarchy. Archaeological findings associated with professional warriors and military leaders were particularly found in Southeastern and Eastern Europe, and Slavic cultures (of Prague, Ipotești–Cândești, Penkovka and Kolochin). In the Prague culture the elite artefacts mostly imitate or traditionally originate from the Avars, while in other Slavic cultures have Byzantine and Roman-Germanic (Lombards) influences. In 550, what was considered a small Slavic military group, consisted of some 3,000 men who invaded Thrace, winning several open battles against Byzantines and conquering fortresses. Mention of larger Slavic detachments (as
army,
mass,
multitude), and Byzantine army loses (even when having 15,000 troops and being "outnumbered" by the Slavs), also point toward a well organized and numerous Slavic population.
Writing ) in the
Czech Republic. in his work "An Account of Letters", briefly mentions that, before becoming Christian, Slavs used a system of strokes and incisions or tallies and sketches: "Before, the Slavs did not have their own books, but counted and divined by means of strokes and incisions, being pagan. Having become Christian, they had to make do with the use of Roman and Greek letters without order [unsystematically], but how can one write [Slavic] well with Greek letters... and thus it was for many years."
Symbols Identical symbols were discovered on Slavic pottery of 4th century
Chernyakhov culture. Early Slavs had many symbols and pictures representing concepts, beliefs and Gods. It is considered that in "no other culture do we encounter them in such numbers, and more importantly, in such diversity, as in the culture of the Slavs", possibly due to influence of steppe and Roman people. They had many types of
swastikas and similar symbols, The
kolovrat symbolized the sun, and the ever going cycle of life, death and birth. It was often carved on markers near the graves of fallen Slavs to represent eternal life.
Gromovitit Znaci, were symbols associated with
Perun, the Slavic thunder and sky god. Early Slavic homes often had the symbols carved into a beam to protect them from lightning. The circular shape of the Gromoviti symbolize ball lightning. Such symbols were also found on Slavic pottery from the 4th century. Ancient symbols such as these are still sometimes shown on clothing and the like, especially Russia. Many samples are described on the instance of a women's folk costume at the
Meshchera Lowlands. Ancestor worship was an important part of the pre-Christian Slavic religion. Early Slavic religion was relatively uniform:
animistic,
anthropomorphic and inspired by nature. The Slavs developed cults around natural objects, such as
springs, trees or stones, out of respect for the spirit (or
demon) within. Slavic pre-Christian religion was originally
polytheistic, with no organised pantheon. Although the earliest Slavs seemed to have a weak concept of
God, the concept evolved into a form of
monotheism in which a "supreme god [ruled] in heaven over the others". There is no evidence of a belief in
fate or
predestination. Slavic paganism was
syncretistic and combined and shared with other religions. Linguistic evidence indicates that part of Slavic paganism developed when the Balts and Slavs shared a common language since pre-Christian Slavic beliefs contained elements also found in Baltic religions. After the Slavic and the Baltic languages diverged, the early Slavs interacted with Iranian peoples and incorporated elements of Iranian spirituality. Early Iranian and Slavic supreme gods were considered givers of wealth, unlike the supreme thunder gods of other European religions. Both Slavs and Iranians had demons, with names from similar linguistic roots (Iranian
Daêva and Slavic
Divŭ) and a concept of dualism: good and evil. Pre-Christian Slavic spirits and demons could be entities in their own right or spirits of the dead and were associated with home or nature. Forest spirits, entities in their own right, were venerated as the counterparts of home spirits, which were usually related to ancestors. Demons and spirits were good or evil, which suggests that the Slavs had a
dualistic cosmology and are known to have revered them with sacrifices and gifts. Spirits included
Leshy the spirit of the forest,
Domovoy spirit of the home,
Rusalka the female spirit of waters,
Rarog the Slavic variant of phoenix, and other creature such as vilas, vampires and
Baba Yaga or Roga. Although evidence of pre-Christian Slavic worship is scarce (suggesting that it was
aniconic), religious sites and idols are most plentiful in Ukraine and Poland. Slavic temples and indoor places of worship are rare since outdoor places of worship are more common, especially in
Kievan Rus'. The outdoor cultic sites were often on hills and included ringed ditches. Indoor shrines existed: "Early Russian sources... refer to pagan shrines or altars known as
kapishcha" and were small, enclosed structures with an altar inside. One was found in Kiev, surrounded by the bones of sacrificed animals. Some Pagan temples were documented as destroyed during Christianization, many places of worship ware remodeled into churches. Records of pre-Christian Slavic priests, like the pagan temples, appeared later. Although no early evidence of Slavic pre-Christian priests has been found, the prevalence of sorcerers and magicians after Christianization suggests that the pre-Christian Slavs had religious leaders. Slavic pagan priests were believed to commune with the gods, to predict the future and to prepare for religious rituals. The pagan priests, or magicians (known as
volkhvy by the
Rus' people), resisted Christianity after Christianization. The
Primary Chronicle describes a campaign against Christianity in 1071 during a famine. The
volkhvy were well-received nearly 100 years after Christianization, which suggested that pagan priests had an esteemed position in 1071 and in pre-Christian times. ==Later history==