Dervan (duke)

Dervan
The Chronicle of Fredegar mentions a "Dervan, duke of the tribe of the Surbs" and is the only independent historical source containing details about his life.
SuccessorMiliduch
Bornc. 590
Died636

Dervan or Derwan (Latin: Deruanus, fl. 615–636) was an Early Slavic ruler of the Sorbs, a Polabian Slavic ancestral tribe of modern Sorbs.[1]

He is mentioned in the 7th-century Frankish Chronicle of Fredegar[2] as Latin: Deruanus dux gente surbiorum, que ex genere sclavinorum erant, lit. 'Dervan, duke of the tribe of the Surbs, who were of the gender of the Sclavs').[3][4] He was the first ruler of the tribe mentioned by name. The Chronicle records him being initially subordinate to the Frankish kings for a long time, prior to joining the Slavic tribal polity led by Samo. After the defeat of the Frankish king Dagobert I by Samo's coalition near Wogastisburg in 631 or 632, Dervan declared independence from the Franks and "placed himself and his people under the rule of Samo".[5]

Dervan joined Samo in his subsequent wars against the Franks. Further reports of the Chronicle of Fredegar imply that Dervan and his tribe lived to the east of the Saale. The reference to Dervan in 631/632 constitutes the first written confirmation of the presence of Slavs north of the Ore Mountains.

He was fighting against the Thuringians 631–634 and was ultimately defeated by Radulf, governor of Thuringia, in 636.

According to historians following the traditional identification of White Serbia as the lands of the Sorbs, Dervan was a relative of De Administrando Imperio's unnamed 7th-century Serbian ruler, narrated to have led the migration of the Serbs to the Balkans.[6][7][8] According to Tibor Živković, the migration of the Serbs to the Balkans might have occurred between 629 and 632, prior to Dervan joining Samo.[9] Francis Dvornik conversely argues that it might have occurred after the Sorbian polity was weakened by its military engagements with Francia.[6]

Maps

  • Approximate location of the areas in which Sorbian tribesmen were ruled over by Dervan in the 7th-century.
    Approximate location of the areas in which Sorbian tribesmen were ruled over by Dervan in the 7th-century.
  • The tribe of the Sorbs under Dervan, as part of speculative reconstruction of the territories in which various Slavic tribes had pledged allegiance to Samo's tribal polity in 631
    The tribe of the Sorbs under Dervan, as part of speculative reconstruction of the territories in which various Slavic tribes had pledged allegiance to Samo's tribal polity in 631

References

  1. ^ Curta 2001, p. 109, 115.
  2. ^ Curta 1997, p. 141-167.
  3. ^ Krusch 1888, p. 155.
  4. ^ Curta 2019, p. 43.
  5. ^ Curta 2001, p. 331.
  6. ^ a b Francis Dvornik; Romilly Jenkins; Bernard Lewis; Gyula Moravcsik; Dimitri Obolensky; Steven Runciman (1962). Jenkins, Romilly (ed.). De Administrando Imperio: Volume II Commentary. London: The Athlone Press, University of London. p. 131. ISBN 9780884020219. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
  7. ^ Kardaras 2018, p. 95.
  8. ^ Judith Kalik; Alexander Uchitel (2018). Slavic Gods and Heroes. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-351-02868-4. ...the so-called "Unknown Archon," who led the Serbians into the Byzantine province of Dalmatina in the seventh century, can possibly be identified as a son of Dervan...
  9. ^ Živković, Tibor (2002). Јужни Словени под византијском влашћу (600-1025). Београд: Историјски институт САНУ, Службени гласник. p. 198. ISBN 9788677430276.

Sources

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