The Fall of Great Moravia: Who Was Buried in Grave H153 at Pohansko Near Břeclav?

Description

The excavated foundations of a ninth-century sacral building in the northeastern suburb of Pohansko, an important centre of Great Moravia, and especially the find of the nobleman's grave H 153, has focused scholarly attention onto the nature of the Mojmirid state and the reasons behind its sudden disintegration. In this volume, a group of archaeologists, historians and a natural scientist aim to incorporate this remarkable discovery into the wider frameworks of Moravian power, society, and culture, and thereby arrive at some surprising conclusions. Preface vii List of Illustrations xiii Abbreviations xv Notes on Contributors xvi 1. The Great Moravian Rotunda at Pohansko and an Osteobiographical Profile of Its Founder / Jiří Macháček and Vladimír Sládek 1 2. The Austrian Danube Region in the Decades Around 900 / Roman Zehetmayer 39 3. The Magyars and Their Contribution to the Collapse and Fall of Great Moravia: Allies, Neighbours, Enemies / Pavel Kouřil 62 4. The Second Life of the Mojmirid Dukes / Martin Wihoda 94 5. Graves, Churches, Culture and Texts: The Processes of Christianisation in the Early Middle Ages and Their Social and Cultural Context / David Kalhous 110 6. "Founder Tombs" in Early Medieval Carantania: A Survey / Stefan Eichert 130 7. Great Moravia, the Beginnings of Přemyslid Bohemia and the Problem of Cultural Change / Ivo Štefan 151 Conclusion: Who Was the Man Buried in Grave H153 in Pohansko and What Happened to Him and His Family at the End of Great Moravia? / Jiří Macháček 187 Bibliography 203 Index 246