Western Slavs. Who are they?

According to specialists, approximatelybeginning of our era, all the existing Slavic peoples were divided into three branches: eastern, southern and western. In this article we will consider in more detail the last one.

So, the Western Slavs at that time inhabitedterritory up to the banks of the Elbe. Over time, the area of ​​their settlement gradually increased: the coast of the Baltic, the interfluve of the Oder and the Elbe. Who was ranked among these peoples? What was their main difference? These are modern Poles, Czechs and Slovaks.

It is noteworthy that the history of Westernthe branch of the Slavs has much in common with the eastern. Just like our ancestors, the Western Slavs preferred to unite in small tribal unions. Such tribes were divided into groups: Czech, Polish-Baltic and Polish.

By the time of the direct separation of allSlavic people, for example, the Western Slavs already had a well-defined tribal system. So, they lived in small settlements, which remotely resembled a farm. With the passage of time, the Western Slavs strengthened their habitats, as the threat from the outside grew ever more frequent. Thus, the settlements grew and were carefully strengthened. And the first cities began to be formed.

It is important to note that the well-developed culture at theThat moment the Western Slavs could not boast. Of course, they were already able to manufacture their own tools, but crafts were not popular. We can say that their development remained at a fairly primitive level. However, scientists note that the Western Slavs very quickly and skillfully learned to process metals.

There is evidence thatterritories where the tribes bordered on Celtic or Germanic lands, the level of culture was high enough due to the interaction between peoples. The thing is that the tribes very quickly adopted the experience, including culture, thereby quite successfully assimilating, but retaining its original appearance.

Мифология и религия этих народов во многом found similarities with the beliefs of the Eastern Slavs, in particular, if it was a question of the gods. Even their names were consonant, of course, with a correction for certain features of the so-called Western Slavic group of languages. For example, you can notice the consonance in the names of Perun and Perkunas.

Slavs, the origin of which is still coveredan unthinkable mystery, began to gradually engage in the formation of the state (about the seventh century AD). According to scientists, this happened for the first time in the territory of the modern Czech Republic. The main purpose of his education consisted, first of all, in defense from nomadic barbarians, who brought a lot of losses. It is known that the first state was headed by the well-to-do merchant Samo, who quite successfully led him for several years.

Today, Slavic countries are literally scattered around the world. Their territory corresponds to North Asia, Eastern and Central Europe.