THE POLITICAL SYSTEM OF SORBIAN PRINCIPALITIES BETWEEN THE ELBE and SAALE RIVERS IN THE 9th AND EARLY 10th CENTURY

Background: The discussed issue has been previously most deeply studied by W. Schlesinger. The political organization of the White Serbs in more general context was also considered in the works of L. A. Tyszkiewicz, J. Brankačk, H. E. Sanchuk, H. Łowmiański, J. Widajewicz, K. Wachowski and W. Bogusławski. Nevertheless, the research on this topic is still of great importance, particularly because of the development of the early state theory and always existing opportunities of rethinking the interpretations of written evidence by making analogies with other early medieval European polities. Purpose: The paper was aimed at analysing the written evidence on four Sorbian rulers: Miliduch, Tunglo, Czimislav & Čestibor, revealing the political conditions they operated in, finding out the issues of political unity and existence of high king’s authority, reconstructing the nature of power institutions at the lower levels of the territorial-political structure and tracking the changes of the political system within the specified period. Results: The author argues between the Elbe and Saale rivers the heterachical dryht-type state existed during the reign of Miliduch (before 806). The local society of the White Serbs was of clan character, which indicates the beginnings of state formation. The Sorbian “civitates” are equal to simple chiefdoms, the particular clan regions correspond with complex chiefdoms. The high king (“rex supérbus”) had only hegemonic authority over the heads of the clan regions (“ceteri reges”). Later on in the 9th & early 10th century the political unity of the Sorbi region was lost, despite of presumably more hierarchical mode of government in the Colodici’s principality of Czimislav (830s). The author suggests that Colodici’s “castellа” served as places of the high prince’s dryht members (“witsessen”) residence, providing the ability to control the neighbouring clans. Such a system presumably could have persisted to the times of Čestibor. Key words: the White Serbs, the Colodici, Miliduch, Czimislav, the Elbe-Saale basin, patronymic ethnonyms, heterarchy, dryht-type state.