Sklavenes

Sklavenes (склавіни; sklaviny). The Greek name for western Slavs, used by Byzantine writers of the 6th to 8th centuries AD. The term was used to distinguish the Slavic tribes inhabiting the regions of Volhynia and northern Podolia as well as the territory between the Dnister River and the Danube River, including western Ukraine, southern Poland, Slovakia, and Transylvania, from the Antes to the forest-steppe zones in the east. Originally, these two clusters of Slavic tribes were separated by the 3rd-century invasion of the Goths from the Baltic region. The Sklavenes practiced agriculture, animal husbandry, craft manufacturing, and trade. They formed a strong tribal confederation, which was destroyed by the Avars in the second half of the 6th century.

[This article was updated in 2023.]