Dervan
dux Surbiorum
SuccessorMiliduch
Bornc. 590
Died636
ReligionSlavic
Serbian principality under Dervan, as part of Samo's realm in 631

Dervan or Derwan (Serbian Cyrillic: Дерван, Latin: Dervanus) was an early duke of the Sorbs (fl. 615–636).

He is mentioned by Fredegar in his Latin chronicle as dux gente Surbiorum que ex genere Sclavinorum:[1] "ruler of the people of the Surbi (Sorb autonym: Serbja, Serb autonym: Srbi) from the nation of the Sclavenians".[2] He is the first ruler of the tribe mentioned by name. Fredegar records him being subordinate to the Franks for a long time and then joining the Slavic union of Samo. After the defeat of the Frankish king Dagobert I by king Samo near Wogastisburg in 631 or 632, Dervan declared independence from the Franks and "placed himself and his people under the rule of Samo".[3]

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

He was fighting against Thuringia 631-634 and Dervan was finally defeated by duke Radulf, governor of Thuringia in 636.

According to some historians, Dervan was brother or father of the Unknown Archon.[4][5][6] According to Tibor Živković, the migration of the Serbs to the Balkans could take place between 629 and 632, before Dervan joined Samo,[7] while according to Francis Dvornik it was during or after the Serbian state was weakened because of the war with Franks.[4]

References

  1. ^ Making of the Slavs, page 331
  2. ^ Curta, 109.
  3. ^ Curta, 331.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ Kardaras, Georgios (2018). Florin Curta; Dušan Zupka (eds.). Byzantium and the Avars, 6th-9th Century AD: political, diplomatic and cultural relations. BRILL. p. 95. ISBN 978-90-04-38226-8.
  6. ^ Judith Kalik; Alexander Uchitel (11 July 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...
  7. ^ Živković, Tibor (2002). Јужни Словени под византијском влашћу (600-1025). Београд: Историјски институт САНУ, Службени гласник. p. 198. ISBN 9788677430276.

Further reading

  • Curta, Florin. The Making of the Slavs: History and Archaeology of the Lower Danube Region, c. 500–700. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001. ISBN 0-521-80202-4.
Preceded byUnknown Duke (Dux) of the Surbiorum(Sorbs) c. 615–636 Succeeded byMiliduch
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