Svatopluk
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
Svatopluk (Свѧтопълкъ, also Svätopluk, Sventopluk, Suentopolcus, Zventopluk, Suatopluk, Святополкъ, Zwentibald) (?-894) was the prince of the Nitrian principality (850's - 871) and then the king of Great Moravia (871-894). Under his rule Great Moravia reached its maximum territorial expansion.
Legend of Svatopluk's twigs
The well-known legend of Svatopluk's twigs appeared in a fairy tale by the enlighted Byzantine emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitos around the 10th century.
It says that the powerful Great Moravian king Svatopluk asked his sons to come to him before his death. He gave a twig to each of them and asked them to break it. The young noblemen could easily do it. Then he asked them to tie together three twigs and asked the sons again to break them. This task appeared to be more difficult. Thus the king demonstrated how it is necessary to be united. That only the strength of united kingdom guarantees the country its power and prosperity. Great Moravia was divided among the three brothers in 894 in spite of their father's warning. The country, weakened by wars, was destroyed in 907 by a Hungarian attack.
