der Franke samo gefreit die slawen = the Franconian Samo freed the Slavs
Samo, a former Franconian merchant, trades with the Slavs of Bohemia, Hungary, Moravia, Slovakia, and Carinthia. Following several raids on the Slavs by bandit groups and settled Avars in the region, Samo shows his leadership skills by organizing and leading the Slavs so that they start to enjoy some successes in mounting an offensive defense. It has been suggested that he is working with Eastern Roman influence. Curiously, and perhaps not coincidentally, a similar confederation soon also forms on the northern Black sea coast, that of Great Bulgaria, possibly part of a Roman-inspired chain of defenses against the Avars.
The Slavs recognize Samo's leadership abilities and elect him as their king. Named Samo Poti Byl Otec, this means 'lord of the road', a perfect description of a travelling merchant. With his help they defeat their greatest enemy, the Asiatic Avars. If they have not already joined this union, the Eastern Alpine Slavs of the border with the Bavarii do so by 626, when the Avars are defeated at Constantinople and their dominance is broken.
The modern southern Austrian region of Carinthia marked the upper edge of
the Adriatic hinterland, and the southern borders of Samo's seventh century
Slav kingdom, one of the earliest Slav states to appear
The history of Bohemia reaches from the first settlements in the area of Bohemia to the present day. In 1085 the royal dignity of Bohemia was created, which ended with the proclamation of democratic Czechoslovakia in 1919. Today Bohemia is part of the Czech Republic .