Slavic Settlement in Greece

From the late 6th century AD, Slavic peoples began crossing the Danube frontier of the Byzantine Empire and moving into the Balkans, often alongside the Avars, a powerful nomadic people. With Byzantine armies stretched thin by wars against Persia, the defenses collapsed. Over the following decades, Slavic groups settled across much of the Balkan Peninsula, including large parts of Greece. Thessaloniki withstood repeated sieges, and many Greek-speaking populations retreated to fortified cities, coastal areas and islands, while Slavic communities settled in the countryside, especially in parts of the Peloponnese and northern Greece. Many place names of Slavic origin in Greece date from this period. From the late 8th and 9th centuries, the Byzantine Empire gradually reasserted its control. It launched military campaigns, organized new provinces, resettled Greek-speaking populations from Asia Minor and elsewhere, and converted the Slavs to Christianity. Over time, most of the Slavic communities in southern Greece adopted the Greek language and Orthodox faith and blended into the Greek population. The settlement reshaped the Balkans for centuries to come.