tribal confederation · Balkans and Hungary

Smolyani

600 CE – 837 CE (approx.)

Slavic tribe of the Rhodope Mountains and Mesta valley, known from Byzantine sources until it passed under Bulgarian rule in the 9th century.

Origins

The Smolyani were among the Slavic groups who settled the Balkans in the late 6th and 7th centuries, taking the Rhodopes and the middle Mesta (Nestos) in modern Bulgaria and Greece. They are named among the tribes that besieged Thessalonica in the 670s.

Rule and society

Known only from brief Byzantine mentions, they were a tribal people under local chiefs, nominally subject to Byzantium, farming and herding in the mountain valleys. The modern town of Smolyan preserves their name.

Decline and legacy

In 837 the Smolyani rose against Byzantine rule, and Khan Presian of the First Bulgarian Empire used the revolt to take their lands, which were absorbed into Bulgaria.

Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.

Connections (2)

More states of Balkans and Hungary →

Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Smolyani. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/smolyani
MLA
“Smolyani.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/smolyani. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Smolyani.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/smolyani.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Smolyani’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/smolyani (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻