Western Civilization I / Unit 9 WC1 0810 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Avars, Bulgars, Cyril, and Why Barbarian Kings Converted
Captions available
The idea
The Avars and then the Bulgars raided; Krum drank from an emperor's skull about eight ten, and Boris converted fifty years later, to enter the civilized network of trade and recognition. Cyril's alphabet and Slavonic liturgy made Orthodoxy's common culture.
In practice
Greek, Russian, Ukrainian and Serbian churches share that culture.
Where people slip
Conversion was diplomacy as much as faith.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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