Slovaks — this is the largest group of peoples in Europe, united by the closeness of languages, common origin, and similar cultural traditions. They speak languages of the Slavic branch of the Indo-European language family. Today, Slavic peoples form the basis of the population of many countries in Europe, and their total population exceeds three hundred million people. Origin and ancestral homeland The question of where the Slavic community originated remains a subject of scientific discussions to this day. According to one of the widespread versions, the ancestors of the Slavs emerged from the Indo-European community in the second millennium BC and settled on extensive territories from the Dnieper in the east to the Oder in the west, from the Carpathians in the south to the Baltic Sea in the north. Some scientists associate the ancestral homeland of the Slavs with the basin of the Vistula and the Oder, while others with the territory between the Oder and the Dnieper. Academician Alexey Shakhmatov, for example, believed that the ancient Slavs originated in the upper Vistula, on the banks of the Tisa, and on the slopes of the Carpathians. Studies of ancient DNA published in leading scientific journals in 2025 show that significant genetic changes occurred in Central Europe between the 6th and 8th centuries AD, associated with the spread of Slavic groups. Ancient names and first mentions In ancient written sources, the Slavs are mentioned under various names. Roman historians Pliny the Elder and Tacitus called them Veneti, reporting that they were a great people settled in a vast territory from the Carpathians to the Baltic Sea. The Greek historian Herodotus, describing the inhabitants of the lands of modern Belarus, called them Neuri and Budini. The self-name Slovane (or Slavs) first appears in historical sources at the beginning of the 6th century. It is recorded by Byzantine historians Procopius and Jordan in approximately 550. The origin of this self-name r ... Read more