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Slavonia, or Sclavonia

Both Croatia and Slavonia belong to the South Slav group, which rightly considered includes Dalmatia, for in ancient times Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia were one kingdom. Slavonia, or Sclavonia, is the land which separates the fabulous from the true, lies between the Lower Danube, Northern Greece and the Carpathians, and even touches the Adriatic. It is the only part of the Slavonian territory which was known to the ancients, and the names and dates which are here and there dispersed through the works of Greek or Roman authors form the sole monuments of the ancient history of Slavonia. Subjugated by the Romans and reduced to the condition of provincials, the aboriginal Slavonian inhabitants became connected with other nations of the ancient world; and the civilization derived from this intercourse gradually found its way to the north, and re-acted upon the barbarians. But neither the kings of Macedon nor the emperors of Rome could stay the flood of nations which poured in upon Europe through this passage, and beyond the Danube they were powerless.

Slavonia anciently formed part of the province of Pannonia; and its earliest inhabitants, as far as we know, were a Celtic tribe, called Scordisci. Subsequently it was occupied by the Pannonians, a people probably of Illyrian origin. During the barbarian migrations, the land was overrun now by one and now by another tribe, and at length remained in the possession of the Avars. These, however, were conquered about the end of the eighth century by Charlemagne, who settled in their place a tribe of Slavonians from Dalmatia. After their settlement in this country the Slavonians received the knowledge of Christianity; and two Byzantine ecclesiastics, Cyril and Methodius, entered the land as missionaries in 864. The latter became afterwards bishop of Sirmium.

When, in the tenth century, the Hungarians conquered Pannonia, they also made themselves masters of the whole of Slavonia, except Syrmia, which still remained subject to the eastern emperors. It was, however, the object of contention, and the scene of bloody conflicts between the Greeks and the Hungarians, until after various vicissitudes, it was finally ceded to the latter in 1165.

From 1526, when it was conquered by the Turks, Slavonia remained in their possession till it was restored to Hungary by the peace of Carlovitz in 1699. Croatia and Slavonia were sister countries which fought together against the common enemy, the Turk, but being finally overcome by him, peace was only made at the price of Slavonia, which remained subject to Turkey for a hundred and fifty years, till at the end of the seventeenth century the soldiers of Islam were slowly but surely driven back and finally conquered. Then Turkey was forced to resign Slavonia, and since that time the two countries have been united both politically and culturally.

In 1734 its size was diminished by the formation of the Military Frontier, and in 1848 it was separated from Hungary. By the 19th Century the Kingdom of Slavonia was a portion of the Austrian empire, formerly incorporated with Hungary, but forming along with Croatia a separate crown-land.

By the 19th Century the people of Croatia and Slavonia whose people spoke one and the same tongue, the Serbo-Croatic, the Slavonians, however, being purer in speech. The written language was alike in both countries. But the fact that Slavonia was so long subject to Turkey is of importance in considering the art of its peasants, which showed a marked Oriental influence. The Slavonians, moreover, are mainly of the Greek Orthodox Church; the Croates are Catholics. In Croatia and Slavonia the peasants were chiefly engaged in agricultural pursuits and the culture of the vine. As in other lands, the art of the peasant of the mountains differs from that of the one dwelling in the plain. The shepherd has his own distinctive manner of expressing his inborn love of the beautiful. He forms his own reed on which he carves as fancy leads him — the Slavonian in some Oriental design, the Croatc's efforts showing signs of many influences, Greek and Egyptian among others.

Slavonia in the 19th Century consisted of a narrow strip of land, bounded on the N. by Hungary, from which it is separated by the Drave; E. by the Servian Woiwodina, on the other side of the Danube; S. by the Military Frontier, except for a very small distance where it borders on Croatia. Length about 150 miles; greatest breadth, 30; area, 2988 square miles. If it were not that a long narrow track on the south is occupied by the Military Frontier, Slavonia might be said to occupy the whole land between the Drave, Danube, and Save ( and to be definitely limited on three sides by these great rivers. But, as it is, only the two former touch it at all; and its southern as well as its western frontier is left to be marked out by artificial lines rather than by any natural feature of the country.

Slavonia was traversed from W. to E. by a branch of the Carnic Alps, which divides the affluents of the Drave from those of the Save. The hills are not very high, the loftiest summit, Mount Papuk, towards the west of the country, being only 2700 feet above the Danube; but they have in many places sharp peaks, and descend abruptly on either side. The central ridge is succeeded by an undulating expanse of hill and dale; and that again by low level tracts along the rivers' banks. Besides the rivers which form its boundaries, Slavonia is watered by other streams, but these are few and of small size. The Karasicza flows into the Drave, the Buka into the Danube, and the Olyava into the Save. The mountains are composed entirely of limestone, except in a few places where serpentine and porphyry occur. They are, for the most part, covered with forests of excellent timber up to the very summits. The soil of the country is of very great fertility; the lower hills are covered with orchards, vineyards, and corn-fields; and the plains along the margin of the rivers form wide and rich meadows. Some portions, however, of these lower grounds are marshy and unhealthy. The climate is mild, and many tropical fruits thrive here.

Wheat, rye, oats, barley, and other grains, as well as wine, tobacco, hemp, flax, and madder, were raised. The best wine was that of the district of Syrmia, in the extreme east of Slavonia. This, which also goes by the name of Karlowitz, is for the most part red, and similar to that of Hungary. The district of Syrmia derives its name from the ancient Sirmium, which was once the chief city in Pannonia; and the culture of the vine was first introduced into this country by the Emperor Probus, a native of Sirmium, in the third century A.d. Fruit is grown in great abundance in Slavonia, and there is a beverage made from plums which forms a favourite drink of the people. The people are chiefly employed in agriculture and the breeding of live stock, especially hogs, which are fed in the forests. Large herds of cattle and horses are also kept on the meadows. The mineral wealth of Slavonia is very great, but little developed. Copper, argentiferous lead, iron, and fine marble, exist here in abundance, though worked only to a very limited extent. Few manufactures were carried on, except those of glass, earthenware, and potash. Indeed, nature had done very much more than art or industry for the country.