Great Slav Migration

Timeline

1. 518–540North bank of the Danube · Danube basinTaking advantage of the Byzantine-Persian war and internal turmoil, Slavic tribes crossed the Danube into the empire's border zones and began establishing seasonal or permanent settlements on the south bank.
2. 550–580Balkan Peninsula · Balkan PeninsulaSlavs advanced inland along river valleys such as the Morava and Vardar, occupying abandoned Roman towns and countryside, frequently clashing and intermingling with Byzantine frontier troops and locally Latinized populations.
3. 568–600Pannonia and the middle Danube · PannoniaAfter the Avars settled in Pannonia, many Slavic tribes spread as vassals or allies, forming a new Central-Eastern European pattern of 'Avar rule plus Slavic settlement' that paved the way for the rise of Slavic political entities after the 7th century.