The Slavs of the mid-Danube basin and the Bulgarian expansion in the first half of the 9th century

The Annals of the Frankish kingdom, under the year 818, contain a description of the arrival of legations of certain Abodrits, Guduskans and Timotans at the Frankish court in Heristal. This paper is devoted to an attempt at the further identification of these tribes and their habitats. It mainly discusses the possibility that the Timotans and Abodrits should be recognized as two of the so-called Seven Slavic tribes, over whom the Bulgarians imposed their power in 680/681. The final part of the paper is dedicated to an overview of the question of the expansion of Bulgarian authority in the area of the Morava River valley.