The Mystical White Serbia

White Serbia is considered to be the mythical homeland and ancestry of today's modern Serbs. The location of White Serbia has long been in dispute. Some say it is north of the Danube River and the Carpathian Mountain Range. Others claim it's located in the modern Czech Republic and Bohemia. Still others believe it could be Red Ruthenia or Rugen, the Svantevit island in Germany. Adding to the myth is that the establishment of White Serbia is unknown. Although, there is a record of its disestablishment in 610.

Who Were the White Serbs?

Many ethnologists believe the "Bojka" may be Ukrainian or part of a Celtic tribe who settled around the Danube in the second century BC. Prior to 610, there is evidence of a unnamed king of the tribal White Serbs whose two sons followed him on the throne. The elder son led his tribe in battle against the Roman Emperor Heraclius. This was a era of great battles for empirical power. Wars between Byzantine tribes, Persian and Greek armies would change the picture of Serbia and the lives of White Serbs. In Medieval times, White Serbs were descendants of unbaptized Serbs who were referred to "White." They lived beyond the borders of Turkey in a location they called "Boik."

White Serbs on the Move

From their residency in Boik, the two sons of the king defended their tribes from the Dalmatian Avars who captured the cities known today as Belgrade, Sofia, Kostolac and Nis. Soon, however, the White Serbs would become Emperor Heraclius allies. The Emperor bestowed the area known today as Serbia on the White Serbs in appreciation for their defeat of the Avars.

White Serbia - A Wandering Tribe

White Serbian tribes moved frequently, although they were not a nomadic or Gypsy tribe by nature. Given the instability of the region in which they lived and the military might of the Greek and Roman Empires, White Serbian history is based mostly on scraps of references found various history documents and early historical authors. It's becomes clearer that White Serbs were considered pagans, though not much documentation exists to prove they took part in pagan practices.

Mythical and Mystical

Tribes in Central and Eastern Europe often lived secretive lives by all appearances. They settled internal discord according to their inherited traditions. Keeping to themselves in their clannish way gave the appearance of harboring secrets that intimidated those outside the tribes. Baptism, according to Byzantine belief, was the only recourse to avoid being considered a pagan. The strength of Byzantine faith further intensified several hundred years later with the onset of the Ottoman Empire. The neighbors of the White Serbs were members of the Bohemian and Frankish tribes who considered themselves far more civilized and developed than the Slovak White Serbs. The influence of the Roman Empire prevailed upon the White Serbs insisting they be baptized as a rite of converting these tribes to Christianity.