'''Caranthanians''' (Latin ''Quarantani'', Slovenian ''Karantanci'') were the Alpine Slavs of the early Middle_Ages (Latin ''Sclavi qui dicuntur Quarantani'', Slavs called Caranthanians). After the disintegration of Samo's realm, they established the duchy of Caranthania (independent from 660 to 745, partly independent to 820), in the Eastern_Alps. They were one of the ancestors of modern Slovenians. Caranthanians were also the first Slavic people who accepted Christianity from the West. At the beginning of 9th_century they settled also Pannonia inferior or Lower Pannonia, so the name Caranthanians spread there too (Latin ''Carantanorum regio'', 819). The name Caranthanians (''Quarantani'') lasts until the 13th_century. They spoke a Slavic language and lived in Slavic "župas", parts of early Middle Ages duchies, and ''zadrugas'', joint families. Mysterious ''Kosezes'' (''Kasazes'', Lat. at first ''Kosentzez'', German ''Edlinger'' (noble people), Lombardian ''Arimanni'' (members of a special warrior class)) were a subject of much debate. They were probably a private army of the Caranthanian duke. ===References=== * Bogo Grafenauer, ''Ustoličevanje koroških vojvod in država karantanskih Slovencev'' / ''Die Kärntner Herzogseinsetzung und der Staat der Karantanerslawen'', Slovenska akademija znanosti in umetnosti (Academia scientiarum et artium Slovenica, Classis I: Historia et sociologia), Ljubljana 1952 * Bogo Grafenauer, ''Zgodovina slovenskega naroda. Zv. 1'', Od naselitve do uveljavljenja frankovskega reda (z uvodnim pregledom zgodovine slovenskega ozemlja do naselitve alpskih Slovanov), Državna založba Slovenije, Ljubljana 1978 * Bogo Grafenauer (ed. Peter Štih), ''Karantanija: izbrane razprave in članki'', Slovenska matica, Ljubljana 2000 * Hans-Dietrich Kahl, ''Der Staat der Karantanen - Fakten, Thesen und Fragen zu einer frühen slawischen Machtbildung im Ostalpenraum (7.-9. Jh.)'' / ''Država Karantancev - dejstva, teze in vprašanja o zgodnji slovanski državni tvorbi v vzhodnoalpskem prostoru (7.-9. stol.)'', Narodni muzej Slovenije (Situla: Dissertationes Musei nationalis Sloveniae) and Slovenska akademija znanosti in umetnosti, Ljubljana 2002 * Paola Korošec, ''Alpski Slovani / Die Alpenslawen'', Znanstveni inštitut Filozofske fakultete, Ljubljana 1990 * Katja Škrubej, ''"Ritus gentis" Slovanov v vzhodnih Alpah'', ZRC 2002 (with English Summary) * Peter Štih, Vasko Simoniti, ''Slovenska zgodovina do razsvetljenstva'', Mohorjeva družba v Celovcu, Ljubljana 1995 == See also == * Timeline_of_Slovenian_history Category:Slavic_tribes Pl:Karantanie