page_title: White Croats
section_title: Migration to Croatia
hierarchical_section_title: White Croats / Migration to Croatia
caption_attribution_description: Hrvatski: Oton Iveković: Dolazak Hrvata na Jadran.English: Oton Iveković. The Croats' arrival at the Adriatic Sea.
context_page_description: White Croats, or simply known as Croats, were a group of Early Slavic tribes who lived among other West and East Slavic tribes in the area of modern-day Lesser Poland, Galicia, Western Ukraine, and Northeastern Bohemia. They were documented primarily by foreign medieval authors and managed to preserve their ethnic name until the early 20th century, primarily in Lesser Poland. It is considered that they were assimilated into Czech, Polish and Ukrainian ethnos, and are one of the predecessors of the Rusyn people. In the 7th century, some White Croats migrated from their homeland, White Croatia, to the territory of modern-day Croatia in Southeast Europe along the Adriatic Sea, forming the ancestors of the South Slavic ethnic group of Croats.
context_section_description: It is considered that the Czech-Polish Croatian tribes were related to the Croatian tribes from Zakarpattia and Prykarpattia in Ukraine, and that they became separated during the migration period, at least by the end of the 6th and early 7th century, and seemingly formed one large Proto-Slavic tribe or tribal alliance. However, the same name does not necessarily mean having the same origin. Their exact place of migration is uncertain, while some scholars considered it to be around Bohemia and Polabia along a Western route through the Moravian Gate, other argued to be in Lesser Poland and Western Ukraine according to historical-archaeological and linguistical data about the main movement of the Avars and Slavs, and that "served as a direct link between Eastern and Southern Slavs".
  There exist several hypotheses on the date and historical context of the migration to the Adriatic Sea, most often being related to the Pannonian Avars activity in late 6th and early 7th century. It is considered that the uprising happened after failed Siege of Constantinople (626), in the period of the Slavic uprising led by Samo against the Avars in 632, or 635-641 when the Avars were defeated by Kubrat of the Bulgars, which are also interpreted as revolts when were already settled. As the Avars were enemies of the Byzantine Empire the involvement of Emperor Heraclius on the side of Croats cannot be entirely excluded. It is also theorized that the migration of the Croatian tribes in the 7th century was the second and final Slavic migratory wave to the Balkans, which is related to the thesis by Bogo Grafenauer about the double migration of Slavs. According to this thesis, although it is possible that some Croatian tribes were present among Slavs in the first Slavic-Avar wave in the 6th century, it is argued that the Croatian migration, seen as of a warrior group, in the second wave probably was not equally numerous to make a significant common-linguistical influence into already present Slavs and natives, while others considered they arrived in a significantly larger number. However the thesis on dual division and migration is criticized for being unnatural and improbable. 
  On the basis of archaeological data between the 7th and 9th century, it is considered that the dating to the 7th century is generally reliable. Zdenko Vinski and V. V. Sedov supported it by the rare findings of objects and ceramics of Prague-Korchak culture on the territory of Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia which is dated to the end of 6th and beginning of the 7th century, while the related archaeological findings in Croatia from the 8th-9th century indicate social-political stabilization and stratification. Another group of historians and archaeologists, like Lujo Margetić and Ante Milošević, argued late 8th-century migration as Frankish vassals during the Frank-Avar war (see Avar March), but it does not have enough evidence, it's not supported in written sources, and is not usually accepted. In the territory of present-day Croatia they gradually assimilated with the Pre-Slavic population as archaeological data does indicate some continuity of late antiquity population who mostly withdrew to the mountains, coastal cities and islands. However, the size and influence of the autochthonous population on the ethnogenesis is disputed depending on the interpretation of the archaeological data, considering them as a minority with some cultural influence or as a majority who outnumbered the Slavs.
caption: The Coming of the Croats to the Adriatic (1905) by Oton Iveković
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