Opolans (Polish:Opolanie;Czech:Opolané;German:Opolanen;Latin:Opolini) were theWest Slavic tribe that lived in the region of upperOdra. Their main settlement (gord) wasOpole. They were mentioned in theBavarian Geographer, under theLatin nameOpolini, as one of the seven tribes living inSilesia (Silesian tribes). The other six were:Dziadoszanie,Golęszyce,Ślężanie,Trzebowianie [pl],Bobrzanie andLupiglaa (often identified withGłubczyce [pl]).[1][2]
The name Opolans derives from aSlavic termopole, that meant a specific form ofself-government used among theWest Slavs. Earlymedievalopole transformed into an administrative governing form used in EarlyMedieval Poland mainly to collecttaxes.[citation needed]
According to the Geographer Opolans possessed 20 gords in what was later known asUpper Silesia such as Opole andToszek. Presumably their place of cult was theSaint Anna mountain. Opolanie's territories were conquered byGreat Moravia in 875 and were probably incorporated into thePřemyslidBohemia in the first half of the 10th century. In 990 Opolans' territories were incorporated into thefirst Polish state. Due to this fact they are usually treated as part of thePolish tribes.
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