The first major West Slavic state, uniting Moravia under princes Mojmir I and Rastislav; destination of the 863 Byzantine mission of Cyril and Methodius, whose Glagolitic alphabet and Old Church Slavonic liturgy shaped Slavic Christianity.
Collapsed under Magyar raids and succession disputes after 906-907; its former territory was absorbed piecemeal into Bohemia, Hungary, and Poland.
Dedicated study specifically of Great Moravia and its Christianization under Cyril and Methodius, the defining episode of the polity's history.