Celts, Teutons and Slavs have occupied the Bohemian lozenge in turn. The appellation Czechs first appears in the sixth century. National consolidation began with the country’s conversion to Christianity, three hundred years later, and was maintained with varying fortunes until 1620. Bohemian political freedom was annihilated in that year on the battlefield of the White Mountain. After this defeat the land and its inhabitants lapsed into a state of lethargy. The high cultural attainment of a few modern Bohemians was sufficient to rouse the country to a sense of national feeling.[146] Fortunately native poets, historians and scientists were successful in infusing their patriotic ideals in the minds of their countrymen. In particular, the fire of Bohemian patriotism has been kept alive by literary activity. Successful attempts on the part of Hungarians to assimilate the Slovaks has caused these mountaineers to turn to their Bohemian kinsmen for assistance in the preservation of race and tradition. Merging of national aspirations in this case, was facilitated by close linguistic affinity. A Czecho-Slovak body consisting of 8,410,998 individuals[147] thus came into being within the Dual Monarchy in order to maintain resistance against German and Hungarian encroachments. The struggle between Teuton and Slav in Bohemia goes back to the obscure period of the country’s early history. As late as the middle of the ninth century Bohemia was mainly a pagan state. German missionaries at that time were endeavoring to convert the natives to Christianity. But the mere nationality of the apostles of the new faith prevented them from gaining adherents. From the heart of Europe the Bohemians looked eastward to the Christians of the Slavic race for religious salvation. We read of envoys being sent to the court of the Byzantine emperor to beseech this ruler to send Christian teachers of the Slavic faith to Bohemia, as the German missionaries could not make themselves intelligible to the natives. These steps were viewed with considerable apprehension by German bishops, especially after the success which attended the proselytizing efforts of Methodus and his colleagues. The Byzantine priests had brought with them a translation of the Bible in the Slavic language of Macedonia. The replacement of Bohemian by German was thus effectively prevented. Bohemia and Moravia definitely became bilingual countries in the thirteenth century as a result of the inflow of German colonists who responded to urgent appeals for settlers made by Bohemian rulers in that period. The belt of German towns which completely encircles Bohemia is a consequence of this policy. The deforested zones of the west and northwest received the largest number of settlers.