In the first half of the seventh century, during the reigns of the Emperors Phokas (602-610) and Heraklies (610-642) the Slav hordes over-ran the countries of the upper and lower Danube like a flood from Venice to Constantinople, sweeping southward as far as Cape Matapan. The aboriginal inhabitants fled before them and took refuge in mountain fastnesses, islands, and walled towns. Christianity eventually tamed these wild hordes, and peaceful intercourse was once more established. Constantinople, Adrianople, Seres, Salonika, Larissa and Patras were the centres whence the light of Christendom and Greek culture penetrated to the Slavs. Who and what manner of people were the Slavs? The Roman historian Jordanis (551 A.D.) already distinguishes the “Sloveni,” as he calls them, from the rest of the Slavs, whom he calls “Veniti.” He speaks of an innumerable Slav people (“Venetharum natio populosa”) divided into many tribes, of which the chief were the “_Russi_,” (“_Anti_”) between the Dniestr and Dniepr, and the “_Sloveni_” on the lower Danube. It is true that a number of different tribes were included under this name, just as to-day it is used to designate the whole Slav race (“Slavyane” in Russian, “Slovane” in Csech). Strictly speaking only the Southern Slavs have a right to this name, and until well into the nineteenth century they styled themselves “Sloveni” in addition to their local appellations of Croat, Serb, Bulgar, etc. With the formation of local states, the local names came more into use, but in literature and folk-poesy the name “Sloveni” is invariably adopted. As a matter of fact, the local names arose from the political and historical distribution of the race. The geographical position of the Balkan Peninsula, as well as the two currents of civilization which flowed in upon the Southern Slavs from either side, prevented the formation of a United Southern Slav State. They split up into several lesser states, which soon lost their freedom, and submitted to foreign rule. Carniola was the first to fall a victim, for she passed under German rule as early as the eighth century.