HISTORY. - The Slovenes (Sclauen, Stlauen in ancient texts), as the westernmost branch of those who later became known as the South Slavs, settled in small, fragmented groups without any state unity toward the end of the 6th century in the Alpine territories of the valleys of the Sava and upper Drava rivers, with ethnic extensions toward the Isonzo and upper Timavo.
Their settlement in the Alpine regions, while the Avars dominated the plains, soon freed them from Avar subjugation. They were ruled from 623 to 658 by the Frankish leader Samo, and around this period they began to embrace Christianity. Later, the dioceses of Salzburg, with Bishop Liutpram (850), and of Aquileia were particularly active in bringing the Slovenes to Christianity. From a political standpoint, from this time until 1918 they remained within the orbit of German feudal lords or, ultimately, within the Habsburg Empire. This historical condition prevented the formation of a strictly Slovenian noble and feudal ruling class, and the Slovenes were numbered among those "nationalities without history" described by F. Engels, as they were incorporated into the historical events of larger political entities.
With the decline of Frankish rule, Slovenia passed under Bavarian control (745–858), then again under the Franks (788–907), the Magyars (907–955); and in the 11th–13th centuries, small feudal dynasties, either German or subject to the Empire, dominated the various parts of Slovenia: the Babenbergs, the Andechs-Merano, the Spanheims, the Counts of Cilli, the Patriarchate of Aquileia, and the Counts of Gorizia. Finally, with the rise of the Habsburgs to the imperial throne, Slovenia remained permanently tied to Vienna (with the exception of the Napoleonic period) until 1918.
An important moment in the development of a Slovenian national consciousness came with the Reformation and Counter-Reformation, as both contributed powerfully to the creation of a written Slovenian language and, consequently, to the clearer identification of Slovenian nationality. Primus Trubar, a Slovenian Reformer, around 1551 printed in Tübingen a Catechism, an Abecedary, and in 1557 the entire New Testament in Slovenian; in 1584, Jurij Dalmatin translated the entire Bible, while Adam Bohorič, a pupil of Melanchthon, with his *Arcticae horulae* (1584) composed the first Slovenian grammar. In response, representatives of the Counter-Reformation in Slovenia—from M. Kastelec to the Capuchin Father Hyppolitus and others throughout the 18th century—countered this Reformist literature with grammars, homilies, sermons, and Bible translations (Japelj and Kumerdej, 1784–1802), etc. Slovenian national consciousness emerged strengthened from this, and later, politically, the creation of the Illyrian Provinces by Napoleon, with Ljubljana as its capital (1809–13), was seen as a new seal upon their national identity, even though the lack of a Slovenian ruling class remained a fundamental negative factor that would only disappear in the second half of the 19th century.
From this period, beginning in 1848, a certain national awakening is observed in Slovenia, though limited to the literary sphere, while loyalty to the Habsburgs remained unchanged until the end of World War I, as evidenced even on May 30, 1917, when Monsignor Korosec, leader of the Slovenian People’s Party, spoke in its favor. In 1918, Slovenia became part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (q.v.). During World War II, following the collapse of Yugoslavia, northern Slovenia was annexed to Germany, while southern Slovenia, including Ljubljana, was assigned to Italy, along with small zones given to Hungary (April 20, 1941). After the war, Slovenia rejoined Yugoslavia and gained additional territory from the Venezia Giulia region, detached from Italy by the Peace Treaty of January 10, 1947. Under the Constitution of January 10, 1946, it is a federal republic within the Yugoslav Federation.