Reign
Samo's dates are based on Fredegar, who says that he went to the Slavs in the fortieth year of Chlothar II (623–4) and reigned for thirty five years. The interpretation of Fredegar which places the start of Samo's reign in the year of his arrival has been questioned on the basis that the Wends would have most likely rebelled after the defeat of the Avar khagan at the First Siege of Constantinople in 626. The Avars first arrived in the Carpathian Basin and subdued the local Slavs in the 560s. Samo may have been one of the merchants who supplied arms to the Slavs for their regular revolts. Whether he became king during a revolt of 623–4 or during the one which inevitably followed the Avar defeat in 626, he definitely took advantage of the latter to solidify his position. A string of victories over the Avars proved his utilitas (usefulness) to his subjects and secured his election as rex (king). Samo went on to secure his throne by marriage into the major Wendish families, wedding at least twelve women and fathering twenty-two sons and fifteen daughters.
The most famous event of Samo's career is his victory over Frankish royal army under Dagobert I in 631 or 632. Provoked to action by a "violent quarrel in the Pannonian kingdom of the Avars or Huns" during his ninth year (631–2), Dagobert led three armies against the Wends, the largest being composed of Austrasians under himself. The Franks were routed near Wogastisburg (Latin castrum Wogastisburc), an unidentified location meaning "fortress/castle of Vogast." In the aftermath of the Wendish victory, the Sorbian prince Dervan abandoned the Franks and "placed himself and his people under Samo" (Fredegar). Samo even invaded Frankish Thuringia several times and undertook looting raids there.
In 641 the rebellious duke of Thuringia, Radulf, sought an alliance with Samo against his sovereign, Sigebert III. Samo also maintained long-distance trade relationships. On his death, however, his title was not inherited by his sons. Ultimately, Samo can be credited with forging a Wendish identity by speaking on behalf of the community which recognised his authority.
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