The creation of the Cyrillic alphabet, c.900

simeon.netchev:

This map traces the journeys of Cyril and Methodius, 9th-century Byzantine missionaries whose work profoundly shaped the cultural and linguistic landscape of Central and Eastern Europe. Commissioned by Emperor Michael iii (r. 842–867) to evangelize the Slavs of Great Moravia, the brothers understood that spreading Christianity required a written script suited to the local language. They developed the Glagolitic alphabet (from Old Church Slavonic glagolitsa, meaning “speech”), allowing the Gospel, Psalter, and Liturgy to be translated from Greek into Slavonic. After their deaths, their disciples found refuge in Bulgaria under Tsar Boris I (r. 852–889), who championed the use of Slavonic in worship and commissioned a revised script. Drawing from both Glagolitic and Greek elements, they created a simplified, more practical writing system, which they named the Cyrillic alphabet in honor of Cyril. It remains a foundational writing system for many Slavic and non-Slavic languages today.

Collection: writing - Tags: alphabets, cyrillic-alphabet, 10th-century - Source: instagram.com