Karantaner#
Carantanians, Alpine Slavs invading Carinthia in the 7th <sub> </sub> century and driven westward upstream the River Drau/Drava. By the time of their greatest expansion the Carantanians had penetrated as far as Lower Austria, Upper Austria (the Ennstal Valley, Salzburg (Lungau), Styria and East Tirol. At first they were under Avar rule, then attached to Bavaria in the 8th century and later had Carolingian rulers. During Carolingian rule the Carantanians largely converted to Christianity and were politically integrated.