Rani (Slavic Tribe)

Rani (Slavic Tribe)

The Rani or Rujani (German: Ranen, Rujanen) were a West Slavic tribe based on the island of Rugia (Rügen) and the southwestern mainland across the Strelasund in what is today northeastern Germany.

The Rani tribe emerged after the Slavic settlement of the region in the 9th century, ranging among the most powerful of several small Slav tribes dwelling between the Elbe and lower Vistula rivers before the 13th century. They were one of the last to cling to their Slavic paganism, with the influence of their religious center at Arkona reaching far beyond the tribal borders.

In 1168, the Rani were defeated by the Danish Empire, resulting in the conversion of the region to Christianity. In the course of the 13th century in Pomerania, the tribe was assimilated by German and Danish settlers during the Ostsiedlung, resulting in a gradual Germanisation of the Rani. The Principality of Rugia remained Danish until 1325.