During the second phase of the Migration Period (500–700 AD) the Langobardii (Lombards) made a brief appearance in the northern and eastern regions around 500 AD, but had been driven south into northern Italy by the Avars by 567. The Avars and their vassal Slavs had established themselves from the Baltic Sea to the Balkans. After the Avars suffered setbacks in the east in 626, the Slavs rebelled, establishing their own territories. The Alpine Slavs (Carantanii) elected a Bavarian, Odilo, as their count and successfully resisted further Avar subjugation.
