Polans

Polans, or Polanie, were a West Slavic tribe inhabiting the region of Greater Poland in the early medieval period, centered in the Warta river basin with key settlements at Gniezno and Poznań. The ethnonym derives from pole or polę, meaning "field," signifying "people of the fields." They spoke a West Slavic dialect that contributed to the formation of the Polish language.

Historically, the Polans formed the core of the early Polish state. In the 9th and 10th centuries they united with neighboring tribes under the Piast dynasty. Mieszko I, a Piast ruler of the Polans, expanded control over nearby groups and converted to Christianity in 966, a turning point that established the Polish state religiously and politically. The early capital was at Gniezno, a center of political power and Christianization, with later expansion shifting toward Kraków as Poland grew.

Over the High Middle Ages the Polans, as the dominant West Slavic tribe of Greater Poland, became ethnically identified with the Polish nation. The term Polanie is often used in historical sources to refer to the ancestors of modern Poles; the name of the country Poland is ultimately derived from Polanie.

Today, the Polans are studied as part of the ethnogenesis of the Polish nation, with archaeological and documentary evidence documenting their settlements, social organization, and role in state formation.