Papers by Vladimir Aleksic
Zbornik radova Filozofskog fakulteta u Prištini, 2003
The article discusses possibility of existing of city district, called "Gradski metoh" ... more The article discusses possibility of existing of city district, called "Gradski metoh" in medieval town of Nis according to oldest Turkish registers from second half of XV and begin of XVI century. The main topics are: borders of district and size of town territory, data who reveal the appearance of the settlement, including the short history of the most important buildings in it. Some efforts are dedicated to establish main line of social structure of local population and municipal organization.
Mitteilungen des Instituts für Österreichische Geschichtsforschung, Apr 26, 2023
Универзитет у Београду, Jan 29, 2013
De Gruyter eBooks, Apr 6, 2021
ISTRAŽIVANJA, Јournal of Historical Researches
The Morača Monastery was built in the mid-13th century by Grand knez (prince) Stephen Vukanović, ... more The Morača Monastery was built in the mid-13th century by Grand knez (prince) Stephen Vukanović, a member of a cadet branch of the Nemanjić dynasty (1166–1371), as his burial place. Interpreting the actions its founder reveals interesting details about the relationship of the center of power with the political periphery, ruling ideology, and the monk’s place in society. The completion of the frescoes and other ornamentation at this monastic church of the Dormition of the Mother of God and Stephen’s withdrawal from his political life to take monastic vows partially coincides with the action of King Uroš I (1243–1276), who consolidated his royal power during this time by eliminating the principalities in the Serbian coastal regions. Prince Stephen’s transition to life as a hermit may have gone through two stages that included tonsuring and then admission into the Great Schema. These actions were motivated by his personal piety and his age or by a desire to emulate the Nemanjić dynasty...
HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), 2021
HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), Jun 28, 2021
Epohi, 2021
The paper discussed four episodes from the medieval Serbian past when personal unions’ concept fo... more The paper discussed four episodes from the medieval Serbian past when personal unions’ concept formed the basis for resolving complex regional diplomatic relations. The first two dates in King Milutin’s (1282–1321) and Stephen Dečanski`s (1321–1331) reigns. In both instances, the unification proposals came from Bulgaria. Furthermore, Sigismund von Luxembourg (1387–1437) acquired in 1394 the right to receive the Bosnian royal crown. With the decline of Hungarian influence in Bosnia, the prospects of realizing this bold plan lost momentum. The last case examines the prevailing circumstances that led to establishing a short-lived personal union between Bosnia and the Serbian Despotate 1458/1459.
Стари српски архив, 2019
Деспот Јован Угљеша је априла 1371. године издао хрисовуљу Лаври Светог Атанасија којом овом храм... more Деспот Јован Угљеша је априла 1371. године издао хрисовуљу Лаври Светог Атанасија којом овом храму уступа право риболова у риболовишту Големи Василиск на језеру Пору. Повељом се забрањује да монаси остварују новчану зараду од улова, већ да улов користе само за личну употребу. Повеља је издата приликом деспотовог обиласка манастира на Светој Гори са циљем обезбеђивања духовне подршке светогорског монаштва у предстојећој борби против Турака.
Church Studies 18, 2021
The question of the monastic life of King Dragutin Nemanjić (1276-1282, died on 12. March 1316) ... more The question of the monastic life of King Dragutin Nemanjić (1276-1282, died on 12. March 1316) has previously never been addressed separately, even it was undoubtedly one of the most important political events in Serbia at the beginning of the 14th century. Few source data indicate that purely religious reasons did not inspire the King of Srem, as he was named sometimes, to abandon the secular life. In reality, his monasticism had a more profound background connected to state affairs. The mixed composition, both ecclesiastical and profane, of the regional assembly gathered by Dragutin on this occasion indicates that the main reason for its convening was to announce the King's abdication publicly. Probably his son Vladislav took his place as a ruler of his territories located along the right banks of Sava and Danube River. The monastic terms and the ritual description to be found in the Vita of King Dragutin unequivocally indicate that he was bestowed with a rank of Megaloshimos before his death, which is the highest degree of monastic level in Orthodoxy. Like numerous examples in Serbia's history under Nemanjić Dynasty, it is conceivable that in this case, an accelerated procedure of monasticism was resorted without literally respecting strict church regulations. However, the exact time of that act has not been established, although the authors of this article discreetly suggest that a relatively long period could have passed between Dragutin's monasticism and death. Additionally, we speculate that the first stage of monasticism might have happened a few years before his death or that he made the decision to proceed in that direction. Two writers of his hagiography, monk Danilo and his anonymous Follower, biasedly present the lives and political achievements of two brothers favoring the younger one. Dragutin's entire life after his abdication in Deževo in 1282 is depicted as a continuous effort to wash away the sin of overthrowing his father and preparation for monastic life. As many as three persons are mentioned as the former King's spiritual heads: Galaktion, Danilo, and Athanasius. Due to the enormous distance, the monk Galaktion from Jordan could not attend the ritual of monasticism. The same is the case with Danilo, who was dwelling on the Mount Athos in 1315-1316. As established in this research, fulfilling the Serbian court initiative, he composed dedicated spiritual tractates aimed at King Dragutin, whose nature remains concealed. Still, we firmly believe that they played a significant role in Dragutin's monasticism rituals. "Starac" - hermit Athanasius was a close coworker of Danilo and was responsible for transferring his writings to Serbia and attending or even conducting Dragutin's monastic initiation. The synchronized effort of two Athonites reveals the most substantial evidence of a series of well-prepared steps preceded, i.e., a prerequisite for the former King to approach the rite of monasticism. Dragutin's relationship with his brother Milutin (1282-1321) and the unresolved dynastic issues contributed to the events too. According to the Deževo agreement in 1282, one of two Dragutin's sons was to inherit the Serbian crown, while Milutin's rule was a long inter-regnum. Still, the latter unjustifiedly tried to acquire the same right for his heirs, which led to the long civil war (1301-1311/1312). The brothers' relationship was filled with mistrust even in the years after the conflict's conclusion. Dragutin's decision to become a monk or even the act of monasticism may have caused new conflicts. Personal relations among them colored with distrust are evident in the description of their mother's funeral, Queen Hellen, which the older brother could not or did not want to attend in February 1314. According to one thesis, there was a meeting of the King of Srem with Charles I Robert of Hungary (1310-1342) in Sremska Mitrovica at the beginning of February of 1314, which may explain Dragutin's unconventional
265behavior. If the Sremska Mitrovica summit took place, several issues might have been discussed, such as senior-vassal relations between the two of them, the eventual status of the Hungarian estates under Dragutin's control, and even his plan to leave the secular life and hand over the disputed territories to his son Vladislav soon. In the ideological sense, Dragutin's monasticism should be seen as a counterpart to Milutin's propaganda policy to emphasize his hereditary branch's legal rights in the throne fight. Dragutins' action followed the domestic practices of sacralization of the Nemanjić monarchs to firm the dynasty's political position among the nobility and other family members. The King of Srem was doubly motivated. First, he built the preconditions for his canonization in the future, which may strengthen his son's legitimacy. Then, with well-organized abdication much before his death, Dragutin expanded the political space for Vladislav to fight for the crown's right while still having his father's support. Milutin resisted such a sequence of events, but he had to reluctantly give up during the solemn meeting with his brother between 1314 and 1315. Female members of the ruling family also publicly participated. The ruling monarch did not find strong enough support in the ruling circles, which contributed to the relation's between brothers smoothening. Milutin wisely postponed the crisis's resolution for a few more years, probably being aware of his brother's deteriorated health condition.
Између Подунавља и Средоземља. Тематски зборник посвећен проф. др Синиши Мишићу поводом његовог 60. рођендана = [Between the Danube and the Mediterranean. A Festschrift Dedicated to Prof. Dr. Siniša Mišić on the Occasion of his 60th Birthday] , 2021
The Business ledger of Mihailo Lukarević from Dubrovnik, from the third decade of the 15th centur... more The Business ledger of Mihailo Lukarević from Dubrovnik, from the third decade of the 15th century, is a well-known source for the urban topography of the mining metropolis of Novo Brdo and its close and distant surroundings. Among other information, the notes to the names of Lukarević’s debtors attest that a cluster of villages formed the geographical area of Podgor (literally: Submontana) on the eastern slopes of the Radan and Petrova Gora Mountains in contemporary southeastern Serbia. Following this trail, the authors explore the geographical, socio-economic, and demographic conditions, such as the elevation of the settlements, which led to such grouping of the villages. Based on the 15th and 16th century Ottoman Defters, in this paper, it was argued that Podgor was part of the ‘Land’ (a conglomerate of several smaller geographical units, usually župas) of Dubočica. Interestingly enough, since the beginning of the 13th century, Dubočica was merged with the neighboring ‘Land’ of Toplica to form an even larger territorial-administrative unit of medieval Serbia. Since Lukarević's observations suggest that the village of Statovac was within the ‘Land’ of Toplica, the unification process was not finished at the beginning of the 15th century.
Using a GIS map and 3D models of the terrain, we tested the hypothesis that the landscape features of Podgor's villages were crucial in determining the formation of a unique geographical region. Namely, Podgor was located on the eastern slopes of several massifs and its altitude was above the villages located more to the east. At this stage of researches, it is not certain whether Podgor, stretching approximately 35km on the north-south axis, created a unique administrative unit, or was simply a name for the micro-unit adopted by the local inhabitants. We speculate that Lukarević's documents reflect the local use of this term, rather than its existence in the official administrative subdivision of Dubočica.
Crkvene Studije, 2019
This paper deals with the issue of the territorial division of the Serbian Archbishopric
establis... more This paper deals with the issue of the territorial division of the Serbian Archbishopric
established in 1219/1221. Namely, its territory has been divided into eleven separate church
units to improve the spiritual life of the flock. The names of these episcopacies were: Žiča,
Zeta, Humska, Dabar, Budimlja, Moravice, Toplica, Hvosno, Ras, Lipljan, and Prizren. The
first one was the seat of the Serbian Archiepiscopacy at the same time. Only the three last
mentioned above had existed as the part of the previous church structure before they became
the part of the new ecclesiastical system. All other was established in the process of the
creation of the new „national“ church. It was a tremendous task because of the sparse
settlement structure and the undeveloped economy in many parts of Serbia at that time.
Considering the almost critical absence of the contemporary sources, it has been no attempts so
far to reconstruct the contour of the territorial division of the Serbian Archbishopric in its early
stage of development. Only in the cases of the diocese of Moravice and Žiča, it has been
possible to outline the approximate borderlines of these two dioceses. For all other, there is
only the uncertain idea about their geographical position.
However, the fruitful research of the secular state structure of the medieval Kingdome
of Bosnia and the Serbian State under the Nemanyd dynasty has brought new results in last few
decades. It is now more evident that there were more complex ways to cluster the lover units of
the territorial division into the larger systems. Namely, many villages were summoned
together, and they formed the districts called župas following the patterns which were mostly
influenced by the character of the local landscape and demographic situation. Besides, there
were two other types of territories: city districts of the few significant towns such were Prizren
and Niš, and particular border areas, so-called krajinas. However, they are less important for
our research. At least two or more župas, together with neighbouring uninhabited areas, such as
are mountain ranges or heavily forested hilly terrain, formed the so-called lands. Each of them
had its prehistory, and therefore they had the various time of creation. It is mention worthy that
all of them were long-lasting geographical configurations which were only partially influenced
by the numerous political shifts or gradual social and economic development. One more
striking feature is the fact that the vast majority of lands share the same name with the abovementioned church units. In case of the Land of Moravice the geographical space of this
administrative unit almost entirely coincides with the territory of the bishoprics of the same
name. This feature suggests that this similarity was the result of the planned strategy. It is most
probable that King Stephan the First-Crowned and his younger brother Sava Nemanjić, who
became the first Archbishop of Serbian Episcopacy, adjusted the newly formed ecclesiastical
infrastructure to the existing civil and military territorial division presented in Serbia at the
beginning of the XIII century as much as it was possible.
Based on this idea, it has been possible to reconstruct the territory of each of eleven
episcopacies approximately. This task was very challenging because of the many obstacles, as
follows. Uninhabited parts of medieval Serbia, as mentioned before, were not covered with the
župa organisation. Therefore, in many cases, it is doubtful where to allocate some mountain
ranges or scarcely populated valleys and tablelands situated between two joining lands.
Furthermore, in some cases, župas were not grouped into lands, as it was the case with the
regions of Ibar and Zapadna Morava Rivers or in the historical area of Kosovo. It was here
where the organisational structure was the most changeable due to the creation of new church
85
units (Žiča, Hvosno). As the result of our research, it has become clear that the even the
territories of two ancient lands may have been unified under the church jurisdiction of one
prelate. It may have been precisely the situation with the diocese of Zeta, which included the
historical lands of the same name, previously called Duklja, and most probably the whole
region of the historical Land of Travunija. Moreover, there were the cases when the recent
conquest portions of the Byzantine Empire became the part of the closest diocese, although
they have not belonged to the land of the same name. For example, the Župas of Morava and
Dubravnica, which were situated in the Morava Valley, may have been merged to the Land of
Toplica. One may notice, that the creation of the new Archbishopric significantly contributed
to the corroboration of the existing territorial division of the Kingdome of Serbia. Furthermore,
as the consequence of the above-described practice, i. e. of merging several smaller territorial
units into more spacious assemblies, the new lands were created covering almost the entire
territory of the state in the following centuries. Thanks to these processes the management
structure was significantly upgraded.
Stari srpski arhiv 14, 2016
When discussing the very important and exceptionally complex mutual relationships between Serbia ... more When discussing the very important and exceptionally complex mutual relationships between Serbia and Bulgaria in XIV century, the content of the Turkish defters of the Kyustendil sanjak, both made in XVI century, showed a higher degree of reliability than the Rila charter. This important document has been compared with some, more or less, similar documents of that era. The attested information regarding the political development in southeastern Europe offers a general, but reliable, framework for a better comprehension of this source. Moreover, even the text of the Rila grant, not flawless in diplomatic terms and, therefore, not quite approved as an authentic source, strongly indicates that John Šišman did not control, not even partially, the monastery estate. The permanent border line was established in the times of king Milutin and Stephan Dušan and it did not significantly change for many years (1282-1395).
This simple solution makes many suspicious speculations unnecessary. The Bulgarian emperor was in the position just to confirm the previous donations and privileges and to add some minor customs duty relief in 1378 in order to affirm his political supremacy in Bulgarian ruler’s ideology system. It is most likely that the Rila monks used the donator’s bad insight in the local situation to accomplish some legal minor material benefits which did actually not belong to them.
In this paper the author tries to shed a light on some important aspects of everyday life in medi... more In this paper the author tries to shed a light on some important aspects of everyday life in medieval Serbia, such as secular and ecclesiastical laws regarding taking care of one's parents. Great attention was paid to the narrative sources, because they convincingly proved that the mentioned statutory provisions were actually enforced. Serbian epic songs were considerated in a simular way.
ÜBER DEN MÖGLICHEN AUFENTHALT VON HEINRICH II. JASOMIRGOT UND OTTO I. VON WITTELSBACH IN NIŠ IM J... more ÜBER DEN MÖGLICHEN AUFENTHALT VON HEINRICH II. JASOMIRGOT UND OTTO I. VON WITTELSBACH IN NIŠ IM JAHR 1166
Der Schwerpunkt dieses kleinen Beitrags liegt auf der Frage, ob und in welcher Form sich die abendländisch-byzantinische politischen Beziehungen in der zweiten Hälfte des XII Jahrhunderts in der urbanen Entwicklung der Stadt Niš wiederspiegelten. Den zahlreichen und interdisziplinären Untersuchungen des Straßennetzes Südost Europas zufolge ist es bekannt, daß die urbane Entwicklung dieser Siedlung während der zweiten byzantinischen Verwaltung (Anfang XI – Anfang XIII Jahrhunderts) sehr stark von dem interkontinentalen und regionalen Straße, besonders von der sogennanten Via Militaris, geprägt wurde. Der Anstoß für die Untersuchung dieser Fragestellung liegt in einer diplomatischen Reise im Jahr 1166 durch Ungarn nach Sofia (Bulgarien) von zwei Gefolgsleuten Friedrich Barbarossas (1152-1190) und berühmten Baronen des Deutschen Kaiserreiches. Otto I. von Wittelsbach und Heinrich II. Jasomirgot Babenberg von Österreich trafen sich mit Kaiser Manuel I (1143-1180), um eine bessere diplomatische Position für ihren Herrn zu verhandeln. Unserer Vermutung nach reisten die Unterhändler wahrscheinlich durch die Stadt Niš. Der letze erwähnte Baron wurde dabei von seiner Ehefrau Theodora begleitet, die auch Nichte des Kaiser Manuel war. Obwohl die zwischenstaatlichen Folgen dieses erfolglosen diplomatischen Versuches von wenig Interesse für unseres Thema sind, wird hier am Rande thematisiert, dass die byzantinische Prinzessin schon im Jahr 1150-1151 ihr Heimatland wahrscheinlich besuchte. Es gibt manche weitere Hinweise dafür, daß sie möglicherweise bei dieser Gelegenheit auch die Balkan Route benutzte, genau so wie es mehrere andere abendländische Gesandte in diesem Zeit Raum getan hatten. Der Wert diesen interessanten Kleinigkeiten liegt darin, daß die wenig bekannte Vergangenheit der Stadt Niš besser beleuchtet werden kann, angesichts des Mangels an Quellen für ihre mittelalterliche Geschichte. Es kann angenommen werden, daß der kulturelle Umtausch und häufige Kontakte durch den Aufenthalt der Reisenden der Vielfalt des Alltages in Stadt und Umgebung beitragen konnten. Vor diesem Hintergrund scheint es so zu sein, daß die Behauptung von einer sehr isolierten Vergangenheit des byzantinischen Niš nicht mehr so plausibel ist.
The article discusses possibility of" existing of" city district, called "gradski metoh" in medie... more The article discusses possibility of" existing of" city district, called "gradski metoh" in medieval town of" Nis according to oldest Turkish registers from second half" of"XV and begin of"XVI century. The main topics Me: borders ofdistrict and size of" town territory, data who reveal the appearance of the settlement, including the short history ofthe most important buildings in it. Some efforts are dedicated to establish main line ofsocial structure ollocal population and municipal organization.
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Papers by Vladimir Aleksic
265behavior. If the Sremska Mitrovica summit took place, several issues might have been discussed, such as senior-vassal relations between the two of them, the eventual status of the Hungarian estates under Dragutin's control, and even his plan to leave the secular life and hand over the disputed territories to his son Vladislav soon. In the ideological sense, Dragutin's monasticism should be seen as a counterpart to Milutin's propaganda policy to emphasize his hereditary branch's legal rights in the throne fight. Dragutins' action followed the domestic practices of sacralization of the Nemanjić monarchs to firm the dynasty's political position among the nobility and other family members. The King of Srem was doubly motivated. First, he built the preconditions for his canonization in the future, which may strengthen his son's legitimacy. Then, with well-organized abdication much before his death, Dragutin expanded the political space for Vladislav to fight for the crown's right while still having his father's support. Milutin resisted such a sequence of events, but he had to reluctantly give up during the solemn meeting with his brother between 1314 and 1315. Female members of the ruling family also publicly participated. The ruling monarch did not find strong enough support in the ruling circles, which contributed to the relation's between brothers smoothening. Milutin wisely postponed the crisis's resolution for a few more years, probably being aware of his brother's deteriorated health condition.
Using a GIS map and 3D models of the terrain, we tested the hypothesis that the landscape features of Podgor's villages were crucial in determining the formation of a unique geographical region. Namely, Podgor was located on the eastern slopes of several massifs and its altitude was above the villages located more to the east. At this stage of researches, it is not certain whether Podgor, stretching approximately 35km on the north-south axis, created a unique administrative unit, or was simply a name for the micro-unit adopted by the local inhabitants. We speculate that Lukarević's documents reflect the local use of this term, rather than its existence in the official administrative subdivision of Dubočica.
established in 1219/1221. Namely, its territory has been divided into eleven separate church
units to improve the spiritual life of the flock. The names of these episcopacies were: Žiča,
Zeta, Humska, Dabar, Budimlja, Moravice, Toplica, Hvosno, Ras, Lipljan, and Prizren. The
first one was the seat of the Serbian Archiepiscopacy at the same time. Only the three last
mentioned above had existed as the part of the previous church structure before they became
the part of the new ecclesiastical system. All other was established in the process of the
creation of the new „national“ church. It was a tremendous task because of the sparse
settlement structure and the undeveloped economy in many parts of Serbia at that time.
Considering the almost critical absence of the contemporary sources, it has been no attempts so
far to reconstruct the contour of the territorial division of the Serbian Archbishopric in its early
stage of development. Only in the cases of the diocese of Moravice and Žiča, it has been
possible to outline the approximate borderlines of these two dioceses. For all other, there is
only the uncertain idea about their geographical position.
However, the fruitful research of the secular state structure of the medieval Kingdome
of Bosnia and the Serbian State under the Nemanyd dynasty has brought new results in last few
decades. It is now more evident that there were more complex ways to cluster the lover units of
the territorial division into the larger systems. Namely, many villages were summoned
together, and they formed the districts called župas following the patterns which were mostly
influenced by the character of the local landscape and demographic situation. Besides, there
were two other types of territories: city districts of the few significant towns such were Prizren
and Niš, and particular border areas, so-called krajinas. However, they are less important for
our research. At least two or more župas, together with neighbouring uninhabited areas, such as
are mountain ranges or heavily forested hilly terrain, formed the so-called lands. Each of them
had its prehistory, and therefore they had the various time of creation. It is mention worthy that
all of them were long-lasting geographical configurations which were only partially influenced
by the numerous political shifts or gradual social and economic development. One more
striking feature is the fact that the vast majority of lands share the same name with the abovementioned church units. In case of the Land of Moravice the geographical space of this
administrative unit almost entirely coincides with the territory of the bishoprics of the same
name. This feature suggests that this similarity was the result of the planned strategy. It is most
probable that King Stephan the First-Crowned and his younger brother Sava Nemanjić, who
became the first Archbishop of Serbian Episcopacy, adjusted the newly formed ecclesiastical
infrastructure to the existing civil and military territorial division presented in Serbia at the
beginning of the XIII century as much as it was possible.
Based on this idea, it has been possible to reconstruct the territory of each of eleven
episcopacies approximately. This task was very challenging because of the many obstacles, as
follows. Uninhabited parts of medieval Serbia, as mentioned before, were not covered with the
župa organisation. Therefore, in many cases, it is doubtful where to allocate some mountain
ranges or scarcely populated valleys and tablelands situated between two joining lands.
Furthermore, in some cases, župas were not grouped into lands, as it was the case with the
regions of Ibar and Zapadna Morava Rivers or in the historical area of Kosovo. It was here
where the organisational structure was the most changeable due to the creation of new church
85
units (Žiča, Hvosno). As the result of our research, it has become clear that the even the
territories of two ancient lands may have been unified under the church jurisdiction of one
prelate. It may have been precisely the situation with the diocese of Zeta, which included the
historical lands of the same name, previously called Duklja, and most probably the whole
region of the historical Land of Travunija. Moreover, there were the cases when the recent
conquest portions of the Byzantine Empire became the part of the closest diocese, although
they have not belonged to the land of the same name. For example, the Župas of Morava and
Dubravnica, which were situated in the Morava Valley, may have been merged to the Land of
Toplica. One may notice, that the creation of the new Archbishopric significantly contributed
to the corroboration of the existing territorial division of the Kingdome of Serbia. Furthermore,
as the consequence of the above-described practice, i. e. of merging several smaller territorial
units into more spacious assemblies, the new lands were created covering almost the entire
territory of the state in the following centuries. Thanks to these processes the management
structure was significantly upgraded.
This simple solution makes many suspicious speculations unnecessary. The Bulgarian emperor was in the position just to confirm the previous donations and privileges and to add some minor customs duty relief in 1378 in order to affirm his political supremacy in Bulgarian ruler’s ideology system. It is most likely that the Rila monks used the donator’s bad insight in the local situation to accomplish some legal minor material benefits which did actually not belong to them.
Der Schwerpunkt dieses kleinen Beitrags liegt auf der Frage, ob und in welcher Form sich die abendländisch-byzantinische politischen Beziehungen in der zweiten Hälfte des XII Jahrhunderts in der urbanen Entwicklung der Stadt Niš wiederspiegelten. Den zahlreichen und interdisziplinären Untersuchungen des Straßennetzes Südost Europas zufolge ist es bekannt, daß die urbane Entwicklung dieser Siedlung während der zweiten byzantinischen Verwaltung (Anfang XI – Anfang XIII Jahrhunderts) sehr stark von dem interkontinentalen und regionalen Straße, besonders von der sogennanten Via Militaris, geprägt wurde. Der Anstoß für die Untersuchung dieser Fragestellung liegt in einer diplomatischen Reise im Jahr 1166 durch Ungarn nach Sofia (Bulgarien) von zwei Gefolgsleuten Friedrich Barbarossas (1152-1190) und berühmten Baronen des Deutschen Kaiserreiches. Otto I. von Wittelsbach und Heinrich II. Jasomirgot Babenberg von Österreich trafen sich mit Kaiser Manuel I (1143-1180), um eine bessere diplomatische Position für ihren Herrn zu verhandeln. Unserer Vermutung nach reisten die Unterhändler wahrscheinlich durch die Stadt Niš. Der letze erwähnte Baron wurde dabei von seiner Ehefrau Theodora begleitet, die auch Nichte des Kaiser Manuel war. Obwohl die zwischenstaatlichen Folgen dieses erfolglosen diplomatischen Versuches von wenig Interesse für unseres Thema sind, wird hier am Rande thematisiert, dass die byzantinische Prinzessin schon im Jahr 1150-1151 ihr Heimatland wahrscheinlich besuchte. Es gibt manche weitere Hinweise dafür, daß sie möglicherweise bei dieser Gelegenheit auch die Balkan Route benutzte, genau so wie es mehrere andere abendländische Gesandte in diesem Zeit Raum getan hatten. Der Wert diesen interessanten Kleinigkeiten liegt darin, daß die wenig bekannte Vergangenheit der Stadt Niš besser beleuchtet werden kann, angesichts des Mangels an Quellen für ihre mittelalterliche Geschichte. Es kann angenommen werden, daß der kulturelle Umtausch und häufige Kontakte durch den Aufenthalt der Reisenden der Vielfalt des Alltages in Stadt und Umgebung beitragen konnten. Vor diesem Hintergrund scheint es so zu sein, daß die Behauptung von einer sehr isolierten Vergangenheit des byzantinischen Niš nicht mehr so plausibel ist.
265behavior. If the Sremska Mitrovica summit took place, several issues might have been discussed, such as senior-vassal relations between the two of them, the eventual status of the Hungarian estates under Dragutin's control, and even his plan to leave the secular life and hand over the disputed territories to his son Vladislav soon. In the ideological sense, Dragutin's monasticism should be seen as a counterpart to Milutin's propaganda policy to emphasize his hereditary branch's legal rights in the throne fight. Dragutins' action followed the domestic practices of sacralization of the Nemanjić monarchs to firm the dynasty's political position among the nobility and other family members. The King of Srem was doubly motivated. First, he built the preconditions for his canonization in the future, which may strengthen his son's legitimacy. Then, with well-organized abdication much before his death, Dragutin expanded the political space for Vladislav to fight for the crown's right while still having his father's support. Milutin resisted such a sequence of events, but he had to reluctantly give up during the solemn meeting with his brother between 1314 and 1315. Female members of the ruling family also publicly participated. The ruling monarch did not find strong enough support in the ruling circles, which contributed to the relation's between brothers smoothening. Milutin wisely postponed the crisis's resolution for a few more years, probably being aware of his brother's deteriorated health condition.
Using a GIS map and 3D models of the terrain, we tested the hypothesis that the landscape features of Podgor's villages were crucial in determining the formation of a unique geographical region. Namely, Podgor was located on the eastern slopes of several massifs and its altitude was above the villages located more to the east. At this stage of researches, it is not certain whether Podgor, stretching approximately 35km on the north-south axis, created a unique administrative unit, or was simply a name for the micro-unit adopted by the local inhabitants. We speculate that Lukarević's documents reflect the local use of this term, rather than its existence in the official administrative subdivision of Dubočica.
established in 1219/1221. Namely, its territory has been divided into eleven separate church
units to improve the spiritual life of the flock. The names of these episcopacies were: Žiča,
Zeta, Humska, Dabar, Budimlja, Moravice, Toplica, Hvosno, Ras, Lipljan, and Prizren. The
first one was the seat of the Serbian Archiepiscopacy at the same time. Only the three last
mentioned above had existed as the part of the previous church structure before they became
the part of the new ecclesiastical system. All other was established in the process of the
creation of the new „national“ church. It was a tremendous task because of the sparse
settlement structure and the undeveloped economy in many parts of Serbia at that time.
Considering the almost critical absence of the contemporary sources, it has been no attempts so
far to reconstruct the contour of the territorial division of the Serbian Archbishopric in its early
stage of development. Only in the cases of the diocese of Moravice and Žiča, it has been
possible to outline the approximate borderlines of these two dioceses. For all other, there is
only the uncertain idea about their geographical position.
However, the fruitful research of the secular state structure of the medieval Kingdome
of Bosnia and the Serbian State under the Nemanyd dynasty has brought new results in last few
decades. It is now more evident that there were more complex ways to cluster the lover units of
the territorial division into the larger systems. Namely, many villages were summoned
together, and they formed the districts called župas following the patterns which were mostly
influenced by the character of the local landscape and demographic situation. Besides, there
were two other types of territories: city districts of the few significant towns such were Prizren
and Niš, and particular border areas, so-called krajinas. However, they are less important for
our research. At least two or more župas, together with neighbouring uninhabited areas, such as
are mountain ranges or heavily forested hilly terrain, formed the so-called lands. Each of them
had its prehistory, and therefore they had the various time of creation. It is mention worthy that
all of them were long-lasting geographical configurations which were only partially influenced
by the numerous political shifts or gradual social and economic development. One more
striking feature is the fact that the vast majority of lands share the same name with the abovementioned church units. In case of the Land of Moravice the geographical space of this
administrative unit almost entirely coincides with the territory of the bishoprics of the same
name. This feature suggests that this similarity was the result of the planned strategy. It is most
probable that King Stephan the First-Crowned and his younger brother Sava Nemanjić, who
became the first Archbishop of Serbian Episcopacy, adjusted the newly formed ecclesiastical
infrastructure to the existing civil and military territorial division presented in Serbia at the
beginning of the XIII century as much as it was possible.
Based on this idea, it has been possible to reconstruct the territory of each of eleven
episcopacies approximately. This task was very challenging because of the many obstacles, as
follows. Uninhabited parts of medieval Serbia, as mentioned before, were not covered with the
župa organisation. Therefore, in many cases, it is doubtful where to allocate some mountain
ranges or scarcely populated valleys and tablelands situated between two joining lands.
Furthermore, in some cases, župas were not grouped into lands, as it was the case with the
regions of Ibar and Zapadna Morava Rivers or in the historical area of Kosovo. It was here
where the organisational structure was the most changeable due to the creation of new church
85
units (Žiča, Hvosno). As the result of our research, it has become clear that the even the
territories of two ancient lands may have been unified under the church jurisdiction of one
prelate. It may have been precisely the situation with the diocese of Zeta, which included the
historical lands of the same name, previously called Duklja, and most probably the whole
region of the historical Land of Travunija. Moreover, there were the cases when the recent
conquest portions of the Byzantine Empire became the part of the closest diocese, although
they have not belonged to the land of the same name. For example, the Župas of Morava and
Dubravnica, which were situated in the Morava Valley, may have been merged to the Land of
Toplica. One may notice, that the creation of the new Archbishopric significantly contributed
to the corroboration of the existing territorial division of the Kingdome of Serbia. Furthermore,
as the consequence of the above-described practice, i. e. of merging several smaller territorial
units into more spacious assemblies, the new lands were created covering almost the entire
territory of the state in the following centuries. Thanks to these processes the management
structure was significantly upgraded.
This simple solution makes many suspicious speculations unnecessary. The Bulgarian emperor was in the position just to confirm the previous donations and privileges and to add some minor customs duty relief in 1378 in order to affirm his political supremacy in Bulgarian ruler’s ideology system. It is most likely that the Rila monks used the donator’s bad insight in the local situation to accomplish some legal minor material benefits which did actually not belong to them.
Der Schwerpunkt dieses kleinen Beitrags liegt auf der Frage, ob und in welcher Form sich die abendländisch-byzantinische politischen Beziehungen in der zweiten Hälfte des XII Jahrhunderts in der urbanen Entwicklung der Stadt Niš wiederspiegelten. Den zahlreichen und interdisziplinären Untersuchungen des Straßennetzes Südost Europas zufolge ist es bekannt, daß die urbane Entwicklung dieser Siedlung während der zweiten byzantinischen Verwaltung (Anfang XI – Anfang XIII Jahrhunderts) sehr stark von dem interkontinentalen und regionalen Straße, besonders von der sogennanten Via Militaris, geprägt wurde. Der Anstoß für die Untersuchung dieser Fragestellung liegt in einer diplomatischen Reise im Jahr 1166 durch Ungarn nach Sofia (Bulgarien) von zwei Gefolgsleuten Friedrich Barbarossas (1152-1190) und berühmten Baronen des Deutschen Kaiserreiches. Otto I. von Wittelsbach und Heinrich II. Jasomirgot Babenberg von Österreich trafen sich mit Kaiser Manuel I (1143-1180), um eine bessere diplomatische Position für ihren Herrn zu verhandeln. Unserer Vermutung nach reisten die Unterhändler wahrscheinlich durch die Stadt Niš. Der letze erwähnte Baron wurde dabei von seiner Ehefrau Theodora begleitet, die auch Nichte des Kaiser Manuel war. Obwohl die zwischenstaatlichen Folgen dieses erfolglosen diplomatischen Versuches von wenig Interesse für unseres Thema sind, wird hier am Rande thematisiert, dass die byzantinische Prinzessin schon im Jahr 1150-1151 ihr Heimatland wahrscheinlich besuchte. Es gibt manche weitere Hinweise dafür, daß sie möglicherweise bei dieser Gelegenheit auch die Balkan Route benutzte, genau so wie es mehrere andere abendländische Gesandte in diesem Zeit Raum getan hatten. Der Wert diesen interessanten Kleinigkeiten liegt darin, daß die wenig bekannte Vergangenheit der Stadt Niš besser beleuchtet werden kann, angesichts des Mangels an Quellen für ihre mittelalterliche Geschichte. Es kann angenommen werden, daß der kulturelle Umtausch und häufige Kontakte durch den Aufenthalt der Reisenden der Vielfalt des Alltages in Stadt und Umgebung beitragen konnten. Vor diesem Hintergrund scheint es so zu sein, daß die Behauptung von einer sehr isolierten Vergangenheit des byzantinischen Niš nicht mehr so plausibel ist.
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Срдачно,
Доцент Владимир Алексић