Serbia in the Roman era

Roman Mosaic inFelix Romuliana,nearZajecar,289 AD.

Felix Romuliana,3rd century,UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Mediana,birthplace ofEmperor Constantine

Remains ofViminacium,the capital of theMoesia Superior,1st century

Remnants of ancientSirmium,one of the capitals of the lateRoman Empire

Remains ofDiana Fortress,nearKladovo,1-2nd century

Remains ofEmperor Trajan's route along theDanube

Ruins ofTrajan's bridge,the ancient world's largest bridge over theDanube

Remains ofthermaeinČačak,3rd century

Late Roman site inJustiniana Prima,nearLebane,6th century

Much of the territory of the modern state ofSerbiawas part of theRoman Empireand later theEastern Roman Empire.In particular, the region ofCentral Serbiawas under Roman rule for about 800 years (with interruptions), starting from the 1st century BC, interrupted by thearrival of the Slavs into the Balkansduring the 6th century, but continued after fall of theFirst Bulgarian Empirein the early 11th century and permanently ended with the rise of theSecond Bulgarian Empirein the late 12th century. The territories were administratively divided into the provinces ofMoesia(laterMoesia Superior),Pannonia(laterPannonia Inferior) andDardania.Moesia Superior roughly corresponds to modernSerbia proper;Pannonia Inferior included the eastern part of Serbia proper; Dardania included the western part of Serbia proper. After its reconquest from the Bulgarians by EmperorBasil IIin 1018, it was reorganized into theTheme of Bulgaria.

TheDanube Riverinfluenced the extension of the Roman Empire; its confluents, such as Sava and Morava, affected the growth of frontier fortresses and towns. Many authors and explorerswrote about traces of the Roman Empire on the Danube coast. One of the localities,Felix Romuliana,was ranked on the list of cultural heritage ofUNESCOin July 2007.

The location has been invaded by many peoples over the centuries. The northern Serbian city ofSirmium(Sremska Mitrovica) was among the top 4 cities of the lateRoman Empire,serving as its capital during theTetrarchy. Contemporary Serbia comprises theclassicalregions ofMoesia,Pannonia,parts ofDalmatia,DaciaandMacedonia.

History

Roman conquest

TheRoman Republicconquered the region ofIllyriain 168 BC in the aftermath of theIllyrian Wars."Illyria" was a designation of a roughly defined region of the western Balkans as seen from a Roman perspective, just asMagna Germaniais a rough geographic term not delineated by any linguistic or ethnic unity.

The later province ofIllyricumwas to the west of what is now Serbia.

The Romans conquered parts of Serbia in 167 BC and established the province of Illyricum. What is now central Serbia was conquered in 75 BC when the province ofMoesiawas established. Srem is conquered by 9 BC and Backa and Banat in 106 AD after the Dacian wars.

The city ofSirmium(Sremska Mitrovica) was among the top four cities of the lateRoman Empire,serving as its capital during theTetrarchy.Contemporary Serbia comprises theclassicalregions ofMoesia,Pannonia,parts ofDalmatia,DaciaandMacedonia.

The chief towns ofUpper Moesiain the Principate were:Naissus(modernNiš),Viminacium(sometimes called municipium Aelium; modernKostolac),Singidunum(modernBelgrade), Remesiana (modernBela Palanka)

Many Roman noblemen and statesmen were born in present-day Serbia, including 17 or 18Roman Emperors(Vetraniowasn't universally recognized as an emperor, but was proclaimed acaesar).

Emperor	Ancient Roman birthplace	Present-day settlement inSerbia	ruled	died
1.Trajan Decius	c.201,Budalia Pannonia Inferior	Martinci	September 249-June 251	June 251, Abrittus (Razgrad,Bulgaria)
2.Herennius Etruscus	c.227, near Sirmium Pannonia	Sremska Mitrovica	May-June 251	June 251, Abrittus (Razgrad, Bulgaria)
3.Hostilian	c.235, Sirmium Illyricum	Sremska Mitrovica	July-November 251	November 251, Rome (Italy)
4.Claudius II Gothicus	10 May 210, Sirmium Panonia Inferior	Sremska Mitrovica	September 268-January 270	January 270, Sirmium
5.Aurelian	9 September 214, Sirmium Dacia Ripensis	Sremska Mitrovica	September 270-October 275	October 275, Caenophrurium (Çorlu,Turkey)
6.Marcus Aurelius Probus	19 August 232, Sirmium Pannonia Inferior	Sremska Mitrovica	276-October 282	October 282, Sirmium
7.Maximian	c.250, Sirmium Pannonia Inferior	Sremska Mitrovica	2 April 286-1 May 305; 306-11 November 308; 310	July 310, Massilia (Marseilles,France)
8.Constantius I Chlorus	31 March 250,Naissus Moesia Superior	Niš	305-25 July 306	25 July 306, Eboracum (York,Great Britain)
9.Galerius	c.250,Felix Romuliana Dacia Ripensis	Gamzigrad	1 May 305-May 311	May 311, Felix Romuliana
10.Valerius Severus	Naissus Moesia Superior	Niš	306-April 307	16 September 307, Tres Tabernae (Cisterna di Latina,Italy)
11.Licinius I	c.263, Felix Romuliana Moesia Superior	Gamzigrad	11 November 308-18 September 324	325,Thessalonica (Greece)
12.Constantine I the Great	27 February 272, Naissus Moesia Superior	Niš	309-22 May 337	22 May 337,Nicomedia (İzmit,Turkey)
13.Maximinus II	20 November 270, Felix Romuliana Dacia Ripensis	Gamzigrad	310-May 313	August 313, Tarsos (Tarsus,Turkey)
14.Constantius II	7 August 317, Sirmium Pannonia Inferior	Sremska Mitrovica	337-3 November 361	3 November 361,Mopsuestia,Cilicia (Turkey)
15.Vetranio	Moesia	Central Serbia?	1 March-25 December 350	c356, Prusa ad Olympum (Bursa,Turkey)
16.Jovian	331,Singidunum Moesia	Belgrade	27 June 363-17 February 364	17 February 364, Dadastana, nearNicaea (İznik,Turkey)
17.Gratian	18 April 359, Sirmium Pannonia Inferior	Sremska Mitrovica	24 August 367-25 August 383	25 August 383,Lugdunum (Lyon,France)
18.Constantius III	Naissus Moesia Superior	Niš	8 February-2 September 421	2 September 421,Ravenna (Italy)

Byzantine period

Further information:Catepanate of RasandTheme of Sirmium

The Byzantine era in the history Serbia refers to three distinctive periods. The territory of later Serbia was under control of theEastern Roman Empireup to the beginning of the 7th century. During that period, emperorJustinian I(527–565) oversaw reinforcement of defensive structures in the region, and founded the city ofJustiniana Prima,today aCultural Heritage of Serbia-listed archeological site (Archaeological Sites of Exceptional Importance). In 535, the city became center of theArchbishopric of Justiniana Prima,that had metropolitan jurisdiction over all provinces of theDiocese of Dacia.At the beginning of the 7th century, region was invaded byAvarsandSlavs,thus ending the Byzantine rule. From that time, and up to the middle of the 10th century, the region was controlled by the newly created Slavic state - the early medievalPrincipality of Serbia.In 971–976, Byzantine rule was briefly restored, andCatepanate of Raswas established, but it was short lived. Only after 1018, the territory of Serbia came under the Byzantine rule, and it was included into twothemata:the Theme of Serbia and theTheme of Sirmium,that existed until 1071.

Arrival of the Slavs

Main article:Slavic migrations to Southeastern Europe

The Byzantines broadly grouped the numerous Slav tribes into two groups: theSklavenoiandAntes.Apparently, the Sklavenoi group were based along the middle Danube, whereas the Antes were at the lower Danube, inScythia Minor.Some, such as Bulgarian scholar Zlatarsky, suggest that the first group settled the western Balkans, whilst offshoots of the Antes settled the eastern regions (roughly speaking).From the Danube, they commenced raiding the Byzantine Empire from the 520s, on an annual basis. They spread about destruction, taking loot and herds of cattle, seizing prisoners and taking fortresses. Often, the Byzantine Empire was stretched defending its rich Asian provinces from Arabs, Persians and Turks. This meant that even numerically small, disorganised early Slavic raids were capable of causing much disruption, but could not capture the larger, fortified cities on the Aegean coast.

The Slavs invaded Balkans duringJustinian Irule (527–565), when eventually up to 100,000 Slavs raidedThessalonica.The Western Balkans was settled withSclaveni(Sklavenoi), the east withAntes.

The Sklavenoi plundered Thrace in 545. In 551, the Slavs crossedNišinitially headed for Thessalonica, but ended up inDalmatia.During the 6th and 7th century, Slavic tribes made eight attempts to take Niš and in the final attack in 615 the Slavs took the city.

Menander Protectormentions a King of the Sklavenoi,Daurentius(577-579) that slayed an Avar envoy of KhaganBayan I.The Avars asked the Slavs to accept the suzerainty of the Avars, he however declined and is reported as saying: "Others do not conquer our land, we conquer theirs [...] so it shall always be for us".

In 577 some 100,000 Slavs poured intoThraceandIllyricum,pillaging cities and settling down. By the 580s, as the Slav communities on the Danube became larger and more organised, and as the Avars exerted their influence, raids became larger and resulted in permanent settlement. In 586 AD, as many as 100,000 Slav warriors raided Thessaloniki. By 581, many Slavic tribes had settled the land around Thessaloniki, though never taking the city itself, creating aMacedonian Sclavinia.As John of Ephesus tells us in 581: "the accursed people of the Slavs set out and plundered all of Greece, the regions surrounding Thessalonica, and Thrace, taking many towns and castles, laying waste, burning, pillaging, and seizing the whole country." However, John exaggerated the intensity of the Slavic incursions since he was influenced by his confinement in Constantinople from 571 up until 579.Moreover, he perceived the Slavs as God's instrument for punishing the persecutors of theMonophysites.By 586, they managed to raid the westernPeloponnese,Attica,Epirus,leaving only the east part of Peloponnese, which was mountainous and inaccessible. InMaurice's Balkan campaigns,the final attempt to restore the northern border was from 591 to 605, when the end of conflicts with Persia allowed Emperor Maurice to transfer units to the north. However he was deposed after a military revolt in 602, and the Danubian frontier collapsed one and a half decades later.

Archaeological evidence in Serbia and Macedonia conclude that the White Serbs may have reached the Balkans earlier than thought, between 550 and 600, as much findings; fibulae and pottery found at Roman forts point at Serb characteristics and thus could have been either part of the Byzantinefoedoratior a fraction of the early invading Slavs who upon organizing in their refuge of theDinarides,formed the ethnogenesis of Serbs and were pardoned by the Byzantine Empire after acknowledging their suzerainty.

Administrative units

Moesia

Main articles:MoesiaandMoesia Superior

In ancient geographical sources, Moesia was bounded to the south by theBalkans(Haemus) andŠar mountain(Scardus,Scordus,Scodrus) mountains, to the west by theDrinariver (Drinus), on the north by theDanubeand on the east by theEuxine(Black Sea). The region was inhabited chiefly byThracian,DacianandIllyrianpeoples.

The region took its name from theMoesi,a Thraco-Dacian tribe that lived there before the Roman conquest 75 BC-c. 29 BC and formally became aRoman provinceof that name some years later (by 6 AD).

Cities and towns, in Moesia Superior (at times Macedonia/ Dardania):

• Ulpiana(modernLipljan)
• Municipium Dardanicum
• Dardapara
• Naissus,(modern Nis,Nysusin the Byzantine era)
• Theranda(modernPrizren)
• Vicianum(modernVučitrn)
• Vindenis
• Velanis

Pannonia

Main articles:PannoniaandPannonia Inferior

The cities and towns in Pannonia, located in modern Serbia, were:

• Acumincum(Stari Slankamen)
• Bassianae(Donji Petrovci)
• Bononia(Banoštor)
• Burgenae (Novi Banovci)
• Cusum(Petrovaradin)
• Rittium(Surduk)
• Singidunum(Beograd)
• Sirmium(Sremska Mitrovica)
• Taurunum(Zemun)

Cultures and tribes

Tribes in Roman Serbia
Name (Group)	Time	Territory	Notes	Sites
SeeAncient Serbiafor tribes inhabiting the territory of Serbia before 75 BC
Moesi (Daco-Thracian)	87 AD	Central Serbia	Crassusdefeated them in the 29 BC, during theWars of Augustus.They are eponymous toMoesia.
Triballi (Thracian)	87 AD	Central Serbia	mentioned first in 424 BC. They fought the Macedonians throughout the 5th and 4th century BC. They are last mentioned in 3rd century AD.
Timachi (Thracian)	87 AD	Timok	a Romanized Thracian tribe.
Tricornenses (Thraco-Celtic)	6 AD		a Romanized Thraco-Celtic tribe that governed the city of Tricornium (Ritopek)	Ritopek
Picenses (Unknown)	6 AD		governed Pincum (Veliko Gradište)
Iazyges (Sarmatians)	92 AD	Bačka Banat	Penetrated northern Rome in late 1st century AD.
Gepids (Gothic)	375 AD	Vojvodina	a Gothic tribe inVojvodina,Serbia.

See also

• List of Greek and Latin place names in Serbia
• Illyro-Roman
• Thraco-Roman

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