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Stari Ras

Coordinates:43°7′42″N20°24′56″E/ 43.12833°N 20.41556°E/43.12833; 20.41556
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Stari Ras
Native name
Serbian:Стари Рас
Overview of the Stari Ras (Gradina-Pazarište)
LocationNearNovi Pazar,Serbia
Coordinates43°7′42″N20°24′56″E/ 43.12833°N 20.41556°E/43.12833; 20.41556
Elevation755 m (2,477.0 ft)
TypeCultural
Criteriai, iii
Designated1979(3rdsession)
Part ofStari Ras andSopoćani
Reference no.96
RegionEurope and North America
Official nameSrednjovekovni grad Ras
TypeMonument of Culture of Exceptional Importance
Designated22 August 1947
Reference no.SK 534
Stari Ras is located in Serbia
Stari Ras
Location of Stari Ras within Serbia
The view from Stari Ras.

Ras(Serbian Cyrillic:Рас;Latin:Arsa), known in modernSerbian historiographyasStari Ras(Serbian Cyrillic:Стари Рас,"Old Ras" ), is a medieval fortress and area located in the vicinity of former market-place ofStaro Trgovište,some 10–11 kilometers (6.2–6.8 mi) west of modern-day city ofNovi PazarinSerbia.

Old Ras was initially part of theFirst Bulgarian Empire(until 10th century), thenByzantine Empire(mid-10th until mid-12th century), in the end becoming one of the first and main capitals of theGrand PrincipalityandKingdom of Serbia(since mid-12th until early 14th century). Located in today's region ofRaška,its favorable position in the area known asOld Serbia,along the Raška gorge atPešterplateau, on the crossroads and trading routes between neighbouring regions ofZetaandBosniain the west andKosovoin the south, added to its importance as a city.[1]

There exist two fortifications (gradina) around the site, Gradina-Pazarište and Gradina-Postenje,[2]while urban placeStaro Trgovištebelow Gradina-Pazarište developed since the late medieval and influenced foundation of Novi Pazar eastward in the Ottoman period.[3]There are plans for future reconstruction of the site. In the close vicinity is impressive group of medieval monuments, including churches and monasteries. The 9th centuryChurch of Saint Apostles Peter and Paulis one of the oldest early medieval churches in Serbia. The medieval Monastery ofSopoćaninear Arsa is a reminder of the contacts betweenWestern worldand theByzantineworld. The site of Stari Ras, in combination with the nearby Monastery of Sopoćani, is already aUNESCOWorld Heritage Site,and Stari Ras monastery (12th century) is being reconstructed and it too may be included on the UNESCO World Heritage List with the site. Stari Ras and Sopoćani World Heritage Site is not far from another UNESCO World Heritage Site of Serbia, the medieval monastery and churches ofStudenica.

Stari Ras was declaredMonument of Culture of Exceptional Importancein 1990, and it is protected byRepublic of Serbia.[4]

Etymology

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The toponymRasin Slavic form derives from pre-SlavicArsaviametathesis.[5][6]It is considered that the settlement toponym derives from a hydronim of same namedriver.[7]The first mention of the fortress ofRasis from c. 1127,[8]while the oldest and only mention of the city of Ras in the native Serbian sources is from 1200, but as a toponym the region/župaof Ras is widely found.[9]In 1186 charter is the first attested use of the term Raška as a designation for the Serbian state, mentioning Nemanja as the ruler ofRascia,but in other sources would still be used alongside Serbia (even simultaneously as "of Serbia and Rascia" ).[10]

The 14th-century semi-mythicalChronicle of the Priest of Dukljaanachronistically projects the events of Serbian early medieval history before 12th century also in the region namedRaška(Rassa,Rassam,Rassae,Rasse), but identified with Serbia east of riverDrina.[11]From the 12th century onwards realistic topographic description of the surroundings of theChurch of St. Peter(Caldanaeis Novopazarska Banja;Bellois Podbijelje; the town could be identified with near fort Gradina-Postenje).[11]Gradina-Pazarište is deemed the capital with the main fortress and Gradina-Postenje as the fort closer to the bishopric church of St. Peter.[12]

History

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Archaeological findings of fortified structures and early churches from the area of Stari Ras, dated from fourth to the sixth century, correspond to the testimony of Byzantine historianProcopiuswho wrote that RomancastellumofArsain the province of Dardania has refortified during the reign of the emperorJustinian I(527-565).[13]

According to archaeological research, there exist two fortifications (gradina), Gradina-Postenje and Gradina-Pazarište. Throughout history their development was interconnected and probably made a uniform defensive system.[2]On the site of Gradina-Pazarište existed EarlyBronze Ageprehistoric settlement which in 5th century BCE ofIron Agebecame desolated.[14]In the 2nd and 3rd century of theRoman periodwas on a crossroad, withminingfields nearby, and military settlement.[15]Seemingly the wider area was spared in the late 4-5th century bymigration periodinvasions.[16]In the 6th century were found some German barbarian remains and material associated with theFrankishMerovingian dynasty.[17]In c. 518 the area of Ras was hit by a devastated earthquake which caused much damage in the Roman province ofDardania.[18]

Both grading became abandoned in the late 6th or early 7th century.[19][20]They were re-settled and renovated in the mid-9th century by the Bulgarians (with the pottery findings typical ofPliskaandPreslav,and other material, also withBulgar runic inscriptions).[21][22][23]The 10th centuryDe Administrando Imperiomentions that "Boris... being about to return to Bulgaria and afraid lest the Serbs might ambush him on the way, he begged for his escort the sons of princeMutimer,BorenasandStephen,who escorted him safely as far as the frontier at Rasi ",[24]usually dated around 880.[25]Not mentioned among the inhabited cities of Serbia,[5]in the scholarship there's no consensus whether Ras was located on the Serbian or Bulgarian side of the border,[26][27][28][29][22][30][31]and whether it was a reference to the city or a border area.[25]Newer research indicates that Ras since the mid-9th and in the 10th century was a western "frontier district of Bulgaria".[32][33][31][23]The lack of material of Bulgarian origin inVrsjenice(assumed to be Serbian cityDestinikon), indicates that the border between Serbs/Serbia and Bulgarians/Bulgaria in the 9th and 10th century was atPešterplateau (and to the north atČačak).[34][35]Pešter makes a natural border area, and in the direction in which the plateau is open, that's where the ruling power came from to Ras (i.e. Bulgaria).[5]The high medieval chronicles also give an impression that Rascia wasn't considered as the central and capital part of medieval Serbia but as a separate small domain within Serbia.[30][36]

The imperial charter ofBasil IIfrom 1020 to theArchbishopric of Ohrid,in which the rights and jurisdictions were established, mentions that theEpiscopy of Rasbelonged to theBulgarian autocephal churchduring the time ofPeter I(927–969) andSamuel of Bulgaria(977–1014).[37][38]It is considered that it was possibly founded by the Bulgarian emperor,[39][40]or it is the latest date when could have been integrated to the Bulgarian Church.[41]If previously existed, it probably was part of the Bulgarian metropolis of Morava, but certainly not ofDurrës.[42]If it was on the Serbian territory, seems that the Church in Serbia or part of the territory of Serbia became linked and influenced by the Bulgarian Church between 870 and 924.[43][44][45]Anyway, the church would have been protected by Bulgarian controlled forts.[35]

According to archaeological research, the site suddenly became desolated near the end of the 10th century,[22]at least the western part of it abandoned and without military strategical importance and signs of Byzantines in the 11th century, and was defensively upgraded in the end of the 11th century.[46]Byzantine EmperorJohn Tzimiskesre-established control of Ras in 971 and founded theCatepanate of Ras.[47][48][49]The seal ofprotospathariosJohn of Ras has been found from that era.[50][51]By 976, the Bulgarian state had regained Ras (according toChronicle of the Priest of Dukljawould be the Serbs who freed themselves and defeated the Byzantines[52]), butBasil IIrecaptured it about 40 years later in 1016–1018.[52]In the imperial charter of Basil II from 1020, rights and jurisdictions of the autonomous Archbishopric of Ohrid were established, and one of the bishoprics in its jurisdiction was that of Ras. In 1032 overall commander of the region wasstrategoianddoukesConstantine Diogenes,[53][54]and meanwhile Ras was part of a defensive line of Byzantine watchtowers alongsideLipjan,Zvečan,Galič,Jelečsouth of Ras andBrveniknorth of Ras, watching to the west over a "no-man's-land" namedZygos mountainsbeyond which was Serbia.[55][56]

It remained a Byzantine frontier area untilJohn II Komnenoslost the area as a result of theByzantine–Hungarian War (1127–1129).[57]Recent archaeological research supports the notion that the Byzantines held control of Ras duringAlexios I Komnenos's reign (1048–1118), but possibly not continuously.[58]Alexios's seal which dates to the period 1081–1092 was found in 2018 near the site.[59]It seems that the watchtowers commanders' skirmishes into the Serbian eastern frontiers provokedVukan, Grand Prince of Serbiain the early 1090s to counterattack and to conquer the border fortresses in theByzantine–Serbian War (1090–1095),but althoughJohn Ducasregained most of them, in 1093 Vukan "ravaged the neighbouring towns and districts. He even got as far as Lipjan, which he deliberately burnt down", but when Alexios came close, Vukan escaped to Zvečan and started peace negotiations.[60]

In the 1120s, the fortress of Ras was again burnt and destroyed by the Serbs, a "Dalmatian nation".[8][61]Its commander was a Kritoplos who was then punished by Emperor for the fall of the fortress.[62][63][64]The Byzantines rebuilt the fortress by 1143.[57][48]It would be re-conquered byUroš IIin aim to distract the Byzantines from engaging withRoger II of Sicily.[65]TheSerbian Uprising of 1149caused Byzantine emperor Manuel I Komnenos penetrated "Dalmatia" destroying the Ras fortress and devastate everything along the way, "the countless multitudes that he made slaves, he left there with the army ofsebastohypertatosConstantine Angelos".He continued into Nikava, conquering all the forts with ease. After storming the nearbyGalič,whose people were partly warriors and herdsmen who took away and settled inSerdikaand other Roman regions to settle, and "having learned from Angelos that the Župan, waiting for an opportune moment after his departure from there began to attack the Romans and that a fight had already taken place, set out as fast as he could from there to capture him. But this one, hearing that the Romans were coming, fled over the mountain passes and escaped the danger on foot. The emperor headed through the country, since there was no one to stop him at all, devastated it, and after burning the buildings there intended for thearchizoupanosas the ruling centre, left ".[66][67][68]In the next year continued to successfully fight off the Serbians and Hungarians, ending at theBattle of Tara (1150).[69][70]

The cave monastery active in the late 12th and early 13th century.

Although not recorded in the historical sources, somewhere in the second half of the 12th century, Ras should have been finally conquered and controlled by the Serbs, greatly renovating it and becoming the centre of defence and residency for the Grand Principality of Serbia.[71]Stefan Nemanja,previously receiving the land ofDendrawest of Niš, was the one who usurped the throne and expanded his territories in the late 1160s.[72]Nemanja supposedly in celebration erected the monastery ofĐurđevi stupovi,with an inscription showing that the end of the construction was in 1170-1171.[10]During a short war in autumn 1168 he was captured, and again in 1171–1172, both times pleading loyalty.[73]The city of Ras wasn't the capital in the general meaning yet, but the wider area of Raška with various fortifications, as there's no evidence of urbanization in the whole Grand Principality of Serbia andKingdom of Serbiauntil the 14th century.[74]In 1188 Nemanja showed intention to makeNišthe centre of the state, also there was a royal court inKotor.[10]Byzantine intervention continued until the end of the 12th century and the Serb feudal rulers of the region were often under Byzantine suzerainty. The full independence of Serbia including Raška's region was recognized by the Byzantines in 1190 after an indecisive win byIsaac II Angelosover Nemanja.[75][76]

Beneath thePodgrađeof theGradina-Pazarišteon a rocky cliff of the hill was constructed cave monastery of St.Michael(where later was activeMonk Simeonwho wroteVukan's Gospeldated to c. 1202[77]).[78][79]In 1196 Nemanja held an assembly in Ras.[80]In the 1230s there was located the mint of Serbian money, possibly also the royal treasury.[77]A biggranarywas also found.[81]Somewhere in the early 13th century became damaged amid civil war,[82]but extensively renovated again by the time of the second Serbian kingStefan Radoslav(1228–1233). However, there's much archaeological evidences it was burnt and became desolated around the 1230s, probably being the scene of noble battles in which Radoslav lost andStefan Vladislav(1234–1243) came to the throne.[82]Seemingly it was not well renovated again, and from that point in time gradually lost its status as the Serbian state "capital", but until then Serbian's state name became closely associated with the name of Rascia, and Serbian people with the Rasciani.[48]The final desolation happened in the early 14th century during the rulership ofStefan Milutin(1282–1321).[82]

Remains ofTrgovištepart of Ras.

During the 14th century, there was an important marketplace below the Stari Ras,Trgovište,that started to develop.[83]The scholarly thesis ofNovi Pazarbeing a continuation of Stari Ras by identifying it withRas-Trgovišteis by now rejected.[84]By the mid-15th century, in the time of the final Ottoman conquest of the region, another market-place was developing to the east.[85]The older place was known asStaro Trgovište( "old market-place", in Turkish: Eski Pazar) and younger asNovo Trgovište( "new market-place", Turkish: Yeni Pazar).[86]The latter developed into the modern city of Novi Pazar, and there's no medieval archaeological site found in the centre of Novi Pazar.[87]In the Ottoman administrative division, Ras in 1455 was part of thevilayet of Skopije,by 1463 existed nahiye of Ras within vilayet ofJeleč(fort 12 km south of present-day Novi Pazar), and in 1475 was founded Novi Pazar which soon became its centre (but Novi Pazar itself shouldn't be considered as continuity of Ras).[88]The toponym of Ras vanished in the 18th century, influenced by the First ofGreat Migrations of the Serbsin the end of the 17th century.[89]

Monuments

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In the region of Raška also existed other ancient church buildings, abasilicain village Pope north of Pazarište and a church within Novi Pazar/Novopazarska Banja borders (both outside fortifications), and churches in Gradina-Postenje and Zlatni Kamen (both within fortifications).[90]Such concentration could indicate the existence of an ancient episcopy (with a seat at a basilica near Pazarište), possibly connected to the ancient Bishopric ofUlpiana.[91]The oldest early medieval church-building in Serbia, theChurch of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul(also known asSt. Peter's Church), was founded near Novi Pazar, sometime during the 9th century.[92]Its commonly considered to have been built on the 6th century Byzantine foundations.[93]

See also

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Wikimedia Commons has media related toStari Ras.

References

[edit]
  1. ^Popović 1999,p. 291.
  2. ^abPopović 1999,p. 291, 393.
  3. ^Popović 1999,p. 41–45, 393.
  4. ^Monuments of Culture in Serbia:СТАРИ РАС СА СОПОЋАНИМА(SANU)(in Serbian and English)
  5. ^abcPopović 1999,p. 37.
  6. ^Bulić 2013,p. 216.
  7. ^Popović 1999,p. 295.
  8. ^abPopović 1999,p. 38, 301.
  9. ^Popović 1999,p. 39–41.
  10. ^abcKalić 1995,p. 147–155.
  11. ^abPopović 1999,p. 39.
  12. ^Popović 1999,p. 39, 41, 295.
  13. ^Popović 1999,p. 294–295.
  14. ^Popović 1999,p. 291, 393–394.
  15. ^Popović 1999,p. 292–294, 394–397.
  16. ^Popović 1999,p. 294, 296.
  17. ^Popović 1999,p. 294, 397–398.
  18. ^Popović 1999,p. 294, 398.
  19. ^Popović 1999,p. 294, 400.
  20. ^Špehar 2019,p. 118–120.
  21. ^Popović 1999,p. 155–161, 297, 400.
  22. ^abcCurta 2006,p. 146.
  23. ^abŠpehar 2019,p. 118–120, 122.
  24. ^Moravcsik, Gyula,ed. (1967) [1949].Constantine Porphyrogenitus: De Administrando Imperio(2nd revised ed.). Washington D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks Center for Byzantine Studies. p. 155.ISBN9780884020219.
  25. ^abPopović 1999,p. 37, 297.
  26. ^Popović 1999,p. 37, 297–298, 400.
  27. ^Živković 2013b,pp. 28, 31, 34.
  28. ^Bulić 2013,pp. 217.
  29. ^Ćirković 2004,p. 12–15.
  30. ^abNovaković 1981.
  31. ^abIvanišević & Krsmanović 2013,p. 450.
  32. ^Popović 1999,p. 139–161, 297, 400–401.
  33. ^Curta 2006,p. 146–147.
  34. ^Popović 1999,p. 298.
  35. ^abŠpehar 2019,p. 122.
  36. ^Popović 1999,p. 38–41.
  37. ^Komatina 2015,pp. 717.
  38. ^Komatina 2016,pp. 76, 89–90.
  39. ^Popović 1999,p. 401.
  40. ^Ćirković 2004,pp. 20, 30.
  41. ^Komatina 2016,pp. 76–77.
  42. ^Komatina 2016,pp. 75, 88–91.
  43. ^Komatina 2015,pp. 717–718.
  44. ^Komatina 2016,pp. 77, 91.
  45. ^Špehar 2010,pp. 203, 216.
  46. ^Popović 1999,p. 162, 299, 402–403.
  47. ^Popović 1999,p. 299, 402.
  48. ^abcĆirković 2004,p. 30.
  49. ^Komatina 2016,pp. 78–84.
  50. ^Stephenson, Paul (2003).The Legend of Basil the Bulgar-slayer.Cambridge University Press. p. 42.ISBN978-0-521-81530-7.
  51. ^Byzantium in the year 1000.BRILL. 2003. p. 122.ISBN978-90-04-12097-6.
  52. ^abPopović 1999,p. 299.
  53. ^Stephenson 2004,p. 66.
  54. ^Stephenson 2008,p. 667.
  55. ^Stephenson 2004,p. 125, 148–150, 155.
  56. ^Stephenson 2008,p. 668.
  57. ^abPopović 1999,p. 301.
  58. ^Ivanišević & Krsmanović 2013,p. 451–452:Recently found seals on the siteThe Fortress of Rassupport the opinion that the Byzantine Empire held dominant (but perhaps not continuous) control over Ras during Alexios' reign
  59. ^Stojkovski 2020,p. 153.
  60. ^Stephenson 2004,p. 148–150.
  61. ^Ćirković 2004,p. 29.
  62. ^Popović 1999,p. 38.
  63. ^Ivanišević & Krsmanović 2013,p. 451.
  64. ^Curta 2019,p. 656.
  65. ^Stephenson 2004,p. 225.
  66. ^Popović 1999,p. 38, 302.
  67. ^Stephenson 2004,p. 224–225.
  68. ^Kinnamos 1976,p. 83.
  69. ^Stephenson 2004,p. 225–226.
  70. ^Kinnamos 1976,p. 83–90.
  71. ^Popović 1999,p. 38, 302–303, 306.
  72. ^Stephenson 2004,p. 267.
  73. ^Stephenson 2004,p. 267–269.
  74. ^Popović 1999,p. 304–305.
  75. ^Dimnik 1995,p. 270.
  76. ^Stephenson 2004,p. 301.
  77. ^abPopović 1999,p. 304.
  78. ^Popović 1999,p. 279–285, 304.
  79. ^Popović & Popović 1998,p. 105.
  80. ^Ćirković 2004,p. 33.
  81. ^Popović 1999,p. 305.
  82. ^abcPopović 1999,p. 306.
  83. ^Popović 1999,p. 44.
  84. ^Popović 1999,p. 39, 41.
  85. ^Popović 1999,p. 41, 44–45.
  86. ^Popović 1999,p. 45.
  87. ^Popović 1999,p. 41–45.
  88. ^Popović 1999,p. 42–45.
  89. ^Popović 1999,p. 46.
  90. ^Popović 1999,p. 295–296, 399–400.
  91. ^Popović 1999,p. 296, 399–400.
  92. ^Popović 1999,p. 297, 399, 401.
  93. ^Komatina 2016,pp. 76.

Further reading

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