Names of the Serbs
Encyclopedia
The Serbs
have been referred to with several names by other peoples, although the autonym is and has always been Srbi.
chronicle
, Serbs are among the first five Slav peoples who were enumerated by their names.
Serbs are thought to be first mentioned by Tacitus
in 50 AD, Pliny the Elder
in 77 AD (Naturalis Historia) and Ptolemy
in his Geography 2nd century AD, associated with the Sarmatian
tribe of Serboi
of the North Caucasus
and Lower Volga. Serbian historian Sima Ćirković
associated these with the Serbs. Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus
(325-391) referred to the Carpathians
as "Montes Serrorum" in his works, according to some, connected to the Serbs. The works of Vibius Sequester
also mention the Serbs. In De Bello Gothico Procopius
(500-565) uses the name Sporoi as an umbrella term for the Slavic tribes of Antes and Sclaveni, it is however not known whether the Slavs used this designation for themselves or he himself coined the term, it has been theorized however that the name is corruption of the ethnonym Serbs. A large number of linguists agree that 'Sporoi' (Spores) is another name for the Serbs.
The Serb ethnonym is written as Σερβlοι (Servloi), Sorabos, Surbi, Sorabi in early medieval sources. De Administrando Imperio
mentions the realm of the Unknown Archont
and his descendants (House of Vlastimirović
) as Servlia. A mythological homeland was written as Boiki
(derived from Proto-Slavic *bojь. = battle, war, fight), also, the town of Servia received its name from the temporary inhabitants - the Serbs. According to the Tale of Bygone Years, the first Russian
chronicle
, Serbs are among the first five Slav peoples who were enumerated by their names.
10th-century geographer Ibrahim ibn Yaqub placed the people of "Saqalib" in the mountainous regions of Central Balkans, west of the Bulgarians and east from the "other Slavs" (Croats), thus in the Serb lands. The Saqalib had the reputation of being "the most courageous and violent".
The name of the first Serbian state "Rascia
" has connections with the words "Rus-" and the name Thrace
(Tračka-Raška). The Serbs are referred to as Srblji in early Slavonic texts which also is the rendering of the name for Triballians, a Thracian people
living in South Serbia and Western Bulgaria, the town of Trebinje
evolved into a Serbian Zhupanate of Travunia
(referred to as Tribalia in many medieval sources). "Bojka", the mythological name for the homeland of the Serbs
, has a connection with the region of Boyko
, inhabited by Rusyns
/Ruthenians
(Ukrainians).
Modern renderings in other languages:
The name Rascia is used by modern historiography to refer to the mainland region (known in Serbian as the hinterlands, in contrast to the maritime fiefs of the Adriatic coast) of the Principality of Serbia inhabited and ruled by Serbs; the seat of the early medieval state of Serbia. It is used to describe Serbia up to Stefan Nemanja
(1166–1196) or the forming of the Kingdom of Serbia in 1217. "Rascia" continued to serve as an exonym for Serbia in West European sources since late 12th century, along with other names such as Servia and Slavonia.
The name is derived from the name of the region's most important fort, Ras which first appears in the work de aedificiis of Byzantine Procopius
as Arsa prior to the forming of Serbia. Ras eventually became the capital district
and seat of the first bishopric
of Serbia (871). In Constantine Porphyrogenitus' De Administrando Imperio
, Ras is mentioned as an important town of Serbia (Σέρβια) under Časlav Klonimirović
(927–960) near its border with the First Bulgarian Empire
. Constantine's Serbia is often identified as Raška by modern historiography to differentiate it from the other provinces ruled by the Serbs: Zahumlje
, Travunia
, Duklja
, Bosna
and Pagania. Porphyrogenitus uses Serbia as a name for the mainland regions of Rascia; and Bosnia, although the name comes to denote "all of Serbian lands". The name of the bishopric (Ras bishopric, Raška episkopija) eventually started to denote the entire area under jurisdiction and later, under Stefan Nemanja
, Ras was re-generated as state capital and the name spread to the entire land. The first attested appearance of the name Raška is in a charter from Kotor
dated to 1186, in which Stefan Nemanja is mentioned as župan
of Rascia (Prince of Serbia). Soon after Rascia became one of the common names for Serbia in western sources (Papacy, German, Italian, French etc.) often in conjunction with, Serbia (Servia et Rascia). However, Rascia appears scarcely in Serbian and never in Byzantine works to denote the state.
Between the 15th and 18th centuries, the term Raška (Rascia, Ráczság) was used to designate the southern Pannonian Plain inhabited by Serbs (Raci), who settled there during the Great Serb migrations from medieval Serbia, "Rácz
" has survived as a common surname in Hungary
.
Other connections have been made with the Etruscan civilization
(800 BC–264 BC, The Etruscans called themselves Rasenna, which was syncopated to Rasna or Raśna), the geographical name Ratiaria
(founded 4th century BC, near Archar
, in modern Bulgaria
), and the personal names of Thracian kings Rhescuporis of Odrysia
(Ραισκούπορις, r. 240 BC - 215 BC) and Rhescuporis of Sapaea
(r. 48-41 BC. He also had a brother, Rascus).
' onMouseout='HidePop("26790")' href="/topics/Bulgarian_language">Bulgarian
) were an ancient Thracian
tribe whose dominion was around the plains of southern modern Serbia and west Bulgaria, at the Angrus and Brongus (the South and West Morava) and the Iskur River, roughly centered where Serbia and Bulgaria are joined.
This Thracian tribe has etymologically been connected with the Serbs, as many medieval Byzantine historians referred to the Serbs as the Triballians (Serbian name for Triballians is "Srblji/Србљи", Thracians is rašani - the first Serbian state was Rascia
, present-day Serbia
). Trebinje
, a present city of Herzegovina
and historical Serbian principality (Travunija, sometimes rendered as Triballia) has also been connected with this tribe.
From the 11th century until the fall of the Byzantine Empire, the Serbs were called Triballians in Byzantine works. For example in the works of historian Niketas Choniates (1155–1215), Emperor Manuel II Palaiologos
(1391–1425), it is explained that Triballians are synonymous with Serbs.
In 822, the Serbs "inhabit the greater part of Dalmatia". The De Administrando Imperio
clearly describes the Serbs as inhabiting the southern former Roman province of Dalmatia
.
In the Byzantine chronicle Alexiad
, covering the 11th century (written 1148), Anna Komnene
mentions the Serbs by the names Sklaveni and Dalmati, with Dalmatia starting from Kosovo and Metohia. John Kinnamos
continues, in his work covering 1118-1176: "the Serbs, a Dalmatic (Dalmatian) tribe" (Σέρβιοι, ε-8-νος Δαλματικών), thus using "Dalmat(ian)s" or "Dalmatic (Dalmatian) people" in the contexts of the Serbs, and "Dalmatia" in the context of Serbia.
There are numerous other, less prominent, instances, poetic for example - Theodore Prodromus
, Michael Italicus and the typikon of the Pantokrator monastery, among others.
The Serbian Orthodox Church
published "Serbs and Orthodoxy in Dalmatia and Dubrovnik" in 1971.
In a very similar manner, the Moesians and occasionally, Peonians, was the term for the Bulgarians
.
Some Serbs and Croats were registered as Dalmatians in 1899-1952 statistics in the United States of America.
Although the name has been applied to the Serbs, it is predominantly applied to the inhabitants of maritime Croatia
n Dalmatia, i.e. Croats, since notable Serb communities in maritime Dalmatia were significant before the 20th century.
, referring to pastoralists, was a common name for Serbs in the Ottoman Empire and later. It was used as a derogatory term and a common name used to denote the Eastern Orthodox Christian Serbs in Roman catholic and lesser in Ottoman lands.
Tihomir Đorđević points to the already mentioned fact that the name 'Vlach' didn't only refer to genuine Vlachs
, but also to cattle breeders in general. A letter of Emperor Ferdinand, sent on November 6, 1538, to Croatian ban Petar Keglević, in which he wrote "Captains and dukes of
the Rasians, or the Serbs, or the Vlachs, who usually call themselves the Serbs".
Serbs that took refuge in the Habsburg Krajina, were called "Vlachs" by Croats. In the work "About the Vlachs" from 1806, Metropolitan Stevan Stratimirović states that Roman Catholics from Croatia and Slavonia scornfully used the name 'Vlach' for "the Slovenians (Slavs) and Serbs, who are of our, Eastern confession (Orthodoxy)", and that "the Turks in Bosnia and Serbia also call every Bosnian or Serbian Christian a Vlach (T.
Đorđević, 1984:110). That the name 'Vlach' used to signify the Serbs is testified by Vuk
Karadžić as well, who quotes the poem sang by Turkish women: "A couple of Vlachs
came passing by, with powder in their pumpkins". In "Serbian Dictionary" itself, under
the word 'Vlach', the above mentioned assertion is confirmed, as well as in many other
proverbs recorded by Vuk.
Rascia:
Other, historical:
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
have been referred to with several names by other peoples, although the autonym is and has always been Srbi.
Autonym (Serbs - Срби/Srbi)
According to the Tale of Bygone Years, the first RussianRussians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
chronicle
Chronicle
Generally a chronicle is a historical account of facts and events ranged in chronological order, as in a time line. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and local events, the purpose being the recording of events that occurred, seen from the perspective of the...
, Serbs are among the first five Slav peoples who were enumerated by their names.
Serbs are thought to be first mentioned by Tacitus
Tacitus
Publius Cornelius Tacitus was a senator and a historian of the Roman Empire. The surviving portions of his two major works—the Annals and the Histories—examine the reigns of the Roman Emperors Tiberius, Claudius, Nero and those who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors...
in 50 AD, Pliny the Elder
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...
in 77 AD (Naturalis Historia) and Ptolemy
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy , was a Roman citizen of Egypt who wrote in Greek. He was a mathematician, astronomer, geographer, astrologer, and poet of a single epigram in the Greek Anthology. He lived in Egypt under Roman rule, and is believed to have been born in the town of Ptolemais Hermiou in the...
in his Geography 2nd century AD, associated with the Sarmatian
Sarmatians
The Iron Age Sarmatians were an Iranian people in Classical Antiquity, flourishing from about the 5th century BC to the 4th century AD....
tribe of Serboi
Serboi
Serboi or Serbi is an ethnonym recorded in Greco-Roman ethnography. It designated a tribe dwelling in Asiatic Sarmatia , probably on the Lower Volga River.-Original appearances in Caucasus:...
of the North Caucasus
Caucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
and Lower Volga. Serbian historian Sima Ćirković
Sima Ćirković
Sima Ćirković was a Serbian historian and member of the Serbian Academy of Science and Arts...
associated these with the Serbs. Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus
Ammianus Marcellinus
Ammianus Marcellinus was a fourth-century Roman historian. He wrote the penultimate major historical account surviving from Antiquity...
(325-391) referred to the Carpathians
Carpathian Mountains
The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians are a range of mountains forming an arc roughly long across Central and Eastern Europe, making them the second-longest mountain range in Europe...
as "Montes Serrorum" in his works, according to some, connected to the Serbs. The works of Vibius Sequester
Vibius Sequester
Vibius Sequester , is the author of an alphabetical list of geographical names occurring in the Roman poets, with special reference to Virgil, Ovid and Lucan...
also mention the Serbs. In De Bello Gothico Procopius
Procopius
Procopius of Caesarea was a prominent Byzantine scholar from Palestine. Accompanying the general Belisarius in the wars of the Emperor Justinian I, he became the principal historian of the 6th century, writing the Wars of Justinian, the Buildings of Justinian and the celebrated Secret History...
(500-565) uses the name Sporoi as an umbrella term for the Slavic tribes of Antes and Sclaveni, it is however not known whether the Slavs used this designation for themselves or he himself coined the term, it has been theorized however that the name is corruption of the ethnonym Serbs. A large number of linguists agree that 'Sporoi' (Spores) is another name for the Serbs.
The Serb ethnonym is written as Σερβlοι (Servloi), Sorabos, Surbi, Sorabi in early medieval sources. De Administrando Imperio
De Administrando Imperio
De Administrando Imperio is the Latin title of a Greek work written by the 10th-century Eastern Roman Emperor Constantine VII. The Greek title of the work is...
mentions the realm of the Unknown Archont
Unknown Archont
The Unknown Archont is a conventional name given by historians to the Serbian leader who led the White Serbs from their homeland to settle in the Balkans after 610, during the reign of Byzantine Emperor Heraclius ....
and his descendants (House of Vlastimirović
House of Vlastimirovic
The Vlastimirović Dynasty was the first Serbian royal dynasty, named after Prince Vlastimir , who was recognized by the Byzantine Empire.The dynasty starts with the Unknown Archont, who ruled during Emperor Heraclius ....
) as Servlia. A mythological homeland was written as Boiki
White Serbia
White Serbia or Bojka , is the mythical homeland of the ancestors of the Serbs, of the White Serbs .The area adjacent to White Serbia was known as White Croatia, where the Croats trace their origin...
(derived from Proto-Slavic *bojь. = battle, war, fight), also, the town of Servia received its name from the temporary inhabitants - the Serbs. According to the Tale of Bygone Years, the first Russian
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
chronicle
Chronicle
Generally a chronicle is a historical account of facts and events ranged in chronological order, as in a time line. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and local events, the purpose being the recording of events that occurred, seen from the perspective of the...
, Serbs are among the first five Slav peoples who were enumerated by their names.
10th-century geographer Ibrahim ibn Yaqub placed the people of "Saqalib" in the mountainous regions of Central Balkans, west of the Bulgarians and east from the "other Slavs" (Croats), thus in the Serb lands. The Saqalib had the reputation of being "the most courageous and violent".
The name of the first Serbian state "Rascia
Rascia
Rascia was a medieval region that served as the principal province of the Serbian realm. It was an administrative division under the direct rule of the monarch and sometimes as an appanage. The term has been used to refer to various Serbian states throughout the Middle Ages...
" has connections with the words "Rus-" and the name Thrace
Thrace
Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded by the Balkan Mountains on the north, Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea on the south, and by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the east...
(Tračka-Raška). The Serbs are referred to as Srblji in early Slavonic texts which also is the rendering of the name for Triballians, a Thracian people
Thracians
The ancient Thracians were a group of Indo-European tribes inhabiting areas including Thrace in Southeastern Europe. They spoke the Thracian language – a scarcely attested branch of the Indo-European language family...
living in South Serbia and Western Bulgaria, the town of Trebinje
Trebinje
Trebinje is the southernmost municipality and town in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is administratively part of the Republika Srpska entity and is located in southeastern Herzegovina, some from the Adriatic Sea....
evolved into a Serbian Zhupanate of Travunia
Travunia
Travunia was a medieval region, administrative unit and principality, which was part of Medieval Serbia , and in its last years, the Bosnian Kingdom . The county became hereditary in a number of noble houses, often kin to the ruling dynasty. The region came under Ottoman rule in 1482...
(referred to as Tribalia in many medieval sources). "Bojka", the mythological name for the homeland of the Serbs
White Serbia
White Serbia or Bojka , is the mythical homeland of the ancestors of the Serbs, of the White Serbs .The area adjacent to White Serbia was known as White Croatia, where the Croats trace their origin...
, has a connection with the region of Boyko
Boyko
Boyko or Boiko are a distinctive group of Ukrainian highlanders or mountain-dwellers of the Carpathian highlands. The Boykos inhabited the central and the western half of the Carpathians in Ukraine, including the Dolynskyi and a part of the Rozhniativskyi Raions in the Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast ,...
, inhabited by Rusyns
Rusyns
Carpatho-Rusyns are a primarily diasporic ethnic group who speak an Eastern Slavic language, or Ukrainian dialect, known as Rusyn. Carpatho-Rusyns descend from a minority of Ruthenians who did not adopt the use of the ethnonym "Ukrainian" in the early twentieth century...
/Ruthenians
Ruthenians
The name Ruthenian |Rus']]) is a culturally loaded term and has different meanings according to the context in which it is used. Initially, it was the ethnonym used for the East Slavic peoples who lived in Rus'. Later it was used predominantly for Ukrainians...
(Ukrainians).
Meanings
- (< *serb-) is in the root of the Slavic word for "same" (modern исто isto) in following languages: сербать - in Russian, Ukrainian, сербаць - in Belarussian, srbati - in Slovak, сърбам - in Bulgarian. серебати in Old Russian.
- Scholars have suggested that the Indo-European root *ser- 'to watch over, protect', akin to LatinLatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
servare 'to keep, guard, protect, preserve, observe' (applied in particular to herds and flocks of domesticatedDomesticationDomestication or taming is the process whereby a population of animals or plants, through a process of selection, becomes accustomed to human provision and control. In the Convention on Biological Diversity a domesticated species is defined as a 'species in which the evolutionary process has been...
animals).
- In some Caucasian languages, "Sur" means "man" (singular) with the suffix "-bi" becomes "men, people" (plural).
- In ArmenianArmenian languageThe Armenian language is an Indo-European language spoken by the Armenian people. It is the official language of the Republic of Armenia as well as in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The language is also widely spoken by Armenian communities in the Armenian diaspora...
, Surb means "holy, saint".
Renderings in other languages
Historical renderings in other languages:- Servii, Latin rendering.
- Servians, medieval French and English rendering of the Serbs.
Modern renderings in other languages:
- Bosnian, Croatian, Montenegrin, Macedonian, Slovak and Slovene: Srbi
- Javanese languageJavanese languageJavanese language is the language of the Javanese people from the central and eastern parts of the island of Java, in Indonesia. In addition, there are also some pockets of Javanese speakers in the northern coast of western Java...
: Wong Serbia
Rascia
The state(s) anachronistically called Raška were first known collectively as Serbia.The name Rascia is used by modern historiography to refer to the mainland region (known in Serbian as the hinterlands, in contrast to the maritime fiefs of the Adriatic coast) of the Principality of Serbia inhabited and ruled by Serbs; the seat of the early medieval state of Serbia. It is used to describe Serbia up to Stefan Nemanja
Stefan Nemanja
Stefan Nemanja was the Grand Prince of the Grand Principality of Serbia from 1166 to 1196, a heir of the Vukanović dynasty that marked the beginning of a greater Serbian realm .He is remembered for his contributions to Serbian culture and...
(1166–1196) or the forming of the Kingdom of Serbia in 1217. "Rascia" continued to serve as an exonym for Serbia in West European sources since late 12th century, along with other names such as Servia and Slavonia.
The name is derived from the name of the region's most important fort, Ras which first appears in the work de aedificiis of Byzantine Procopius
Procopius
Procopius of Caesarea was a prominent Byzantine scholar from Palestine. Accompanying the general Belisarius in the wars of the Emperor Justinian I, he became the principal historian of the 6th century, writing the Wars of Justinian, the Buildings of Justinian and the celebrated Secret History...
as Arsa prior to the forming of Serbia. Ras eventually became the capital district
Capital district
A capital territory or capital district is normally a specially designated administrative division where a country's seat of government is located. As such, in a federal model of government, no state or territory has any political or economic advantage relative to the others because of the...
and seat of the first bishopric
Diocese
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...
of Serbia (871). In Constantine Porphyrogenitus' De Administrando Imperio
De Administrando Imperio
De Administrando Imperio is the Latin title of a Greek work written by the 10th-century Eastern Roman Emperor Constantine VII. The Greek title of the work is...
, Ras is mentioned as an important town of Serbia (Σέρβια) under Časlav Klonimirović
Caslav Klonimirovic
Časlav Klonimirović or Časlav of Serbia was Prince of the Serbs from ca. 927 until his death in 960. He significantly expanded the Serbian Principality when he managed to unite several Slavic tribes, stretching his realm over the shores of the Adriatic Sea, the Sava river and the Morava valley...
(927–960) near its border with the First Bulgarian Empire
First Bulgarian Empire
The First Bulgarian Empire was a medieval Bulgarian state founded in the north-eastern Balkans in c. 680 by the Bulgars, uniting with seven South Slavic tribes...
. Constantine's Serbia is often identified as Raška by modern historiography to differentiate it from the other provinces ruled by the Serbs: Zahumlje
Zahumlje
Zachlumia or Zahumlje was a medieval principality located in modern-day regions of Herzegovina and southern Dalmatia...
, Travunia
Travunia
Travunia was a medieval region, administrative unit and principality, which was part of Medieval Serbia , and in its last years, the Bosnian Kingdom . The county became hereditary in a number of noble houses, often kin to the ruling dynasty. The region came under Ottoman rule in 1482...
, Duklja
Duklja
Doclea or Duklja was a medieval state with hereditary lands roughly encompassing the territories of present-day southeastern Montenegro, from Kotor on the west to the river Bojana on the east and to the sources of Zeta and Morača rivers on the north....
, Bosna
Bosnia (region)
Bosnia is a eponomous region of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It lies mainly in the Dinaric Alps, ranging to the southern borders of the Pannonian plain, with the rivers Sava and Drina marking its northern and eastern borders. The other eponomous region, the southern, other half of the country is...
and Pagania. Porphyrogenitus uses Serbia as a name for the mainland regions of Rascia; and Bosnia, although the name comes to denote "all of Serbian lands". The name of the bishopric (Ras bishopric, Raška episkopija) eventually started to denote the entire area under jurisdiction and later, under Stefan Nemanja
Stefan Nemanja
Stefan Nemanja was the Grand Prince of the Grand Principality of Serbia from 1166 to 1196, a heir of the Vukanović dynasty that marked the beginning of a greater Serbian realm .He is remembered for his contributions to Serbian culture and...
, Ras was re-generated as state capital and the name spread to the entire land. The first attested appearance of the name Raška is in a charter from Kotor
Kotor
Kotor is a coastal city in Montenegro. It is located in a secluded part of the Gulf of Kotor. The city has a population of 13,510 and is the administrative center of the municipality....
dated to 1186, in which Stefan Nemanja is mentioned as župan
Zupan
Żupan was a long garment, always lined, worn by almost all males of the noble social class in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, typical male attire from the beginning of the 16th to half of the 18th century, still surviving as a part of the Polishnational dress.- Derivation :The name żupan has...
of Rascia (Prince of Serbia). Soon after Rascia became one of the common names for Serbia in western sources (Papacy, German, Italian, French etc.) often in conjunction with, Serbia (Servia et Rascia). However, Rascia appears scarcely in Serbian and never in Byzantine works to denote the state.
Between the 15th and 18th centuries, the term Raška (Rascia, Ráczság) was used to designate the southern Pannonian Plain inhabited by Serbs (Raci), who settled there during the Great Serb migrations from medieval Serbia, "Rácz
Racz
Rácz, Racz , means "Raci", Serbs and may refer to:* Andy Racz, a U.S. soccer player* Ferenc Rácz , a Hungarian football player* Laslo Rac Sabo, an ethnic Hungarian politician in Serbia* Michael Racz, co-founder of RDA International...
" has survived as a common surname in Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
.
Other connections have been made with the Etruscan civilization
Etruscan civilization
Etruscan civilization is the modern English name given to a civilization of ancient Italy in the area corresponding roughly to Tuscany. The ancient Romans called its creators the Tusci or Etrusci...
(800 BC–264 BC, The Etruscans called themselves Rasenna, which was syncopated to Rasna or Raśna), the geographical name Ratiaria
Ratiaria
Ratiaria was a city founded by Moesi, a Daco-Thracian tribe, in 4th century BC, along the river Danube. The city had a gold mine in the vicinity, which was exploited by the Thracians.It is located 2 km west of present village Archar in Vidin Province, northwestern Bulgaria...
(founded 4th century BC, near Archar
Archar River
The Archar or Archaritsa is a river in the western Danubian Plain of northern Bulgaria and a right tributary of the Danube. It originates in the western Balkan Mountains and is around 60 kilometres in length, with a drainage basin of 364 square kilometres. The river runs through limestone terrain...
, in modern Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
), and the personal names of Thracian kings Rhescuporis of Odrysia
Rhescuporis I (Odrysian)
Rhescuporis I was a king of the Odrysian kingdom of Thrace in 240 BC - 215 BC, succeeding his father, Cotys III.....
(Ραισκούπορις, r. 240 BC - 215 BC) and Rhescuporis of Sapaea
Rhescuporis I (Sapaean)
Rhescuporis I was the Sapaean king of Thrace in 48-41 BC. He was the son of Cotys I.Raskuporis Cove on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica is named after Vineh of Bulgaria....
(r. 48-41 BC. He also had a brother, Rascus).
Triballians
The TriballiTriballi
The Triballi were an ancient tribe whose dominion was around the plains of southern modern Serbia and west Bulgaria, at the Angrus and Brongus and the Iskur River, roughly centered where Serbia and Bulgaria are joined....
' onMouseout='HidePop("26790")' href="/topics/Bulgarian_language">Bulgarian
Bulgarian language
Bulgarian is an Indo-European language, a member of the Slavic linguistic group.Bulgarian, along with the closely related Macedonian language, demonstrates several linguistic characteristics that set it apart from all other Slavic languages such as the elimination of case declension, the...
) were an ancient Thracian
Thracians
The ancient Thracians were a group of Indo-European tribes inhabiting areas including Thrace in Southeastern Europe. They spoke the Thracian language – a scarcely attested branch of the Indo-European language family...
tribe whose dominion was around the plains of southern modern Serbia and west Bulgaria, at the Angrus and Brongus (the South and West Morava) and the Iskur River, roughly centered where Serbia and Bulgaria are joined.
This Thracian tribe has etymologically been connected with the Serbs, as many medieval Byzantine historians referred to the Serbs as the Triballians (Serbian name for Triballians is "Srblji/Србљи", Thracians is rašani - the first Serbian state was Rascia
Rascia
Rascia was a medieval region that served as the principal province of the Serbian realm. It was an administrative division under the direct rule of the monarch and sometimes as an appanage. The term has been used to refer to various Serbian states throughout the Middle Ages...
, present-day Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
). Trebinje
Trebinje
Trebinje is the southernmost municipality and town in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is administratively part of the Republika Srpska entity and is located in southeastern Herzegovina, some from the Adriatic Sea....
, a present city of Herzegovina
Herzegovina
Herzegovina is the southern region of Bosnia and Herzegovina. While there is no official border distinguishing it from the Bosnian region, it is generally accepted that the borders of the region are Croatia to the west, Montenegro to the south, the canton boundaries of the Herzegovina-Neretva...
and historical Serbian principality (Travunija, sometimes rendered as Triballia) has also been connected with this tribe.
From the 11th century until the fall of the Byzantine Empire, the Serbs were called Triballians in Byzantine works. For example in the works of historian Niketas Choniates (1155–1215), Emperor Manuel II Palaiologos
Manuel II Palaiologos
Manuel II Palaiologos or Palaeologus was Byzantine Emperor from 1391 to 1425.-Life:...
(1391–1425), it is explained that Triballians are synonymous with Serbs.
Other
Other attested names:- Rascians, referring to the population of medieval Serb state RasciaRasciaRascia was a medieval region that served as the principal province of the Serbian realm. It was an administrative division under the direct rule of the monarch and sometimes as an appanage. The term has been used to refer to various Serbian states throughout the Middle Ages...
(the one and same people as the other tribes of DukljaDukljaDoclea or Duklja was a medieval state with hereditary lands roughly encompassing the territories of present-day southeastern Montenegro, from Kotor on the west to the river Bojana on the east and to the sources of Zeta and Morača rivers on the north....
(Dukljans), Travunija (Travunians), Pagania (Neretvians/Paganians), ZahumljeZahumljeZachlumia or Zahumlje was a medieval principality located in modern-day regions of Herzegovina and southern Dalmatia...
(Zahumlians) that all belong to the Serb ethnos, initially also referring to Bosnia (Bosnians). - Triballians, a Thracian tribe assimilated by the local Slavs, by Byzantine and Greek authors.
- Slavs, by West and East Roman Empire
- referred to as "SaqalibaSaqalibaSaqaliba refers to the Slavs, particularly Slavic slaves and mercenaries in the medieval Arab world, in the Middle East, North Africa, Sicily and Al-Andalus. It is generally thought that the Arabic term is a Byzantine loanword: saqlab, siklab, saqlabi etc. is a corruption of Greek Sklavinoi for...
" by the Arabs in the early medieval times - Sclaveni, Slav allies settled in Byzantine lands (In Administrative regions of Sclaviniae)
- referred to as "Saqaliba
- IllyriansIllyriansThe Illyrians were a group of tribes who inhabited part of the western Balkans in antiquity and the south-eastern coasts of the Italian peninsula...
, in the Austrian EmpireAustrian EmpireThe Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...
, example of it being Rescriptum Declaratorium Illyricae Nationis from 1779, declared by Maria Theresa, which officially established the position of Serbs and Serbian Orthodox ChurchSerbian Orthodox ChurchThe Serbian Orthodox Church is one of the autocephalous Orthodox Christian churches, ranking sixth in order of seniority after Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Russia...
in the Empire.
Dalmatians/Dalmats
In the context of referring to the local peoples writers describing contemporary events of their time using archaic names, the Byzantine writers most often called the Serbs "Dalmats" or "Dalmatians" (Δαλμάται, Dalmatai), the Delmatoi tribe being eponymous of the region.In 822, the Serbs "inhabit the greater part of Dalmatia". The De Administrando Imperio
De Administrando Imperio
De Administrando Imperio is the Latin title of a Greek work written by the 10th-century Eastern Roman Emperor Constantine VII. The Greek title of the work is...
clearly describes the Serbs as inhabiting the southern former Roman province of Dalmatia
Dalmatia
Dalmatia is a historical region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It stretches from the island of Rab in the northwest to the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. The hinterland, the Dalmatian Zagora, ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north to just a few kilometers in the south....
.
In the Byzantine chronicle Alexiad
Alexiad
The Alexiad is a medieval biographical text written around the year 1148 by the Byzantine historian Anna Comnena, daughter of Emperor Alexius I....
, covering the 11th century (written 1148), Anna Komnene
Anna Komnene
Anna Komnene, Latinized as Comnena was a Greek princess and scholar and the daughter of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos of Byzantium and Irene Doukaina...
mentions the Serbs by the names Sklaveni and Dalmati, with Dalmatia starting from Kosovo and Metohia. John Kinnamos
John Kinnamos
Joannes Kinnamos or John Cinnamus was a Greek historian. He was imperial secretary to Emperor Manuel I , whom he accompanied on his campaigns in Europe and Asia Minor...
continues, in his work covering 1118-1176: "the Serbs, a Dalmatic (Dalmatian) tribe" (Σέρβιοι, ε-8-νος Δαλματικών), thus using "Dalmat(ian)s" or "Dalmatic (Dalmatian) people" in the contexts of the Serbs, and "Dalmatia" in the context of Serbia.
There are numerous other, less prominent, instances, poetic for example - Theodore Prodromus
Theodore Prodromus
Theodore Prodromos or Prodromus , probably also the same person as the so-called Ptochoprodromos , was a Byzantine writer, well known for his prose and poetry.-Biography:Very little is known about his life...
, Michael Italicus and the typikon of the Pantokrator monastery, among others.
The Serbian Orthodox Church
Serbian Orthodox Church
The Serbian Orthodox Church is one of the autocephalous Orthodox Christian churches, ranking sixth in order of seniority after Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Russia...
published "Serbs and Orthodoxy in Dalmatia and Dubrovnik" in 1971.
In a very similar manner, the Moesians and occasionally, Peonians, was the term for the Bulgarians
Bulgarians
The Bulgarians are a South Slavic nation and ethnic group native to Bulgaria and neighbouring regions. Emigration has resulted in immigrant communities in a number of other countries.-History and ethnogenesis:...
.
Some Serbs and Croats were registered as Dalmatians in 1899-1952 statistics in the United States of America.
Although the name has been applied to the Serbs, it is predominantly applied to the inhabitants of maritime Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
n Dalmatia, i.e. Croats, since notable Serb communities in maritime Dalmatia were significant before the 20th century.
Vlachs
VlachsVlachs
Vlach is a blanket term covering several modern Latin peoples descending from the Latinised population in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe. English variations on the name include: Walla, Wlachs, Wallachs, Vlahs, Olahs or Ulahs...
, referring to pastoralists, was a common name for Serbs in the Ottoman Empire and later. It was used as a derogatory term and a common name used to denote the Eastern Orthodox Christian Serbs in Roman catholic and lesser in Ottoman lands.
Tihomir Đorđević points to the already mentioned fact that the name 'Vlach' didn't only refer to genuine Vlachs
Vlachs
Vlach is a blanket term covering several modern Latin peoples descending from the Latinised population in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe. English variations on the name include: Walla, Wlachs, Wallachs, Vlahs, Olahs or Ulahs...
, but also to cattle breeders in general. A letter of Emperor Ferdinand, sent on November 6, 1538, to Croatian ban Petar Keglević, in which he wrote "Captains and dukes of
the Rasians, or the Serbs, or the Vlachs, who usually call themselves the Serbs".
Serbs that took refuge in the Habsburg Krajina, were called "Vlachs" by Croats. In the work "About the Vlachs" from 1806, Metropolitan Stevan Stratimirović states that Roman Catholics from Croatia and Slavonia scornfully used the name 'Vlach' for "the Slovenians (Slavs) and Serbs, who are of our, Eastern confession (Orthodoxy)", and that "the Turks in Bosnia and Serbia also call every Bosnian or Serbian Christian a Vlach (T.
Đorđević, 1984:110). That the name 'Vlach' used to signify the Serbs is testified by Vuk
Karadžić as well, who quotes the poem sang by Turkish women: "A couple of Vlachs
came passing by, with powder in their pumpkins". In "Serbian Dictionary" itself, under
the word 'Vlach', the above mentioned assertion is confirmed, as well as in many other
proverbs recorded by Vuk.
Misnaming
Because of a confusion of ethnicity/nationality with religious affiliation, many authors from historic times referred to and recorded Serbs by the following names:- by the major regional names of: Bosnians, Herzegovinians, KrajishniksSerbs of CroatiaVišeslav of Serbia, a contemporary of Charlemagne , ruled the Županias of Neretva, Tara, Piva, Lim, his ancestral lands. According to the Royal Frankish Annals , Duke of Pannonia Ljudevit Posavski fled, during the Frankish invasion, from his seat in Sisak to the Serbs in western Bosnia, who...
, SlavoniansSerbs of CroatiaVišeslav of Serbia, a contemporary of Charlemagne , ruled the Županias of Neretva, Tara, Piva, Lim, his ancestral lands. According to the Royal Frankish Annals , Duke of Pannonia Ljudevit Posavski fled, during the Frankish invasion, from his seat in Sisak to the Serbs in western Bosnia, who...
and MontenegrinsSerbs of MontenegroMontenegrin Serbs is a regional, ethnographic group of ethnic Serbs. They compose the second largest ethnic group in Montenegro after the Montenegrins....
.
Anthroponymy
- Male: Srba, Srbislav, Srbivoje, Srbko, Srboje, Srbomir, Srborad, Srbomil, Srboljub, Srbobran
- Female: Srbijanka, Srbinka
- Surnames: Srbinac, Srbinić, Srbinov, Srbinović, Srbinovski, Srbić, Srbović, Srbljanović, Srbljanin, Srbljak
Toponomy
Serb:- Sârbi, in BudeştiBudestiBudeşti is a small provincial town in Călăraşi County, approximately 30 km south-east of Bucharest, the capital of Romania. Three villages are administered by the town: Aprozi, Buciumeni and Gruiu. Budeşti was the birthplace of famous Romanian violin player Ion Voicu. It has a population of...
, - Servia, in KozaniKozaniKozani is a city in northern Greece, capital of Kozani regional unit and of West Macedonia region. It is located in the western part of Macedonia, in the northern part of the Aliakmonas river valley...
, - Serviana, in IoanninaIoanninaIoannina , often called Jannena within Greece, is the largest city of Epirus, north-western Greece, with a population of 70,203 . It lies at an elevation of approximately 500 meters above sea level, on the western shore of lake Pamvotis . It is located within the Ioannina municipality, and is the...
, - SrbSrbSrb is a village located in the southeastern part of Lika, in Croatia, administratively divided into Donji Srb and Gornji Srb . Srb lies in the Una River valley, on the road from Donji Lapac to Knin, and is east of Gračac. It is currently part of the Gračac municipality.In the census of 1991, when...
, in - SrbacSrbacSrbac , is a town and municipality on the northern border of Bosnia and Herzegovina with Croatia. Srbac is located in the Republika Srpska entity at the entry of river Vrbas into river Sava.-Name:...
, in Republika SrpskaRepublika SrpskaRepublika Srpska is one of two main political entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina...
, - Srbica, in KosovoKosovoKosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
, - Srbinci, in
- Srbinjak, in IstriaIstriaIstria , formerly Histria , is the largest peninsula in the Adriatic Sea. The peninsula is located at the head of the Adriatic between the Gulf of Trieste and the Bay of Kvarner...
, - SrbinovoSrbinovoSrbinovo is a city in the Gostivar Municipality of Macedonia. Its FIPS code was MK94.- References :...
, in - Srbjani, in
- SrbljaniSrbljaniSrbljani is a village in the municipality of Bihać, Bosnia and Herzegovina....
, in FederationFederation of Bosnia and HerzegovinaThe Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of the two political entities that compose the sovereign country of Bosnia and Herzegovina . The two entities are delineated by the Inter-Entity Boundary Line...
, - Srbovac, in KosovoKosovoKosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
, - SrbovoSrbovoSrbovo is a village in the municipality of Negotin, Serbia. According to the 2002 census, the village has a population of 502 people....
, in
Rascia:
- RaskaRaška-Places:* Serbian Principality or Raška, a medieval Serbian state 610-960* Catepanate of Rascia, a Byzantine province 969-976* Grand Principality of Serbia or Raška, a medieval Serbian state 1101-1217...
, two places, - Raskaj, KosovoKosovoKosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
, - Raskovo, KosovoKosovoKosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
, - Rashkovo, in SofiaSofiaSofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...
,
Other, historical:
- GordoservonGordoservonIn records from Bithynia in the year 680, the city of Gordoservon or Gordoserbon was a Byzantine city inhabited by Serbs. The name is derived from the Serbs that resettled in Asia Minor by Byzantine Emperor Constans II , who came from the areas "around the river Vardar"...
, Servochoria, in PhrygiaPhrygiaIn antiquity, Phrygia was a kingdom in the west central part of Anatolia, in what is now modern-day Turkey. The Phrygians initially lived in the southern Balkans; according to Herodotus, under the name of Bryges , changing it to Phruges after their final migration to Anatolia, via the...
of AnatoliaAnatoliaAnatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
(Modern central )