Origin of the Serbs
Encyclopedia
Serbs
are a South Slavic people
, living mainly in Serbia
, Bosnia and Herzegovina
and Montenegro
. There are opinions that ethnonym
Serbs possibly has a different root. Various researchers provided several theories about the origin of the Serb ethnonym and their opinions are based on the data from historical sources that mentioning Serb ethnonym or other Serb-sounding names in other parts of the Old World
. However, the connection between modern Serbs in the Balkans
and some early historical data related to Serb-sounding names remains largely unproved and controversial.
Various authors mentioned names of Serbs
(Serbian
: Srbi / Срби) and Sorbs
(Upper Sorbian: Serbja; Lower Sorbian: Serby) in different variants: Surbii, Suurbi, Serbloi, Zeriuani, Sorabi, Surben, Sarbi, Serbii, Serboi, Zirbi, Surbi, Sorben, etc. These authors used these names to refer to Serbs and Sorbs in areas where their historical (or current) presence was/is not disputed (notably in the Balkans
and Lusatia
), but there are also sources that mention same or similar names in other parts of the World (most notably in the Asiatic Sarmatia
in the Caucasus
). Attempts of various researchers to connect these names with modern Serbs produced various theories about the origin of the Serb people.
Early historical mentions of the Serb ethnonym in the Caucasus:
Early historical mentions of other Serb-sounding names that some researchers are trying to connect with the Serb people:
In Afghanistan
and Pakistan
there is a tribal group of Pashtuns called Sarbans
/ Sarbani. Their name is similar to the name of Caucasian tribe named Sarban (Sarbani), which some researchers connected to Serbs.
Some researches are also trying to connect Serb name with other somewhat similar names such are Siberia
(region in Russia
), Sibiru (island near Sumatra
), Seri
or Sereri (ancient people in Central Asia
), Montes Serrorum (old name for Carpathians), Sarmatia
(ancient region in Eastern Europe
), Sirmium
(city in ancient Pannonia
), etc.
Aside from place names in Poland
, whose part, together with Lusatia
, is seen as area of historical White Serbia
, there is no general scientific consensus that any of the mentioned names is related to modern Serbs.
According to the work named "De administrando imperio
", written by the Byzantine emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos (912-959), Balkanic Serbs originating from pagan White Serbs who lived on the other side of Turkey (name used for Hungary
), in the area that they called Bojki. Neighbors of White Serbs were Frankish State and pagan Great or White Croatia
. Porphyrogennetos claims that after two brothers inherited administration over Serbia
(i.e. White Serbia) from their father, one of them, with half of the people, escaped to the Byzantine Empire
(i.e. to the Balkans
), which was governed by emperor Heraclius
(610-641). According to German historian L. A. Gebhardi, two brothers that inherited administration over White Serbia
were sons of prince Dervan
.
In the Balkans
, Serbs
settled around rivers Tara
, Ibar
, Drina
and Lim (in the present-day border region of Serbia
, Montenegro
and Bosnia and Herzegovina
), and joined with surrounding South Slavic
tribes that came to the Balkans earlier (in the 6th century), together with the Avars
. Over time, these tribes also adopted Serb name as their own.
Another part of the White Serbs did not migrated southwards, but remained in the Elbe
region. Descendants of these White Serbs are the present day Lusatian Serbs (Sorbs
), who still live in the Lusatia
(Lužica, Lausitz) region of eastern Germany
.
There are also opinions that data from "De administrando imperio" that describes Serb migration to the Balkans is not correct and that Serbs came to the Balkans from Eastern Slavic lands, together with other South Slavs
.
The Emperor Constantine III
(641) transferred a part of the Slavs from the Balkans
(Vardar
region) to Asia Minor
. There these migrants founded the city of Gordoservon
, the name of which gives grounds for supposing that among its founders there were Serbs
. The city was also known under names Gordoserbon and Servochoria.
origin of the Serb ethnonym assumes that ancient Serbi / Serboi
from north Caucasus
(Asiatic Sarmatia) were an Sarmatian
(Alanian
) tribe. The theory subsequently assumes that Alanian Serbi were subdued by the Huns
in the 4th century and that they, as part of the Hunnic army, migrated to the western edge of the Hunnic Empire
(in the area of Central Europe
near the river Elbe
, later designated as White Serbia
in what is now Saxony
(eastern Germany
) and western Poland
). After Hunnic leader Attila died (in 453), Alanian Serbi presumably became independent and ruled in the east of the river Saale
(in modern day Germany
) over local Slavic population. Over time, they, it is argued, intermarried with the local Slavic population of the region, adopted Slavic language, and transferred their name to the Slavs. According to Tadeuš Sulimirski, similar event could occur in the Balkans
or Serbs
who settled in the Balkans were Slavs who came from the north and who were ruled by already slavicized Alans
.
Deformed human sculls that are connected to the Alans are also discovered in the area that was later designated as "White Serbia". According to Iranian interpretation, different sides of the World
are designated with different colors, thus, white color is designation for the west, black color for the north, blue or green color for the east and red color for the south. According to that view, White Serbia
and White Croatia
were designated as western Serbia and western Croatia, and were situated in the west from some hypothetical lands that had same names and that presumably existed in the east.
It is possible that the Alanian Serbi in Sarmatia, similarly like other Sarmatian/Iranian peoples on the northern Caucasus, originally spoke an Indo-European Iranian
language similar to present-day Ossetian. The Ossetian language is a member of Eastern Iranian
branch of Iranian languages, along with Pashtun
, Yaghnobi
and languages of the Pamir
. One of the Pashtun tribal groups in Afghanistan
and Pakistan
is known as Sarbans
(Sarbani) and Pashtuns are believed to be of partial Scythian descent (Sarmatian language is also grouped within Scythian branch).
In Polish history, the Polish nobility claimed to be direct descendants of the historic Sarmatian people (see: Sarmatism
) and this might be connected with historical White Serbia
and White Croatia
, which included parts of present-day Poland
.
origin. In the Lezgian language, "ser" would mean "man", while "serbi" would mean "men" or "people".
and Podunavlje
, where they presumably lived before historical Slavic and Serb migration to the Balkans in the 6th-7th centuries. Proponents of this theory (for example Đura Daničić, Pavel Jozef Šafárik
) claimed that Serbs either came to the Balkans long before the 7th century or Serb 7th century migration to the Balkans was only partial and Serbs who, according to "De administrando imperio
", came from the north founded in the Balkans other Serbs that already lived there. It is suggested that ancient city of Serbinum
in Pannonia
was named after these hypothetical autochthonic Serbs.
Although, modern anthropology and genetics are confirming that present-day Balkanic Serbs are partial descendants of slavicized autochthonic Balkanic peoples (Illyrians
, Vlachs
, etc), there is no generally accepted scientific evidence that ancient inhabitants of the Balkans were Serbs or Slavs.
wrote that people named Zeriuani had so large kingdom that all Slavic peoples
originated from there (or from them). According to one of interpretations, Zeriuani are identified with Serbs, and there are opinions that "Serbs" was an old name of all Slavic peoples. However, according to other opinions, Zeriuani might be a name used for Severians
or Sarmatians
instead for Serbs.
. The sole evidence that supporting this theory is an old Serbian folk song named "Sveci blago dijele" ("The saints dividing the treasure"), whose one stanza says: "kad ja idem iz zemlje Inđije" ("when I went from the land of India").
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...
are a South Slavic people
Slavic peoples
The Slavic people are an Indo-European panethnicity living in Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe, North Asia and Central Asia. The term Slavic represents a broad ethno-linguistic group of people, who speak languages belonging to the Slavic language family and share, to varying degrees, certain...
, living mainly in 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...
, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
and Montenegro
Montenegro
Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
. There are opinions that ethnonym
Ethnonym
An ethnonym is the name applied to a given ethnic group. Ethnonyms can be divided into two categories: exonyms and autonyms or endonyms .As an example, the ethnonym for...
Serbs possibly has a different root. Various researchers provided several theories about the origin of the Serb ethnonym and their opinions are based on the data from historical sources that mentioning Serb ethnonym or other Serb-sounding names in other parts of the Old World
Old World
The Old World consists of those parts of the world known to classical antiquity and the European Middle Ages. It is used in the context of, and contrast with, the "New World" ....
. However, the connection between modern Serbs in the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
and some early historical data related to Serb-sounding names remains largely unproved and controversial.
Early historical records of the Serb name
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...
(Serbian
Serbian language
Serbian is a form of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language, spoken by Serbs in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and neighbouring countries....
: Srbi / Срби) and Sorbs
Sorbs
Sorbs are a Western Slavic people of Central Europe living predominantly in Lusatia, a region on the territory of Germany and Poland. In Germany they live in the states of Brandenburg and Saxony. They speak the Sorbian languages - closely related to Polish and Czech - officially recognized and...
(Upper Sorbian: Serbja; Lower Sorbian: Serby) in different variants: Surbii, Suurbi, Serbloi, Zeriuani, Sorabi, Surben, Sarbi, Serbii, Serboi, Zirbi, Surbi, Sorben, etc. These authors used these names to refer to Serbs and Sorbs in areas where their historical (or current) presence was/is not disputed (notably in the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
and Lusatia
Lusatia
Lusatia is a historical region in Central Europe. It stretches from the Bóbr and Kwisa rivers in the east to the Elbe valley in the west, today located within the German states of Saxony and Brandenburg as well as in the Lower Silesian and Lubusz voivodeships of western Poland...
), but there are also sources that mention same or similar names in other parts of the World (most notably in the Asiatic Sarmatia
Sarmatia
Sarmatia or Sarmatian can refer to:* the land of Sarmatians, western Scythia as described by many classical authors, such as Herodotus in the 5th century BC* Sarmatian languages, part of Scythian languages...
in the 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...
). Attempts of various researchers to connect these names with modern Serbs produced various theories about the origin of the Serb people.
Early historical mentions of the Serb ethnonym in the Caucasus:
- Pliny the YoungerPliny the YoungerGaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus, born Gaius Caecilius or Gaius Caecilius Cilo , better known as Pliny the Younger, was a lawyer, author, and magistrate of Ancient Rome. Pliny's uncle, Pliny the Elder, helped raise and educate him...
in his work Plinii Caecilii Secundi Historia naturalis from the first century AD (69-75) mentioned people named SerbiSerboiSerboi 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:...
, who lived near the CimmeriansCimmeriansThe Cimmerians or Kimmerians were ancient equestrian nomads of Indo-European origin.According to the Greek historian Herodotus, of the 5th century BC, the Cimmerians inhabited the region north of the Caucasus and the Black Sea during the 8th and 7th centuries BC, in what is now Ukraine and Russia...
, presumably on the Black SeaBlack SeaThe Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
and the Sea of AzovSea of AzovThe Sea of Azov , known in Classical Antiquity as Lake Maeotis, is a sea on the south of Eastern Europe. It is linked by the narrow Strait of Kerch to the Black Sea to the south and is bounded on the north by Ukraine mainland, on the east by Russia, and on the west by the Ukraine's Crimean...
. - In the 2nd century (around 175 AD), the EgyptEgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ian scientist Claudius Ptolemy mentioned in his Geography people named SerboiSerboiSerboi 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:...
or SirboiSerboiSerboi 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:...
, who presumably lived behind the CaucasusCaucasusThe 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...
, near the hinterland of the Black SeaBlack SeaThe Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
. - In the 10th century, Byzantine emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos (912-959) mentioned in his book De CeremoniisDe CeremoniisDe Ceremoniis is the Latin title of a description of ceremonial protocol at the court of the Eastern Roman emperor in Constantinople. It is sometimes called De ceremoniis aulae byzantinae...
two tribes named Krevatades (Krevatas) and Sarban (Sarbani), which some researches identified as CroatsCroatsCroats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...
and SerbsSerbsThe 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...
. These tribes were located in the CaucasusCaucasusThe 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...
near the river TerekTerekThe Terek River is a major river in the Northern Caucasus, flowing through Georgia and Russia into the Caspian Sea. It rises in Georgia near the juncture of the The Greater Caucasus Mountain Range and the Khokh Range, to the southwest of Mount Kazbek, then flows north through North Ossetia and...
, between AlaniaAlaniaAlania may refer to:*Alania, the medieval state of the Alans or Alani people in the North Caucasus*The short name of the modern North Ossetia-Alania, one of the Caucasian republics in the Russian Federation...
and Tsanaria. The Sarban tribe in the Caucasus in the 10th century was also recorded by an ArabArabArab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
geographer.
Early historical mentions of other Serb-sounding names that some researchers are trying to connect with the Serb people:
- In the same book where he mentioned people named SerboiSerboiSerboi 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:...
, Claudius Ptolemy also mentioned city named SerbinumSerbinumSerbinum, also known as Servitium or Servicium, was an ancient Roman city in the province of Pannonia. It was situated in the location of present-day Gradiška in northern Bosnia and Herzegovina.-Sources:...
in PannoniaPannoniaPannonia was an ancient province of the Roman Empire bounded north and east by the Danube, coterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia....
. - Ancient geographer StraboStraboStrabo, also written Strabon was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher.-Life:Strabo was born to an affluent family from Amaseia in Pontus , a city which he said was situated the approximate equivalent of 75 km from the Black Sea...
mentioned that river XanthosXanthosXanthos was the name of a city in ancient Lycia, the site of present day Kınık, Antalya Province, Turkey, and of the river on which the city is situated...
in LyciaLyciaLycia Lycian: Trm̃mis; ) was a region in Anatolia in what are now the provinces of Antalya and Muğla on the southern coast of Turkey. It was a federation of ancient cities in the region and later a province of the Roman Empire...
was formerly named Sirbis. - HerodotusHerodotusHerodotus was an ancient Greek historian who was born in Halicarnassus, Caria and lived in the 5th century BC . He has been called the "Father of History", and was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically, test their accuracy to a certain extent and arrange them in a...
mentions lake named Serbonis in EgyptEgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. This lake was also mentioned as Sirbonis by StraboStraboStrabo, also written Strabon was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher.-Life:Strabo was born to an affluent family from Amaseia in Pontus , a city which he said was situated the approximate equivalent of 75 km from the Black Sea...
.
Other Serb-sounding names
This is a list of Serb-sounding place names that some researchers are connecting with Serbs:- In RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
: Serbino, Serbi, Serbinovka, Sarbaka - In PolandPolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
: Serbentinije, Serbentini, Serbinov, Sjerbovice, Sarbice, Sarbijevo, Sarbin - In LithuaniaLithuaniaLithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
: Serben, Serbigal - Near the Baltic SeaBaltic SeaThe Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
: Sarbske - On the CaucasusCaucasusThe 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...
: Serab, Servičaj - In MesopotamiaMesopotamiaMesopotamia is a toponym for the area of the Tigris–Euphrates river system, largely corresponding to modern-day Iraq, northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey and southwestern Iran.Widely considered to be the cradle of civilization, Bronze Age Mesopotamia included Sumer and the...
: Sorbatje, Serbis (river)
In Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
and Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
there is a tribal group of Pashtuns called Sarbans
Sarbans
Sarbans or Sarbani are the largest tribal group of Pashtuns. They are situated in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The Sarbans include many Pashtun tribes, among whom the most numerous are the Durrani, Tareen and Miani tribes.-Name origin:...
/ Sarbani. Their name is similar to the name of Caucasian tribe named Sarban (Sarbani), which some researchers connected to Serbs.
Some researches are also trying to connect Serb name with other somewhat similar names such are Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
(region in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
), Sibiru (island near Sumatra
Sumatra
Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...
), Seri
Seri
The Seris are an indigenous group of the Mexican state of Sonora. The majority reside on the Seri communal property , in the towns of Punta Chueca and El Desemboque on the mainland coast of the Gulf of California...
or Sereri (ancient people in Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
), Montes Serrorum (old name for Carpathians), Sarmatia
Sarmatia
Sarmatia or Sarmatian can refer to:* the land of Sarmatians, western Scythia as described by many classical authors, such as Herodotus in the 5th century BC* Sarmatian languages, part of Scythian languages...
(ancient region in Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
), Sirmium
Sirmium
Sirmium was a city in ancient Roman Pannonia. Firstly mentioned in the 4th century BC and originally inhabited by the Illyrians and Celts, it was conquered by the Romans in the 1st century BC and subsequently became the capital of the Roman province of Lower Pannonia. In 294 AD, Sirmium was...
(city in ancient Pannonia
Pannonia
Pannonia was an ancient province of the Roman Empire bounded north and east by the Danube, coterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia....
), etc.
Aside from place names in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, whose part, together with Lusatia
Lusatia
Lusatia is a historical region in Central Europe. It stretches from the Bóbr and Kwisa rivers in the east to the Elbe valley in the west, today located within the German states of Saxony and Brandenburg as well as in the Lower Silesian and Lubusz voivodeships of western Poland...
, is seen as area of historical White Serbia
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...
, there is no general scientific consensus that any of the mentioned names is related to modern Serbs.
Migration of Serbs to the Balkans
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...
", written by the Byzantine emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos (912-959), Balkanic Serbs originating from pagan White Serbs who lived on the other side of Turkey (name used for 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...
), in the area that they called Bojki. Neighbors of White Serbs were Frankish State and pagan Great or White Croatia
White Croatia
White Croatia is a vaguely defined area, said to lie somewhere in Central Europe, near Bavaria, beyond Hungary on south of Poland and west of Ukraine, and adjacent to the Frankish Empire from which the part of White Croats crossed the Carpathians and migrated in the 7th century into Dalmatia...
. Porphyrogennetos claims that after two brothers inherited administration over Serbia
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...
(i.e. White Serbia) from their father, one of them, with half of the people, escaped to the Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
(i.e. to the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
), which was governed by emperor Heraclius
Heraclius
Heraclius was Byzantine Emperor from 610 to 641.He was responsible for introducing Greek as the empire's official language. His rise to power began in 608, when he and his father, Heraclius the Elder, the exarch of Africa, successfully led a revolt against the unpopular usurper Phocas.Heraclius'...
(610-641). According to German historian L. A. Gebhardi, two brothers that inherited administration over White Serbia
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...
were sons of prince Dervan
Dervan
Dervan or Derwan was an early prince of the Sorbs and Serbs .He is mentioned by Fredegar in his Latin chronicle as dux gente Surbiorum que ex genere Sclavinorum: "ruler of the people of the Serbs from the nation of the Slavs". He is the first ruler of the tribe mentioned by name...
.
In the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
, Serbs
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...
settled around rivers Tara
Tara
-Religions and deities:*Tara , is a tantric meditation deity in Tibetan Buddhism, actually the generic name for a set of similar bodhisattvas*In Hinduism:*Tara , a Mahavidya of Mahadevi, Kali or Parvati...
, Ibar
Ibar
-Places:* Ibar , in Montenegro and Serbia* Ibar Reserve in Rila, Bulgaria* Ibar Rocks, a rock formation in Antarctica* Ibar highway, in Serbia-People:* Ibar of Beggerin , Irish saint* Íbar of Killibar Beg, Irish saint...
, Drina
Drina
The Drina is a 346 kilometer long river, which forms most of the border between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. It is the longest tributary of the Sava River and the longest karst river in the Dinaric Alps which belongs to the Danube river watershed...
and Lim (in the present-day border region of 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...
, Montenegro
Montenegro
Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
and Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
), and joined with surrounding South Slavic
South Slavic
South Slavic can refer to:* South Slavic languages* South Slavic peoples...
tribes that came to the Balkans earlier (in the 6th century), together with the Avars
Avars
Avar or Avars may refer to:* Eurasian Avars, a nomadic people that conquered the Hungarian Steppe in the early Middle Ages* Uar * Caucasian Avars, a modern people of the Caucasus** Avar language, the language of the Caucasian Avars...
. Over time, these tribes also adopted Serb name as their own.
Another part of the White Serbs did not migrated southwards, but remained in the Elbe
Elbe
The Elbe is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Krkonoše Mountains of the northwestern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia , then Germany and flowing into the North Sea at Cuxhaven, 110 km northwest of Hamburg...
region. Descendants of these White Serbs are the present day Lusatian Serbs (Sorbs
Sorbs
Sorbs are a Western Slavic people of Central Europe living predominantly in Lusatia, a region on the territory of Germany and Poland. In Germany they live in the states of Brandenburg and Saxony. They speak the Sorbian languages - closely related to Polish and Czech - officially recognized and...
), who still live in the Lusatia
Lusatia
Lusatia is a historical region in Central Europe. It stretches from the Bóbr and Kwisa rivers in the east to the Elbe valley in the west, today located within the German states of Saxony and Brandenburg as well as in the Lower Silesian and Lubusz voivodeships of western Poland...
(Lužica, Lausitz) region of eastern Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
There are also opinions that data from "De administrando imperio" that describes Serb migration to the Balkans is not correct and that Serbs came to the Balkans from Eastern Slavic lands, together with other South Slavs
South Slavs
The South Slavs are the southern branch of the Slavic peoples and speak South Slavic languages. Geographically, the South Slavs are native to the Balkan peninsula, the southern Pannonian Plain and the eastern Alps...
.
The Emperor Constantine III
Constantine III
Constantine III may refer to:* Constantine III , self-proclaimed western Roman Emperor 407 – 411* Constantine III , Byzantine Emperor in 641* Constantine III of Scotland, king of Scotland 995 – 997...
(641) transferred a part of the Slavs from the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
(Vardar
Vardar
The Vardar or Axios is the longest and major river in the Republic of Macedonia and also a major river of Greece. It is long, and drains an area of around . The maximum depth of river is ....
region) to Asia Minor
Asia Minor
Asia Minor is a geographical location at the westernmost protrusion of Asia, also called Anatolia, and corresponds to the western two thirds of the Asian part of Turkey...
. There these migrants founded the city of Gordoservon
Gordoservon
In 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"...
, the name of which gives grounds for supposing that among its founders there were Serbs
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...
. The city was also known under names Gordoserbon and Servochoria.
The Iranian theory
Theory about IranianIranian peoples
The Iranian peoples are an Indo-European ethnic-linguistic group, consisting of the speakers of Iranian languages, a major branch of the Indo-European language family, as such forming a branch of Indo-European-speaking peoples...
origin of the Serb ethnonym assumes that ancient Serbi / 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:...
from 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...
(Asiatic Sarmatia) were an 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....
(Alanian
Alans
The Alans, or the Alani, occasionally termed Alauni or Halani, were a group of Sarmatian tribes, nomadic pastoralists of the 1st millennium AD who spoke an Eastern Iranian language which derived from Scytho-Sarmatian and which in turn evolved into modern Ossetian.-Name:The various forms of Alan —...
) tribe. The theory subsequently assumes that Alanian Serbi were subdued by the Huns
Huns
The Huns were a group of nomadic people who, appearing from east of the Volga River, migrated into Europe c. AD 370 and established the vast Hunnic Empire there. Since de Guignes linked them with the Xiongnu, who had been northern neighbours of China 300 years prior to the emergence of the Huns,...
in the 4th century and that they, as part of the Hunnic army, migrated to the western edge of the Hunnic Empire
Hunnic Empire
The Hunnic Empire was an empire established by the Huns. The Huns were a confederation of Eurasian tribes from the steppes of Central Asia. Appearing from beyond the Volga River some years after the middle of the 4th century, they first overran the Alani, who occupied the plains between the Volga...
(in the area of Central Europe
Central Europe
Central Europe or alternatively Middle Europe is a region of the European continent lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe...
near the river Elbe
Elbe
The Elbe is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Krkonoše Mountains of the northwestern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia , then Germany and flowing into the North Sea at Cuxhaven, 110 km northwest of Hamburg...
, later designated as White Serbia
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...
in what is now Saxony
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
(eastern Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
) and western Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
). After Hunnic leader Attila died (in 453), Alanian Serbi presumably became independent and ruled in the east of the river Saale
Saale
The Saale, also known as the Saxon Saale and Thuringian Saale , is a river in Germany and a left-bank tributary of the Elbe. It is not to be confused with the smaller Franconian Saale, a right-bank tributary of the Main, or the Saale in Lower Saxony, a tributary of the Leine.-Course:The Saale...
(in modern day Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
) over local Slavic population. Over time, they, it is argued, intermarried with the local Slavic population of the region, adopted Slavic language, and transferred their name to the Slavs. According to Tadeuš Sulimirski, similar event could occur in the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
or Serbs
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...
who settled in the Balkans were Slavs who came from the north and who were ruled by already slavicized Alans
Alans
The Alans, or the Alani, occasionally termed Alauni or Halani, were a group of Sarmatian tribes, nomadic pastoralists of the 1st millennium AD who spoke an Eastern Iranian language which derived from Scytho-Sarmatian and which in turn evolved into modern Ossetian.-Name:The various forms of Alan —...
.
Deformed human sculls that are connected to the Alans are also discovered in the area that was later designated as "White Serbia". According to Iranian interpretation, different sides of the World
World
World is a common name for the whole of human civilization, specifically human experience, history, or the human condition in general, worldwide, i.e. anywhere on Earth....
are designated with different colors, thus, white color is designation for the west, black color for the north, blue or green color for the east and red color for the south. According to that view, White Serbia
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...
and White Croatia
White Croatia
White Croatia is a vaguely defined area, said to lie somewhere in Central Europe, near Bavaria, beyond Hungary on south of Poland and west of Ukraine, and adjacent to the Frankish Empire from which the part of White Croats crossed the Carpathians and migrated in the 7th century into Dalmatia...
were designated as western Serbia and western Croatia, and were situated in the west from some hypothetical lands that had same names and that presumably existed in the east.
It is possible that the Alanian Serbi in Sarmatia, similarly like other Sarmatian/Iranian peoples on the northern Caucasus, originally spoke an Indo-European Iranian
Iranian languages
The Iranian languages form a subfamily of the Indo-Iranian languages which in turn is a subgroup of Indo-European language family. They have been and are spoken by Iranian peoples....
language similar to present-day Ossetian. The Ossetian language is a member of Eastern Iranian
Iranian languages
The Iranian languages form a subfamily of the Indo-Iranian languages which in turn is a subgroup of Indo-European language family. They have been and are spoken by Iranian peoples....
branch of Iranian languages, along with Pashtun
Pashto language
Pashto , known as Afghani in Persian and Pathani in Punjabi , is the native language of the indigenous Pashtun people or Afghan people who are found primarily between an area south of the Amu Darya in Afghanistan and...
, Yaghnobi
Yaghnobi language
The Yaghnobi language is a living East Iranian language . Yaghnobi is spoken in the upper valley of the Yaghnob River in the Zarafshan area of Tajikistan by the Yaghnobi people...
and languages of the Pamir
Pamir languages
The Pamir languages are a group of the Eastern Iranian languages, spoken by numerous people in the Pamir Mountains, primarily along the Panj River and its tributaries. This includes the Badakhshan Province of northeastern Afghanistan and the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province of eastern Tajikistan...
. One of the Pashtun tribal groups in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
and Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
is known as Sarbans
Sarbans
Sarbans or Sarbani are the largest tribal group of Pashtuns. They are situated in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The Sarbans include many Pashtun tribes, among whom the most numerous are the Durrani, Tareen and Miani tribes.-Name origin:...
(Sarbani) and Pashtuns are believed to be of partial Scythian descent (Sarmatian language is also grouped within Scythian branch).
In Polish history, the Polish nobility claimed to be direct descendants of the historic Sarmatian people (see: Sarmatism
Sarmatism
"Sarmatism" is a term designating the dominant lifestyle, culture and ideology of the szlachta of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth from the 16th to the 19th centuries. Together with "Golden Liberty," it formed a central aspect of the Commonwealth's culture...
) and this might be connected with historical White Serbia
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...
and White Croatia
White Croatia
White Croatia is a vaguely defined area, said to lie somewhere in Central Europe, near Bavaria, beyond Hungary on south of Poland and west of Ukraine, and adjacent to the Frankish Empire from which the part of White Croats crossed the Carpathians and migrated in the 7th century into Dalmatia...
, which included parts of present-day Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
.
The Caucasian theory
According to some interpretations, Serb ethnonym might be of Caucasian or more notably of LezgianLezgian
Lezgian, Lezgi, or Lezgin can refer to:* The Lezgian people, a people from southern Dagestan and northern Azerbaijan* The Lezgian language, their Lezgic language...
origin. In the Lezgian language, "ser" would mean "man", while "serbi" would mean "men" or "people".
The Autochthonic theory
This theory assumes that Serbs are an autochthonic people in the BalkansBalkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
and Podunavlje
Podunavlje
Podunavlje is the name of the Danube river basin parts located in Serbia and Croatia .-History:...
, where they presumably lived before historical Slavic and Serb migration to the Balkans in the 6th-7th centuries. Proponents of this theory (for example Đura Daničić, Pavel Jozef Šafárik
Pavel Jozef Šafárik
Pavol Jozef Šafárik Pavol Jozef Šafárik (Safáry / Schaffáry/ Schafary/ Saf(f)arik / Šafarík/ Szafarzik, Czech Pavel Josef Šafařík, German Paul Joseph Schaffarik, Serbian Павле Јосиф Шафарик, Latin Paulus Josephus Schaffarik, Hungarian Pál József Saf(f)arik) Pavol Jozef Šafárik (Safáry /...
) claimed that Serbs either came to the Balkans long before the 7th century or Serb 7th century migration to the Balkans was only partial and Serbs who, according to "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...
", came from the north founded in the Balkans other Serbs that already lived there. It is suggested that ancient city of Serbinum
Serbinum
Serbinum, also known as Servitium or Servicium, was an ancient Roman city in the province of Pannonia. It was situated in the location of present-day Gradiška in northern Bosnia and Herzegovina.-Sources:...
in Pannonia
Pannonia
Pannonia was an ancient province of the Roman Empire bounded north and east by the Danube, coterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia....
was named after these hypothetical autochthonic Serbs.
Although, modern anthropology and genetics are confirming that present-day Balkanic Serbs are partial descendants of slavicized autochthonic Balkanic peoples (Illyrians
Illyrians
The Illyrians were a group of tribes who inhabited part of the western Balkans in antiquity and the south-eastern coasts of the Italian peninsula...
, 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...
, etc), there is no generally accepted scientific evidence that ancient inhabitants of the Balkans were Serbs or Slavs.
The Serbo-Slavic theory
In the mid-9th century the so called Bavarian GeographerBavarian Geographer
The Bavarian Geographer is a conventional name given by Jan Potocki in 1796 to the author of an anonymous medieval document Descriptio civitatum et regionum ad septentrionalem plagam Danubii ....
wrote that people named Zeriuani had so large kingdom that all Slavic peoples
Slavic peoples
The Slavic people are an Indo-European panethnicity living in Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe, North Asia and Central Asia. The term Slavic represents a broad ethno-linguistic group of people, who speak languages belonging to the Slavic language family and share, to varying degrees, certain...
originated from there (or from them). According to one of interpretations, Zeriuani are identified with Serbs, and there are opinions that "Serbs" was an old name of all Slavic peoples. However, according to other opinions, Zeriuani might be a name used for Severians
Severians
The Severians or Severyans or Siverians were a tribe or tribal union of early East Slavs occupying areas to the east of the middle Dnieper river around the rivers Desna, Sejm and Sula on the territory of the archaeological Romny culture....
or Sarmatians
Sarmatians
The Iron Age Sarmatians were an Iranian people in Classical Antiquity, flourishing from about the 5th century BC to the 4th century AD....
instead for Serbs.
The Indian theory
There are several authors (for example Miloš S. Milojević, Draško Šćekić), who supported theory that Serbs originating from IndiaIndia
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. The sole evidence that supporting this theory is an old Serbian folk song named "Sveci blago dijele" ("The saints dividing the treasure"), whose one stanza says: "kad ja idem iz zemlje Inđije" ("when I went from the land of India").
Further reading
- Aleksandar M. Petrović, Kratka arheografija Srba, Novi Sad, 1994.
- Živko D. Petković, Prve pojave srpskog imena, Beograd, 1996.
- Lazar Šebek, Stari Srbi, Serbi sveske 2, Izdavač: Krim, Beograd, Ložionička 4.
- Lazo M. Kostić, O srpskom imenu, Srbinje - Novi Sad, 2000.
- Sava S. Vujić - Bogdan M. Basarić, Severni Srbi (ne)zaboravljeni narod, Beograd, 1998.
- Nikola Jeremić, Srpska zemlja Bojka, Zemun, 1993.
- Relja Novaković, Baltički Sloveni u Beogradu i Srbiji, Beograd, 1985.
- Relja Novaković, Još o poreklu Srba, Beograd, 1992.
- Relja Novaković, Srbi, Beograd, 1993.
- Relja Novaković, Srbi i njihovi pradavni srodnici, Beograd, 2000.
- Ernst Schwartz, Das Vordringen der Slawen nach Western, Südost-Forschungen, Band XV, Mönchen 1956
- Ernestus Brotuff, Chronica von den Salz-Bornen und Erbauung der Hall an der Sala... (Weiland J.J. 1554) in zwei Büchern Verfaset und Fleiss beschrieben. Hall in Sachsen 1679
- Franz Martin Pelzels Geschichte der Böhmen, von ältesten bis auf die neuesten Zeiten. Aus den besten einheimischen und auswärtigen Geschichtsschreibern, Kroniken und gleichzeitigen Handschriften zusammen getragen, Erster Theil, Vierte fortgesetzte Auflage, Prag 1817
- Franz Grabler. Aus dem Geschichtswerk des Laonikos Chalkokondilos. Europa im XV. Jahrhundert von Byzantinern gesehen. Byzantinische Geschichtsschreiber, Graz-Wien-Köln (1954)
- Friderici Wideburgii, Origines et antiquitates Marggraviatus Misnici... Halae Salicae 1734
- Franc. Xav. El. B. De Pejacsevich, Historia Serviae seu colloquia XIII de Statu Regni et religionis Serviae ab exordio ad finem, sive a saeculo VII ad XV. Auetore F.X. El. B. de Pejacsevich. Colocae MDCCXCVI (1796)
- Howorth. The Spread of the Slaves, The Journal of the Antropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, vol. IX, London 1880, Part III The Northern Serbs or Sorabiens and the Obodriti
- Martin Kromer, De origine et rebus gestis Polonorum Iibri XXX (1555)
- Mauro Orbini, II regno De gli Slavi Hoggi corrottamente detti Schü-voni... In Pesaro MDCI (1601)
- Monumenta Germaniae Historica... Edidit G.H. Pertz. Tomus I-VI 1826-1844
- Nikolaus Volrab, Chronica von den Antiquiteten des Keisrlichen Stiftes/der Römische Burg und Stadt Marseburg... (Budišin 1556)
- Neuve Chronica Türkischer Nation von Türken selbst beschrieben Frankfurt am Mayn 1590
- Pomponii Melae de Chorographia Iibri tres recognovit Caroli;:- Fnck. Lipsiae 1880
- P.J. Schafariks, Slawische Alterthümer, II, Leipzig 1844
- Heinrich Kunstmann, Über die Herkunft der Polen von Balkan. Die Welt der Slawen, Halbsjahresschrift für Slavistik, Jahrgang XXIX, Heft 2, IV F. VIII, 2. München 1984
- Hana Skalovä, Topografickä mapa üzemi Obodricü a Veletu-Luticu ve svetle mistnfch Jmen. Vznik a pocätky Slovanü. Pracha 1965
- Joan Christopori de Jordan... De originibus Slavicis... Vindobonae MDCCXLV (1745)
- Joannes Simoni Vandalia a 1598. scripta. Mon. Ren germ, praecipue Cimbricarum et Megapolensium... T. I, Lipsiae 1739
- Joannis Bacmeisteri... Animadversiones Genealogico-Chronologico-hi-storico in Mareschalci Thurii Annalium Herulorum et Vandalorum Hbros septem. У збирци: Mon. ined. R.G. praecipue Cimbricarum, et Megapolensium... erui... Ernestus Joachim de Westphalen... Tomus I, Lipisae 1739
- Johann Georg Essigs Kurze Einleitung zu der allgemeinen und besonderen Welthistorie, aufs neue übersehen, vermehrt, und bis auf gegenwärtige Zeit fortgesetzte, von M. Johann Christian Walz, Prof. der Historie am Her-zogl. Gimnasio. Zehnte Ausgabe, Stuttgart 1777
- Karl Gottlob Anton, Erste Linien eines Versuches über die alten Slawen Ursprung, Sitten, Gebräuche, Meinungen und Kenntnisse. Ausgearbeitet von K.G. Anton, D. Leipzig 1783
- Karl Gottlob Anton, Geschichte der Teutschen Nazion, Erster Theil... Geschichte der Germanen, Leipzig 1793
- Karl Penka, Origines Ariacae, Linguistisch-ethnologische Untersuchungen zur ältesten Geschichte der arischer Völker und Sprache. Wien und Te-schen 1883
- Laskaris Kananos, Die Nordlandreise des Laskaris Kanons (Byz. Geschichtsschreiber)
- Ludwig Giesebrecht, Wendische Geschichten von der Karolingerzeit, Baltische Studien, Sechsten Jahrgang, Zweites Heft, Stettin 1839
- Lubomir E. Havlik, Einige Fragen der Ethnogcnese der Slawen im Lichte der römischen und byzantinischer Historiographie (1. Hälfte des 1. Jahrtausends), Berichte II (1970), Band III, Berlin 1973
- Blondi Flavii Foroiuliensis Historiarum de inclinatione Romanorum. Impressarum Venetiis Thomam Alexandrinum anno Salutis MCCCCLXXXiiii (1484) Kalendis Julii. Tu i Abreviatio Pii Pont max. supra decades Blondi ab Inclinatione Imperii usque ad tempora Joannis Vicesimi tertii Pont. max.
- Chronica von dem Antiquiteten des Stifftes/der Romische Burg und Stadt Marseburg/an der Salach by Türingen/mit viel alten schöne Historien und Geschichten/als sich etwan vor alten Zeiten in Sachsen/Türingen/Meis-sen/und zu Wenden begeben... Gedruckt zu Budisin durch Nicolaum Wolrab MDLVI (1556)
- Chronicon HoIIandiae de Hollandorum Repub. et Rebus Gestis com-mentarii Hugonis Grolii, Jani Dovsae patris, Jani Dovsae filii, Lugduni Ba-tavorum 1617
- Conjectus introduetionis, in notitiam Regni Hungriae Geographicam, Historicam, Politicam et Chronologicam, inde a prima Gentis et Regionis Hungaricae Originibus usque ad aetatem nostram. Breviter et succinte, per successions temporum, produetam Studio et Opera Joannis Tomka Szäszky, Posonii 1759
- Caroli Sigoni Histriarum de Occidentali imperio, libri XX... Cum Indice copiosissime rerum et Verborum, Basileae MDLXXIX (1579)
- Christophori Cellarii Smalkandcnsis Geographia Antiqua... 1687
- Chronici Zelandiae libri duo. Auetore Jacobo Eyndio. Domino Haem-stode et Midolburgi. Ex officino moulertiana MDCXXXIV (1634)
- Codex Pomeraniae diplomaticus. Herausgegeben von D. Karl Friedrich Wilhelm Hasselbach... und D. Johann Gottfried Ludwig Kosegarten, Greifswald 1862
- Chronicon Mundi (Correct Title): Regisrum huius operis libri chroni-corum cum figuris et imaginibus ab initio mundi. Norimbergae MCCCCXCIII (1493)
- Chronici Carionis a Philippo Melanthone aueti et expositi... (1532). Anno 1581, 1593 [Wittebergae] MOXCIII (1593)
- Cyriacus M. Spangenberg, Quenfurtische Chronica. Historischer Bericht, von der Aelten und Loblichen Herrschaft Quernfurt in Sachsen... vor und nach der Geburt Christi... In vier Bücher zusammengebracht durch M. Cyr. Spang. MDXC (1590)
- Dauidis Chytrej Chronicon Saxoniae et vicini orbis aretoi. Pars prima. Ab anno Christi 1500 usque ad 1524 cum indice. Rostochii anno CIDIDXCII (1592)
- Dissertatio de Lecho et Slavorum origine video meliora, proboque. Acta Societatis Jablonovianae de Slavis Lecho Czechoque. Item de Veris Zichis. Anni CIDIDCCLXXI (1771)
- C. Desjardins: Physisch-Statistisch und Politischer Atlas von Europa, C. Desjardins, Wien, 1838.
- Über die Abkunft der Slawen nach Lorenz Surowiecki von Paul Joseph Schaffarik, Doct. der Phil. und der f. k. Mag., Prof. am Gymnasium der Griech. n. un. Gemeinde in Neusatz, und der kön. Ges. der Freunde der Wiss. in Warschau, der Gel. Ges. an der Univ. in Krakau und der Gross-herz. lat. Soc. in Jena corr. Mitgliede. Leipzig, 1843
- Kiepert's Handatlas, Dietrich Reimer, Berlin, 1860.
- A. Stieler: Handatlas, Justus Perthes, Gotha, 1866
- Kiepert's Atlas Antiques, Geographisches Institut, Weimar, 1884
- Nikodim Milaš: Православна Далмација (Ortodox Dalmatia), Izdavačka knjižarnica Novi Sad, 1901
- Кonstantin Jeriček: Историја Срба (History of Serbs), I-II, (photoiphya), Слово љубве, Београд, 1978
- Early references to Serboi: Alexander KazhdanAlexander Kazhdan- Soviet :Born in Moscow, Kazhdan was educated at the Pedagogical Institute of Ufa and the University of Moscow, where he studied with the historian of medieval England, Evgenii Kosminskii...
, Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium (1991), vol.3, pp.1875f. - Ivo Vukcevich: Rex Germanorum Populos Sclavorum (An Inquiry into the Origin and Early History of the Serbs/Slavs of Sarmatia, Germania and Illyria), Universiyu Center Press, Santa Barbara, 2001
- Aleksandar J. Vukosavljević: Neka zapažanja o 30. glavi De administrando imperio — analiza izvora i osvrt na jedan dio istoriografije, Cape Town, 2004
See also
- White Serbs
- SerboiSerboiSerboi 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:...
- SerbsSerbsThe 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...
- SorbsSorbsSorbs are a Western Slavic people of Central Europe living predominantly in Lusatia, a region on the territory of Germany and Poland. In Germany they live in the states of Brandenburg and Saxony. They speak the Sorbian languages - closely related to Polish and Czech - officially recognized and...
- SerbiaSerbiaSerbia , 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...
- History of Serbs
- History of SerbiaHistory of SerbiaThe history of Serbia, as a country, begins with the Slavic settlements in the Balkans, established in the 6th century in territories governed by the Byzantine Empire. Through centuries, the Serbian realm evolved into a Kingdom , then an Empire , before the Ottomans annexed it in 1540...
- Theories on the origin of Croats
- Prehistoric BalkansPrehistoric BalkansThe prehistory of Southeastern Europe , defined roughly as the territory of the wider Balkans peninsula covers the period from the Upper Paleolithic, beginning with the presence of Homo sapiens in the area some 44,000 years ago, until the...