Serboi
Encyclopedia
Serboi or Serbi (Sirbi) is an ethnonym recorded in Greco-Roman ethnography. It designated a tribe dwelling in Asiatic Sarmatia
(north Caucasus
), probably on the Lower Volga River.
in his work Plinii Caecilii Secundi Historia naturalis from the first century AD (69-75) mentioned people named Serbi, who lived near the Cimmerians
, presumably on the Black Sea
and the Sea of Azov
.
In the 2nd century (around 175 AD), the Egypt
ian scientist Claudius Ptolemy mentioned in his Geography people named Serboi or Sirboi, who presumably lived behind the Caucasus
, near the hinterland of the Black Sea
.
two tribes named Krevatades (Krevatas) and Sarban (Sarbani), which some researches identified as Croats
and Serbs
. These tribes were located in the Caucasus
near the river Terek
, between Alania
and Tsanaria. The Sarban tribe in the Caucasus in the 10th century was also recorded by an Arab
geographer.
Serbs
in the Balkans
and Western Slavic Sorbs
in Lusatia
.
Theory about Iranian origin of the Serbs
assumes that ancient Serbi / Serboi from north Caucasus
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
.
and Pakistan
there is a tribal group of Pashtuns called Sarbans
/ Sarbani. Their name is similar to the name Sarban (Sarbani), which was used in the 10th century for the Caucasian tribe. Pashtuns are believed to be of partial Scythian descent (Sarmatian language is also grouped within Scythian branch).
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...
(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...
), probably on the Lower Volga River.
Original appearances in Caucasus
Pliny the YoungerPliny the Younger
Gaius 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 Serbi, who lived near the Cimmerians
Cimmerians
The 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 Sea
Black Sea
The 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 Azov
Sea of Azov
The 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 Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , 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 Serboi or Sirboi, who presumably lived behind 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...
, near the hinterland of the Black Sea
Black Sea
The 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...
.
Later appearances in Caucasus
In the 10th century, Byzantine emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos (912-959) mentioned in his book De CeremoniisDe Ceremoniis
De 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 Croats
Croats
Croats 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 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...
. These tribes were located 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...
near the river Terek
Terek
The 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 Alania
Alania
Alania 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 Arab
Arab
Arab 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.
Later appearances in Central Europe and the Balkans
Names in same or similar forms (Surbii, Suurbi, Serbloi, Zeriuani, Sorabi, Surben, Sarbi, Serbii, Serboi, Zirbi, Surbi, Sorben) were later used by various authors to designate South SlavicSouth Slavic
South Slavic can refer to:* South Slavic languages* South Slavic peoples...
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...
in the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
and Western Slavic 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...
in 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...
.
Theory about Iranian origin of the Serbs
Origin of the Serbs
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...
assumes that ancient Serbi / Serboi 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...
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 —...
.
Later appearances in Southern Asia
In AfghanistanAfghanistan
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 Sarban (Sarbani), which was used in the 10th century for the Caucasian tribe. Pashtuns are believed to be of partial Scythian descent (Sarmatian language is also grouped within Scythian branch).
See also
- Origin of the SerbsOrigin of the SerbsSerbs 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...
- White Serbs
- 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...
- SarbansSarbansSarbans 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:...
- Early SlavsEarly SlavsThe early Slavs were a diverse group of tribal societies in Migration period and early medieval Europe whose tribal organizations indirectly created the foundations for today’s Slavic nations .The first mention of the name Slavs dates to the 6th century, by which time the Slavic tribes inhabited a...