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In historiography, K. Jirechek was the first to use "Duklja".[1] Doclea was originally the name of the Roman city on the site of modern Podgorica (Ribnica), built by Roman Emperor Diocletian, who hailed from this region of Roman Dalmatia. The Romanized Illyrian tribe known as Docleatae that inhabited the area derived their name from the city.[2] In later centuries, the Romans hypercorrected the name to Dioclea, wrongly guessing that an i had been lost due to vulgar speech patterns. Duklja is the later Slavic version of the name of this region, attributed to the principality under Byzantine suzerainty ("Diokleia", Διοκλεία). The demonym, or tribal name, appearing in De Administrando Imperio was "Dioklitianoi" (Διοκλητιανοί).


According to De Administrando Imperio (948–952), in chapter 35, Diokleia (Διοκλεία) included the "large, inhabited cities" of Gradetai, Nougrade, and Lontodokla.[3] Gradetai may have been Starigrad, Nougrad may have been Prevlaka, while the location of Lontodokla is uncertain.[3][4]

According to the later, somewhat dubious[5] source, Chronicle of the Priest of Duklja, a ruler named Hvalimir who was alleged to be an ancestor of Jovan Vladimir (ca. 990–1016), held Zeta and its towns, and the following counties: Lusca (Luška), Podlugiae (Podlužje), Gorsca (Gorska), Cupelnich (Kupelnik), Obliquus (Oblik), Prapratna, Cermeniza (Crmnica) and Budua (Budva) with Cuceva (Kučevo) and Gripuli (Grbalj).[6]

Since the 12th century, the term Zeta began to replace the name Duklja.

De Administrando Imperio

According to the 10th-century De Administrando Imperio (DAI), written by the Byzantine emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos, a second migration of Slavs into the Balkans occurred during the reign of Heraclius (r. 610–640).[7] DAI mentions Croats and Serbs having settled the Western Balkans, the Serbs having founded "baptized Serbia" (known erroneously in historiography as Raška)[8] which included the land of Bosna.[9] The other Serb-inhabited lands (or principalities) that were mentioned in the DAI included the maritime Paganija, Zahumlje and Travunija,[9] while maritime Duklja was held by the Byzantines (it was presumably settled with Serbs as well).[10] All of the maritime lands bordered Serbia to the north.[9]

The DAI has been a widely used source in reconstructing the earliest histories of the South Slavic states.[citation needed] The DAI claims that Duklja had been made desolate by the Avars and "repopulated in the time of the Emperor Heraclius, just as were Croatia and Serbia" (i.e. in the first half of the 7th century), by Slavs.[11] While he clearly states that the neighboring principalities of Serbia, Zahumlje, Travunia and Pagania had been settled by the 'unbaptised Serbs', he mentions Duklja simply as having been settled by 'Slavs'. John V.A. Fine argues "given that Serbs settled in regions along its borders, presumably this would have also been a Serb region".[12] According to the Royal Frankish Annals (821–822), the rebellious Duke of Lower Pannonia, Ljudevit Posavski fled during the Frankish invasion from his seat in Sisak to the Serbs in western Bosnia, who controlled a great part of Dalmatia ("Sorabos, quae natio magnam Dalmatiae partem obtinere dicitur").[13][14]

Ivo Banac proposed that the DAI mention that a part of the Croats "split off and took control of Illyricum and Pannonia" after settling northern Dalmatia could be connected to Duklja.[15] The dubious Chronicle of the Priest of Duklja, compiled in 1298–1301 by a Cistercian monk in the service of Paul I Šubić of Bribir, refers to Croats in southern Dalmatia. If this is not mere Byzantine confusion over Serbs and Croats, it might allude to the existence of minor Croat tribes until the late 12th century.[16]

Scholars have debated at length as to the reliability of such sources. For example, Florin Curta, among others, suggested that the DAI was a political document, rather than a strictly historical one, and that it probably indicates that the coastal zhupanates were under the authority of the Serbian prince, Časlav Klonimirović, in the mid-10th century.[17]


Both, Florin Curta and John Fine, among other medievalists, have argued that ethnonyms such as Serb or a Croat were primarily political labels referring to a dux and his retinue of nobles, while on a lower level it also referred the mass of commoners who inhabited the territory under the (often nominal and transient) rule of such leaders. There is little evidence that a modern notion of nation-type ethnicity, and the values associated with it, existed in medieval societies.[20][21] Rather, for the general masses, identity was rooted primarily with one's own clan, village and region. As Fine states, "In this large region settled by Slavs, all of whom spoke the same language, certain political entities emerged, and that is all that they were, political entities".[22] Duklja was one such polity, and its subsequent history was closely intertwined with that of Serbia/Rascia and the Byzantine Empire, and as well as Rome and 'western' powers. Duklja is seen as one of the medieval Serb states[23][24][25] and was the political and cultural predecessor of modern Montenegro.

Early history


Slav raids on Eastern Roman territory are mentioned in 518, and by the 580s they had conquered large areas referred to as Sclavinia ("Slavdom", from Sklavenoi).[26] Duklja was settled by Slavs predominantly during the 7th century, although the area was subject to raids by Avars and Slavs from the 6th century. Being a mountainous region, it perhaps served as an area of refuge for pre-Slavic populations.[27]


Prince Višeslav (fl. 768–814), the first known Serbian monarch by name, ruled the hereditary lands (Županias, "counties") of Neretva, Tara, Piva, Lim. He managed to unite several more provinces and tribes into what would become the Serbian Principality. Višeslav was succeeded by his son Radoslav and then Prosigoj, during which time "the Serbs inhabit the greater part of Dalmatia" (Royal Frankish Annals, 822[13][14]). Prince Vlastimir further united Serbian tribes against the growing threat of Bulgars, his realm spanned over southwestern Serbia, much of Montenegro, eastern Herzegovina and southeastern Bosnia.[28] Prince Petar Gojniković defeated Tišemir of Bosnia, annexing the valley of Bosna.[29] He then expanded along the Neretva, annexing the Narentines, where he seems to have come into conflict with Michael Višević, a Bulgarian ally and the ruler of Zahumlje (with Trebinje and most of what would later be Duklja).[30] Michael Višević heard of the possible alliance between Serbia and the Byzantines, and warned Symeon.[30] Symeon defeats Petar[31] and in the following years there is a power struggle between the Bulgars and Byzantines over Serbian overlordship.[32] Prince Časlav ruled over a confederacy of tribes covering an expansive area.[33] He took over regions previously held by Michael, who disappears from sources in 925.[34] According to some sources, Časlav's 'state' was based from the hinterland of Kotor.


After Časlav died in ca. 960, Rascia (the hinterland) was annexed by the Byzantines, and Serbia dissolved into several principalities, and the mentions of the first dynasty end. A Peter, whose seal has been found, was the archon Diokleias probably at the turn of the 11th century. A Serbian diplomatic mission, likely sent from Duklja, arrived at the Byzantine capital of Constantinople and was recorded in a charter of the Great Lavra Monastery, written in 993.[35] In the 11th century, Jovan Vladimir ruled Duklja, with his court centered in Bar on the Adriatic coast; he held much of the "Serbian maritime" under his control including Travunija and Zachlumia. His realm may have stretched west- and northwards to include some parts of the Zagorje (inland Serbia and Bosnia) as well. Vladimir's pre-eminent position over other Slavic nobles in the area explains why Emperor Basil approached him for an anti-Bulgarian alliance. With his hands tied by war in Anatolia, Basil required allies for his war against Tsar Samuel, who ruled a Bulgarian empire stretched over Macedonia. In retaliation, Samuel invaded Duklja in 1009, and pushed through Dalmatia up to the city of Zadar, incorporating Bosnia and Serbia into his realm. After defeating Vladimir, Samuel reinstated him as a vassal Prince. We do not know what Vladimir's connection was to the previous Serbian dynasty as much of what is written in the Chronicles of the Priest of Duklja about the genealogy of the Doclean rulers is mythological.[36] Vladimir was murdered by Vladislav, Samuel's brother and successor, circa 1016 AD. The last prominent member of his family, his uncle Dragimir, was killed by some local citizens in Kotor in 1018. That same year, the Byzantines had defeated the Bulgarians, and in one masterful stroke re-took virtually the entire Balkans.


The Byzantine victory over the Bulgarians was a critical development in Balkan history. The Byzantines ruled most of the Balkans – Bulgaria, Serbia, Duklja, and Bosnia all fell back under Byzantine rule for the first time since the 6th century. Over much of the 11th century, we hear very little about events from the interior. Central Serbia was probably under the jurisdiction of the strategos (governor) of Sirmium – Constantine Diogenes. Some historians suggest that Duklja was ruled directly by the strategos of Dyrrhachium, while others posit that a native prince (whose name has not survived) was allowed to remain, ruling as a Byzantine vassal. Either way, the Slavic nobility was under Byzantine control.


In the 1030s, as Skylitzes and Kekaumenos have written, Stefan Vojislav, who held the title of "archont, and toparch of the kastra of Dalmatia, Zeta and Ston",[38] led the "Serbs who renounced Byzantine rule".[39] According to the CPD, he was a nephew of Vladimir. In 1034, he took "Duklja" while the Byzantines were switching thrones.[39] The Byzantines retaliated by sending in troops from Dyrrhachium and captured Vojislav, who was taken prisoner to Constantinople. He managed to escape and began a guerrilla resistance from Duklja's mountains. He defeated several Byzantine expeditions and liberated most of Duklja. A Slav rebellion centered on Belgrade, organised by Peter Delian in the late 1030s, worked in Vojislav's favour by diverting attention from Duklja. He used this to assert rule from his capital in Scutari, and extended his rule from Duklja to Travunia and a part of Zachlumia. He besieged the Byzantine city of Dyrrhachium and held the lands surrounding it.[40]


Principality of Doclea (Duklja) half 11th century.





1080 AD. The zenith of Dukljan power


In the 10th century, following the Synod of Split, Split gained jurisdiction over much of the Dalmatian coast, except southern regions (including most of Duklja), which were under the Archbisphopric of Dyrrhachium. However, Split's pre-eminent position was soon challenged by other cities vying for metropolinate status – Bar and Dubrovnik (Ragusa). The East-West Schism would soon have a great impact upon Serbia, not only religiously, but also politically. Since Serbia was positioned at the border zone between Roman and Constantinopolitan jurisdiction, Serb rulers tried to exploit this rivalry to their advantage. The Slavs who lived along the southern Dalmatian coast fell under the religious jurisdiction of Rome, via the Archbishops of Split, Bar and Ragusa. The rest, in the hinterland stretching to Serbia, were under the Patriarch of Constantinople via the Archbishops of Ohrid, Sirmium and Dyrrhachium. King Mihailo's prerogative was to establish an autocephalous Slavic Church – an independent state requires an independent church. For political reasons, he turned to Rome, since at the time he was in less than amicable relations with Byzantium. Michael presumed that the Pope would jump at the chance to expand his jurisdiction in southern Dalmatia, but Michael's wish was not easily forthcoming. Although some studies have stated that his request to raise Bar to an Archbishopric was granted in 1067, it seems that the cited bull is not authentic. In 1089, Constantine Bodin managed to raise the bishopric of Bar to an Archbishopric, by supporting the pope against an antipope. The suffragan bishops were to be: Kotor, Ulcinj, Svač, Skadar, Drivast, Pula, Ras, Bosnia and Trebinje.[41] In obtaining its promotion, it acquired a much larger diocese, including territory that earlier had not been under the pope – territories of the metropolitan of Durazzo and Archbishop of Ochrid, two sees that recognized the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.[41] The Bar Archbishopric's new territory were merely theoretical – the pope's edict could only affect the churches that recognized Rome.[41] Making Rascia a suffragan to Bar had little meaning, as most of its churches were under Constantinople, and there is no evidence of Vukan changing adherence to Rome.[41] Durazzo and Ochrid may have suffered minimal territorial losses along the coast, Duklja was briefly a subject to Rome, however inland Duklja was not affected, and along with much of Duklja's coast (like most of Kotor) was to retain its loyalty to Orthodoxy.[41]


With Bodin gone, his Norman wife, Jaquinta, feared that Bodin's nephew, Branislav, would try to seize power before her young children could take the throne. She ordered the arrest of Branislav and his family and Branislav died in captivity, while his other 6 brothers and sons found asylum in Ragusa. Thus in the haste to claim the throne, seeds of family hatred were planted among the extended family. After Bodin died, his half-brother Dobroslav II gained the throne of Duklja. Seeing a weak Duklja, the Byzantines started to meddle, sending Kočopar, one of Branislav's exiled brothers to capture the throne. He managed to get assistance from Vukan of Raska, and together they beat Dobroslav. However, there was a falling out between Kočopar and Vukan. Vukan drove out Kočopar, who then died in exile. The Doclean nobles then elected a Vladimir, yet another relative, who ruled in peace as a Byzantine vassal. But Jaquinta had not given up. After Vladimir died, she had Dobroslav II (who was still in jail) castrated and blinded in case he were to gain the throne, thus securing the throne for her son Đurađ (George), c. 1114–18. She had gained support from an anti-Byzantine faction of nobles. Branislav's family again fled to Byzantine safety, this time in Dyrrhachium. There they gained support from the Byzantines, who ousted Đurađ and imprisoned Jaquinta. Grubeša, one of Branislav's sons, was placed on the throne in 1118. He ruled peacefully until 1125. Đurađ had fled to Rascia, and secured the support of the new Rascian Grand Župan, Uroš, believed to be the nephew of Vukan. Uroš was aligned with the Hungarians, and was anti-Byzantine. He invaded Duklja and placed Đurađ back on the throne. Yet another Byzantine intervention ousted Đurađ for the second time, capturing him, and he died in captivity. Gradinja, one of Grubeša's brothers was then placed as King, the last ruler to hold such a title in Duklja. He died a natural death in 1146, and was succeeded by his son Radoslav. Radoslav only bore the title Knez (Prince).


List of rulers

The principality then came under the rule of the Nemanjić dynasty. At times, a royal title including "Duklja" was adopted, however, "of the Maritime lands" was mostly used throughout the Middle Ages.

See also


  1. ^ Duklja was one of the "Serbian principalities" of the Middle Ages.[42][43][44][45] The 11th-century chronicles state that the people of what is known in historiography as Duklja (the polity was variously called "Serbia", "Dalmatia", etc) were "Serbs" (Σέρβος). The rulers were titled "Prince of Serbs/Serbia":
    • According to George Kedrenos (fl. 1050s), Stefan Vojislav was the "Prince of Serbia",[46] while according to John Skylitzes (fl. 1057–59), the "Prince of the Serbs" (ὁ τῶν Σέρβων ἄρχων).[47]
    • According to Kedrenos and Skylitzes, Mihailo Vojislavljević was the "Prince of Tribali and Serbs" (Τριβαλλών και Σέρβων...αρχηγός[48]/ Τριβαλλῶν καὶ Σέρβων...ἀρχηγός[49])


  1. ^ Ђорђе Јанковић. "О називу Диоклeје пре Немањића". 
  2. ^ A Stipcevic (1977). The Illyrians. History and Culture. Noyes Press. p. 31. ISBN 0-8155-5052-9. 
  3. ^ a b Dumbarton Oaks (1 January 2005). Catalogue of Byzantine Seals at Dumbarton Oaks and in the Fogg Museum of Art: The East (continued), Constantinople and environs, unknown locations, addenda, uncertain readings. Dumbarton Oaks. pp. 154–. ISBN 978-0-88402-309-8. Constantine concludes chapter 35 by stating, "In the country of Diocleia are the large, inhabited cities of Gradetai, Nougrade, Lontodokla" (trans. Jenkins). Gradetai may be the coastal city of Starigrad, and Nougrade is perhaps Prevlaka, south ... 
  4. ^ Vladimir Ćorović (13 January 2014). Istorija srpskog naroda. eBook Portal. p. 78–. GGKEY:XPENWQLDTZF. 
  5. ^ Slovo. 47-49. 1999. p. 22. ... of Dioclea (or in Croatian Ljetopis Popa Dukljanina), a text of somewhat dubious value as a historical source 
  6. ^ Starinar. Arheološki institut. 1884. p. 69. ДУКЉАНИНОВА ПРАПРАТНА. „Хвалимиру даде зетску област с градовима, и ове жупе: Лушку, Подлужје, Горску, Куписник, 0блик, Прапратну, Црмницу, Будву с Клевом (Cuceva) и Грбаљ.“ Овако пише Дукљанин,”) причајући како ј 
  7. ^ Moravcsik 1967, pp. 137, 153.
  9. ^ a b c Moravcsik 1967, pp. 153, 155.
  10. ^ Fine 1991, p. 53.
  11. ^ Moravscik, 1967, p. 165
  12. ^ Fine, 1991, p. 53
  13. ^ a b Eginhard (1711). Eginhartus de vita et gestis Caroli Magni. ex Officina Guilielmi Vande Water. p. 192. 
  14. ^ a b Serbian Studies. 2–3. North American Society for Serbian Studies. 1982. p. 29. 
  15. ^ Ivo Banac. The national question in Yugoslavia. p. 35. 
  16. ^ Fine (2006, pp. 63–4)
  17. ^ Curta (2006, p. 210)
  19. ^ Whittow (1996, p. 263) "The Croats and Serbs have also been seen as rebels who broke away from the Avars to set up their own states in the 620s with the blessing of Emperor Heraklios. But the only evidence is an anachronistic story preserved in De Administrando Imperio which seems to have been invented in the late 9th or early 10th century to give historical precedent to current Byzantine policies."
  20. ^ Fine (2006, p. 2)
  21. ^ Curta (2006, p. 141) "some have concluded that the "Croat" refer not to ethnic identity, but to an elite"
  22. ^ Fine, 2006, p. 31
  23. ^ Hupchik, 2002, p. 54: "Jovan Vladimir, who ruled a renewed Serb state centered on Zeta (present-day Montenegro)"
  24. ^ The New Cambridge Medieval History, IV. 1024– 1198. Part II. Page 136. "In 1018 when Basil II conquered Bulgaria a number of Serbian principalities also fell under Byzantine rule. These included Raska.., Duklja.., Tribenje..., Zahumlje.., and Bosnia
  25. ^ Stephenson, 2003, pp. 42–43: Ljutovid's claim to be strategos not only of Zahumlje, but all Serbia suggests that he had been courted by the Emperor and awarded nominal rights over neighboring lands, including Duklja"
  27. ^ Fine, 1991, p. 37
  28. ^ John V. A. Fine. The early Medieval Balkans. [page needed]
  29. ^ The early medieval Balkans, p. 148
  30. ^ a b Fine, 1991, p. 149
  31. ^ Fine, 1991, p. 150
  32. ^ Fine, 1991, p. 141
  33. ^ The early medieval Balkans, p. 160
  34. ^ The entry of the Slavs into Christendom, p. 209
  35. ^ Ostrogorsky 1956, pp. 273–5.
  36. ^ a b Fine[page needed]
  37. ^ a b Hupchik, p.[page needed]
  38. ^ Kekaumenos, ed Litavrin, 170–2
  39. ^ a b Fine, p. 202
  40. ^ a b Fine, 1991, pp. 203, 206–207
  41. ^ a b c d e Fine, 1991, p. 223
  42. ^ Fine 1991, p. 202: "Duklja—a region inhabited by Serbs"
  43. ^ David Luscombe; Jonathan Riley-Smith (14 October 2004). The New Cambridge Medieval History: Volume 4, C.1024-c.1198. Cambridge University Press. pp. 266–. ISBN 978-0-521-41411-1. Serbian principalities ... Duklja, or Dioclea 
  44. ^ Sedlar 1994, p. 21: "In the 11th century, the most important Serbian political units were Duklja..."
  45. ^ Velikonja 2003, p. 44: "Byzantium and Bulgaria scrambled for control over the Serbian principalities of Duklja, Rascia and Zahumlje."
  46. ^ Cedrenus, ed. Bonn, II, p. 526
  47. ^ Scylitzes, 408-9
  48. ^ Georgius (Cedrenus.); Jacques Paul Migne (1864). Synopsis historiōn. Migne. p. 338. Τριβαλλών και Σέρβων 
  49. ^ Skylitzes 475.13-14


Further reading