Sveti Srdj

Sveti Srdj and nearby towns

Sveti Srdj (Latin: St. Sergius, Serbian: Свети Срђ) was an important market town on the left bank of the river Bojana[1] 6 miles (9.7 km) away from Skadar[2] in Medieval Serbia and later Venetian Empire[3] and for short period in Ottoman Empire. It was one of medieval trading centers where a trading took place on the square of the small populated place on certain day of the week (i.e. Friday or Sunday).[4]

Location

Sveti Srdj emerged near the Benedictine Shirgj Monastery, an abbey dedicated to Sergius and Bacchus, and built in the 11th century. Due to its favorable geographical position near the mouth of river Bojana this new market soon became a small populated place which significance surpassed many bigger towns of the region.[5]

History

Since the reign of Stefan Nemanja in the Serbian Grand Principality[6] Sveti Srdj was one of four markets allowed to trade salt (the other three being Kotor and Drijeva while Dubrovnik joined them after it was established as Republic in mid 14th century[7]) in the Serbian maritime.[8][9] Although a lot of wood was transported by Bojana, Sveti Srdj was not trading place for wood, but for salt and leather.[10] It was one of two customs areas of the region (the other one was Danj on river Drin).[11]

In 1330 near Sveti Srdj, the King of Serbia Stefan Dečanski met with envoys of Dubrovnik who congratulated him for his victory in the Battle of Velbazhd. On that occasion Dečanski asked them to support his military campaigns with 6 galleys.[12] After the collapse of the Serbian Empire in 1371 Sveti Srdj belonged to Zeta until 1392 when Ottomans captured Zeta's lord Đurađ II Balšić. They soon released him after they first captured Danj, Skadar and Sveti Srdj.[13] In autumn 1395 Balšić recaptured his towns including Sveti Srdj.[14][1] Knowing he would not be able to keep those towns if Ottomans decide to capture them he ceded them to Venetians. Soon, in 1397, Danj was granted with a right to trade salt. That way Venetian takeover ended centuries long monopolistic status of Sveti Srdj in salt trading in wider region around Bojana which it had for centuries while it was in Serbia.[15]

A peace treaty signed in Sveti Srdj in 1423 ended the Second Scutari War waged between Serbian Despotate (initially Zeta) and Venetian Republic over Scutari and other former possessions of Zeta controlled by Venice. This treaty is known as the Peace of Sveti Srdj.[16] While it was in Venetian hands the salt traded in Sveti Srdj had to be transported from, also Venetian controlled, Corfu.[17]

In 1479 Ottomans captured the remaining part of the region of northern Albania and this market soon became deserted.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 John V. A. Fine; John Van Antwerp Fine (1994). The Late Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman Conquest. University of Michigan Press. p. 419. ISBN 978-0-472-08260-5. Retrieved 10 August 2013. ...Sveti Srdj, important market on Bojana...
  2. ↑ Никола Чупић (1900). Годишњица Николе Чупића. Штампа Државне штампарије Краљевине Југославије. p. 33. Retrieved 10 August 2013. ...пловећи уз њу, а 6 миља од Скадра налази стовариште св. Срђа
  3. ↑ Srpska akademija nauka i umetnosti (1983). Glas. p. 96. Retrieved 10 August 2013. На Бојани се налазио чувени трг соли Свети Срђ, који је припадао српској држави или Балшићима све док није доспео у млетачке руке.
  4. ↑ Miladin Stevanović (2004). Kraljica Jelena Anžujska. Knjiga-komerc. p. 91. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
  5. ↑ Zarij M. Bešić (1970). Istorija Črne Gore: Od kraja XII do kraqja XV vijeka. 2 pts. Red. za istoriju Črne Gore. p. 31. Retrieved 10 August 2013. Свети Срђ је чак, кад се мјери улога у привредном животу, оставио далеко за собом неке од мањих старих градова.
  6. ↑ Ivo Smoljan (1988). Neretva. Klek. p. 216. Retrieved 11 August 2013. To ograničenje postoji od Nemanjina vremena, kad su bila samo četiri trgovišta i to: Drijeva (Gabela), Dubrovnik, Kotor i Sveti Srđ na Bojani.
  7. ↑ Gertrud Krallert; Institut zur Erforschung des Deutschen Volkstums im Süden und Südosten in München; Südost-Institut München; Universität Passau. Institut für Ostbairische Heimatforschung, Südostgemeinschaft Wiener Hochschulen, Deutsches Auslandswissenschaftliches Institut (Berlin, Germany) (1980). Südosteuropäische Arbeiten. Oldenbourg. p. 1410. Retrieved 11 August 2013. Ragusa bildete im Mittelalter vor Drijeva, Kotor und Sveti Srdj den wichtigsten Salzumschlagplatz an der Adria.
  8. ↑ Zbornik Istorijskog muzeja Srbije. Muzej. 1982. p. 101. Retrieved 10 August 2013.
  9. ↑ Diego Dotto (2008). Scriptae venezianeggianti a Ragusa nel XIV secolo: edizione e commento di testi volgari dell'Archivio di Stato di Dubrovnik. Viella. p. 23. ISBN 978-88-8334-337-7. Retrieved 11 August 2013. Un altro settore particolarmente redditizio era il commercio del sale, che si concentrava in quattro mercati legali: Narento, Ragusa, Cattaro e Sveti Srdj alla foce della Bojana.
  10. ↑ Historijski zbornik. Nakladni zavod Hrvatske. 1984. p. 63. Retrieved 11 August 2013. Drvo koje je dolazilo Bojanom ukrcavano je na obali sve do Ulcinja, a ono iz reke Drima obično na lokalitetu »super ripa Merteç« ili »Mirtiç-c. Sveti Srđ nije bio krcalište i tržište za drvo nego za kože i druge proizvode!
  11. ↑ Zbornik Istorijskog muzeja Srbije. Muzej. 1982. p. 108. Retrieved 11 August 2013. У овом су подручју постојале и две царинарнице: Свети Срђ на Бојани и Дањ на Дриму
  12. ↑ Maletić, Mihailo (1976). Crna Gora. Književne novine. p. 139. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
  13. ↑ Istorijski zapisi: organ Istoriskog instituta i Društva istoričara SR Crne Gore. Istorijski institut u Titogradu. 2007. p. 231. Retrieved 10 August 2013. Због непослуха Османлије су га у јесен 1392. године заробиле, али су га убрзо ослободиле узевши му при том градове Скадар, Дриваст и Свети Срђ, које су кратако вријема држале
  14. ↑ Sima M. Ćirković (2008). Srbi među europskim narodima. Golden Marketing-Tehnička Knjiga. p. 124. ISBN 978-953-212-338-8. Retrieved 11 August 2013. ta je mjesta uspio preoteti u jesen 1395
  15. ↑ Balcanica. Srpska Akademija Nauka i Umetnosti, Balkanolos̆ki Institut. 1970. p. 250. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
  16. ↑ Fine, John Van Antwerp (1994), The Late Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman Conquest, University of Michigan Press, p. 519, ISBN 978-0-472-08260-5
  17. ↑ Balcanica. Srpska Akademija Nauka i Umetnosti, Balkanolos̆ki Institut. 1970. p. 259. Retrieved 11 August 2013. Kao i deceniju ranije, za Sveti Srđ i Kotor, morala se s0 dovoziti sa Krfa.

Further reading