Pirot
Encyclopedia
Pirot is a town and municipality located in south-eastern Serbia
. According to 2011 census, the town has a total population of 38,432, while the population of the municipality is 57,911. The town is the administrative center of the Pirot District
.
It is known for the Pirot Kilim (Pirotski ćilim), a traditional woven carpet, highly regarded in Serbian culture.
In its vicinity is the Church of St. Petka, and the monastery of St. John the Theologian from the late fourteenth century. These churches display a fine example of medieval Serbian architecture.
, Belava
, Suva Planina
, etc.
The following rivers flow through Pirot: the Nišava
, Jerma, Rasnička Reka, Temštica and the Visočica. Pirot also has four lakes: Zavoj Lake, Berovacko Lake, Krupac Lake and Sukov Lake.
The first mentions of Pirot are found in the 2nd century AD, when the town was called Turres. At the Maglić monastery of village Blato
, an 2nd century AD stone depiction of the Thracian horseman
was found in September 2008.
An inscription dating to 211 AD, mentions the Thracian cult of Sebazianos (Sabazios
), the theophoric name corresponds with the variations seen in Pautalia. The inscription was dedicated by a horion (cult society), headed by a leader (high priest), these were not Roman citizens.
The first written account mentioning Pirot was the 4th century Roman
itinerary knowns as Tabula Peutingeriana
. An antique settling in this area was named Tures (Latin for “towers”). Firstly, it was set to enable control and defence of the main road in this part of the empire. Besides, travellers could sleep here over night, as well as get refreshments and new horses or vehicles. In time, the settling advanced because of the important road passing through. It was also disturbed very persistently by invasions of the Gothic tribes throughout the 4th century, as well as the Huns in the 5th century.
(527 – 565), the reigning emperor ordered reconstruction of thirty fortresses in the area from Niš
to Sofia
, probably including the tower of Pirot. He also gave the detailed description of those construction works. In times when the Slavs and Avars were invading the Balkans, the settlment was named Quimedava, and was situated on the southern slope of the Sarlah Hill.
Corresponding to the archaeological investigations, the town back then, surrounded by forts and fortified walls, also included an early Christian basilica, termas (public bathrooms), a necropolis (graveyard), and other facilities. Beside the military fortress, a civil settlement existed on the site called Majilka. Although Byzantium successfully defended itself from the barbaric tribes’ raids, the Balkans were teeming with the Slavs in the second half of the 6th century and at the beginning of the 7th century. The Slavs soon became a crucial ethnical element on the peninsula.
in 549. In 577 some 100,000 Slavs poured into Thrace
and Illyricum
, pillaging cities and settling down.
Boris I of Bulgaria
conquers the area after the Bulgaro-Serbian Wars (839-842).
, formed by Emperor Basil II
(r. 976–1025). He also forms the Archbishopric of Ochrid, an autonomous church under the jurisdiction of the Patriarch of Constantinople
(1018). The region was then part of the Archbishopric of Niš.
In 1182-1183, the joint Serb-Hungarian army took control of Pirot area, Stefan Nemanja
, together with Frederick Barbarossa passed through Pirot and were enthusiastically welcomed by its citizens. The region is shortly thereafter part of the Uprising of Asen and Peter after 1190s.
In 1214-1216 Serbian Grand Prince (later King) Stefan Nemanjić retook possession of the region of Pirot, and with the autocephaly
of the Serbian Orthodox Church
in 1217, the region is ecclesiastically part of the Serbian church.
Dušan the Mighty becomes the first Emperor of Serbia
in 1346, and the town is part of this realm until the death of the second Emperor, Uroš the Weak, his son, in 1371. It is then part of Moravian Serbia
, under Tsar Lazar, and the Serbian Despotate
under Stefan Lazarević
, his son.
In the 14th century, Serbian duke Momčilo raises the Pirot Fortress
(Momčilov Grad, Momčilo's town).
By 1411-12, Ottoman Musa had conquered Pirot and its surroundings from Stefan Lazarević
(r. 1389-1427).
.
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...
. According to 2011 census, the town has a total population of 38,432, while the population of the municipality is 57,911. The town is the administrative center of the Pirot District
Pirot District
The Pirot District expands in the south eastern parts of Serbia. It has a population of 92,277. Its seat is in the city of Pirot.-Municipalities:It encompasses the municipalities of:*Bela Palanka*Pirot*Babušnica...
.
It is known for the Pirot Kilim (Pirotski ćilim), a traditional woven carpet, highly regarded in Serbian culture.
In its vicinity is the Church of St. Petka, and the monastery of St. John the Theologian from the late fourteenth century. These churches display a fine example of medieval Serbian architecture.
Administration
The municipality has over 70 settlements, among Pirot itself. In 2011, the municipality has 57,911 inhabitants.Geography
The municipality, which has the area of 1235 km² (476.84 sq mi), has several , several mountains are situated: Stara Planina, Vlaška PlaninaVlaška planina
Vlaška planina is a mountain in southeastern Serbia, near the town of Dimitrovgrad. Its highest peak Panica has an altitude of 1443 meters above sea level. With Greben, Vlaška planina forms the attractive gorge of Jerma river....
, Belava
Belava
Belava is a mountain in eastern Serbia, near the town of Bela Palanka. Its highest peak Kardašica has an altitude of 946 meters above sea level....
, Suva Planina
Suva Planina
Suva Planina is the mountain range in Southern Serbia. It extends in a horseshoe-shaped curve from Niška Banja spa to Bela Palanka....
, etc.
The following rivers flow through Pirot: the Nišava
Nišava
The Nišava or Nishava is a river in Bulgaria and Serbia, a right tributary, and with a length of 218 km also the longest one, of the Južna Morava.- Bulgaria :...
, Jerma, Rasnička Reka, Temštica and the Visočica. Pirot also has four lakes: Zavoj Lake, Berovacko Lake, Krupac Lake and Sukov Lake.
Prehistoric and Roman times
Thracians lived in Pirot prior to the Roman conquest and Romanization of Serbia in the 1st century BC.The first mentions of Pirot are found in the 2nd century AD, when the town was called Turres. At the Maglić monastery of village Blato
Blato
Blato is a town on the island of Korčula in Croatia. It is a municipal centre and can be reached by the main island road from Smokvica. The road runs through the forests in the middle of the island of Korčula.-Geography:...
, an 2nd century AD stone depiction of the Thracian horseman
Thracian horseman
Thracian horseman is the conventional term for a recurring motif from the iconography of Paleo-Balkanic mythology during the Roman era.The tradition is attested from Thrace to Moesia and Scythia Minor, also known as the "Thracian Heros", at Odessos attested by a Thracian name as Heros...
was found in September 2008.
An inscription dating to 211 AD, mentions the Thracian cult of Sebazianos (Sabazios
Sabazios
Sabazios is the nomadic horseman and sky father god of the Phrygians and Thracians. In Indo-European languages, such as Phrygian, the -zios element in his name derives from dyeus, the common precursor of Latin deus and Greek Zeus...
), the theophoric name corresponds with the variations seen in Pautalia. The inscription was dedicated by a horion (cult society), headed by a leader (high priest), these were not Roman citizens.
The first written account mentioning Pirot was the 4th century Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
itinerary knowns as Tabula Peutingeriana
Tabula Peutingeriana
The Tabula Peutingeriana is an itinerarium showing the cursus publicus, the road network in the Roman Empire. The original map of which this is a unique copy was last revised in the fourth or early fifth century. It covers Europe, parts of Asia and North Africa...
. An antique settling in this area was named Tures (Latin for “towers”). Firstly, it was set to enable control and defence of the main road in this part of the empire. Besides, travellers could sleep here over night, as well as get refreshments and new horses or vehicles. In time, the settling advanced because of the important road passing through. It was also disturbed very persistently by invasions of the Gothic tribes throughout the 4th century, as well as the Huns in the 5th century.
Eastern Roman (Byzantine) rule
According to the written accounts On the Constructions by Procopius of Caesarea, writing during the reigning of the emperor Justinian IJustinian I
Justinian I ; , ; 483– 13 or 14 November 565), commonly known as Justinian the Great, was Byzantine Emperor from 527 to 565. During his reign, Justinian sought to revive the Empire's greatness and reconquer the lost western half of the classical Roman Empire.One of the most important figures of...
(527 – 565), the reigning emperor ordered reconstruction of thirty fortresses in the area from Niš
Niš
Niš is the largest city of southern Serbia and third-largest city in Serbia . According to the data from 2011, the city of Niš has a population of 177,972 inhabitants, while the city municipality has a population of 257,867. The city covers an area of about 597 km2, including the urban area,...
to Sofia
Sofia
Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...
, probably including the tower of Pirot. He also gave the detailed description of those construction works. In times when the Slavs and Avars were invading the Balkans, the settlment was named Quimedava, and was situated on the southern slope of the Sarlah Hill.
Corresponding to the archaeological investigations, the town back then, surrounded by forts and fortified walls, also included an early Christian basilica, termas (public bathrooms), a necropolis (graveyard), and other facilities. Beside the military fortress, a civil settlement existed on the site called Majilka. Although Byzantium successfully defended itself from the barbaric tribes’ raids, the Balkans were teeming with the Slavs in the second half of the 6th century and at the beginning of the 7th century. The Slavs soon became a crucial ethnical element on the peninsula.
Sclaveni
The Slav subgroup of Sclaveni (eponymous) started raiding Byzantine towns in the 520s and are mentioned as having attacked ThraceThrace
Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded by the Balkan Mountains on the north, Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea on the south, and by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the east...
in 549. In 577 some 100,000 Slavs poured into Thrace
Thrace
Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded by the Balkan Mountains on the north, Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea on the south, and by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the east...
and Illyricum
Illyricum (Roman province)
The Roman province of Illyricum or Illyris Romana or Illyris Barbara or Illyria Barbara replaced most of the region of Illyria. It stretched from the Drilon river in modern north Albania to Istria in the west and to the Sava river in the north. Salona functioned as its capital...
, pillaging cities and settling down.
Boris I of Bulgaria
Boris I of Bulgaria
Boris I, also known as Boris-Mihail and Bogoris was the Knyaz of First Bulgarian Empire in 852–889. At the time of his baptism in 864, Boris was named Michael after his godfather, Emperor Michael III...
conquers the area after the Bulgaro-Serbian Wars (839-842).
High and Late Middle Ages
In the early 11th century it becomes part of the Theme of Sirmium, a main administrative unit of the Byzantine EmpireByzantine 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...
, formed by Emperor Basil II
Basil II
Basil II , known in his time as Basil the Porphyrogenitus and Basil the Young to distinguish him from his ancestor Basil I the Macedonian, was a Byzantine emperor from the Macedonian dynasty who reigned from 10 January 976 to 15 December 1025.The first part of his long reign was dominated...
(r. 976–1025). He also forms the Archbishopric of Ochrid, an autonomous church under the jurisdiction of the Patriarch of Constantinople
Patriarch of Constantinople
The Ecumenical Patriarch is the Archbishop of Constantinople – New Rome – ranking as primus inter pares in the Eastern Orthodox communion, which is seen by followers as the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church....
(1018). The region was then part of the Archbishopric of Niš.
In 1182-1183, the joint Serb-Hungarian army took control of Pirot area, Stefan Nemanja
Stefan Nemanja
Stefan Nemanja was the Grand Prince of the Grand Principality of Serbia from 1166 to 1196, a heir of the Vukanović dynasty that marked the beginning of a greater Serbian realm .He is remembered for his contributions to Serbian culture and...
, together with Frederick Barbarossa passed through Pirot and were enthusiastically welcomed by its citizens. The region is shortly thereafter part of the Uprising of Asen and Peter after 1190s.
In 1214-1216 Serbian Grand Prince (later King) Stefan Nemanjić retook possession of the region of Pirot, and with the autocephaly
Autocephaly
Autocephaly , in hierarchical Christian churches and especially Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches, is the status of a hierarchical church whose head bishop does not report to any higher-ranking bishop...
of the Serbian Orthodox Church
Serbian Orthodox Church
The Serbian Orthodox Church is one of the autocephalous Orthodox Christian churches, ranking sixth in order of seniority after Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Russia...
in 1217, the region is ecclesiastically part of the Serbian church.
Dušan the Mighty becomes the first Emperor of Serbia
Emperor of Serbia
The Emperor of Serbia or Emperor of the Serbs and Greeks was the imperial title used during the Serbian Empire , by only two monarchs; Stefan Uroš IV Dušan the Mighty and Stefan Uroš V the Weak.-History:...
in 1346, and the town is part of this realm until the death of the second Emperor, Uroš the Weak, his son, in 1371. It is then part of Moravian Serbia
Moravian Serbia
The Moravian Serbia was one of the states that emerged from the collapse of the Serbian Empire in the 14th century. The state was created through political and military activities of its first ruler Prince Lazar Hrebeljanović, who later fought and perished at the Battle of Kosovo.-History:Lazar...
, under Tsar Lazar, and the Serbian Despotate
Serbian Despotate
The Serbian Despotate was a Serbian state, the last to be conquered by the Ottoman Empire. Although the Battle of Kosovo in 1389 is generally considered the end of the medieval Serbian state, the Despotate, a successor of the Serbian Empire and Moravian Serbia survived for 70 more years,...
under Stefan Lazarević
Stefan Lazarevic
Stefan Lazarević known also as Stevan the Tall was a Serbian Despot, ruler of the Serbian Despotate between 1389 and 1427. He was the son and heir to Prince Lazar, who died at the Battle of Kosovo against the Turks in 1389, and Princess Milica from the subordinate branch of the Nemanjić dynasty...
, his son.
In the 14th century, Serbian duke Momčilo raises the Pirot Fortress
Pirot Fortress
Momcilov grad is situated in Pirot, Serbia. It was built in the 14th century by Duke Momčilo. It was supposed to serve as a defense against the Turks on the busy road which led from Belgrade to Constantinople....
(Momčilov Grad, Momčilo's town).
By 1411-12, Ottoman Musa had conquered Pirot and its surroundings from Stefan Lazarević
Stefan Lazarevic
Stefan Lazarević known also as Stevan the Tall was a Serbian Despot, ruler of the Serbian Despotate between 1389 and 1427. He was the son and heir to Prince Lazar, who died at the Battle of Kosovo against the Turks in 1389, and Princess Milica from the subordinate branch of the Nemanjić dynasty...
(r. 1389-1427).
Ottoman rule
Pirot was known as Şehirköy in Turkish and belonged to the Sanjak of NišSanjak of Niš
The Sanjak of Niš or Sanjak of Nish was one of the sanjaks of the Ottoman Empire and its county town was Niš. It was composed of the kazas of Niš, Pirot, Leskovac, Vranje, Kuršumlija, Prokuplje and Tran ....
.
- April 7, 1831, site of a battle in the Bosnian uprising
- 1846–1864, part of the Niš Eyalet
- 1864–1878, part of the Danube Vilayet.
Tourism
- Pirot FortressPirot FortressMomcilov grad is situated in Pirot, Serbia. It was built in the 14th century by Duke Momčilo. It was supposed to serve as a defense against the Turks on the busy road which led from Belgrade to Constantinople....
, dating to the 14th century Serbian EmpireSerbian EmpireThe Serbian Empire was a short-lived medieval empire in the Balkans that emerged from the Serbian Kingdom. Stephen Uroš IV Dušan was crowned Emperor of Serbs and Greeks on 16 April, 1346, a title signifying a successorship to the Eastern Roman Empire... - Temska Monastery, 16th-century Orthodox monastery