Prokuplje
Encyclopedia
Prokuplje is a town and municipality located in Serbia
at 43.24° North, 21.59° East. According to 2011 census, the town has a total population of 27,163 inhabitants, while population of municipality is 43,631. It is the administrative center of the Toplica District
of Serbia. It is one of the Roman sites of Serbia
. It was a kaza center in Niş
sanjak as "Ürgüp" during Ottoman rule and was incorporated in Kingdom of Serbia
in 1878.
, Kuršumlija
, Bojnik
, Žitorađa, Merošina
, Aleksinac
, and Kruševac
.
(near Zitni Potok), Kavolak 6 km. on the west from Prokuplje (village Donja Trnava) and settlements on south slopes of Jastrebac mountain in Donja Bresnica
village. Vinca period is preserved in Plocnik locality (22 km. from Prokuplje), on the left side of Prokuplje –Kursumlija
road. The earliest known metalworking
in Europe was found in Pločnik
in 2007 dating to 5500 BC making the Copper Age several centuries older than previously thought. Those agricultural settlements were replaced by the emerging Thracians and then the invading Celtic Scordisci in 279 BC. Pieces of ceramics found by the Latin church are traces of those tribes movement on their way to Greece.
Between 73-75 B.C., after the Romans subjugated the tribes of the region, this part of Serbia became a part of the Roman province of Moesia
. It was part of the Roman „via militaris
“ (connecting the central Balkans with the Adriatic) from Niš
, the town was known as Hammeum, or Hameo; the first known name of the settlement. At the end of 4th century A.D., when the Roman empire was divided, all settlements in Toplica region belonged to (Byzantine Empire
). The name of the place was Komplos or Komblos (village-town). Some historians believed that Komplos was rebuilt by Emperor Justinian.
When South Slavic tribes first settled in this area in the 6th century, Komplos was rendered as the Slavic Prokuplje.
The first written document about today’s town name is from 1395 A.D. when the Duchess Milica gave away as a present two houses and some belongings from the town of St. Prokopius
to St. Panteleimon monastery on holy Mount Athos
in modern-day Greece
. Today’s name of the town of Prokuplje was first seen in use after the replacement of St. Prokopius' relics from Nis in the year 1396 A.D.
In early middle age, during the rule of Stefan Nemanja
, Prokuplje is not mentioned in any written documents. The settlement gain its importance in Tsar Lazar's period, before the Turkish invasion, when the fortress on Hisar Hill
was rebuilt. Prokuplje was besieged in 1454 and during 423 years of Turkish rule the name of the place was Urcub or Okrub. It was part of the Sanjak of Niš
. Between the 16th and 17th centuries, the town gets important status and becomes very important like other Serbian towns: Kruševac
, Stalac
and Leskovac
. Prokuplje prospered through the trade connections with Dubrovnik.
Prokuplje was liberated from the Turks on the 19th of December, 1877 and the whole Toplica region
was liberated in 1877. During the First
and Second World War Prokuplje was completely destroyed, but in the post-war period it became an industrial town.
On October 9, 2008, Serbian archaeologists at Pločnik
found a copper axe believed to be 500–800 years older than the actual beginning of the Copper Age, suggesting that the human use of metal is older than believed.
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...
at 43.24° North, 21.59° East. According to 2011 census, the town has a total population of 27,163 inhabitants, while population of municipality is 43,631. It is the administrative center of the Toplica District
Toplica District
The Toplica District expands in the southern part of Serbia. It has a population of 90,600 and has been named after the river Toplica. Seat of the District is in the city of Prokuplje.-Municipalities:It encompasses the municipalities of:*Prokuplje*Blace...
of Serbia. It is one of the Roman sites of Serbia
Roman Serbia
The territory of what is today the Republic of Serbia was under Roman rule for about 600 years, from the 1st century BC until the Slavic invasions of the 6th century....
. It was a kaza center in Niş
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,...
sanjak as "Ürgüp" during Ottoman rule and was incorporated in Kingdom of Serbia
Kingdom of Serbia
The Kingdom of Serbia was created when Prince Milan Obrenović, ruler of the Principality of Serbia, was crowned King in 1882. The Principality of Serbia was ruled by the Karađorđevic dynasty from 1817 onwards . The Principality, suzerain to the Porte, had expelled all Ottoman troops by 1867, de...
in 1878.
Geography
The Prokuplje municipality is located between municipalities of BlaceBlace
Blace is a town and municipality located in the Toplica District of Serbia. According to 2011 census, the population of the town is 5,261, while population of the municipality is 11,686.-Demographics:Ethnic groups in the municipality :...
, Kuršumlija
Kuršumlija
Kuršumlija is a town and municipality located in the south of Serbia, nearby the rivers Toplica, Kosanica and Banjska, on the southeast of mountain Kopaonik, and northwest of Radan Mountain...
, Bojnik
Bojnik
Bojnik is a village and a municipality located in the Jablanica District of Serbia some 20 km west from Leskovac...
, Žitorađa, Merošina
Merošina
Merošina is a village and municipality located in the Nišava District of Serbia. According to 2011 census, a village has a population of 906 inhabitants, while the municipality has 13,916.-Geography:...
, Aleksinac
Aleksinac
Aleksinac is a town which is a center of Aleksinac Municipality, located in the Nišava District of Serbia. According to 2011 census, the town has a population of 16,420 inhabitants, while the municipality has 51,462.-Name:...
, and Kruševac
Kruševac
Kruševac is a city and municipality, and the administrative center of the Rasina District, in central Serbia. According to the 2011 census, the municipality has a population of 127,429, while the town has 57,627....
.
History
The traces of early settlements can be found on neolithic localities such as: MacinaMacina
Macina may refer to:*Macina Empire , former state located in present-day Mali*Macina , the area in Mali once controlled by the empire*Macina, Mali-See also:*Masina *Messina...
(near Zitni Potok), Kavolak 6 km. on the west from Prokuplje (village Donja Trnava) and settlements on south slopes of Jastrebac mountain in Donja Bresnica
Donja Bresnica
Donja Bresnica is a village in the municipality of Prokuplje, Serbia. According to the 2002 census, the village has a population of 219 people....
village. Vinca period is preserved in Plocnik locality (22 km. from Prokuplje), on the left side of Prokuplje –Kursumlija
Kuršumlija
Kuršumlija is a town and municipality located in the south of Serbia, nearby the rivers Toplica, Kosanica and Banjska, on the southeast of mountain Kopaonik, and northwest of Radan Mountain...
road. The earliest known metalworking
Metalworking
Metalworking is the process of working with metals to create individual parts, assemblies, or large scale structures. The term covers a wide range of work from large ships and bridges to precise engine parts and delicate jewelry. It therefore includes a correspondingly wide range of skills,...
in Europe was found in Pločnik
Plocnik
Pločnik is a village in the municipality of Prokuplje, Toplica District, Republic of Serbia. According to the 2002 population census, it's populated by 182, all of whom declared Serbs....
in 2007 dating to 5500 BC making the Copper Age several centuries older than previously thought. Those agricultural settlements were replaced by the emerging Thracians and then the invading Celtic Scordisci in 279 BC. Pieces of ceramics found by the Latin church are traces of those tribes movement on their way to Greece.
Between 73-75 B.C., after the Romans subjugated the tribes of the region, this part of Serbia became a part of the Roman province of Moesia
Moesia
Moesia was an ancient region and later Roman province situated in the Balkans, along the south bank of the Danube River. It included territories of modern-day Southern Serbia , Northern Republic of Macedonia, Northern Bulgaria, Romanian Dobrudja, Southern Moldova, and Budjak .-History:In ancient...
. It was part of the Roman „via militaris
Via Militaris
Via Militaris or Via Diagonalis was an ancient Roman road, starting from Singidunum , passing by Danube coast to Viminacium , through Naissus , Serdica , Philippopolis , Adrianopolis , and reaching Constantinople...
“ (connecting the central Balkans with the Adriatic) 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,...
, the town was known as Hammeum, or Hameo; the first known name of the settlement. At the end of 4th century A.D., when the Roman empire was divided, all settlements in Toplica region belonged to (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...
). The name of the place was Komplos or Komblos (village-town). Some historians believed that Komplos was rebuilt by Emperor Justinian.
When South Slavic tribes first settled in this area in the 6th century, Komplos was rendered as the Slavic Prokuplje.
The first written document about today’s town name is from 1395 A.D. when the Duchess Milica gave away as a present two houses and some belongings from the town of St. Prokopius
Procopius of Scythopolis
Procopius of Scythopolis is venerated as an early martyr and saint. Eusebius of Caesarea writes of his martyrdom, which occurred during the persecution of Diocletian, and states that “he was born at Jerusalem, but had gone to live in Scythopolis, where he held three ecclesiastical offices...
to St. Panteleimon monastery on holy Mount Athos
Mount Athos
Mount Athos is a mountain and peninsula in Macedonia, Greece. A World Heritage Site, it is home to 20 Eastern Orthodox monasteries and forms a self-governed monastic state within the sovereignty of the Hellenic Republic. Spiritually, Mount Athos comes under the direct jurisdiction of the...
in modern-day Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
. Today’s name of the town of Prokuplje was first seen in use after the replacement of St. Prokopius' relics from Nis in the year 1396 A.D.
In early middle age, during the rule of 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...
, Prokuplje is not mentioned in any written documents. The settlement gain its importance in Tsar Lazar's period, before the Turkish invasion, when the fortress on Hisar Hill
Hisar Hill
The Hisar, is a hill near Leskovac and Prokuplje, Serbia which is the town's symbol. As the word "hisar" derives from Turkish and means "fortress", it is the site of the medieval fortress with a still well preserved tower, popularly called the Tower of Jug Bogdan, who was a hero of the Battle of...
was rebuilt. Prokuplje was besieged in 1454 and during 423 years of Turkish rule the name of the place was Urcub or Okrub. It was part of the Sanjak of Niš
Sanjak 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 ....
. Between the 16th and 17th centuries, the town gets important status and becomes very important like other Serbian towns: Kruševac
Kruševac
Kruševac is a city and municipality, and the administrative center of the Rasina District, in central Serbia. According to the 2011 census, the municipality has a population of 127,429, while the town has 57,627....
, Stalac
Stalać
Stalać is a village in the municipality of Ćićevac, western Serbia. According to the 2002 census, the village has a population of 1828 people.Stalać lies at the banks of South Morava, near its confluence with West Morava into Great Morava...
and Leskovac
Leskovac
Leskovac is a city and municipality in southern Serbia. It is the administrative center of the Jablanica District of Serbia...
. Prokuplje prospered through the trade connections with Dubrovnik.
Prokuplje was liberated from the Turks on the 19th of December, 1877 and the whole Toplica region
Toplica District
The Toplica District expands in the southern part of Serbia. It has a population of 90,600 and has been named after the river Toplica. Seat of the District is in the city of Prokuplje.-Municipalities:It encompasses the municipalities of:*Prokuplje*Blace...
was liberated in 1877. During the First
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and Second World War Prokuplje was completely destroyed, but in the post-war period it became an industrial town.
Archaeological findings
In July 2008 a major Roman spa was unearthed.On October 9, 2008, Serbian archaeologists at Pločnik
Pločnik (archaeological site)
Pločnik is an archaeological site in the village of the same name in Toplica District, Serbia. A 120 hectare settlement belonging to the Neolithic Vinča culture existed on the site from 5500 BCE until it was destroyed by fire in 4700 BCE....
found a copper axe believed to be 500–800 years older than the actual beginning of the Copper Age, suggesting that the human use of metal is older than believed.