1.
Serbs
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The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group that formed in the Balkans. The majority of Serbs inhabit the state of Serbia, as well as Bosnia and Herzegovina. They form significant minorities in Croatia, Macedonia and Slovenia, there is a large Serb diaspora in Western Europe, and outside Europe there are significant communities in North America and Australia. The Serbs share many traits with the rest of the peoples of Southeast Europe. They are predominantly Eastern Orthodox Christians by religion, the Serbian language is official in Serbia, co-official in Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and is spoken by the majority in Montenegro. The modern identity of Serbs is rooted in Eastern Orthodoxy and traditions, in the 19th century, the Serbian national identity was manifested, with awareness of history and tradition, medieval heritage, cultural unity, despite living under different empires. When the Principality of Serbia gained independence from the Ottoman Empire, Orthodoxy became crucial in defining the national identity, instead of language which was shared by other South Slavs. The tradition of slava, the family saint feast day, is an important ethnic marker of Serb identity, the origin of the ethnonym is unclear. Serbia has among the tallest people in the world, after Montenegro and Netherlands, Slavs invaded and settled the Balkans in the 6th and 7th centuries. Up until the late 560s their activity was raiding, crossing from the Danube, the Danube and Sava frontier was overwhelmed by large-scale Slavic settlement in the late 6th and early 7th century. What is today central Serbia was an important geo-strategical province, through which the Via Militaris crossed and this area was frequently intruded by barbarians in the 5th and 6th centuries. The numerous Slavs mixed with and assimilated the descendants of the indigenous population, numerous small Serbian states were created, located in modern Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Serbia. With the decline of the Serbian state of Duklja in the late 11th century, Raška separated from it, prince Stefan Nemanja conquered the neighbouring territories of Kosovo, Duklja and Zachlumia. The Nemanjić dynasty ruled over Serbia until the 14th century, over the next 140 years, Serbia expanded its borders. Its cultural model remained Byzantine, despite political ambitions directed against the empire, the medieval power and influence of Serbia culminated in the reign of Stefan Dušan, who ruled the state from 1331 until his death in 1355. Ruling as Emperor from 1346, his territory included Macedonia, northern Greece, Montenegro, when Dušan died, his son Stephen Uroš V became Emperor. With the death of two important Serb leaders in the battle, and with the death of Stephen Uroš that same year, hrebeljanović was subsequently accepted as the titular leader of the Serbs because he was married to a member of the Nemanjić dynasty. In 1389, the Serbs faced the Ottomans at the Battle of Kosovo on the plain of Kosovo Polje, both Lazar and Sultan Murad I were killed in the fighting
2.
Studenica Monastery
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The Studenica Monastery is a 12th-century Serbian Orthodox monastery situated 39 kilometres southwest of Kraljevo and 40.9 kilometres east of Ivanjica, in central Serbia. It is one of the largest and richest Serb Orthodox monasteries, Stefan Nemanja, the founder of the medieval Serb state, founded the monastery in 1190. The monasterys fortified walls encompass two churches, the Church of the Virgin, and the Church of the King, both of which were using white marble. The monastery is best known for its collection of 13th- and 14th century Byzantine-style fresco paintings and it is the largest and richest of Serbias Orthodox monasteries. Its two principal monuments, the Church of the Virgin and the Church of the King, both built of marble, enshrine priceless collections of 13th- and 14th-century Byzantine painting. The monastery Studenica, dedicated to the Presentation of the Holy Virgin, is the mother-church of all Serbian temples and it was constructed over a quite long period of time. The first stage of works were completed by the spring of 1196, when he later left for Hilandar, his son and successor Stefan took over the care of Studenica. Nemanja died in Hilandar in 1199, Nemanjas third son Rastko, after reconciling with his brothers Stefan and Vukan, moved Nemanjas relics to Studenica. Under guardianship of Sava, Studenica became the political, cultural and spiritual center of ´medieval Serbia, Studenica enjoyed continual care by the members of the Nemanjić dynasty. King Radoslav added a splendid narthex to the church in 1235, King Milutin built a small but lovely church dedicated to saints Joachim and Anna. Since the fall of the last of the medieval Serbian states in 1459, the first of the significant restorations of the damage took place in 1569, when the frescoes in the Church of the Virgin were repainted. In the early 17th century, an earthquake and a fire befell the monastery, and historical documents, the Virgins Church is a domed single-nave basilica. At its eastern end there is an apse, while an extended narthex faces west, there are also vestibules on the north. In the 1230s, a large exonarthex was added, the facades were built with slabs of white marble, inside, the church is revetted with tuff blocks. Externally, the Church harmoniously reconciles two architectural styles, the Romanesque and the Byzantine, the blending of these two styles eventually produced a particular style of architecture known as the Raška School. Northwest of the Church of the Virgin there is the church of saints Joachim and Anna, the church was constructed in 1314, in the form of a compressed cross, with the exterior structure of an octagonal dome. It is built of stone and tuff, with plastered facades, the complex of the Studenica monastery includes the Church of St. Nicholas, a small single-nave church frescoed inside with works from the 12th or possibly early 13th centuries. Between the Church of St. Nicholas and the Kings Church are the foundations of the dedicated to St. John the Baptist
3.
Coronation
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The ceremony can also be conducted for the monarchs consort, either simultaneously with the monarch or as a separate event. A ceremony without the placement of a crown on the head is known as an enthronement. Coronations are still observed in the United Kingdom, Tonga, in addition to investing the monarch with symbols of state, Western-style coronations have often traditionally involve anointing with holy oil, or chrism as it is often called. Wherever a ruler is anointed in this way, as in Great Britain and Tonga, some other lands use bathing or cleansing rites, the drinking of a sacred beverage, or other religious practices to achieve a comparable effect. Such acts symbolise the granting of divine favour to the monarch within the relevant spiritual-religious paradigm of the country, in the past, concepts of royalty, coronation and deity were often inexorably linked. Rome promulgated the practice of worship, in Medieval Europe. Coronations were once a direct expression of these alleged connections. Thus, coronations have often been discarded altogether or altered to reflect the nature of the states in which they are held. However, some monarchies still choose to retain an overtly religious dimension to their accession rituals, others have adopted simpler enthronement or inauguration ceremonies, or even no ceremony at all. In non-Christian states, coronation rites evolved from a variety of sources, buddhism, for instance, influenced the coronation rituals of Thailand, Cambodia and Bhutan, while Hindu elements played a significant role in Nepalese rites. The ceremonies used in modern Egypt, Malaysia, Brunei and Iran were shaped by Islam, Coronations, in one form or another, have existed since ancient times. Egyptian records show coronation scenes, such as that of Seti I in 1290 BC, judeo-Christian scriptures testify to particular rites associated with the conferring of kingship, the most detailed accounts of which are found in II Kings 11,12 and II Chronicles 23,11. Following the assumption of the diadem by Constantine, Roman and Byzantine emperors continued to wear it as the symbol of their authority. Although no specific coronation ceremony was observed at first, one gradually evolved over the following century, the emperor Julian was hoisted upon a shield and crowned with a gold necklace provided by one of his standard-bearers, he later wore a jewel-studded diadem. Later emperors were crowned and acclaimed in a manner, until the momentous decision was taken to permit the Patriarch of Constantinople to physically place the crown on the emperors head. Historians debate when exactly this first took place, but the precedent was established by the reign of Leo II. This ritual included recitation of prayers by the Byzantine prelate over the crown, after this event, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the ecclesiastical element in the coronation ceremonial rapidly develop. This was usually performed three times, following this, the king was given a spear, and a diadem wrought of silk or linen was bound around his forehead as a token of regal authority
4.
Stefan Dragutin
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Stefan Dragutin was the King of Serbia from 1276 to 1282 and King of Syrmia from 1282 to 1316. He ruled Serbia until his abdication in 1282, when he became ill and he continued to rule the royal domains of Syrmia as King of Syrmia, and his younger brother succeeded him as ruler of Serbia. Later he became a monk and changed his name to Teokist, in the list of Serbian saints, Stefan Dragutin is venerated on 12 November or 30 October. Dragutin was the eldest son of king Stefan Uroš I of Serbia by Helen of Anjou and he married Catherine, daughter of Hungarian king Stephen V. He began to attack the Byzantine Empire but had no success and his new state was named Kingdom of Srem. The first capital of his state was Debrc, and later he moved his residence to Belgrade and he is the first of the Serb rulers who ruled from the capital of Belgrade. In that time the name Srem was designation for two territories, Upper Srem and Lower Srem, Kingdom of Srem under the rule of Stefan Dragutin was actually Lower Srem. Some historical sources mention that Stefan Dragutin also ruled over Upper Srem and Slavonija, the name of this ruler was Ugrin Csák. Near the end of the 13th century Stefan Dragutin expanded his territory, conflict between the brothers was calmed by the clergy in 1313. Near the end of his life he separated from his Hungarian friends and he later became a monk and changed his name to Teoktist. He died in 1316 and was buried in the Đurđevi Stupovi monastery near Novi Pazar, after Dragutin died, his son Stefan Vladislav II became the new ruler of the Kingdom of Srem. His marriage in about 1268 with Katarina, daughter of Stephen V of Hungary and Elizabeth the Cuman, Elizabeth, married in 1284 to Stephen I, Ban of Bosnia, becoming mother of Stephen II, Ban of Bosnia. And several daughters, among whom Elizabeth, is known, saint Achillius Church History of Serbia List of Serbian monarchs Srem Dinić, Mihailo
5.
St Nedelya Church
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Holy Sunday Church is an Eastern Orthodox church in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, a cathedral of the Sofia bishopric of the Bulgarian Patriarchate. Sveta Nedelya is a church that has suffered destruction through the ages and has been reconstructed many times. The present building of the temple is among the landmarks of Sofia and it was designed by the famous Bulgarian architectural team Vasilyov-Tsolov. The history of the cathedrals earliest years is to an extent unknown. A German traveller by the name of Stefan Gerlach visited Sofia in 1578, with some interruptions, the remains have been preserved in the church ever since and the church acquired another name, Holy King, in the late 19th and early 20th century. The former building was demolished to make place for a larger, the construction of the 35.5 m-long and 19 m-wide church began in the summer of the same year. The still incomplete building suffered from an earthquake in 1858, which prolonged the construction works that ultimately finished in 1863 and it was officially inaugurated on 11 May 1867 in the presence of 20,000 people. A new belfry was erected to accommodate the 8 bells given to the church as a present by Russian Knyaz Dondukov-Korsakov in 1879, the church was renovated in 1898, with new domes being added. Exarch Joseph I of Bulgaria was buried immediately outside the walls of St Nedelya in 1915, the church was razed in the assault in 1925 that claimed over 150 victims. After the assault, the church was restored to its modern appearance between the summer of 1927 and the spring of 1933. It was almost erected anew as a temple 30 m in length and 15.50 m in width, the gilt iconostasis that survived the bomb attack was returned to the church. The mural decoration was done by a led by Nikolay Rostovtsev between 1971 and 1973. The floor was renovated and the colonnade was glazed between 1992 and 1994. The façade was cleaned thoroughly in 2000 and a device to automatically ring the bells was installed in 2002. The origin of the name Sveta Nedelya is rather obscure and it can be translated as either Holy Sunday, Saint Nedelya, or even as Saint Sunday, depending on which etymology is taken as the basis. According to the Bulgarian Orthodox website pravoslavieto, furthermore, Kyriaki is also the name of a third-century Christian martyr – Saint Kyriaki, known in Bulgarian as Sveta Nedelya. So, even today the meaning appears to refer to the holiness of the day of Sunday, it may have originally referred to the young martyr Saint Kyriaki. List of churches in Sofia Tsarkoven vestnik, the St Nedelya Sofia cathedral by Dr Hristo Temelski
6.
Sofia
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Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. The city has a population of 1.26 million, while 1.68 million people live in its metropolitan area, the city is located at the foot of Vitosha Mountain in the western part of the country, within less than 50 kilometres drive from the Serbian border. Its location in the centre of the Balkan peninsula means that it is the midway between the Black Sea and the Adriatic Sea, whereas the Aegean Sea is the closest to it, Sofia has been an area of human habitation since at least 7000 BC. Being Bulgarias primate city, Sofia is a hometown of many of the local universities, cultural institutions. Sofia is one of the top 10 best places for business in the world. Sofia is Europes most affordable capital to visit as of 2013, for the longest time the city possessed a Thracian name, derived from the tribe Serdi, who were either of Thracian, Celtic, or mixed Thracian-Celtic origin. It seems that the first written mention of Serdica was made during his reign, during the Romans civitas Serdenisium was mentioned the brightest city of the Serdi in official inscriptions. The city was major throughout the past ever since Antiquity, when Roman emperor Constantine the Great referred to it as my Rome, other names given to Sofia, such as Serdonpolis and Triaditza, were mentioned by Byzantine Greek sources or coins. The Slavic name Sredets, which is related to middle and to the citys earliest name, the city was called Atralissa by the Arab traveller Idrisi and Strelisa, Stralitsa or Stralitsion by the Crusaders. The name Sofia comes from the Saint Sofia Church, as opposed to the prevailing Slavic etymology among Bulgarian cities and towns. It is ultimately derived from the Egyptian Kemetic word sbÅ, meaning star, door, teaching and wisdom and this was a tradition of collection of wise literature, shared between Mediterranean cultures, which was called sophia in Greek. In these documents the city is called Sofia, but at the time the region and the citys inhabitants are still called Sredecheski. The city became popular to the Ottomans by the name Sofya. In 1879 there was a dispute about what the name of the new Bulgarian capital should be, the citys name is pronounced by Bulgarians with a stress on the o, in contrast with the tendency of foreigners to place the stress on i. The female given name Sofia is pronounced by Bulgarians with a stress on the i, Sofia has an area of 492 km2, while Sofia City Province has an area of 1344 km2. Sofias development as a significant settlement owes much to its position in the Balkans. It is situated in western Bulgaria, at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the Sofia Valley that is surrounded by the Balkan mountains to the north. The valley has an altitude of 550 metres
7.
Michael VIII Palaiologos
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Michael VIII Palaiologos or Palaeologus reigned as Byzantine Emperor 1259–1282. Michael VIII was the founder of the Palaiologan dynasty that would rule the Byzantine Empire until the Fall of Constantinople in 1453 and he recovered Constantinople from the Latin Empire in 1261 and transformed the Empire of Nicaea into a restored Byzantine Empire. Michael rose to distinction at an age, serving as the governor of the Thracian towns of Melnik. However, in the fall of 1253 Michael was accused before the Emperor John III Vatatzes of plotting against the throne, the only way Michael was allowed to prove his innocence was through trial by ordeal, holding a red-hot iron. Following the death of John Vatatzes, Michael crossed the Sangarios River with a few close friends, Michael was invested with the titles of megas doux and, in November 1258, of despotēs. On 1 January 1259 Michael VIII Palaiologos was proclaimed co-emperor at Nymphaion, in 1259 Michael VIII defeated the alliance of William II Villehardouin, Prince of Achaea, and Michael II Komnenos Doukas of Epirus at the Battle of Pelagonia. According to Geanakoplos, n the period preceding the Nicene reconquest of Constantinople in 1261 no event was of greater importance than Michael Palaeologus victory at Pelagonia. Despite this brilliant victory, only one event could remove the stigma of usurper completely from the eyes of his subjects — recovery of Constantinople itself, in 1260 Michael personally led an unsuccessful attempt to capture the city. Rumors of reinforcements for the city forced Michael to sign a one-year truce with the Latin Emperor Baldwin II that August. Realizing that he needed a navy to effectively besiege Constantinople, Michael concluded the Treaty of Nymphaeum with Genoa in March of the following year, Genoese help proved to be unneeded when Michael VIIIs general Alexios Strategopoulos captured Constantinople from Baldwin II through treachery on 25 July 1261. News of the city first reached Michaels sister Eulogia, who awoke her brother at dawn. He was not convinced until a messenger arrived from Strategopoulos bearing the crown, Michael VIII entered the city on 15 August and had himself crowned together with his infant son Andronikos II Palaiologos. Once in control of Constantinople, Michael abolished all Latin customs and reinstated most Byzantine ceremonies and institutions as they had existed before the Fourth Crusade. He repopulated the capital, building its population from 35,000 when he took power to 70,000 by the end of his reign, and restored damaged churches, monasteries, and public buildings. In December John IV, who had left behind at Nicaea, was blinded and relegated to a monastery. Although Michael tried to keep the blinding of John a secret and this ban was not lifted until six years later on the appointment of patriarch Joseph I. In the words of Geanaklopos, With the fall of Constantinople, for the Greeks had now effectively reasserted their right to a church divorced from Rome. Thus it became the task of each of the six successive popes of Michaels reign to accomplish the return of the schismatics to the Roman fold, Michael also approached Manfred of Sicily to achieve some kind of accord
8.
Skopje
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Skopje is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Macedonia. It is the political, cultural, economic, and academic center. It was known in the Roman period under the name Scupi, the territory of Skopje has been inhabited since at least 4000 BC, remains of Neolithic settlements have been found within the old Kale Fortress that overlooks the modern city centre. On the eve of the 1st century AD, the settlement was seized by the Romans, when the Roman Empire was divided into eastern and western halves in 395 AD, Scupi came under Byzantine rule from Constantinople. During much of the medieval period, the town was contested between the Byzantines and the Bulgarian Empire, whose capital it was between 972 and 992. From 1282, the town was part of the Serbian Empire, in 1392, the city was conquered by the Ottoman Turks who called the town Üsküp. The town stayed under Turkish control for over 500 years, serving as the capital of pashasanjak of Üsküb, at that time the city was famous for its oriental architecture. In 1912, it was annexed by the Kingdom of Serbia during the Balkan Wars and after the First World War the city part of the newly formed Kingdom of Serbs, Croats. In the Second World War the city was conquered by the Bulgarian Army, in 1944, it became the capital city of Democratic Macedonia, which was a federal state, part of Democratic Federal Yugoslavia. The city developed rapidly after World War II, but this trend was interrupted in 1963 when it was hit by a disastrous earthquake, in 1991, it became the capital city of an independent Macedonia. Skopje is located on the course of the Vardar River. It is a center for metal-processing, chemical, timber, textile, leather, industrial development of the city has been accompanied by development of the trade, logistics, and banking sectors, as well as an emphasis on the fields of transportation, culture and sport. Skopje is located in the north of the Republic of Macedonia, in the center of the Balkan peninsula, the city is built in the Skopje valley, oriented on a west-east axis, along the course of the Vardar river, which flows into the Aegean Sea in Greece. The valley is approximately 20 kilometres wide and it is limited by several mountain ranges to the North and South and these ranges limit the urban expansion of Skopje, which spreads along the Vardar and the Serava, a small river which comes from the North. In its administrative boundaries, the City of Skopje stretches for more than 33 kilometres, Skopje is approximately 245m above sea level and covers 571.46 km2. The urbanised area only covers 337 km2, with a density of 65 inhabitants per hectare, Skopje, in its administrative limits, encompasses many villages and other settlements, including Dračevo, Gorno Nerezi and Bardovci. According to the 2002 census, the City of Skopje comprised 506,926 inhabitants, the City of Skopje reaches the Kosovo border to the North-East. Clockwise, it is bordered by the Macedonian municipalities of Čučer-Sandevo, Lipkovo, Aračinovo, Ilinden, Studeničani, Sopište, Želino
9.
Kavala
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Kavala is a city in northern Greece, the principal seaport of eastern Macedonia and the capital of Kavala regional unit. It is situated on the Bay of Kavala, across from the island of Thasos and on the Egnatia motorway, a drive to Thessaloniki. In Antiquity the name of the city was Neapolis, during the Middle Ages, it was devoutly renamed Christoupolis. The etymology of the name of the city is disputed. Some mention an ancient Greek village Skavala near the town, other proposals include either from the Italian cavallo, or from the Hebrew Kabbalah due to the citys large Jewish population in the past. Its nickname is The cyan city, the city was founded in the late 7th century BC by settlers from Thassos. It was one of several Thassian colonies along the coastline, all founded in order to take advantage of rich gold and silver mines, worship of Parthenos / the Virgin, a female deity of Greek–Ionian origin associated with Athena, is archaeologically attested in the Archaic period. At the end of the 6th century BC Neapolis claimed independence from Thassos, a few decades later a large Ionic temple made from Thassian marble replaced the Archaic one. Parts of it can now be seen in the archaeological museum. In 411 BC, during the Peloponnesian War, Neapolis was besieged by the armies of the Spartans. Two Athenian honorary decrees in 410 and 407 BC rewarded Neapolis for its loyalty, Neapolis was a town of Macedonia, located 14 km from the harbour of Philippi. It was a member of the Athenian League, a found in Athens mentions the contribution of Neapolis to the alliance. The military Roman road Via Egnatia passed through the city and helped commerce to flourish and it became a Roman civitas in 168 BC, and was a base for Brutus and Cassius in 42 BC, before their defeat in the Battle of Philippi. The Apostle Paul landed at Kavala on his first voyage to Europe, in the 6th century, Byzantine emperor Justinian I fortified the city in an effort to protect it from barbarian raids. In later Byzantine times the city was called Christoupolis and belonged to the theme of Macedonia, the first surviving mention of the new name is in a taktikon of the early 9th century. The city is mentioned in the Life of St. Gregory of Dekapolis. In the 8th and 9th centuries, Bulgarian attacks forced the Byzantines to reorganise the defence of the area, giving great care to Christoupolis with fortifications, in 926 the Byzantine general Basil Klaudon reconstructed the towns fallen walls according to an inscription now in the archaeological museum. Thanks to its location, the city experienced an economic resurgence, during a Norman raid of Macedonia in 1185, the city was captured and burned
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