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109-510: The Sclaveni had similar if not identical customs and culture to the Antes. They were carefully described by chroniclers such as Procopius and Maurice, whose works contribute greatly to our understanding of these two Early Slavic peoples. Maurice writes that the Slavs were very hospitable people. Tribes that mistreated guests were attacked for their dishonour. Prisoners were not kept forever and after

218-454: A certain period of time, captives were allowed to be let loose or to join the community. Settlements were built in hard to reach forests, lakes and marshes as they were hard to attack, with exits in many directions for escape. They farmed many crops, especially millet, but also had livestock of many sorts. Maurice praises their toleration of discomfort when necessary, and the loyalty of married women to their husbands. The Strategikon noted that

327-536: A coalition of Rynchinoi, Sagoudatai, Drougoubitai and Stroumanoi attacked. This time, the Belegezites, also known as the Velegeziti, did not participate and in fact supplied the besieged citizens of Thessaloniki with grain. It seems that the Slavs settled on places of earlier settlements and probably merged later with the local populations of Greek descent to form mixed Byzantine-Slavic communities . The process

436-473: A generic topic. Several levels of subsections go into further detail and include maps. These maps are mainly sketches and drawings to show essential symbols of troop positions and highlight the standard designs of formation and manoeuvre of the Byzantine military of the epoch. Books seven and eight tackle with practical advice for the commander in the form of instructions and military maxims . The eleventh book

545-589: A long and exhausting battle, the 7th German SS Division ' Prinz Eugen ' was defeated and Niš was liberated by Bulgarian Army , and Partisans . The city was also the site of a unique and accidental friendly fire air war on November 7, 1944 between the air forces of the United States and Soviet Union . On 23 June 1948, Niš was the site of a catastrophic flood during which the Nišava river's water level raised by an unprecedented 5.5 meters. After World War II,

654-705: A part were of Albanian origin, and the rest were Muslim Albanians and Muslim Romani. In 1870, Niš was included in the Bulgarian Exarchate . Before the area had been under the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and the Serbian Patriarchate of Peć . The city was also stipulated the area to be ceded to Bulgaria according to the Constantinople Conference in 1876. Niš was finally taken by

763-754: A relocation of Slavs under Bulgar aggression; again in 783. Bulgaria had by 773 cut off the communication route, the Vardar valley, between Serbia and the Byzantines. The Bulgars were defeated in 774 , after Emperor Constantine V learnt of their planned raid. In 783, a large Slavic uprising took place in the Byzantine Empire, stretching from Macedonia to the Peloponnese , which was subsequently quelled by Byzantine patrikios Staurakios ( fl.  781–800 ). Dalmatia , inhabited by Slavs in

872-419: A war. Book VIII then covers the details of the instructions that the generals would be given by Emperor Maurice and his administrative people. These books cover the surprise attacks and siege strategies that the Byzantine military used at this point in time. They cover different strategies the military would use for a surprise attack on an enemy, or to seize enemy land without a battle. Books XI and XII cover

981-535: Is a matter of debate depending on the interpretation of the Byzantine sources. Vasil Zlatarski asserts that they concluded a treaty, but most historians agree that they were subjugated. The Bulgars were superior organisationally and militarily and came to dominate politically the new state, but there was cooperation between them and the Slavs for the protection of the country. The Slavs were allowed to retain their chiefs, to abide to their customs and in return they were to pay tribute in kind and to provide foot soldiers for

1090-480: Is at Trupale , near the mouth of the Nišava (173 m (568 ft)). The city covers 596.71 square kilometres (230 sq mi) of five municipalities. Below Niska Banja and Nis, under the ground is a natural source of hot water, unique potential of clean and renewable geothermal energy at the surface of up to 65 square kilometers. According to some sources, the natural reservoir is at a depth of 500 to 800 meters, and

1199-675: Is debated. For example, the Byzantinist Peter Charanis believes the Chronicle of Monemvasia to be a reliable account, but other scholars point out that it greatly overstates the impact of the Slavic and Avar raids of Greece during this time. Max Vasmer , a prominent linguist and Indo-Europeanist, complements late medieval historical accounts by listing 429 Slavic toponyms from the Peloponnese alone. The extent that

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1308-635: Is mentioned in descriptions of Serbia under Vukan in 1202, highlighting its special status. In 1203, Kaloyan of Bulgaria annexed Niš. Stefan Nemanjić later regained the region. The fall of the Serbian Empire , which was conquered by Ottoman Sultan Murad I in 1385, decided the fate of Niš as well. After a 25-day-long siege the city fell to the Ottomans. It was returned to Serbian rule in 1443. Niš again fell under Ottoman rule in 1448, and remained thusly for 241 years. During Ottoman rule Niš

1417-659: Is of interest for ethnographers as it portrays various enemies of the Byzantine Empire, such as the Franks , the Lombards , the Avars , the Turks and the Slavs . The Strategikon also represents and refers to military justice and Byzantine legal literature, since it contains a list of military infractions and their respective penalties. This book contains a great deal of detail on

1526-705: Is one of the most important economic centers in Serbia, especially in the electronics, mechanical engineering, textile, and tobacco industries. Constantine the Great Airport is Niš's international airport. The city is also the seat of the University of Niš , the Eparchy of Niš and the Command of Serbian Army . In 2013, the city was host to the celebration of 1700 years of Constantine's Edict of Milan . Niš

1635-519: Is situated at the 43°19' latitude north and 21°54' longitude east, in the Nišava valley, near the spot where it joins the South Morava . The main city square, the city's central part, is at 194 m (636 ft) above sea level . The highest point in the city area is "Sokolov kamen" (Falcon's rock) on the Suva Planina ( Dry Mountain ) (1,523 m (4,997 ft)) while the lowest spot

1744-580: Is strategically important, at the intersection of European highway and railway networks connecting Europe with Asia. Niš is easily accessible, having an airport – Niš Constantine the Great Airport and being a point of intersection of numerous railroad and highway lines. It is in Niš that the trunk road running from the north down the Morava River valley forks into two major lines: These roads have been widely known from ancient times, because they represented

1853-648: The Avars arrived on the Black Sea steppe, and defeated the Antes between the Dnieper and Dniester. The Avars subsequently allied themselves with the Sclaveni. Daurentius ( fl.  577–579 ), the first Slavic chieftain recorded by name, was sent an Avar embassy requesting his Slavs to accept Avar suzerainty and pay tribute, because the Avars knew that the Slavs had amassed great wealth after repeatedly plundering

1962-639: The Byzantine Emperor Maurice . The work is a practical manual and according to its author "a rather modest elementary handbook [...] for those devoting themselves to generalship", that was to serve as a general guide or handbook to Byzantine art of war . In the introduction of his 1984 translation of the text, George Dennis noted that "the Strategikon is written in a very straightforward and generally uncomplicated Greek." The Strategikon may have been written in an effort to codify

2071-722: The Danube was recorded by Procopius (writing in the mid-6th century CE), who mentions an attack of the Antes, "who dwell close to the Sclaveni", probably in 518. In the 530s, Emperor Justinian seems to have used divide and conquer policies, and the Sclaveni and Antes are mentioned as fighting each other. Sclaveni are mentioned in the context of the military policy on the Danube frontier of Byzantine Emperor Justinian I ( r.  527–565 ). In 537, Justinian shipped 1,600 cavalry, made up of mostly Sclaveni and Antes, to Italy to rescue Belisarius . Sometime between 533–34 and 545 (probably before

2180-585: The Emperor Heraclius . As the Byzantine Empire recovered, the system was imposed on all areas that came under Byzantine control. The first Balkan theme was created in Thrace in 680 AD. By 695, a second theme, that of " Hellas " (or "Helladikoi"), was established, probably in eastern central Greece . Subduing the Slavs in the themes was simply a matter of accommodating the needs of the Slavic elites and providing them with incentives for their inclusion into

2289-575: The Goths at the Battle of Naissus (present-day Niš). Later playing a prominent role in the history of the Byzantine Empire, the city's past would earn it the nickname Imperial City. After about 400 years of Ottoman rule, the city was liberated in 1878 and became part of the Principality of Serbia , though not without great bloodshed—remnants of which can be found throughout the city. Today, Niš

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2398-482: The Tanzimat the population of Sanjak of Niš was treated as Bulgarian, and according to French travelers such as Jérôme-Adolphe Blanqui and Ami Boue in 1837/1841. According to all authors between 1840-72 the delineation between Bulgarians and Serbs is undisputed and ran north of Nis, although one author Cyprien Robert claims that half of the population of the town was made up by Serbians. Serbian cartographers of

2507-560: The University of Niš was founded on 15 June 1965. Over the course of the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia , Niš was subject to airstrikes on 40 occasions. On 7 May 1999, the city was the site of a NATO cluster bomb raid which killed 16 civilians. By the end of the NATO bombing campaign, a total of 56 people in Niš had been killed from airstrikes. In April 2012, the Russian-Serbian Humanitarian Center

2616-466: The military reforms brought about by the soldier-emperor Maurice. The true authorship of the Strategikon is still debated among academics. Maurice may have only commissioned it and perhaps his brother Peter or, more likely, another general was the true author. The date also remains debated. If it was written during the 6th century, the Strategikon may have been produced to analyze and reflect on

2725-550: The southern part of Serbia . According to the 2011 census , the city proper has a population of 182,797, while its administrative area (City of Niš) has a population of 260,237 inhabitants. Several Roman emperors were born in Niš or used it as a residence: Constantine the Great , the first Christian emperor and the founder of Constantinople , Constantius III , Constans , Vetranio , Julian , Valentinian I , Valens ; and Justin I . Emperor Claudius Gothicus decisively defeated

2834-591: The 2nd century CE, and was considered a place worthy of note in the Geography of Ptolemy of Alexandria. The Romans occupied the town during the Dardanian campaign (75–73 BC), and set up a legionary camp in the city. The city, called refugia and vici in pre-Roman relation, as a result of its strategic position (the Thracians were based to the south ) developed as an important garrison and market town in

2943-713: The 539–40 Hun or Bulgar-Hun invasion of the Byzantine Empire), there was a conflict between the Antes and Sclaveni in Eastern Europe . Procopius noted that the two "became hostile to one another and engaged in battle" until a Sclavene victory resulted. The conflict was likely aided or initiated by the Byzantines. The Romans also recruited mounted mercenaries from both tribes to fight against the Ostrogoths . The two tribes were at peace by 545. The Antes are last mentioned as anti-Byzantine belligerents in 545, and

3052-628: The 580s, the Romans bribed the Antes to attack Sclaveni settlements. By the 580s, as the Slav communities on the Danube became larger and more organised, and as the Avars exerted their influence, "barbarian" raids into the Byzantine Empire became larger and resulted in permanent settlement. John of Ephesus noted in 581: "the accursed people of the Slavs set out and plundered all of Greece, the regions surrounding Thessalonica, and Thrace, taking many towns and castles, laying waste, burning, pillaging, and seizing

3161-415: The 6th and 7th century A.D. Its contents primarily focus on cavalry tactics and formation and several chapters elaborate on matters of infantry, siege warfare , logistics , education and training and movement. The author was familiar with antique Hellenistic military treatises, especially Onasander and Aelian , which he utilized as conceptional models rather than sources of content. Each book focuses on

3270-572: The Albanians that resettled in parts of now Kosovo , are now known as Muhaxhir . The number of remaining Muslims counted were 1,168, with many being Muslim Romani, out of the pre-war ca. 8,500. The Albanian bazaar in Niš was destroyed. 12 out of 15 mosques and about 1,300 out of 4,000 houses were torn down, while the rest of the Muslim houses were sold at discounted prices. The destruction of buildings owned by Muslims, Jews and recalcitrant Christians

3379-593: The Antes and Sclaveni were independent, refusing to be governed or enslaved. They lived under democracy, with all matters being referred to the people. The religion of the Sclaveni, like other Slavic tribes and peoples was Slavic paganism . The Antes and Sclaveni were skilled warriors, especially in guerrilla warfare, taking advantage of terrain. They preferred to fight in dense woodland instead of pitch battle, although field battles and sieges were also recorded. Their weapons were javelins, spears, bows nocked with poison tipped arrows and sturdy wooden shields, but body armour

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3488-458: The Austrians , who attempted to rebuild the fortifications around the city. The same year, the Ottomans reclaimed the city without resistance. The existing fortification is of Ottoman Turkish origin, dating from the first decades of the 18th century (1719–1723). It is well known as one of the most significant and best preserved monuments of this kind in the mid-Balkans. The Fortress was erected on

3597-475: The Avars attacked the Antes; this is the last mention of Antes in historical sources. In 615, during the reign of Heraclius ( r.  610–641 ), the whole Balkans was regarded as Sklavinia – inhabited or controlled by Slavs. Chatzon led the Slavic attack on Thessaloniki that year. The Slavs asked the Avars for aid, resulting in an unsuccessful siege (617). In 626, Sassanids , Avars and Slavs joined forces and unsuccessfully besieged Constantinople . During

3706-711: The Balkans and the first time it legally surrendered claims to part of its Balkan dominions. In 680 the Byzantine Emperor Constantine IV (r.   668–685), having recently defeated the Arabs , led an expedition at the head of a huge army and fleet to drive off the Bulgars but suffered a disastrous defeat at the hands of Asparuh at Onglos , a swampy region in or around the Danube Delta where

3815-459: The Balkans. Daurentius reportedly retorted that "Others do not conquer our land, we conquer theirs [...] so it shall always be for us", and had the envoys slain. The Avar khagan Bayan then campaigned (in 578) against Daurentius' people, with aid from the Byzantines, and set fire to many of their settlements, although this did not stop the Slavic raids deep into the Byzantine Empire. In 578, a large army of Sclaveni devastated Thrace and other areas. In

3924-532: The Bulgars had set a fortified camp. The Bulgars advanced south, crossed the Balkan Mountains and invaded Thrace . In 681, the Byzantines were compelled to sign a humiliating peace treaty, forcing them to acknowledge Bulgaria as an independent state, to cede the territories to the north of the Balkan Mountains and to pay an annual tribute. The relations between the Bulgars and the local Slavs

4033-551: The Greeks inside towns. Furthermore, the Slavs surely did not occupy the whole interior or eliminate the Greek population since some Greek villages continued to exist in the interior, probably governed themselves and possibly paid tribute to the Slavs. Some villages were probably mixed, and quite possibly, some degree of Hellenization of the Slavs by the Greeks of the Peloponnese had already begun during this period, before re- Hellenization

4142-550: The Hermit clashed with Byzantine forces at Naissus. Manuel I fortified the town, but under his successor Andronikos I it was seized by the Hungarian king Béla III . Byzantine control was eventually reestablished, but in 1185 it fell under Serbian control. By 1188, Niš became the capital of Serbian king Stefan Nemanja . On 27 July 1189, Nemanja received German emperor Frederick Barbarossa and his 100,000 crusaders at Niš. Niš

4251-707: The Nišava was built in 1908; at the time, it was the largest in Serbia. The airfield was built in 1912 on the Trupale field, and the first aeroplane arrived on 29 December 1912. The city's museum was founded in 1913. During the First Balkan War , Niš was the seat of The Main Headquarters of the Serbian Army, which led military operations against the Ottoman Empire . In World War I , Niš was

4360-612: The Ottomans arrested the Bishop of Niš, Milentija, as well as 200 Serbian patriots, on charges of preparing an uprising in the Niš area in support of the Greek War of Independence . On June 13 of that year, Bishop Milentija and other Serbian leaders were hanged in public. In the 19th century Niš was an important town, but populated by Bulgarians in the 19th century, when the Niš rebellion broke out in 1841. According to Ottoman statistics during

4469-580: The Roman Empire into halves which they would rule as co-emperors. It was besieged by the Huns in 441 and devastated in 448, and again in 480 when the partially-rebuilt town was demolished by the Barbarians . Byzantine Emperor Justinian I restored the town but it was destroyed by the Avars once again. The Slavs , in their campaign against Byzantium, conquered Niš and settled here in 540. In 805,

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4578-527: The Sclaveni continued to raid the Balkans. Between 545 and 549, the Sclaveni raided deep into Roman territory. In the summer of 550, the Sclaveni came close to Naissus , and were seen as a great threat, however, their intent of capturing Thessaloniki and the surroundings was thwarted by Germanus . After this, for a year, the Sclaveni spent their time in Dalmatia "as if in their own land". The Sclaveni then raided Illyricum and returned home with booty. In 558

4687-626: The Serbian Army during the Serbo–Ottoman War of 1876–1878. The battle for the liberation of Niš started on 29 December 1877, and the Serbian Army entered Niš on 11 January 1878, and it became a part of Serbia. The Albanian quarter was burned and some of the town's Muslim population, which the majority were Albanians, were forced to flee to the Ottoman vilayet of Kosovo , resettling in Pristina , while others went to Skopje. The descendants of

4796-441: The Slavs, obliterated them and allowed the original inhabitants to claim their own. The city of Patras was recovered and the region resettled with Greeks. In the 9th century, new themes continued to arise although many were small and were carved out of original larger themes. New themes in the 9th century included those of Thessalonica , Dyrrhachium , Strymon and Nicopolis . From those themes, Byzantine laws and culture flowed into

4905-583: The Teacher Training College, and in 1894, the Girls' College were founded in Niš. The City Hall was built from 1882 to 1887. In 1883, Kosta Čendaš established the first printing house. In 1884, the first newspaper in the city Niški Vesnik was started. In 1884, Jovan Apel built a brewery. A railway line to Niš was built in 1884, as well as the city's railway station; on 8 August 1884, the first train arrived from Belgrade. In 1885, Niš became

5014-425: The annual rainfall is 613.8 mm (24.17 in). The average barometer value is 992.74 mb. On average, there are 134 days with rain and snow cover lasts for 41 days. Average temperatures in Niš are rising and they are about 1 °C higher in last 15 years than in period from 1991-2020. Number of snow days and days with frost is decreasing, since January is the only month with average lows below 0 °C. According to

5123-470: The area which might have been an eastern expansion of Proto-Albanian settlement as no other toponyms known in antiquity in the area presuppose an Albanian development. It cannot be ruled out however that the development of Nish < Naiss- may also represent a regional development in late antiquity Balkans which, while closely related to Albanian (i.e. characterized by the same phonetic system), may not be identical with it. Attempts have been made to explain

5232-557: The army. The Seven Slavic tribes were relocated to the west to protect the frontier with the Avar Khaganate , while the Severi were resettled in the eastern Balkan Mountains to guard the passes to the Byzantine Empire. The number of Asparuh's Bulgars is difficult to estimate. Vasil Zlatarski and John Van Antwerp Fine Jr. suggest that they were not particularly numerous, numbering some 10,000, while Steven Runciman considers that

5341-413: The baggage train encampment to the front line. An intermediate encampment, closer to the front line, should be established between the battle area and the baggage train; the camp should be fortified and supplied with food for a day at the camp for each bandon. While in transit, the baggage train should be kept separate from the soldiers' marching lines; when enemies are present, the baggage train should be in

5450-410: The baggage train should be stationed in a defensible area with water and grass readily available at a distance of approximately 30 to 50 miles away from the location of the main battle and should be staffed with a force of two Banda ; the encampment should forage for food and have equivalent to four days of necessity. The defense force should select known and capable men to form a communication chain from

5559-630: The beaten tracks along which peoples, goods and armies moved. Known as 'Via Militaris' in Roman and Byzantine periods, or 'Constantinople road' in Middle Ages, these roads still represent major European traffic arteries. Niš thus stands at a point of intersection of the roads connecting Asia Minor to Europe, and the Black Sea to the Mediterranean. Nis had been a relatively developed city in

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5668-463: The campaign although it is likely that some was. Sometime between 790 and 802, the theme of Macedonia was created, centred on Adrianople (east of the modern geographic entity ). A serious and successful recovery began under Nicephorus I (802–811). In 805, the theme of the Peloponnese was created. According to the Chronicle of Monemvasia the Byzantine governor of Corinth went in 805 to war with

5777-417: The case of an ambush. It also covers formations to deter the ambush from taking place. It provides certain spacings between squads, to prevent an ambush from reaching a squad without the intervention of a squad further behind. This method was also used to help prevent retreats by any soldier, because there would always be someone watching them. Baggage trains should be regarded with utmost care as they contain

5886-419: The centre of the Region (oblast), governed by a grand-župan, appointed by royal decree. From 1929 to 1941, Niš was the capital of the Morava Banovina of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia . The tram system in Niš started to run in November 1930. The national airline Aeroput included Niš as a regular destination for the route Belgrade—Niš—Skopje—Thessaloniki in 1930. During the time of German occupation in World War II,

5995-404: The characters display on the map. These books cover topics ranging from recruitment, to creation of squads, to the strategy of using block formations of men instead of the one lengthy line. They also discuss the importance of having a cavalry and the importance of the cavalry in their specific military style. This book discusses what each part of the formations of the cavalry and tagma would do in

6104-401: The chieftain of the Rhynchinoi , a powerful tribe near Thessaloniki, planned a siege on Thessaloniki but was imprisoned and eventually executed after escaping prison; the Rhynchinoi, Strymonitai , Sagoudatai and Drougoubitai made common cause, rose up and laid the Siege to Thessaloniki for two years (676–678). The First Bulgarian Empire was the first state that the empire recognised in

6213-402: The empire, such as Anatolia, and made to serve in the military. In return, many Greeks from Sicily and Asia Minor were brought to the interior of Greece to increase the number of defenders at the Emperor's disposal and to dilute the concentration of Slavs. Even non-Greeks were transferred to the Balkans, such as Armenians . As more of the peripheral territories of the Byzantine Empire were lost in

6322-400: The end of the 3rd century BC. There is very little archaeological evidence however which can be used to reconstruct a pre-Roman history of Niš. During the Roman era , the city of Naissus became a large urban center. During the Roman conquest of the Balkans , between 168 and 75 BC, the city was used as a base of operations. Naissus was first mentioned in Roman documents near the beginning of

6431-413: The estimated capacity is about 400 million cubic meters of thermal mineral water. Niš has a humid subtropical climate , but with continental influences. Average annual temperature in the area of Niš is 12.4 °C (54.3 °F). July is the warmest month of the year, with an average of 23.1 °C (73.6 °F). The coldest month is January, averaging at 0.9 °C (33.6 °F). The average of

6540-428: The experience of the Balkan and Persian campaigns, or the campaigns may have been carried out in compliance with the manual. However, beginning in the late 19th century, a number of historians have, due to perceived philological and technological inconsistencies, argued for a later publication date during the eighth or ninth century. In any case, the work is considered to be one of the most notable military texts of

6649-467: The final results from the 2022 census, the population of city proper of Niš was 182,797, while its administrative area had a population of 260,237. The city of Niš has 87,975 households with 2,96 members on average, while the number of homes is 119,196. Religion structure in the city of Niš is predominantly Serbian Orthodox (240,765), with minorities like Muslims (2,486), Catholics (809), Protestants (258), Atheists (109) and others. Most of

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6758-429: The first Nazi Crveni Krst concentration camp in Yugoslavia was in Niš. About 30,000 people passed through this camp, of whom over 10,000 were shot on nearby Bubanj hill. On 12 February 1942, 147 prisoners staged a mass escape. In 1944, the city was heavily bombed by the Allies . In September 1943, the Germans established the Dulag 413 transit camp for Italian Military Internees in the city. On 14 October 1944, after

6867-489: The following centuries, such as Sicily, southern Italy and Asia Minor, their Greek-speakers made their own way back to Greece. The re-Hellenization of Greece by population transfers and cultural activities of the Church was successful, which suggests that Slavs found themselves in the midst of many Greeks. It is doubtful that such large number could have been transplanted into Greece in the 9th century; surely many Greeks had remained in Greece and continued to speak Greek throughout

6976-538: The former Yugoslavia. In 1981, its GDP per capita was 110% of the Yugoslav average. As of September 2017, Niš has one of 14 free economic zones established in Serbia. The following table gives a preview of total number of registered people employed in legal entities per their core activity (as of 2022): Niš is one of the most important industrial centers in Serbia, well known for its tobacco, electronics, construction, mechanical-engineering, textile, nonferrous-metal, food-processing and rubber-goods industries. Among

7085-468: The hinterland of the Peloponnese . In reference to the plague of 744–747, Constantine VII wrote in the 10th century that "the entire country [of the Peloponnese] was Slavonized". Another source for the period, the Chronicle of Monemvasia , speaks of Slavs overrunning the western Peloponnese but of the eastern Peloponnese, together with Athens, remaining in Byzantine hands throughout the period. However, such sources are far from ideal, and their reliability

7194-432: The imperial administration. It was not until 100 years later that a third theme would be established. In 782–784, the eunuch general Staurakios campaigned from Thessaloniki, south to Thessaly and into the Peloponnese. He captured many Slavs and transferred them elsewhere, mostly Anatolia (these Slavs were dubbed Slavesians ). However, it is not known whether any territory was restored to imperial authority as result of

7303-401: The ingredients to make a forward operating base function, including servants and children. Baggage trains should be kept away from areas of battle to avoid dispiriting soldier morale in the event of capture. Reserve horses should be kept with the baggage train at the onset of battle, their utility is not needed at the front line and will only add to the confusion in battle. The encampment area for

7412-496: The interior, at this time, had firm relations with Byzantium. In 799, Akameros , a Slavic archon, participated in the conspiracy against Empress Irene of Athens . Byzantine literary accounts (such as John of Ephesus ) mention Slavs raiding areas of Greece in the 580s. According to later sources such as the Miracles of Saint Demetrius , the Drougoubitai , Sagoudatai , Belegezitai , Baiounetai , and Berzetai laid siege to Thessaloniki in 614–616. However, that particular event

7521-510: The interior. By the late 9th century, most of Greece was culturally and administratively Greek again except for a few small Slavic tribes in the mountains such as the Melingoi and Ezeritai . Although they would remain relatively autonomous until Ottoman times, such tribes were the exception, rather than the rule. Apart from military expeditions against Slavs, the re-Hellenization process begun under Nicephorus I involved (often forcible) transfer of peoples. Many Slavs were moved to other parts of

7630-430: The last station of the Orient Express , until the railroad was built between Niš and Sofia in 1888. In 1887, the Niš Theatre Sinđelić was built. In 1897 Mita Ristić founded the Nitex textile factory. In 1905 the female painter Nadežda Petrović established the Sićevo art colony . The first film was screened in 1897, and the first permanent cinema started operating in 1906. The hydroelectric dam in Sićevo Gorge on

7739-533: The manufacturing companies which had a huge impact during the second half of the 20th century on Niš's development are: EI Niš (electronics industry), Mechanical Industry Niš , "Građevinar" (construction company), Niš Tobacco Factory , "Nitex – Niš" (textile industry), "Niš Brewery" (beverages) and "Žitopek" (bakery). Other prominent companies which went bankrupt during the 1990s and 2000s are: "Vulkan" (rubber-goods manufacturer), "NISSAL" (nonferrous-metal industry). Prominent tobacco manufacturer "Niš Tobacco Factory"

7848-475: The medieval Byzantine period, along with treatises attributed to the Byzantine emperors Leo VI ( Tactica ) and Nicephorus Phocas ( De velitatione and the Praecepta Militaria ), among others. Leo's Tactica in particular was greatly inspired by the Strategikon . The text consists of 12 chapters or "books" on various aspects of strategy and tactics, employed by the Byzantine army during

7957-418: The middle of the caravan to avoid harassment by enemies. Book VI contains the tactics and drills that the military had at the time to properly train the individual soldier. This gave them all of the knowledge that they would need in battle with weapons, tactics, actions, and strategies. Book VII focuses on the different strategic points that generals must consider prior to engaging in a battle, not necessarily

8066-591: The mixed uses of non-cavalry and tagma groups and their various formations. They explain what the rest of the army was to do while the Tagmas and cavalry were in formation and use. In a separate chapter of Book XI, the author presents everything useful, needed and important from a military point of view about the life of specific enemies. Military historians consider the Strategikon to be the earliest sophisticated theory of combined arms at battalion level ( Greek : Tagma ). However, historians still question and debate

8175-552: The most detail about the Sclaveni and Antes. The Sclaveni are also mentioned by Jordanes ( fl. 551), Pseudo-Caesarius (560), Menander Protector (mid-6th c.), the Strategikon (late 6th c.), etc. Scholar Michel Kazanski (born 1953) identified the 6th-century Prague culture and Sukow-Dziedzice group as Sclaveni archaeological cultures, and the Penkovka culture was identified as Antes. The first Slavic raid south of

8284-404: The orderly way of marching through an army's own country when there is no hostile activity. These books cover the formations of the cavalry and Tagma. They include maps to show how these formations appeared on a smaller scale, to help people visualize the formations. These maps have many shapes and characters that some will not understand, but through study they can make sense of them because what

8393-500: The origin of the Byzantine Military, and specific information of selections, organization, crimes, and punishment. They go into a great deal of detail on the topics listed below to make sure that there are no confusion on general topics of the Byzantine military. The topics that this book discusses include: training and drilling of soldiers as individuals, the armament of the cavalryman and the basic equipment to be furnished,

8502-467: The period of Slavic occupation. The success of re-Hellenization also suggests the number of Slavs in Greece was far smaller than those found in the former Yugoslavia and Bulgaria. For example, Bulgaria could not be re-Hellenized when Byzantine administration was established over the Bulgars in 1018 to last for well over a century, until 1186. Eventually, the Byzantines recovered the imperial border north all

8611-512: The place name in various ways as "a purely Slavic development", such as by Serbian linguist Aleksandar Loma , however, Austrian linguist Joachim Matzinger, who maintains the Albanian transmission of Naiss > Niš , states that "a discussion with historical South Slavic linguistics is an urgent desideratum". The first settlement on the site of today's Niš may have been founded by the Celts at

8720-462: The population speaks Serbian language (249,949). The composition of population by sex and average age: A total of 120,562 citizens (older than 15 years) have secondary education (53.81%), while the 51,471 citizens have higher education (23.0%). Of those with higher education, 34,409 (15.4%) have university education. The ethnic composition of the city of Niš: The city of Niš consists of five municipalities. The first four municipalities are in

8829-405: The presence of the toponyms reflects compact Slavic settlement is a matter of some debate and might represent an accumulative strata of toponyms, rather than being attributed to the earliest settlement phase. Relations between the Slavs and the Greeks were probably peaceful apart from the (supposed) initial settlement and intermittent uprisings. Being agriculturalists, the Slavs probably traded with

8938-662: The province of Moesia Superior. In 169 AD, Naissus was established as a municipium and from Diocletian onwards it belonged to the province of Dardania . In 272, the future Emperor Constantine the Great was born in Naissus. Constantine created the Dacia Mediterranea province, of which Naissus was the capital, which also included Remesiana on the Via Militaris and the towns of Pautalia and Germania. He lived in Naissus briefly from 316 to 322. The city

9047-769: The same year of the siege, the Slavs used their monoxyla in order to transport the 3,000 troops of the allied Sassanids across the Bosphorus which the latter had promised the khagan of the Avars. Based on the De Administrando Imperio , it is also theorized that the migration of White Croats and Serbs could have been part of a second Slavic wave during Heraclius' reign. Constans II conquered Sklavinia in 657–658, "capturing many and subduing", and settled captured Slavs in Asia Minor ; in 664–65, 5,000 of these joined Abdulreman ibn Khalid . Perbundos ,

9156-620: The site of earlier fortifications – the ancient Roman, Byzantine, and later yet Medieval forts. During the First Serbian uprising in 1809, Serbian revolutionaries attempted to liberate Niš in the Battle of Čegar . After the defeat of the Serbian forces, the Ottoman commander of Niš ordered the heads of the slain Serbs mounted on a tower to serve as a warning. The structure became known as Skull Tower ( Serbian : Ćele Kula ). In 1821,

9265-658: The time (such as Dimitrije Davidović in 1828 and Milan Savić in 1878) also accepted South Morava river as such delineation and added Niš outside the borders of the Serbian people. In 1862 some Muslim families from Belgrade and Smederevo settled in Nis due to the forced displacement of Muslims in the Principality of Serbia. The urban population of Niš consisted of 17,107 Christian and 4,291 Muslim males, with total number of 3,500 Serbian houses and 2,000 Muslim houses. Muslim population of Niš consisted mainly of Turks , of which

9374-547: The toponym attested in Ancient Greek as ΝΑΙΣΣΟΣ (Naissos) achieving its present form via phonetic changes in Proto-Albanian and thereafter the placename entered Slavic. Nish might indicate that Proto-Albanian was spoken in the region in pre-Slavic antiquity. According to Ismajli (2015), when this settlement happened is a matter of debate, as Proto-Albanians might have moved relatively late in antiquity in

9483-509: The town and its surroundings were taken by Bulgarian Emperor Krum . In the 11th century Byzantium reclaimed control over Naissus and the surrounding area. King Solomon of Hungary and Prince Géza marched along the valley of the river Great Morava as far as Niš. The Hungarians seized the Byzantine city without any resistance in 1072. During the People's Crusade , on 3 July 1096, Peter

9592-401: The tribe must have been of considerable dimensions. Justinian II (r. 685–695) settled as many as 30,000 Slavs from Thrace in Asia Minor, in an attempt to boost military strength. Most of them however, with their leader Neboulos , deserted to the Arabs at the Battle of Sebastopolis in 692. Military campaigns in northern Greece in 758 under Constantine V ( r.  741–775 ) prompted

9701-399: The urban area of Niš, while Niška Banja is a suburban municipality. Before 2002, the city of Niš had only two municipalities, one of them named "Niš" and another named "Niška Banja". The city of Niš includes further neighborhoods: The city of Niš is the administrative, industrial, commercial, financial and cultural center of the south-eastern part of Republic of Serbia. The position of Niš

9810-437: The urban population prior to 1878 became 80 percent in 1884. In the following years, the city saw rapid development. The city library was founded in 1879 and the famous Serbian writer Stevan Sremac , a native of Niš, was its first clerk. The first hotel, Europe , was built in 1879; shortly after the first district hospital and the first bank started operating in 1881. In 1878, the first Grammar School (Gimnazija), in 1882

9919-531: The validity of these sources due to the tradition of copying from ancient Greek and Roman authors, such as Aeneas Tacticus , Arrian or Polybius in Byzantine treatises like the Strategikon , the Tactica , the Sylloge Taktikon , the Praecepta Militaria and others. The Strategikon also testifies to the lasting influence of Latin on the Byzantine terminology of warfare and shows that up until

10028-454: The various titles of the officers and soldiers, the organization of the army and the assignment of officers, how the tagmatic commanders should select their subordinate officers and combat leaders and organize the Tagma into squads, the regulations about military crimes to be given to the troops, the regulations about military crimes to be given to the tagmatic commanders, military punishments, and

10137-722: The wartime capital of Serbia, hosting the Government and the National Assembly, until Central Powers conquered Serbia in November 1915, when the city was ceded to Bulgaria. After the breakthrough of the Salonika front , the First Serbian Army commanded by general Petar Bojović liberated Niš on 12 October 1918. In the first few years after the war, Niš was recovering from the damage. In 1921, Niš became

10246-581: The way to today's region of Macedonia , which would serve as the northern border of the Byzantine Empire until 1018, although independent Slavic villages remained. As the Slavs supposedly occupied the entire Balkan interior, Constantinople was effectively cut off from the Dalmatian city-states under its (nominal) control. Thus, Dalmatia came to have closer ties with the Italian Peninsula because of its ability to maintain contact by sea, but it too

10355-598: The whole country." According to Florin Curta , John exaggerated the intensity of the Slavic incursions since he was influenced by his confinement in Constantinople from 571 up until 579, moreover, he perceived the Slavs as God's instrument for punishing the persecutors of the Monophysites . By 586, Slavs managed to raid the western Peloponnese , Attica , Epirus , leaving only the east part of Peloponnese, which

10464-569: The year 600 C.E Latin was still the official command language of the imperial army . Naissus Niš ( / ˈ n iː ʃ / ; Serbian Cyrillic : Ниш , Serbian pronunciation: [nîːʃ] ; names in other languages ), less often spelled in English as Nish , is the third largest city in Serbia and the administrative center of the Nišava District . It is located in

10573-532: Was a seat of the empire's military and civil administration. A Silesian traveler stated in 1596 that the route from Sofia to Niš was littered with corpses and described the gates of Niš as bedecked with the freshly-severed heads of poor Bulgarian peasants. In 1689, Niš was seized by the Austrian army during the Great Turkish War , but the Ottomans regained it in 1690. In 1737, Niš was again seized by

10682-501: Was actually of local significance. A combined effort of the Avars and Slavs two years later also failed to take the city. In 626, a combined Avar , Bulgar and Slav army besieged Constantinople . The siege was broken, which had repercussions for the power and the prestige of the Avar khanate. Slavic pressure on Thessaloniki ebbed after 617/618, until the Siege of Thessalonica (676–678) by

10791-401: Was completed by the Byzantine emperors. When the Byzantines were not fighting in their eastern territories, they slowly regained imperial control. That was achieved through its theme system , which refers to an administrative province on which an army corps was centred under the control of a strategos ("general"). The theme system first appeared in the early 7th century, during the reign of

10900-532: Was established in the city of Niš. In December 2017, a new building of Clinical Centre of Niš spreading over 45,000 square meters was opened. The road running from the North, from Western and Central Europe and Belgrade down to the Morava River valley, forks into two major lines at Niš: the southern line, leading to Thessalonica and Athens , and the eastern one leading towards Sofia and Istanbul . Niš

11009-488: Was followed by the widening of streets and other measures to "modernise" the town and weaken its Ottoman outlook. Albanian traders who wanted to stay were subjected to a targeted campaign of murder. The Serbian authorities subjected the Jewish community to extortion of money, arbitrary arrests, confiscation of property, forced labour and desecration of graves. The demographics of Niš underwent change whereby Serbs who formed half

11118-651: Was known as Нишь or Ньшь ( Nyšь ) in Old Serbian and Old Bulgarian . Nāissus is the Ancient name of the city. Naissus is itself probably a derivative of the older * Nāviskos , from * Nāvia ("trough valley"), the Celtic name of the Nišava River , which flows through the city. In historical sources , the town is mentioned as Naissus, Ναϊσσός, Naessus, urbs Naisitana, Нишь, Ньшь, Nisso and Nix. Niš evolved from

11227-603: Was mountainous and inaccessible. In 586 AD, as many as 100,000 Slav warriors raided Thessaloniki. The final attempt to restore the Romans' northern border occurred between 591 and 605, when the end of conflicts with Persia allowed Emperor Maurice to transfer units to the north. However he was deposed after a military revolt in 602, and the Danubian frontier collapsed one and a half decades later (see Maurice's Balkan campaigns ). In this period are mentioned Sclaveni rex Musokios and chieftains Ardagast and Peiragastus . In 602,

11336-621: Was of great importance for the Constantinian dynasty . It is the birthplace of Constantine the Great who turned it from a middle-sized town to a large city with many public buildings. The city flourished greatly in the Constantinian period. A bronze bust of Constantine decorated city. It was his temporary residence and the city where he promulgated many laws, preserved in the Theodosian code . In Constantinian narratives, Naissus

11445-726: Was rare. The Byzantines broadly grouped the numerous Slav tribes living in proximity with the Eastern Roman Empire into two groups: the Sklavenoi and the Antes . The Sclaveni were called as such by Procopius , and as Sclavi by Jordanes and Pseudo-Maurice (Greek: Σκλαβηνοί ( Sklabēnoi ), Σκλαυηνοί ( Sklauēnoi ), or Σκλάβινοι ( Sklabinoi ); Latin: Sclaueni , Sclavi , Sclauini , or Sthlaueni - Sklaveni ). The derived Greek term Sklavinia(i) ( Σκλαβινίαι ; Latin: Sclaviniae )

11554-529: Was stimulated by the conversion of the Slavic tribes to orthodox Christianity on the Balkans during the same period. A number of medieval sources attest to the presence of Slavs in Greece. En route to the Holy Land in 732, Willibald "reached the city of Monemvasia , in the land of Slavinia ". This particular passage from the Vita Willibaldi is interpreted as an indication of a Slavic presence in

11663-434: Was the city where the usurper Vetranio abdicated to Constantius II after a powerful speech he gave to the rebel armies. Julian , the last Constantinian emperor, used Naissus, which had arms factories, as his base in the civil war and recruited Illyrians and others as soldiers for his campaign. In 364 AD, the imperial Villa Mediana 3 km (2 mi) was the site where emperors Valentinian and Valens met and divided

11772-405: Was troubled by Slavic pirates. Additionally, Constantinople was cut off from Rome , which contributed to the growing cultural and political separation between the two centres of European Christendom . Strategikon of Maurice The Strategikon or Strategicon ( Greek : Στρατηγικόν ) is a manual of war regarded as written in late antiquity (6th century) and generally attributed to

11881-474: Was used for Slav tribes in Byzantine Macedonia and the Peloponnese; these Slavic territories were initially outside of Byzantine control. By 800, however, the term also referred specifically to Slavic mobile military colonists who settled as allies within the territories of the Byzantine Empire. Slavic military settlements appeared in the Peloponnese , Asia Minor , and Italy . Procopius gives

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