SAMARDŽIĆ G. Evidence of the Relocation of the Population from the East (Hellenic-Speaking Countries) to the Municipium Dardanorum in the South of the Province of Upper Moesia
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.15688/jvolsu4.2025.5.4
Gligor Samardžić,
Doctor of Sciences (History), Professor, Department of History, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Pristina, Philippa Vishnic St, 66, 38220 Kosovska Mitrovica, Republic of Serbia,
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Abstract. Introduction. In this paper, evidence is presented about the relocation of certain citizens of oriental origin to the Municipium Dardanorum in Dardania. The territory of Dardania, which included today’s Kosovo and Metohija, belonged to Upper Moesia (86 CE). These territorial changes also caused ethnic changes in the south of Upper Moesia, about which we do not have enough information. The previous period was marked by events related to the military conquest of Dardania, while the upcoming period, from the second half of the 1st century CE, is typical of the penetration of Roman culture and civilization into the Balkans and work on the organization of administration in Upper Moesia. Methods and materials. The article focuses on the analysis of mainly epigraphic material: these are inscriptions on tombstones, altars, and temple slabs from the Roman era. Analysis and results. The political and economic occupation of these areas was carried out by organizing the administration, building roads, establishing colonies and municipia, settling the Italic population and veterans, and granting civil rights to individual members of the local population, as well as settling the population of eastern origin. It is believed that the local population was unable to meet the increased need for labor in the mines, or rather in the production of precious metals, so a number of new residents of oriental origin (Asia Minor region) were relocated (by imperial decree) in an organized manner to the Roman settlement near the present-day village of Sočanica (Municipium Dardanorum). The original data that is the basis of research on the population structure of the Roman provinces, and thus Upper Moesia, is almost exclusively based on the epigraphic texts. Epigraphic monuments mentioning persons of oriental origin, dated to the reigns of Antoninus (98–192 CE) and Severus (193–235 CE), are especially important. The names and naming formulas contained in the inscriptions allow us to draw conclusions about the regional and ethnic origin and legal and social status of individuals, as well as the degree of Romanization. Funding. This research was supported by the Ministry of Science, Technological Development, and Innovation of the Republic of Serbia (Contract No. 451-03-136/2025-03200184).
Key words: oriental population, relocation, Dardania, Municipium Dardanorum, Upper Moesia, Kosovo and Metohija.
Citation. Samardžić G. Evidence of the Relocation of the Population from the East (Hellenic-Speaking Countries) to the Municipium Dardanorum in the South of the Province of Upper Moesia. Vestnik Volgogradskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Seriya 4. Istoriya. Regionovedenie. Mezhdunarodnye otnosheniya [Science Journal of Volgograd State University. History. Area Studies. International Relations], 2025, vol. 30, no. 5, pp. 52-58. DOI: https://doi.org/10.15688/jvolsu4.2025.5.4.
Evidence of the Relocation of the Population from the East (Hellenic-Speaking Countries) to the Municipium Dardanorum in the South of the Province of Upper Moesia by Samardžić G. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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