Dioclea between Rascia and Byzantium in the first half of the twelfth century

Abstract

The conflict between Rascia and Dioclea began in the reign of King Bodin of Dioclea (1081-1099) and it was brought to an end during the rule of Stephen Nemanja, Grand Zhupan of Serbia about 1185. The historical sources, primarily the Chronicle of the Priest of Dioclea, give no indication of the causes of this conflict, nor do they explain why Byzantium found it necessary to intervene from time to time in Dioclea or Rascia. Although the family relations of the Rasican and Dioclean dynasties frequently provoked one state to interfere into the internal affairs of the other, they were certainly not the main generator of this century-long conflict. Since it was a process of long duration, it is quite likely that the main cause of the war between Rascia and Dioclea had to do with economic considerations, and the paper discusses this possibility. The rulers of Dioclea wanted to secure the raw materials for the maritime towns, primarily Cataro, which they had acquired around the middle of the eleventh century, and they sought to achieve that by conquest and the expansion of their influence in the inland regions — in Travounia, Bosnia and Rascia. On the other hand, Serbia had become rapidly more powerful in the early twelfth century, and its rulers sought to impose their control on these maritime towns as nearest centres of commerce and production. During this contest, Byzantium interfered only when the geostrategic stability in the broader territory of the Balkan Peninsula seemed to be brought into question and when Dioclea or Rascia established closer links with the Venetians, Hungarians or Normans, thus jeopardizing its interests. Byzantium looked upon Rascia and Dioclea as its western outposts and was therefore anxious to have a reliable ruler in Rascia, so that it could control the Niš — Braničevo — Belgrade route to Hungary. Similarly, a dependable ruler in Doclea was a guarantor of the safety of the theme of Dyrrachion and of unimpeded communication with the remaining Byzantine possessions in the middle part of Dalmatia.