Насеља у сливу Брегалнице под српском влашћу у средњем веку

Abstract

Предмет рада је преглед насеља на простору долине реке Брегалнице и њених притока, који је у састав српске средњовековне државе ушао крајем XIII и у првим деценијама XIV века. На поменутом простору постојало је неколико територијално-управних јединица, са једним или више градских средишта, која су припадала различитим типовима насеља, одликујући се и различитим степеном развијености. Већина градских насеља налазила се на важним путним трасама, што је такође у великој мери одређивало њихову функцију. На основу расположивих извора, посебна пажња посвећена је свим сеоским насељима, као и црквеним објектима, који су највећим делом убицирани и представљени на карти.

The territory in the valley of the Bregalnica river and its tributaries, which is located in the eastern part of present-day North Macedonia, became part of the Serbian medieval state in the late thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries. In this area, there were several regions (parishes) in the form of separate territorial-administrative units, with one or more urban centers, which belonged to different types of settlements, differing in their level of development. Some cities in the fourteenth century had developed suburbs, while some of them were the centers of significant mining settlements. Cities without developed suburbs had exclusively traffic function, situated on important roads. On the other hand, some cities that existed in the eleventh century had lost their significance by the fourteenth century and had been reduced to the status of rural settlements. The most developed city in the Bregalnica valley was Štip (Roman Astibo, Byzantine Estipion), situated on the hill Hisar, above the confluence of the Otinja river into Bregalnica. Beneath the fortress, there was a well-populated and cultivated suburb with a square. Štip also had land in the immediate vicinity of the city, known as the town metoh. According to sources, certain rural settlements closest to the city were also included in the metoh of Štip. There were six churches in Štip, which owned fields, gardens, vineyards, mills and other properties in the suburb and the town metoh. The territory of the town metoh, as well as the administrative region of the city of Štip, comprising several rural settlements in the vicinity, cannot be precisely determined. Among the urban authorities in Štip, terms such as kefalija, čelnik and knez are mentioned. The suburbs of Štip were inhabited by dependent people from various social categories, including craftsmen, traders and many others, while during the fourteenth century, the Slavic element predominated over the Greek in this area. Štip also served as an important crossroad. The most significant route, the old Roman road, followed the Bregalnica valley, connecting the Vardar and Struma valleys. Along this route was the former town of Črešće (at the site of the present-day village Creška) on the Bregalnica, which survived until the fourteenth century as a smaller settlement with a fortress. From Štip, there were roads leading through the Zletovska river valley to Slavište, as well as routes following the Kriva Lakavica (medieval Lukavica) and Strumica valleys.