Names of the Serbs and Serbia

The Serbs (Serbian: Срби/Srbi, pronounced [sr̩̂biː]) have been referred to with several names by other peoples, although the autonym is and has always been Srbi.

Autonym (Serbs - Срби/Srbi)

The earliest found mention of the Serbs is from Einhard's Royal Frankish Annals, written in 822, when Ljudevit went from his seat at Sisak to the Serbs (believed to have been somewhere in western Bosnia),^[1] with Einhard mentioning "the Serbs, who control the greater part of Dalmatia" (ad Sorabos, quae natio magnam Dalmatiae partem obtinere dicitur^[2]).^[1] De Administrando Imperio, written by Constantine VII in the mid-10th century, tells of the early history of the Serbs, whose polity he called "Serblia" (Σερβλία), and whose ruler he called "Prince of the Serbs" (ἄρχων Σερβλίας). He mentions White Serbia (or Boiki). Furthermore, he says that the town of Servia received its name from the Serbs who once lived there.^[3]

According to the Tale of Bygone Years, the first Russian chronicle, Serbs are among the first five Slav peoples who were enumerated by their names.^[4]

Al-Masudi (896–956) called them Sarabin.^[5]

Theories

Etymological origin

• Polish linguist Stanisław Rospond (1906–1982) derived the denomination of Srb from srbati (cf. sorbo, absorbo).^[6]
• Sorbian scholar H. Schuster-Šewc suggested a connection with Proto-Slavic verb for "to slurp" *sьrb-, with cognates such as сербать (Russian, Ukrainian), сербаць (Belarusian), srbati (Slovak), сърбам(Bulgarian) and серебати (Old Russian).^[7]

Antique origin

Some scholars argue that the Serb ethnonym is antique.^[8] According to this theory, Serbs are thought to have been first mentioned by Tacitus in 50 AD, Pliny the Elder in 77 AD (Naturalis Historia) and Ptolemy in his Geography 2nd century AD, associated with the Sarmatian tribe of Serboi of the North Caucasus and Lower Volga.^[8] One theory is that it is of ultimately Iranian origin.^[9][10]

• Đorđe Branković (1645–1711), in his Chronicles, wrote: "The Serbian name comes from the Savromat name, as Philipp Melanchthon testifies... According to a second version the Serbian name comes from the Sires people who used to live in the Asian part of Scythia. Among the Sires, wool grew in the same way as silk".^[11]

Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus (325-391) referred to the Carpathians as "Montes Serrorum" in his works, according to some, connected to the Serbs. In 1878, Henry Hoyle Howorth connected Ptolemy's mention of the town of Serbinum (Σέρβινον), modern Gradiška, Bosnia and Herzegovina, to the Serbs, and also found the Serb ethnonym in the works of Vibius Sequester.^[12]

Sporoi

• In De Bello Gothico Procopius (500-565) uses the name Sporoi as an umbrella term for the Slavic tribes of Antes and Sclaveni, it is however not known whether the Slavs used this designation for themselves or he himself coined the term, it has been theorized however that the name is corruption of the ethnonym Serbs. A large number of linguists agree that 'Sporoi' (Spores) is another name for the Serbs.^[13] Sporoi may be identical with 'Sorpi=Serpi=Serbi' and 'Sclavini'.^[6]

History

"...Sorabos, quae natio magnam Dalmatiae partem obtinere dicitur..."
transl. "Serbs, who inhabit the greater part of Dalmatia"^[14][15][16]

-Royal Frankish Annals, 822

Exonyms

Rascia

The term "Rascia" (sr. Рашка/Raška) was used as an exonym for Serbia in Western sources since the late 12th century, along with other names such as Servia, Dalmatia and Slavonia. It was derived from the town of Ras, a royal estate, and seat of an eparchy. The first attestation is in a charter from Kotor dated to 1186, in which Stefan Nemanja, the Grand Prince (1166–1196), is mentioned as "župan of Rascia". It was one of the common names for Serbia in western sources (Papacy, German, Italian, French, etc.), often in conjunction with Serbia (Servia et Rascia). "Rascia" was never used in Byzantine works.

The term is often used in modern historiography to refer to the medieval "Serbian hinterland", that is, the inland territories in relation to the maritime principalities at the Adriatic (the "Pomorje"). The early medieval Serbian Principality is erranously (as anachronistical) known in historiography as Raška.^[17] In DAI, the Serbian hinterland is called "baptized Serbia", while Ras is only mentioned as a border town.^[17] The misconceptions arose from the Chronicle of the Priest of Duklja.^[17]

Between the 15th and 18th centuries, the term (Latin: Rascia, Hungarian: Ráczság) was used to designate the southern Pannonian Plain inhabited by Serbs, or "Rascians" (Latin: Rasciani, Natio Rasciana, Hungarian: Rác(ok)), who had settled there following the Ottoman conquests and Great Serb migrations.

Other

Medieval

• The Serbs were often called "Triballi" in Byzantine works.^[18] The Triballi was an ancient Thracian tribe that inhabited the area of the Morava Valley in southern Serbia. They were last mentioned in the 3rd century. The educated Byzantine authors sought an ancient name for the Serbs, and adopted it as the most likely.^[19] It was in use between the 11th and 15th century.
• In the Byzantine chronicle Alexiad, covering the 11th century (written in 1148), Anna Komnene mentions the Serbs by the names Sklaveni and Dalmati (Δαλμάται, Dalmatai), with Dalmatia starting from Kosovo and Metohija.^[20] John Kinnamos, in his work covering 1118–76, wrote: "the Serbs, a Dalmatic (Dalmatian) tribe" (Σέρβιοι, ε-8-νος Δαλματικών), thus using "Dalmat(ian)s" or "Dalmatic (Dalmatian) people" in the context of the Serbs, and "Dalmatia" in the context of Serbia. There are numerous other, less prominent, instances, poetic for example — Theodore Prodromus, Michael Italicus and the typikon of the Pantokrator monastery, among others.

Early modern

• "Vlachs", referring to pastoralists, was a common exonym for Serbs in the Ottoman Empire and later.^[13] In Bosnia, Orthodox Christians were called "Vlachs", actually used as a synonym of "Serbs".^[21] It was used as a derogatory term, and as a common name for Orthodox Serbs in Catholic lands, and lesser in the Ottoman Empire. Tihomir Đorđević (1868–1944), as did other academics, stressed that the name "Vlach" did not only refer to genuine Vlachs (Romance-speaking people), but also to cattle breeders in general.^[13] In a letter of Emperor Ferdinand sent on 6 November 6, 1538 to Croatian ban Petar Keglević, he wrote "Captains and dukes of the Rasians, or the Serbs, or the Vlachs, who are commonly called the Serbs".^[13] Serbs that took refuge in the Habsburg Military Frontier were called "Vlachs" by the Croats.^[13] In the work About the Vlachs (1806), Metropolitan Stevan Stratimirović stated that Roman Catholics from Croatia and Slavonia scornfully used the name "Vlach" for "the Slovenians (Slavs) and Serbs, who are of our, Eastern [Orthodox] confession", and that "the Turks (Muslims) in Bosnia and Serbia also call every Bosnian or Serbian Christian a Vlach".^[22] That the name "Vlach" used to signify the Serbs is testified by Vuk Karadžić in his many recorded proverbs.^[13] The term may have originated from Stari Vlah, from where refugees arrived in what was then the Holy Roman Empire.^[23]
• In Dalmatia, terms used for Serbs were: "Morlachs" (Morlaci), "Vlachs" (Vlasi), Rkaći, Arkači, "Greek Dalmatians" (Garčki Dalmatini), or "Greek people".^[24] The Catholics used the pejorative word rkać, derived from Venetian, for Orthodox people.^[25] The terms Rišćani, Rkaći (Grkaći), Morlaci (crni Vlasi), were used for primitive shepherds, Serbs, who moved in Bukovica, and mountain pastures on the border of Lika (Velebit) and Bosnia (Dinara).^[26]
• "Schismatics"
• Illyri ("Illyrians") and Natio Illyrica ("Illyrian nation"), in official Habsburg documents.^[27] The Rescriptum Declaratorium Illyricae Nationis from 1779, declared by Maria Theresa, officially established the position of Serbs and the Serbian Orthodox Church in the Habsburg Monarchy.

Misnaming

Because of a confusion of ethnicity/nationality with religious affiliation, many authors from historic times referred to and recorded Serbs by the following names:

• by the major regional names of: Bosnians, Herzegovinians, Krajishniks, Slavonians and Montenegrins.

Pejorative

• Serbomans, Serbs in Macedonia
• Raci, Serbs in Austro-Hungary
• Tschusch, Serbs in Austria
• Vlah, Serbs in Croatia, Bosnia
• Chetniks (after the paramilitary movement)

Anthroponymy

Male given names

Srba, Srbislav, Srbivoje, Srbko, Srboje, Srbomir, Srborad, Srbomil, Srboljub, Srbobran.

Female given names

Srbijanka, Srbinka, and others.

Surnames

Srbinac, Srbinić, Srbinov, Srbinovac, Srbinović, Srbinovski, Srbić, Srbović, Srbljanović, Srbljanin, Srbljak, Srpčić, Serban, and others.

Toponomy

Connected to Serbs

Balkans

• Sârbi, village in Budeşti, Romania
• Servia, village in Kozani, Greece
• Serviana, village in Ioannina, Greece
• Srb, town and municipality in Croatia
• Srbac, town and municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Srbica, town and municipality in Kosovo
• Srbinci, village in Serbia
• Srbinjak, village in Istria, Croatia
• Srbinovo, village in R. Macedonia
• Srbjani, village in R. Macedonia
• Srbljani, village in Bihać, Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Srbovac, village in Kosovo
• Srbovo, village in Serbia

West Slavic

• Srbeč, in Czech Republic
• Srbsko, in Czech Republic
• Srbska, in Czech Republic
• Srbská Kamenice, in Czech Republic, connected to Sorbs
• Serbinów, several villages in Poland

Connected to Raška, Raci

• Raska, two places, Serbia
• Raskaj, Kosovo, Serbia
• Raskovo, Kosovo, Serbia
• Rashkovo, in Sofia, Bulgaria
• Rašćani, in Tomislavgrad, Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Rašeljke, in Tomislavgrad, Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Raško Polje, in Tomislavgrad, Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Rasna, in Brestovac, Croatia
• Raszków, several toponyms in Poland
• Raszów, several toponyms in Poland
• Raszowa, several toponyms in Poland
• Raszyn, several toponyms in Poland
• Rașcov, in Transnistria
• Račice, in Czech Republic
• Račje Selo, in Slovenia

Historical

• Gordoservon/Servochoria, in Phrygia of Anatolia (Modern central Turkey) (Early Middle Ages)
• Nova Serbiya, military province in Imperial Russia (modern Ukraine) (1752–1764)
• Slavyanoserbiya, military province in Imperial Russia (modern Ukraine) (1753–1764)
• Republic of Serbian Krajina (Republika Srpska Krajina)

Renderings in other languages

Historical renderings in other languages:

• Servii, Latin rendering.^[28]
  • Serviani/Servians, medieval French and English rendering of the Serbs.

Modern renderings in other languages:

• Bosnian, Croatian, Montenegrin, Macedonian, Serbian, Slovak and Slovene: Srbi (Срби)

Belarusian: Сербы, Bulgarian: Сърби, Italian: Serbi, Maltese: Serbi, Ukrainian: Серби, Latin: Serbi : Serbi Arabic: صرب‎ Czech: Srbové Welsh: Serbiaid German: Serben Estonian: Serblased Greek: Σέρβοι Spanish: Serbios Esperanto: Serboj French: Serbes Korean: 세르비아인 Hebrew: סרבים‎ Hindi: सर्ब लोग Ossetian: Сербаг адæм Georgian: სერბები Lithuanian: Serbai Hungarian: Szerbek Dutch: Serviërs Japanese: セルビア人 Norwegian: Serbere Polish: Serbowie Portuguese: Sérvios Romanian: Sârbi Russian: Сербы Albanian: Serbët Old Church Slavonic: Срь́би Finnish: Serbit Swedish: Serber Tatar: Серблар Turkish: Sırplar Chinese: 塞爾維亞人 See also Serbian names References Sima M. Cirkovic (15 April 2008). The Serbs. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 14–15. ISBN 978-1-4051-4291-5. Einhard (1845). Einhardi Annales. Hahn. pp. 83–. ad Sorabos, quae natio magnam Dalmatiae partem obtinere dicitur Moravcsik 1967, p. 153, 155 Povest vremennih let (Moscow, Leningrad: Akademiya nauk SSSR, 1990), pp. 11, 207. Ataullah Bogdan Kopanski (1995). Sabres of Two Easts: An Untold History of Muslims in Eastern Europe, Their Friends and Foes. Institute of Policy Studies. ISBN 978-969-448-031-2. In his work entitled Muruj adh- dhahab or The Golden Meadows, Mas'udi called them sara- bin (Serbs). Lukaszewicz 1998, p. 132. H. Schuster-Šewc. "Порекло и историја етнонима". translation by Тања Петровић. Ćirković (2004), p. 13, xii Robert J. Donia, John Van Antwerp Fine (2005). Bosnia and Hercegovina: A Tradition Betrayed. C. Hurst & Co. Publishers., p. 14; The Croats and Serbs were probably originally Iranians. At least linguists have concluded that both their tribal names as well as the preserved names of their leaders were Iranian. Heather, Peter (2010). Empires and Barbarians: The Fall of Rome and the Birth of Europe. Oxford University Press., pp. 404-406 Anna Kretschmer. "DJORDJE BRANKOVIC AS ETYMOLOGIST" (PDF). The Romance Balkans: 47. Howorth (1878), pp. 66-68 Elements of Ethnic Identification of the Serbs. By Danijela Gavrilović. Facta Universitatis. Series: Philosophy, Sociology and Psychology Vol. 2, n° 10, 2003, pp. 717 - 730. p. 35 Serbian studies, Volumes 2–3, p. 29 Eginhartus de vita et gestis Caroli Magni, p. 192: footnote J10 Novaković, Relja (2010) [1981]. "Gde se nalazila Srbija od VII do XII veka: Zaključak i rezime monografije" (Internet ed.). Zbornik radova Vizantološkog instituta 44. Naučno delo. 2007. The Serbs were often called Triballi by Byzantine authors. Fanula Papazoglu (1978). The Central Balkan Tribe in Pre-Roman Times: Triballi, Autariatae, Dardanians, Scordisci and Moesians. Hakkert. pp. 9–. ISBN 978-90-256-0793-7. Anne Comnene, Alexiade (Regne de L'Empereur Alexis I Comnene 1081-1118) II, pp. l57:3-l6; 1.66: 25-169. Texte etabli er traduit par B. Leib t. I-III (Paris, 1937-1945). Entangled Histories of the Balkans: Volume One: National Ideologies and Language Policies. BRILL. 13 June 2013. pp. 42–. ISBN 978-90-04-25076-5. T. Đorđević, 1984:110 Mihailo Simić (1991). Rimokatolička crkva i Srbi. Simex. p. 15. Milorad Ekmec̆ić (1989). Stvaranje Jugoslavije 1790-1918. Prosveta. p. 187. За српско становништво у Дал- мацији се употребљава званични израз Морлаци, или „Сгесо- -Ва1таИ", што је превођено као Власи, Ркаћи („Аркачи"), „Гарчки Далматини", или „народ Грчки"-113 Dragoslav Vasić; Nada Jakšić (2003). Vožd Karađorđe i Srpska revolucija: kazivanja i filmovi o heroju topolskome. Topola film. Католици православне називају погрдним именом „ркаћ", ркаћи. Реч коју је установио лингвиста Миклошић дошла је од венецијанског израза „грекаћо" за при- паднике православне вере и православних цркава. А православни ... Ratko Jelić (1971). Almanah: Srbi i pravoslavlje u Dalmaciji i Dubrovniku. Savez udruženja pravoslavnog sveštenstva SR Hrvatske. pp. 128, 160. Serbski li͡etopis za god. ... Pismeny Kral. Sveučilišta Peštanskog. 1867. pp. 250–. p. 608 Sources Ćorović, Vladimir (2004), The Serbs (Vuk Tošić ed.), Wiley-Blackwell, ISBN 978-0-631-20471-8 Fine, John Van Antwerp (1991), The Early Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Sixth to the Late Twelfth Century, University of Michigan Press, ISBN 978-0-472-08149-3 Howorth, Henry Hoyle (1878), The Spread of the Slaves, Journal of the Anthropological Institute Ivić, Aleksa (2008) [1922]. "О српском и хрватском имену". Projekat Rastko. Kunstmann, Heinrich (1996). Die Slaven: ihr Name, ihre Wanderung nach Europa und die Anfänge der russischen Geschichte in historisch-onomastischer Sicht. Franz Steiner Verlag. pp. 43–. ISBN 978-3-515-06816-1. Lukaszewicz, Adam (1998). "De Sclavinis et sclavis...". Dialogues d'histoire ancienne 24 (2): 129–135. (French) Schuster-Šewc, Η. (1985). "Zur Geschichte und Etymologie des ethnischen Namens Sorb/Serb/Sarb/Srb". Zeitschrift für Slawistik 30 (1-6): 847–852. (German)