Stari Ras

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A bird's eye view of Stari Ras
The Sopoćani monastery not far from Stari Ras
Remains of Stari Ras in the valley of the Raška river

Stari Ras or Ras ( Stari Ras means Old Ras or Old Raška ) was the capital of the Serbian principality of Raszien in the early Middle Ages .

According to the Serbian Byzantinist Radivoj Radić , the toponym Ras is likely of Roman origin and can be traced back to the Latin verb ardere (burn, glow), which became Slavic Ras via the metathesis ars-ras . Similar to the Slavic toponyms Požega and Palež , it is an indication of slash and burn . According to a Jewish legend, some tribes of Israel that were deported by the Assyrians to the legendary Arsareth moved to what is now central Serbia and Bulgaria and founded a new Arsareth there. According to other theories, the city of Arsa was already known to the Dardans . Others assume that Ras was a Slavic name for a region populated before the great migration or a tribal chief with whom they colonized the new area and named after him. In the East German, Czech and Polish areas, the name also appears in a slightly modified form. For this, see next to the Raška river of the same name, the Rasina and Resava rivers in the Pomoravlje region, which have the same name .

The fortress Arsa is first mentioned in the 6th century by the Eastern Roman historian Prokopios . You should under Justinian I have been built.

In Serbia, Arsa, Rasa or Ras in the more recent version, until then an important intersection on the Byzantine-Serbian border and seat of a diocese, became the capital of Vukan of Raszien in the 12th century and was at the same time eponymous for the main Serbian area of ​​the Middle Ages and starting point of the later empire of the Nemanjids . In later times the words razors and Serbs were sometimes used almost synonymously. The Serbs in Vojvodina were often referred to as razors until the 18th century .

In the 13th century Stari Ras was devastated, probably by Mongols . The settlement moved into the plains and the new town of Raška was established . Stari Ras was discovered by archaeologists near the town of Novi Pazar in southwest Serbia. It is located on a mountain above the valley of the Raška river.

1979 Stari Ras together with the was Sopocani Monastery , the St. Peter's Church (9th century, the oldest church in Serbia) and the monastery Đurđevi Stupovi in the list of UNESCO - World Heritage added.

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Coordinates: 43 ° 7 ′ 42 ″  N , 20 ° 24 ′ 56 ″  E