Economy and trade routes in northern Macedonia

The aim of the hereby submitted new stand-alone project "Economy and regional trade routes in northern Macedonia (12th-16th century)" consists of detailed research on regional lines of communication and trade routes - apart from the well documented arteries Via militaris and Via Egnatia respectively - and as a consequence on the economic area of northern Macedonia, which will be conducted on the basis of written sources from the end of the 12th century until the end of the 16th century. The area of research focuses on those parts of Byzantine Macedonia, which lie today on the territory of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) and of the Republic of Bulgaria. This very area stands in inter-relation with the southern part of Byzantine Macedonia, on which research is done within the Tabula Imperii Byzantini (TIB 11). An approximative chronological beginning is set by the treaty between Stefan Nemanja and Ragusa (Dubrovnik) in the year 1186 on free trade in his dominion. With the foundation of the Serbian medieval state and its expansion the Old Slavonic and Byzantine charters appear more frequently, which can be explained by the territorial changes in the Byzantino-Serbian borderland (especially in Byzantine Macedonia) and as a consequence by the redistribution of property. Finally, the Ottoman defters from the 15th and 16th century form the chronological end of the hereby submitted project. The written sources will be analysed in order to comprehend firstly the local road network in northern Macedonia, by taking into account the archaeological evidence (e.g. traces of roads, bridges, specific small finds etc.), and secondly to reconstruct rudimentally the economic area of this historical region. The expected new results will on the one hand provide an important contribution to understanding the communication and interaction of local economic centres in the area of research. On the other hand they will have the aim to offer a differentiated assessment of the significance of northern Macedonia regarding the transfer of goods between the river Danube, the Pirin-mountains, the Aegean and the Adriatic Sea. This will enable a publication the type of which has not been available until now and which will make possible a systematic comparison between the economic area of northern Macedonia and other economic areas (e.g. Asia Minor) in the Middle Ages and on the transition to modern times. Especially the idea has to be pointed out to test the applicability and the usefulness of Central Place Theory, Historic Landscape Characterisation and Geographic Information System (keyword "least-cost path") for the submitted stand-alone project and consequently for the overall project of the Tabula Imperii Byzantini. Project Website: http://www.oeaw.ac.at/byzanz/routes.htm

The aim of the hereby submitted new stand-alone project "Economy and regional trade routes in northern Macedonia (12th-16th century)" consists of detailed research on regional lines of communication and trade routes - apart from the well documented arteries Via militaris and Via Egnatia respectively - and as a consequence on the economic area of northern Macedonia, which will be conducted on the basis of written sources from the end of the 12th century until the end of the 16th century. The area of research focuses on those parts of Byzantine Macedonia, which lie today on the territory of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) and of the Republic of Bulgaria. This very area stands in inter-relation with the southern part of Byzantine Macedonia, on which research is done within the Tabula Imperii Byzantini (TIB 11). An approximative chronological beginning is set by the treaty between Stefan Nemanja and Ragusa (Dubrovnik) in the year 1186 on free trade in his dominion. With the foundation of the Serbian medieval state and its expansion the Old Slavonic and Byzantine charters appear more frequently, which can be explained by the territorial changes in the Byzantino-Serbian borderland (especially in Byzantine Macedonia) and as a consequence by the redistribution of property. Finally, the Ottoman defters from the 15th and 16th century form the chronological end of the hereby submitted project. The written sources will be analysed in order to comprehend firstly the local road network in northern Macedonia, by taking into account the archaeological evidence (e.g. traces of roads, bridges, specific small finds etc.), and secondly to reconstruct rudimentally the economic area of this historical region. The expected new results will on the one hand provide an important contribution to understanding the communication and interaction of local economic centres in the area of research. On the other hand they will have the aim to offer a differentiated assessment of the significance of northern Macedonia regarding the transfer of goods between the river Danube, the Pirin-mountains, the Aegean and the Adriatic Sea. This will enable a publication the type of which has not been available until now and which will make possible a systematic comparison between the economic area of northern Macedonia and other economic areas (e.g. Asia Minor) in the Middle Ages and on the transition to modern times. Especially the idea has to be pointed out to test the applicability and the usefulness of Central Place Theory, Historic Landscape Characterisation and Geographic Information System (keyword "least-cost path") for the submitted stand-alone project and consequently for the overall project of the Tabula Imperii Byzantini.