Rasho Rashev Introduction Рашо Рашев Увод н и дум и Christina Angelova, Mark. Stefanovich Henrieta Todorova Христина Ангелова, Марк Стефанович Хенриета Тодорова Кратка биография

20th Century: Jovan Cvijic, Jovan Erdeljanovic and Sima Trojanovic. Of special interest to this paper is the relationship between the caravan networks and routes used to bring people, an­imais and trade goods to and from the main trade distribution centers in Serbia and the neighboring territories.

In a dctailed account of the caravan trade existing in Serbia at the end of the 19th and early 2üth centuries, Sima Trojanovic present­ed a piatire of the kiridjije (caravan Organizers) and their trade Systems. He traced the historical records of caravanning from the medieval peri­od up to the time of his writing in the early 20th Century, taking note of the goods, the distanc­es, the routes and noting as well the detailed lexicon relating to this profession. His fiscal statistica of the year 1901, for example, indicate exactly what was being transported and what was being received in return. This is of special significarne as the produets and raw materials represcnt the same or similar types of goods that we believe to have been traded from the earliest times, i.e., prehistory.-

After defìning the specific terms used to cle-scribe caravanning* and its Organization, the author outlines the geographical areas associ­ated with caravanning, i.e., in Serbia the are­as of Uzice and Cacak; in Bosnia, the area of Glasinac, in Hercegovina, the régions of Neves-

inje and Gacko, and in Montenegro, the area around Pljevlja. These are not the only áreas or trade centers to where goods were funnelecl and then reclistributed, notably also there was Novi Pazar in Kosovo, which served as a hub for cara­van trade well into the 20th century. However, by the end of the 19th Century, the importance oí caravanning diminished with the émergence of towns with alternate transportation and re­distribution networks including the railroads being built in Bosnia and Hercegovina by the Austrians.

Trojanovic points out some interesting facts, e.g., that in Montenegro wagons played a very small role in transportation because ofthe rug-ged terrain.¹ In the region of Kosovo, the town oí Prizren was very important as a distribution point for the entering Caravans from the south­ern and the eastern Balkans. Here, goods were exchanged and trans-shipped to new destina­tions, some as far away as Trieste.⁵ The sheep from the Kosovo foothills of the Sar mountain were highly esteemed, both for their meat as weil as their wool and they were exported as far as Constantinople for the religious feasts—a trip that took two months or longer, beforc the caravan moved on toward Bursa.

In the Middle Ages the primary caravan routes in Serbia and Bosnia were used for the transporting of ores—silver, gold and lead. These routes connected the interior of the Bal­kans with the Adriatic coastal towns that manu-factured and exported the newly-made metal producís. Bitumen was added to these cargos early in the 16th Century as a commodity highly prized for use in sealing the hulls of ships. In the year 1503 no less than 1,650 loads of bitu-men were brought to Dubrovnik in 15 days. The interior lands of the Balkans were famous for milk producís, especially cheese, cured meats, wheat and other grains. Wool, shcep, goat and water buffalo h ides from these áreas were also in demand, and moved to the coast by cara­van. On the return trip, the caravan merchants transponed sait, sugar, wine, dried fish, black pepper, and various fürs such as sable for head-gear and lynx for lining. They also brought cloth, metal goods, arms decorated with silver

and gold, axes, horse trappings, jewelry, glass vessels, mirrors, peri urnes, an assortment of spices etc. These transactions were ail carried out wilhin the scope of a barter economy.

Trojanovic also gives us important informa­tion about the method of outfitting the pack horses and mules. He states that the liquids were transportée! in leather bags, so construct-ed as to cause no friction when they hung across the backs ofthe animais.

In addition to the information on the cara­van routes themselves, Trojanovic gives us reli-able Statistical data on the overall activities of these Caravans in diffèrent "districts" (srez) in the early 20th century. One of the important gathering centers, where the caravans met, col-lected and redistributcd goods was Novi Pazar in Kosovo through which passed the caravans moving from Skopje, Macedonia to Sarajevo, Bosnia, bringing tobáceo, rice, sugar and okra from Macedonia that were traeled for iron tools and goods such as horseshoes, ploughs, pots and pans, scythes and sometimes blankets from Bosnia. While most ofthe iron goods from Sara­jevo wem directly to Skopje, some were retaineel and redistributed in Novi Pazar.

The caravans from the Uzicki and Cacanski areas were especially well clocumented for the first decade of the 20th century.'' The follow-ing figures give an indication of the cjuantity of goods exchanged and weight in relationship to the number of drivers and animais used to transport it. In 1901 in the Stari Viali (Moravski district) there were 97 caravan drivers with 184 horses who exported 3,425 kg. of curd (kajmak), 17,200 kg. of cheese, 720 kg. of cured meats, 16,450 kg. of potatoes, 21,850 kg. of tar, 8,300 kg. of pine kindling wood (Pinns nigra), 11,970 kg. of apples, 2,100 kg. of aider bark for hiele lanning, earthen wäre 8,240 kg. and 23,940 kg. of plum brandy. The route followed was from Vranje, Pirot, Paracin, Valjevo to Kragujevac, Belgrade and Smederevo. The frequency of trips was between 2 and 7 times per year to Belgrade, 12 times to Nis, 2-4 times to Pirot, 7 times to Paracin, 9-15 times to Valjevo, and 3-4 times to Vranje.

In the area of Uzice there was a total of 76

caravan drivers with 130 horses. Mosi of these drivers owned only a single horse, although some had more, but none more than four. They transponed 6,695 earthen pots, 2,101 earthen dishes lbr baking bread, 2,900 kg. of beans, 7,640 kg. of tar. 900 kg. of pine kindling wood, 320 kg. ofcured beef and 1,600 kg. bacon. The trip to Belgrade took 6 clays, to Sabac 4 or 5 days, and to Kragujevac 4 days.

This inventory of goods transponed by the caravans illustrâtes the kinds, intcnsity and great quantities moved from one area to anoth­er. If we extrapólate the merchandise of mod­em origin, e.g., glass, potatoes, etc. we still find producís that would have been of great interest to the Greek merchants who cultivated trade with the interior of the Balkans as witnessed by the rich finds from the so-called princelv graves. Let us now look at the routes that these caravan drivers lòllowed.

In describing the caravan roules, Trojanovic concent raled on southwestern Serbia in the area around Novi Pazar on the Raska river, which is a tribut.uy ofthe Ibar river. In earlier times it was the administrative and cultural center of Sandzak, an important point on the route from Dubrovnik to Nis. However, following the construction ofthe railroad after World War I, Novi Pazar began to lose its role as a trading center.

The three main routes that Trojanovic nol-ed from Novi Pazar crossed the Ibar river by feri)- and went over the Kopaouik mountain to the east. This is one of the high est mountain* in Serbia, extending in a north-south direc­tion foi^- about 100 km., separating Novi Pazar from the Morava valley. After crossing the Ko­paouik mountain, the caravans proceedcd to Kursumlije, Prokuplje, Nis and continued on to Sofia, Plovdiv and finallv Constantinople. Other caravans, especially from Sarajevo, went south froin Novi Pazar over the Rogo/na momi­ta.n which is pan ofthe Di liar ic range and espe­cially grazed by seasonal pastoralists. They con­tinued to Banjska, Kosovska Mitrovica, Vucitrn. Pristina, Skopje and sometimes to Thessaloni-

⁷ PaLAVESTRA 1994. 9.5-4.

"See V'asic (1975. 90) für distussion of Illyrian helmei in Donja Dohna and trade routes. According to Kurz (1967, 1K4) coins from Apollonia and Dvrrhachinm were re-covered in the inferior near Konjic on the Neretva river.

ca. The route from Novi Pazar to Sarajevo went northwest via Sjcnica, Nova Varos, and Priboj and, crossing the Drina at Visegrad, continued to Glasinac, Romanija, Breze and finally Sara­jevo. The farthest east for the Sarajevo caravans was the town of Pirot which is to the east of Nis on the way to Sofia.

In the medieval period Dubrovnik was an important trading and distribution center for goods into the hinterland. One of the impor­tant routes that connected the coast with south­ern Serbia went from Dubrovnik, over Drijen to Trebinje, to Bileca, Gacko, Foca, then either to Yisegrad andjoining the previously described route to Novi Pazar, or from Foca, Plevlje, Pri-jepolje, Sjenice, to Novi Pazar.'

The importance of these routes lies in the fact that they represent a trade network that extend-ed throughout the central Balkans, effectively Connecting Greece, Bulgaria and even Turkey with the central and western Balkans and the Adriatic coast by a land route. In addition to the transport of significant quantities of goods by a rather small but efficient network with limited technology available, the lime involved to move the goods was relativelv short. For example, it onlv took eleven days from Pirot in eastern Ser­bia to Sarajevo - a dislance of about 350 km. as the crow flies. However, the fact remains that trade was and could be conducted with an in­tensification that brought peuples, goods and news together in a timcly manner. Alternatively, while roules of this trade network were not the most efficient for the expédition of armies, they were very efficient both in time and energy lbr the transport of goods.

Many of the rieh archeological finds, espe­cially the so-called princely graves that have been discovered in the southwest Balkans and dated to the middle ofthe 6^lh-5^Ul centuries B.C. lying along these caravan routes do not. in our opinion represent, an aristocracy or tribal lead­ership but rallier imponant tradesmen or Con­trollers of trade nodes."These trade routes, later used as caravan routes, traversed the mountain ranges ofthe Balkans in contradistinction to the

The Neretva river valley lias ahvays been an important communication rouie, even in prehistorv. \\ ilness the Neolithic pénétration ol the Impresso complex into the interior ol I lercegovina along the Neretva river. (P\ko\ k -PtsiK.w 1982, 23-31), esp. map on p. 15.

roacls the Romans built that followecl mostly the river banks and Valleys. Rest areas, called han by the Turks, were provided for the weary traveller along these caravan routes. We would posit that many of the smaller "fortified" mountain settle­ments represent this type of occupation site and not a refugium against the threat of war. This is underscored by the fact that many of these "for­tified" hill forts have no direct access to water in the fortified area and this must have been a major concern in choosing construction sites.

However, it must be remembered that peace-ful conditions were needed in order for trade to exist and prosper, as witnessed by the conditions today in the former Yugoslavia. The perception that Bronze and Iron Age men were at each oth-ers throats is not borne out by the archeological évidence. Despite the prédilection for weapons in the graves, these were personal possessions and did not necessarily rcflect weapon use in conflict, as most of the weapons in burial con-texts were unused.

It is noteworthy also to keep in mind the in­teraction between peoples of the coastal areas and the mountainous hinterland. This is where

However, the mountain seasonal pastoral-ist was in a far better position to assert his in-dependence than the coastal resident. A good example of this is the situation in Montenegro subséquent to the disintegration of the Serbian state in the 14th century after its defeat at the hands of the Turks. Following the battle of Ko­sovo many of the Serbs retreated into the Mon­ténégrin hills and continued to practice the pastoral ways of their forefathers. The Turks es­tablished a wise policy of interaction with these clannish semi-nomad transhumant shepherds who, in return for nominal respect, were al-

lowed to live a relatively autonomous life. These clans had their own customary laws that regu­lated the lifeways of the society, and to a large degree were not interfered with by the Turks. This balance in their relationship lasted into the early 19^lh century when Archbishop Petar Petrovic Njegos "unified" the Montenegrin tribes. However, it is significant to note that the choice of a secular state under the nomi­nal authority of the Orthodox church in no way conflicted with the customary laws of the clans. More importantly the vludika (archbishop) had no military authority to enforce his will, merely the threat of excommunication—a threat that was real enough to hold the tribes in check un­til 1851 when the first Montenegrin state was formed under Prince Danilo.

The antiquity of this social organization of the semi-nomadic transhumant is, we maintain, an institution that existed prior to the arrival of the Indo-Europeans, as is attested to certainly by the time of the first movements of the pasto-ralists into the south central Adriatic and west­ern Balkan area.¹²

In conclusion, the social structure of the Il­lyrians, the early Serbian state, and the Mon­tenegrin stale all had several things in com­mon: the integration of the hinterland with the coastal areas, the lack of real military force to enforce the internal social structure, and the ultimate return to the hills upon the collapse of the "state" institutions. Actually these "states"— the Illyrian, the early Serbian and the Mon­tenegrin—were not states such as those used by ancient authors, comparing them to (the Greek polis or Roman civitas, the Byzantine Empire or the Turkish Empire). Rather the "states" were a weak symbiotic association connecting the hin­terland pastoralist and the coastal traders, with only limited use of agriculture because of the scarcity of arable land.

The main reason for the stability of the ex­tended household clan (as can be seen among pastoralists) is also the reason for weakness of a social organization designed to establish a high­er moral authority than the clan organization it­self. This is well illustrated by the Illyrian Queen Teuta's statement to the Roman ambassadors, in which she professed her lack of control over the affairs of her subjects, as well as the quick defeat of Genthius,¹³ and the relatively swift end to the Serbian state in the 14th century.¹⁴

We are not evaluating the relative strength of the opponents that these "states" faced, but rather attempting to understand the disappear­ance of their state infrastructure. The latter oc­curence appears normal when one remembers that the ultimate allegiance of pastoralists is not to a "state" but instead to of extended household, village or clan. The Illyrian state, referred to in the ancient sources, is not a kingdom but rather an inchoate chiefdom led by a charismatic leader, which, for a period of several hundred years, was able to grow into a mature chieftainship. Howev­er, when subjected to the first real test Genthius' internal alliances collapsed, and the relationship returned to the dichotomy of the pastoralist and the sedentary coastal communities.

In summary, the perception of the Illyrian state¹"' as some governmental structure control­ling large territories and diverse populations is an illusion in conflict with the ethnographic, historical and archeological material. In effect the Illyrian "state" in all its forms existed along the coast of modern day Albania, exerting only nominal control over the affairs of the hinter-

'"'Hauki 1976, 273-276. Disputes M. Garasanin regarding the conception ol the Illyrian "state" as opposed to the concept of a tribal confederation. Garasamn (1980, 207-210). Re­joinder to the above article by Hadri. See Brsic n ai.. (1967, 104-133). Contrary opinion is presented bv I'apa/oglu who argues for the existence of an Illyrian state regardless of the presence of different tribes. ZtlKKU (1977-1978, 113-123) ty-pologizes the proto-urban fortification sites in Albania. He differentiates between the earlier polygonal dry wall tech­nique and the later ashler form of construction. The earlier walls would be from. e.g.. Gajlan, Acrolissos and the later from, e.g., Lissos II PaI'azoi.loi (1965, 123-145) concludes that the ancient authors accepted the existence of the Illyr­ian kingdom from the end of the 5th century B.C. until its demise in 168 B.C. (PaPAZOULOII 1965. 145).

land. The extensive archeological corrélations that exist in the south central Adriatic and the western Balkan expansé are the resuit ofthe sea­sonal pastoralist movements and the later trade networks developed by the Greeks after their expulsion from the western Mediterranean in the mid 6^lh century B.C. Thus, while the Illyr­ian State was trying to control and engender a spirit of common consciousness, something in which they were singularly unsuccessful in an­tiquity, the Illyrian ethnos as a sociological en-tity simply disappeared.

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