Prosek (
Macedonian alphabet
The orthography of the Macedonian language includes an alphabet consisting of 31 letters ( mk, Македонска азбука, Makedonska azbuka), which is an adaptation of the Cyrillic script, as well as language-specific conventions of spelli ...
: Просек), also known as Stenae (in
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
: Στεναί ''narrow''), is an archaeological site of a former city in
North Macedonia
North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Yugoslavia. It ...
. It was capital city of the independent rulers
Dobromir Chrysos
Dobromir, known to the Byzantines as Chrysos ( mk, Добромир Хрс, bg, Добромир Хриз, el, Δοβρομηρός Χρύσος), was a leader of the Vlachs and Bulgarian Slavs in eastern Macedonia during the reign of the Byzan ...
(from the 1190s to 1202) and
Strez (from 1208 to 1214).
Its ruins were discovered in 1948, about 1 km south of the town of
Demir Kapija
Demir Kapija ( mk, Демир Капија ) is a small town in North Macedonia, located near the ominous limestone gates of the same name. It has 3,725 inhabitants. The town is the seat of Demir Kapija Municipality.
Etymology
The name of the tow ...
. There were found 4 towers, many ceramic objects, jewellery, coins, acropolis and necropolis.
This settlement had an excellent strategical war position. The site is located on a limestone plateau surrounded by a curve of
Vardar
The Vardar (; mk, , , ) or Axios () is the longest river in North Macedonia and the second longest river in Greece, in which it reaches the Aegean Sea at Thessaloniki. It is long, out of which are in Greece, and drains an area of around . Th ...
river. The sheer cliffs and the river make the area suitable for defense. A narrow gap between the rocks leads to the only entrance to the fortress.
During last years of the 12th century and the first years of the 13th century, Prosek was the center of a rebel Byzantine province and later independent domain led by the nobleman (according to
Niketas Choniates) Dobromir Chrysos. In 1202 the lands of Dobromir Chrysos were conquered by the
Second Bulgarian Empire under tsar
Kaloyan
Kaloyan or Kalojan, also known as Ioannitsa or Johannitsa ( bg, Калоян, Йоаница; 1170 – October 1207), was emperor or tsar of Bulgaria from 1196 to 1207. He was the younger brother of Theodor and Asen, who led the anti-Byzant ...
. Later in 1208,
sebastokrator
''Sebastokrator'' ( grc-byz, Σεβαστοκράτωρ, Sevastokrátor, August Ruler, ; bg, севастократор, sevastokrator; sh, sebastokrator), was a senior court title in the late Byzantine Empire. It was also used by other rulers wh ...
Strez,
[Florin Curta, Southeastern Europe in the Middle Ages, 500–1250 (Cambridge University Press, 2006), 688.] claimed Chrysos' lands and was ruler until 1214 when he died, killed by a conspiracy inspired by Sava (later canonized as
St. Sava).
See also
*
List of castles in North Macedonia
This is a partial list of castles and fortresses in North Macedonia.
* Arangel Fortress
* Bansko Fortress
* Belica Fortress
* Bučin Fortress
* Budinarci Fortress
* Creška Fortress
* Čučer Fortress
* Debar Fortress
* Debrešte Fortres ...
Notes
External links
*
PROSEK (STENAE)*
*
ttp://www.promacedonia.org/im3/im_negotino.htm Микулчич, Ив. "Средновековни градови и тврдини во Македонија". Скопије, 1996
1948 archaeological discoveries
Archaeological sites in North Macedonia
Former populated places in the Balkans
Demir Kapija Municipality
{{DemirKapija-geo-stub