Soko Grad (

Serbian Cyrillic The Serbian Cyrillic alphabet ( sr, / , ) is a variation of the Cyrillic script used to write the Serbian language, updated in 1818 by Serbian linguist Vuk Karadžić. It is one of the two alphabets used to write standard modern Serbian, t ...

: Соко Град), also known as Sokolac, is a medieval city and fortress 2 km east of the spa town of

Sokobanja Sokobanja ( sr-cyr, Сокобања, ) is a spa town and municipality located in the Zaječar District of the eastern Serbia. As of 2011, the population of the town is 7,982, while population of the municipality is 16,021. Geography Sokobanja ...

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

. The fortress was declared a

Monument of Culture of Great Importance Immovable Cultural Heritage of Exceptional Importance ( sr, Непокретна културна добра од изузетног значаја/) are those objects of Immovable cultural heritage that enjoy the highest level of state protection ...

in 1982, and it is protected by

Republic of Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

History

The fortress was founded in the 6th century during the reign of

Eastern Roman The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

Justinian I Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565. His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renova ...

, to prevent incursions of

Pannonian Avars The Pannonian Avars () were an alliance of several groups of Eurasian nomads of various origins. The peoples were also known as the Obri in chronicles of Rus, the Abaroi or Varchonitai ( el, Βαρχονίτες, Varchonítes), or Pseudo-Avars ...

and Slavs into Balkan peninsula. In 1172, it was occupied by

Stefan Nemanja Stefan Nemanja (Serbian Cyrillic: , ; – 13 February 1199) was the Grand Prince ( Veliki Župan) of the Serbian Grand Principality (also known as Raška, lat. ) from 1166 to 1196. A member of the Vukanović dynasty, Nemanja founded the Nema ...

and became part of the medieval Serbian state. During the expulsion of the

Bogomils Bogomilism ( Bulgarian and Macedonian: ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", bogumilstvo, богумилство) was a Christian neo-Gnostic or dualist sect founded in the First Bulgarian Empire by the priest Bogomil during the reign of Tsar P ...

from Serbia, Nemanja had a clash with the administrator of Soko, who was a Bogomil himself.

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

occupied it in the year 1398. The town was destroyed in a violent Ottoman attack, and today the only thing visible is the remains of the upper town with a gate, walls, and three towers. Soko Grad translates as "falcon city". It got its name because there were many falconers in the town, who paid taxes with trained falcons. Sokograd

Characteristics

The original fortification built by Justinian was the citadel built on the tallest part of the rock, rendering it practically unreachable by the enemy. During the subsequent development in Serbian state, the fortress expanded around the citadel and spread lower down the rock. In the middle of the fortification on the top was a citadel with a dominant main tower. From there bulwarks were lowering toward Moravica, forming that way space of Lower town, that was built on more reachable ground. The entire fortification complex had several towers, of which only a few remain today. Only the first entrance tower in Upper town is preserved and in good shape, while other towers and bulwarks are in ruins. Soko Grad

References

External links

Soko Grad article
in Politikin Zabavnik
Section Fortress - Soko Grad

Forts in Serbia Ruins in Serbia Medieval Serbian architecture Cultural Monuments of Great Importance (Serbia) Tsardom of Vidin {{Serbia-struct-stub

History

Characteristics

See also

References

External links