The term Unnamed Prince of Serbia ( sr, неименовани српски архонт / ''neimenovani srpski arhont''), or the Unknown Prince ( sr, непознати кнез / ''nepoznati knez''), refers to the Serbian prince from the first half of the 7th century, who according to the ''

De Administrando Imperio ''De Administrando Imperio'' ("On the Governance of the Empire") is the Latin title of a Greek-language work written by the 10th-century Eastern Roman Emperor Constantine VII. The Greek title of the work is ("To yown son Romanos"). It is a domes ...

'' (10th century CE) supposedly led his people from their original homeland in

White Serbia White Serbia ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Бела Србија, Bela Srbija; wen, Biеło Srbsko), called also Boiki ( grc, Βοΐκι, Boḯki; sr-Cyrl-Latn, link=no, Бојка, Bojka; wen, links=no, Boika), is the name applied to the assumed homeland of ...

, to settle in the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

during the reign of

Byzantine Emperor This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as le ...

Heraclius Heraclius ( grc-gre, Ἡράκλειος, Hērákleios; c. 575 – 11 February 641), was List of Byzantine emperors, Eastern Roman emperor from 610 to 641. His rise to power began in 608, when he and his father, Heraclius the Elder, the Exa ...

(610–641), as mentioned in Emperor

Constantine VII Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (; 17 May 905 – 9 November 959) was the fourth Emperor of the Macedonian dynasty of the Byzantine Empire, reigning from 6 June 913 to 9 November 959. He was the son of Emperor Leo VI and his fourth wife, Zoe Kar ...

's work ''

'' (written in 950s). The work does not record his name, but states that he was the

progenitor In genealogy, the progenitor (rarer: primogenitor; german: Stammvater or ''Ahnherr'') is the – sometimes legendary – founder of a family, line of descent, clan or tribe, noble house, or ethnic group.. Ebenda''Ahnherr:''"Stammvater eines G ...

of the first Serbian

dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...

(known in historiography as the

Vlastimirović dynasty The Vlastimirović ( sr-Cyrl, Властимировић, Vlastimirovići / Властимировићи) was the first Serbian royal dynasty, named after Prince Vlastimir (ruled c. 831–851), who was recognized by the Byzantine Empire. The ...

), and that he died before the arrival of the

Bulgars The Bulgars (also Bulghars, Bulgari, Bolgars, Bolghars, Bolgari, Proto-Bulgarians) were Turkic semi-nomadic warrior tribes that flourished in the Pontic–Caspian steppe and the Volga region during the 7th century. They became known as nomad ...

(680), succeeded by his son, and then grandson.

''De Administrando Imperio''

Studies

According to the accounts in DAI the first Christianization of the Serbs should be dated to 632–638; this could be interpreted at first glance as Porphyrogenitus' invention, or might have actually taken place, encompassing a limited group of chiefs and then very poorly received by the wider layers of the tribe. In early historical assessment like that of German historian

Ludwig Albrecht Gebhardi Ludwig Albrecht Gebhardi (pronounced εpha'rdi Lüneburg, 13 April 1735 – Hannover, 26 October 1802) was a German historian. He is the author of numerous works dealing in particular with the history of Denmark, Norway, Hungary and the Slavic ...

(1735–1802), the Serb archon was a son of

Dervan Dervan or Derwan ( sr-cyr, Дерван, la, Dervanus) was an early duke of the Sorbs ( fl. 615–636). According to some historians and Emperor Constantine VII, Dervan was brother of the Unknown Archon, but some historians also think tha ...

, who was the Duke (''dux'') of the ''Surbi'', east of the

Saale The Saale (), also known as the Saxon Saale (german: Sächsische Saale) and Thuringian Saale (german: Thüringische Saale), is a river in Germany and a left-bank tributary of the Elbe. It is not to be confused with the smaller Fränkische Saale, ...

. This theory was supported by Miloš Milojević (1872), while

Romilly Jenkins Romilly James Heald Jenkins (1907 – 30 September 1969) was a British scholar in Byzantine and Modern Greek studies. He occupied the prestigious seat of ''Koraes Professor of Modern Greek and Byzantine History, Language and Literature'' at King's ...

(1962) and Relja Novaković (1977) argued the possibility that they were brothers or other relatives. In contemporary historiography and archaeology, the narratives of ''

'' have been reassessed as they contain anachronisms and factual mistakes. The account in ''DAI'' about the Serbs mentions that they requested from the Byzantine commander of present-day Belgrade to settle in the

theme of Thessalonica The Theme of Thessalonica ( el, Θέμα Θεσσαλονίκης) was a military-civilian province (''thema'' or theme (Byzantine administrative unit), theme) of the Byzantine Empire located in the southern Balkans, comprising varying parts of Ce ...

, which was formed ca. 150 years after the reign of Heraclius which was in the 7th century. For the purposes of its narrative, the DAI formulates a mistaken etymology of the Serbian ethnonym which it derives from Latin ''servi'' (serfs). As the Byzantine Empire sought to establish its hegemony towards the Serbs, the narrative of the ''DAI'' sought to establish a historical hegemony over the Serbs by claiming that their arrival, settlement and conversion to Christianity was the direct result of the Byzantine interference in the centuries which preceded the writing of ''DAI''. D. Dzino (2010) considers that the story of the migration from

after the invitation of Heraclius as a means of explanation of the settlement of the Serbs is a form of rationalization of the social and cultural change which the Balkans had undergone via the misinterpretation of historical events placed in late antiquity.

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* * * * * * * * * * {{Serbian monarchs 7th-century Serbian monarchs 7th-century rulers in Europe 7th-century Slavs Byzantine people of Slavic descent Vlastimirović dynasty Medieval Serbia History of the Serbs Legendary rulers Founding monarchs Year of birth unknown Unidentified people

''De Administrando Imperio''

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