Montenegro - History

[Rogi]

This is what Donski's book is about too, and the basis for the claim that the Queen of England has a Macedonian connection (albeit very, very tiny).

[Soldier of Macedon]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_Rebellion

[Soldier of Macedon]

Doesn't look like the Montenegrins were always cosy with the Serbs.

[Soldier of Macedon]

http://www.macedoniantruth.org/2008/...-nations-1924/

Monday, Sep. 22, 1924
Appeal

M. Luigi Criscuolo, head of the Manhattan Branch of the Committee for Montenegrin Independence, sent a memorandum to the League of Nations at Geneva requesting justice from that body for Montenegro, forcibly annexed by Yugo-Slavia in 1921.

Points from the memorandum:

Nearly six years have elapsed since the question of the independence of Montenegro was first brought to the attention of the nations of the world.

There is no abatement in the practice of the Serbs in imprisoning, torturing and murdering Montenegrin men, in mistreating and even violating women, in persecuting old men merely because they have refused to swear allegiance to the new Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes and persist in maintaining that they are Montenegrins and that the sovereign rights of their country shall not be violated.

The ostensible object of the League of Nations is to prevent wars. For years, those who sympathized with the aspirations of the Montenegrin people have been pointing out to the world that the inhuman policy of the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes towards its minorities would only lead to another struggle in the Balkans. The attitude of the Croatian separatists under M. Stefan Radich, of the Macedonian insurgents under Alexandrov, of the Montenegrin insurgents under the late Savo Raspopovich gives proof that the spark exists that can kindle another war, if it be not extinguished. The League of Nations is hereby petitioned to appoint a Commission to investigate the condition of the minorities in the Balkans— in Montenegro in particular—in order to ascertain the truth of the assertions which we have made, and with a view of conducting an impartial plebiscite in Montenegro at the earliest possible moment. If it is possible for small nations to be forcibly annexed by large ones and no objection is forthcoming from an international tribunal such as is the League of Nations, then this is proof that civilization is declining rather than advancing. There is no one question that would inspire more faith in the League of Nations and gain for it many thousands of adherents and supporters than an immediate solution of the question of Montenegrin independence. This is particularly so in the United States, where the question has been brought to the attention of the American public and has received srong support— by the press of the country which, while realizing the almost hopelessness of the fight, has, nevertheless, in many instances maintained that the forcible annexation of Montenegro by Serbia was a crime against humanity as well as against International Law.

—An overstatement. While various sections of the U. S. press have from time to time published letters and articles on the plight of Montenegro, it is untrue to say that any paper has given “strong support.”

What would have been had countries like Macedonia, Montenegro and Croatia prevailed during this period rather than wolves like Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece and Albania.

[Soldier of Macedon]

http://forum.cafemontenegro.com/showthread.php?t=14008

And something from a Montenegrin forum, sounds interesting.

Duklja (Doclea), the first Montenegrin state under the first dynasty, the Vojislavljevic

The thousand-year history of the Montenegrin state begins in the ninth century with the emergence of Duklja, a vassal state of Byzantium. In those formative years, Duklja was ruled by the Vojislavljevic dynasty, the first Montenegrin dynasty. In 1042, at the end of his 25-year rule, King Vojislav won a decisive battle near Bar against Byzantium, and Duklja became independent. Duklja's power and prosperity reached their zenith under King Vojislav's son, King Mihailo (1046-81), and his son King Bodin (1081-1101).

As King Nikola I Petrovic of Montenegro declared in 1910: "Deep are the foundations of this renewed kingdom of ours. They descend to the old Zetan kings Vojislav, Mihailo and Bodin. Time had been destroying only what had been on this earth, but not what had been built into it, what had been planted in the hearts of the freedom-loving mountaineers of these mountains. And this no strongman could destroy. We started building on those deep foundations. And today, here is our old kingdom glistening under the heavenly sun!" (Glas Crnogorca, August 19, 1910).

The territory of Duklja comprised much of the southern Adriatic coast, most of present-day Montenegro, Skadar Lake, the town of Skodra and parts of present-day northern Albania. In the west, it included present-day Herzegovina, with its border about 50 kilometers west of the Neretva River.

The people of Duklja "were the oldest ancestors of Montenegrins. That people, in the feudal sense, was a particular mix of Illyrians, Romans and Slavs, synthesized under the name -- the Dukljans." (Dragoje Zivkovic, Istorija crnogorskog naroda, Cetinje, 1989, p.134).

The Dukljans were predominantly Catholics. The population also included Bogomils (members of a Bosnian Christian sect which originated in Macedonia) and pagans, but these faiths gradually disappeared under pressure from the Roman Catholic Church. The conversion to Orthodox Christianity began only after the fall of the Vojislavljevic dynasty, in the 12th century.

Mihailo received royal insignia from the Pope, and the image of King Mihailo with his crown is still found in the Church of St. Mihailo in Ston, a town in the Peljesac peninsula (in present-day Croatia). In a letter from 1077, the Pope refers to him as "Michaeli Sclavorum Regi" (Mihailo, King of Slavs). Recognizing Mihailo as a king, the Pope also considered his request that Duklja's bishopric in Bar be raised to an archbishopric. This request was challenged by the rival archbishoprics in Dubrovnik and Split.
But on January 8, 1089, the Pope issued a bull to Mihailo's son King Bodin raising the Bar bishopric to the status of archbishopric, with ten subordinated bishoprics and Archbishop Petar as head.

Following Mihailo's death around 1081 and a brief power struggle among his heirs, his son Bodin became king. Bodin fought the Byzantines and Normans and took the town of Durachium. He established vassal states in Bosnia (under Stefan) and Raska (under Vukan and Marko), which recognized his supremacy. After Bodin's death (around 1101), incessant struggles for power among his heirs weakened the state. These struggles culminated in the rise to power of pro-Raska rulers in Duklja. The rise of Raska under its ruler Stefan Nemanja (around 1166) thus led to the subordination of Duklja and the end of the first period of the Montenegrin state.

Nemanja's conquest of Duklja - or Zeta, as it was referred to from the 11th century on -ended with its incorporation into Raska. Nemanja destroyed entire towns in Zeta that never subsequently recovered. He persecuted the Bogomils and expelled the Greeks from Zeta, burning local churches and books. Pavel Rovinski, one of the most knowledgeable 19th-century historians of Montenegro, notes that "in burning books, there was no discrimination, whether they were religious, historical, geographic, literary or descriptions of nature" (Crna Gora u proslosti i sadasnjosti, Cetinje, 1993, p.279). Nemanja started forcefully converting Zeta's population to Orthodox Christianity - this in a country where "there was not one Orthodox priest. And when he consolidated his power in Zeta, the Greeks had already been expelled" (Rovinski, p. 281).

Despite the massive destruction during Nemanja's conquest, Zeta was culturally and economically one of the most advanced parts of Raska (Serbia). And Zetans constantly struggled to maintain and increase their autonomy. When the Serbian kingdom started crumbling in the mid-14th century, Zeta increasingly asserted its sovereignty.
It regained its independence under the second Montenegrin dynasty, the Balsic, which came to power in 1356.

[Soldier of Macedon]

http://www.montenet.org/history/doclea.htm

The Doclea's (Dukljanski) period, which dated from the IX to the end of the XII century, was probably the most prosperous one in the history of Montenegrins. With the rise of feudalism between VIII and IX centuries, which signified an end to blood related, tribal associations, the (Sklavinija) Doclea (Duklja) gradually became a Principality (Knezevina -Arhontija) in the second part of the IX century. The first known prince (knez-arhont) was Petar. In 1884 a lead stamp was found, on which was engraved in Greek "Petar prince of Doclea". In addition, it also was engraved with the Madonna with Christ, and the word "amin" after Petar's title and two crosses. This is a very important finding, since it confirms not only that Doclea (Duklja) was a principality (Byzantine vassal), but also that Petar was a christianized Slav prince. This implies that Docleans (Dukljani) were christened before the beginning of the Slavic mission of Cirilo and Metodije in the second part of the IX century (V.Nikcevic, Crnogorski jezik, 1993). Similarly, according to D. Zivkovic's findings (Istorija Crnogorskog Naroda, Cetinje, 1989), Doclea was christianized by the middle of the IX century and this period is characterized with the spreading of Latin literacy and culture.

In 1016, Doclea is ruled by the first known nominally independent prince Vladimir (son of Petrislav). From 1018-1043 the Principality of Doclea (Duklja) was ruled by Vladimir's nephew Stefan Vojislav who was a Byzantine vassal until 1041.

After defeating Macedonian rebels and regaining Drac, Byzantium, helped by prince of Zahumlje, head of tribal state Bosnia, and ban of Serbia, attacked Doclea (Duklju) in 1042/43 from all sides (J.Skilica).The attackers suffered heavy defeats (35 000) in Tudjemili, near Bar, and the Byzantium Czar was forced to recognize the Doclea's (Duklja) independence, and forge friendship and alliance with Mihailo, the son of Vojislav, giving him the title of ?(protospator)(J.Jovanovic, Stvaranje Crnogorske Drzave i Razvoj Crnogorske Nacionalnosti, Obod, Cetinje 1947, p. 11). Thus, victory of Prince Vojislav over Byzantium in Tudjemili near Bar in 1042/43 signified liberation from Byzant control, and he became sovereign of Doclea (Duklja) which is in Byzant sources called Zeta after this battle. Zeta, thus, was the first of the South Slav states to be recognized as a sovereignty by Byzantium and this began the thousand year history of the Montenegrin state. The sovereignty of Zeta encompassed Raska, Bosnia, Travunia (Travunija), and Zahumlje (Dragoje Zivkovic, Istorija crnogorskog naroda, Cetinje, 1989).

[Soldier of Macedon]

http://www.csees.net/?page=news&news...5&country_id=8

The Association of Montenegrins of Kosovo has reacted against the statements of Kosovar Serb leaders denying the existence of the Montenegrin minority in the Republic of Kosovo. In a press statement issued for the media, the Montenegrin Association of Kosovo strongly pposes the statements of Rada Trajkovic and Marko Jakshic on the daily Montenegrin "Dan", where they both bluntly deny the existence of the Montenegrin minority in Kosovo. "The position, which is being continuously displayed by the Serb local leaders in Kosovo through their political activities, is in the spirit of the special method of war, with impunity, which are making the Serbian nationalists against the nation and state of Montenegro, especially in the last 20 years," the statement says, which was signed by the Chairman of the Association of Montenegrins in Kosovo, Slobodan Vujicic. "Such despicable presentation by the leaders of the Kosovar Serb minority shows the fall of their morale; their political primitivism, which has caused grievous, loses to all people of Kosovo. Now, they are attempting to attack the pride of the Kosovar Montenegrins to destroy and prevent the further realization of our guaranteed rights in the Republic of Kosovo," said the statement.

How cold the relations between Montenegrins and Serbs must be now.

[Soldier of Macedon]

Who has ever heard Montenegrin music? It sounds very archaic and mystical, sometimes off-beat, but very interesting tunes nevertheless. Just thought I would make mention of that, information concerning the history and culture of the Montenegrin's should be consolidated here, I will post some links at a later date.

[Risto the Great]

Originally Posted by Soldier of Macedon

http://www.macedoniantruth.org/2008/...-nations-1924/



What would have been had countries like Macedonia, Montenegro and Croatia prevailed during this period rather than wolves like Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece and Albania.

The League of Nations was to busy regulating opium trade at the time to care.

[Risto the Great]

Originally Posted by Soldier of Macedon

http://www.csees.net/?page=news&news...5&country_id=8


How cold the relations between Montenegrins and Serbs must be now.

According to Serbs, we were Southern Serbs .... the Montenegrins never had a chance with those people! I am sure they still have many issues to work through.