Braničevci

The Braničevci (Serbian Cyrillic: Браничевци) was an early medieval Slavic tribe that inhabited the region of Braničevo, in what is today Serbia, in the early 9th century. Their ethnonym is Slavic, derived from braniti se ("to defend"); Proto-Slavic *borniti, related to bòriti se ("to fight, struggle"). Al Masudi mentions them as Branicabin. Ferdo Šišić called the Braničevci and Timočani "Dacian-Slavic tribes" (dačko-slovenska plemena). They were conquered by the Bulgarian Khan Krum in 805 AD together with the Timočani and Obodrites. The Khan annexed the territories that would serve as a frontier to Rascia and the Franks, he replaced their leaders with Bulgarian administrators. In 818 during the rule of Omurtag (814-836) Braničevci, together with other tribes of the frontier, revolted because of an administrative reform that deprived them of much of their local authority and seceded from Bulgaria. They came under Frankish rule in 822. Timok and Branicevo would be of dispute between the Franks and Bulgars, the Khan sent embassies in 824 and 826 seeking to settle the border dispute, but was neglected. Pavel Jozef Šafařik connected them to the Praedenecenti mentioned in the Royal Frankish Annals in 822–824.