Pirot

Geography

The city, which covers an area of 1,235 km² (476.84 sq mi), has several mountains in the vicinity, including Stara Planina, Vlaška planina, Belava, and Suva Planina.

The following rivers flow through Pirot: the Nišava, Jerma, Rasnička Reka, Temštica and the Visočica. Pirot also has four lakes: Zavoj Lake, Berovacko Lake, Krupac Lake and Sukov Lake.

Prehistoric and Roman times

Thracians ruled the region prior to the Roman conquest and Romanization of Serbia in the 1st century BC. Turres, the first settlement in the vicinity, dates to the 2nd century AD. At the Maglić monastery of village Blato, a 2nd-century AD stone depiction of the Thracian horseman was found in September 2008. An inscription dating to 211 AD mentions the Thracian cult of Sebazianos (Sabazios); the name corresponds with the variations seen in Pautalia. The inscription was dedicated by a horion (cult society), headed by a leader (high priest); these were not Roman citizens.

The first written account describing Turres was the 4th century Roman itinerary known as Tabula Peutingeriana. Its name was Latin for "towers". Firstly, it was set to enable control and defence of the main road in this part of the empire. Besides, travellers could sleep here overnight, as well as get refreshments and new horses or vehicles. In time, the settlement advanced because of the important road passing through. It was also disturbed very persistently by invasions of the Gothic tribes throughout the 4th century, as well as the Huns in the 5th century.

Eastern Roman (Byzantine) rule

According to the written accounts On Buildings by Procopius of Caesarea, writing during the reign of the emperor Justinian I (527 – 565), the emperor ordered the reconstruction of thirty fortresses in the area from Niš to Sofia, including the towers of Pirot. He also gave the detailed description of those construction works. In times when the Slavs and Avars were invading the Balkans, the settlement was named Quimedava, and was situated on the southern slope of the Sarlah Hill.

Corresponding to the archaeological investigations, the town back then, surrounded by forts and fortified walls, also included an early Christian basilica, thermae (public baths), a necropolis, and other facilities. Beside the military fortress, a civil settlement (vicus) existed on the site called Majilka. By the late 6th century and early 7th century, successive barbarian invasions broke through the Byzantine Danube frontier, and various proto-Slavic tribes (Sclaveni) began to settle in numbers across the Balkans.

The Sclaveni started raiding Byzantine towns in the 520s and are mentioned as having attacked Thrace in 549. In 577 some 100,000 Slavs poured into Thrace and Illyricum, pillaging cities and settling down.

High and Late Middle Ages

In the 8th century the area of Pirot became part of the First Bulgarian Empire. In the early 11th century it became part of the Theme of Sirmium, a main administrative unit of the Byzantine Empire, formed by Emperor Basil II (r. 976–1025). He also formed the Archbishopric of Ochrid, an autonomous church under the jurisdiction of the Patriarch of Constantinople (1018). The region was then part of the Archbishopric of Niš.

In 1182-1183, the joint Serb-Hungarian army took control of Pirot area, and Stefan Nemanja, together with Frederick Barbarossa passed through Pirot.

In 1214-1216 Serbian Grand Prince (later King) Stefan Nemanjić with the autocephaly of the Serbian Orthodox Church in 1217, made Pirot's region ecclesiastically part of the Serbian church. Momchil, a Bulgarian brigand leader, rebuilt the ancient Pirot Fortress sometime before 1344. Pirot was afterwards part of the Serbian Empire under Stefan Dušan (r. 1331-1355) and his son Uroš V, assigned to the Dejanović noble family. Konstantin Dejanović built the nearby Poganovo Monastery during Ottoman vassalage. According to some sources, Pirot was briefly annexed by the Ottomans in 1385, alternatively it switched hands to Prince Lazar. It was subsequently part of Stefan Lazarević's Serbian Despotate; however, the region was then conquered by Ottoman Musa by 1412.

There is disagreement between Serbian and Bulgarian sources whether area belonged to Serbian or Bulgarian states in the 14th century period. According to Serbian sources, in the 14th and 15th century, Pirot belonged to the several Serbian states - the Serbian Empire of Stefan Dušan, Moravian Serbia of Lazar Hrebeljanović, and Serbian Despotate of Stefan Lazarević, while according to Bulgarian historian Koledarov, the town was under Bulgarian rule in the 13th and 14th century and belonged to the Bulgarian state almost to the end of Second Bulgarian Empire.

Ottoman rule

The region changed hands several times between Serbian and Ottoman rulers. It was finally conquered by Ottomans in the 15th century and remained under Ottoman rule until the 19th century (December 1877). It was known as Şehirköy during Ottoman rule.

It was administratively part of to the Sanjak of Niš. On April 7, 1831, it was the site of a battle in the Bosnian uprising. The Pirot Uprising was suppressed by the Ottomans in 1836. The second Niš Uprising in 1841, was also suppressed by the Ottomans. It was administratively part of the Niš Eyalet 1846–1864. With the establishment of the Bulgarian Exarchate was the center of the Nishava diocese, which includes Tran and the city of Pirot.

Modern history

During the initial offensive of the Serbian-Ottoman War (1876–1877), Russian Commander-In-Chief of the Serbian army Mikhail Chernyayev failed to liberate Bela Palanka and Pirot. During the Russo-Turkish War (1877-1878), which erupted shortly thereafter, the Serbian army took the territories of Niš, Babina glava, Bela Palanka and Pirot. The Treaty of Berlin (1878) legalised Serbian rule in Pirot. The 1879 Serbian regional population census registered that Pirot had a population of 76,892 people, and 11,005 households. It was occupied by the Bulgarian army after Serbo-Bulgarian War between 27 November 1885 and 3 March 1886.

In the Interwar Period, the terrorist Internal Western Outland Revolutionary Organisation, countering Yugoslav rule in the region, was engaged in repeated attacks against the Yugoslav police and army. From 1929 to 1941, Pirot was part of the Morava Banovina of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. During World War II Bulgaria occupied so-called Western Outlands, as well as Pirot and Vranje. After the Second World War, these regions were returned to Yugoslavia. After Serbia's independence, these areas remained within the Serbian state.

Pirot was granted city status in February 2016.

Settlements

Aside from the city of Pirot itself, the city territory covers over 70 settlements. In 2011, the whole territory had 57,911 inhabitants: 93.8% Serbs, 3.0% Roma and 0.8% Bulgarians.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census results, the city of Pirot has a population of 57,928 inhabitants.

Ethnic groups

Ethnic composition of the municipality:

Culture

Notable brands of Pirot include the Pirot Kilim, Pirot opanak, Pirot cheese, and ironed sausage.

Tourist attractions

Notable people