Gordoservon orGordoserbon orGordoserba (Greek:Γορδόσερβον;Serbian:Гордосервон, Гордосербон) was an early medievalByzantine city, and abishopric, suffragan of theMetropolis of Nicaea, in the region ofBithynia,Asia Minor. It is mentioned in several ecclesiastical sources from the period between the 7th and the 9th century. Most notably, the city is mentioned in the acts of theCouncil of Trullo (691-692), as a seat of bishop Isidore, who attended the council.[1]
The exact location of this city, andetymology of its name, have been a subject of interest for scholars, who proposed several solutions for both questions.[2]
In the 7th century, the Byzantine EmperorsConstans II (in 657–658) andJustinian II (in 688–689) led expeditions against theBalkan Slavs as far as riversStruma andVardar in the region ofMacedonia. Many of the conquered tribes were transferred to theOpsikion district of northwestern Asia Minor. Part of thoseAsia Minor Slavs deserted to the Arabs in 665 and againin 692.[3][4][2] As the name of the city could suggest that among its founders wereSerbs,[5][6] some modern scholars consider that the colony was founded by these Slavs, and variously date it to 649,[7][8] 667,[9] 680,[10] or 688–689.[2] According toSima Ćirković it is possible that some Serbs which populated Gordoservon were brought froman area near Thessaloniki.[11]
Similarly, in 1129–1130 some Serbs were likely settled in Bithynia byJohn II Komnenos, due to the mention of a settlement calledServochōria (Greek:Σερβοχώρια) nearNicomedia,[4][12][13] mentioned in the 13th century sourcePartitio regni Graeci (1204).[3] Some identified Gordoserba with this Servochōria, but the connection is uncertain.[14]
Up to the 20th century,Gordo-Servorum orGordoservae was commonly equated withnovaJuliopolis, which in turn was equated withGordium (capital ofPhrygia) or another place with the same nameGordion,Gordenorum,Gordiu-come(nis),Gordiū-tīchos which became known as Juliopolis (Iuliogordus) according to several 1st-century BCE up to 2nd century CE sources.[15][16][17]William Mitchell Ramsay (1890) connected Justinianopolis-Mela, called Nova Justinianopolis Gordi (680), with the bishoprics of Gordoserboi or Gordoserba in Bithynia, Gordorounia or Gordorinia inPhrygia Salutaris, and Gordou-Kome, the former name of Juliopolis inGalatia, and that an ancient country or district along theSangarios River was called Gordos. Additionally, he argued that Gordoserba was formed into bishopric byJustinian I in the 6th century.[18] Siméon Vailhé, writing for theCatholic Encyclopedia (1913) considered, likeMichel Le Quien, that Juliopolis of Nicaea of Bithynia was identical to Gordoserboi, because otherwise the exact location, titulars, and bishops are unknown; and that it should not be confused with Juliopolis of former Gordium.[19]
However,Peter Charanis, analyzing the sources on the early Slavs of Asia Minor, noted that the sources are ambiguous on the exact date of migration, especially concerning Constans II, and that the first certain mention of the place is in 692,[4] during theQuinisext Council,[6] where was mentioned Isidore "ἀνάξιος ἐπίσκοπος Γορδοσέρβων τῆς Βιθυνῶν ἐπαρχίας" ("unworthy bishop of Gordoserba of the province of the Bithynians").[16][2] If the settlement is related to the Serbs then it contradicts the date of theEcthesis of pseudo-Epiphanius (640), a list of cities and bishoprics which mentions Gordoservorum or Gordoserboi in theMetropolis of Nicaea in the province of Bithynia.[6][20] Charanis and other scholars doubt the Slavic-Serbian origin of the city because among the known bishops (Isidoros,[21] Neophytos,[22] Stephanos[15][23]) there are none with Slavic names, and due to the uncertainty around the etymology of the Serbian ethnonym.[4]
Ladislav Zgusta considered that "-serba" has nothing to do with Slavs and pointed to toponyms such as Άνάζαρβος and Ανάζαρβα Καμουή σαρβον (Anazarbus), whileHeinrich Kunstmann [de] argued that if Gordoserba and Servochōria are identical then both cannot have a connection toJohn II Komnenos's activity in the 12th century, and contrary to Zgusta, Servochōria most probably means "Serbian land".[14] Predrag Komatina also argued Serbian connection, but denied that "gordo-" derives from Proto-Slavic *gordъ (fortification, city) becauseGordos was a name for a district where the settlement was situated and hence the meaning would have been "the place of the Gordos Serbs" rather than "the city of the Serbs".[2]
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)Isidorus episcopus Gordoservorum civitatis, Bithynorum provinciae
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