Siedlungsstrukturen im Wandel: Das Tal der Strumica bzw. Strumešnica in spätbyzantinischer und osmanischer Zeit (1259-1600)
Changing Structures of Settlement: The Valley of the Strumica River in Late Byzantine and in Ottoman Times (1259-1600)

Summary/Abstract: The present article analyses the structure of settlements in the valley of the river Strumica / Strumešnica from the 13th to the 16th century on the basis of Byzantine, Slavonic and Ottoman sources. After gaining one picture of the area studied by extracting the number and nature of settlements from Byzantine and Slavonic charters, another one is established via the Ottoman tax registers (defter) from the 16th century. The first picture comprising 30 settlements is evaluated on the basis of the Central Place Theory and compared to the development in Ottoman times. The analysed charters clearly show the rupture line in the valley of the river Strumica / Strumešnica in the wake of the expansion of the Serbian mediaeval state on Byzantine territory. Thus, a variety of deserted villages can be discerned in the mediaeval sources, which on the one hand emphasises the region’s character as border area with strong centrifugal powers. On the other hand we are able to find examples of colonisation in the area studied. That is why further research is needed in order to place the achieved results in a broader context of the whole historical region of Macedonia.

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