Middle Ages in the 12th century The
Sklavenoi,
South Slavs, settled in the Balkans in the 6th century. The
Serbs, mentioned in the
Royal Frankish Annals of the mid-9th century, controlled a great part of
Dalmatia ("
Sorabos, quae natio magnam Dalmatiae partem obtinere dicitur").
Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos in
De Administrando Imperio mentions that, from
Croats who came to Dalmatia, one part was separated and took rule in
Illyricum. The Slavic, Serbian tribes, consolidated under the
Vlastimirović dynasty (610–960). The two principalities of
Doclea and
Travunia were roughly adjacent at Boka. As elsewhere in the
Balkans,
Slavs mixed with the
Roman population of these
Byzantine coastal cities. The
Theme of Dalmatia was established in the 870s. According to
De Administrando Imperio (ca. 960),
Risan was part of Travunia, a Serbian principality ruled by the
Belojević family. After the
Great Schism of 1054, the coastal region was under both Churches. In 1171,
Stefan Nemanja sided with the
Republic of Venice in a dispute with the Byzantine Empire. The Venetians incited the Slavs of the eastern
Adriatic littoral to rebel against Byzantine rule and Nemanja joined them, launching an offensive towards
Kotor. The Bay was thenceforth under the rule of the
Nemanjić dynasty. In 1195, Nemanja and his son
Vukan constructed the Church of Saint Luka in Kotor. In 1219,
Saint Sava founded the seat of the
Eparchy of Zeta on
Prevlaka, one of the eparchies of the
Serbian Orthodox Church. Due to its protected location, Kotor became a major city for the salt trade. The area flourished during the 14th century under the rule of
Emperor of the Serbs Dušan the Mighty who, notorious for his aggressive law enforcement, made the Bay of Kotor a particularly safe place for doing business. The city of Kotor was under Nemanjić rule until 1371. It was followed by a period of frequent political changes in the region. Local lords from the
Vojinović and
Balšić noble families fought over the influence in the region. Since 1377, northern parts of the Bay region came under the rule of
Tvrtko I Kotromanić, who proclaimed himself
King of the Serbs and Bosnia. For several years (1385–1391), the city of Kotor also recognized the suzerainty of the
Kingdom of Bosnia. After 1391, it gained political independence, and functioned as a city-state until 1420. Its merchant fleet and importance gradually increased, but so was the interest of the powerful Republic of Venice for the city and the bay region. From 1405 to 1412, the
First Scutari War was fought in the region.
Venetian rule (1420–1797) In 1420, the city of Kotor recognized the Venetian rule, marking the beginning of an era that would last until 1797. Northern parts of the Bay region still remained under the Kingdom of Bosnia, while southern parts were controlled the
Lordship of Zeta, followed by the
Serbian Despotate. In the meanwhile, the
Second Scutari War was fought in the region, resulting in the peace treaties of 1423 and 1426. By the middle of the 15th century, northern parts of the Bay region became incorporated into the
Duchy of Saint Sava. In 1482,
Ottomans took the city of
Novi, establishing their rule in the northern parts of the Bay area. Under Ottoman rule, those regions were attached to the
Sanjak of Herzegovina. The Ottoman possessions in the Bay region were retaken at the end of the 17th century and the whole area became part of the Venetian Republic, within the province of
Venetian Albania. Until the 20th century, the difference between the two parts was visible because the former Ottoman part had an
Orthodox majority, while the part that was under Venetian rule had a
Catholic majority. The town of
Perast had difficult moments in 1654 when the Ottomans attacked, retaliating against Bokeljs who had sunk an Ottoman ship. The Bokeljs' successful defence of Perast and the Bay received attention all over
Europe. It attracted
Petar Zrinski, a statesman in Europe who had fought dramatic battles with the Turks. During his three-day sojourn in Perast he presented his legendary sword to the town in recognition for their efforts to defend their homeland, and to stop the Ottoman Empire. In 1669, according to
Andrija Zmajević,
hajduks of the Bay wished to build a church, but were denied due to Zmajević's intervention on the
providur of Kotor and the captain of Perast. Ottoman travel writer
Evliya Çelebi visited the Bay of Kotor and mentioned Croats who lived in Herceg Novi.
Modern history By the
Treaty of Campo Formio (1797), the Bay region came under the
Habsburg rule. By the
Treaty of Pressburg (1805), the region was set to be transferred to the
French rule, but that was effectively achieved only after the
Treaties of Tilsit (1807). Under the French rule, the Bay region was included in the
Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy and later in the
Illyrian Provinces, which were a part of the French Empire. The region was later conquered by
Montenegro with
Russian help by
Prince-Bishop Petar I Petrović-Njegoš and, in 1813, a union of the bay area with Montenegro was declared. In 1815, the bay was annexed by the
Austrian Empire and was included in the province of
Dalmatia (part of
Cisleithania since 1867). In 1848, when the
numerous revolutions sparked in the Austrian Empire, an Assembly of the Bay of Kotor was held sponsored by
Petar II Petrović-Njegoš of Montenegro, to decide on the proposition of the Bay's unification with
Ban of Croatia Josip Jelačić in an
attempt to unite Dalmatia,
Croatia and
Slavonia under the Habsburg crown. The
Kingdom of Montenegro attempted to take the Bay during
World War I. It was bombed from
Lovćen, but, by 1916,
Austria-Hungary had defeated Montenegro. During Austro-Hungarian rule, the majority of people participated in the
Great Retreat with the
Royal Serbian Army through
Albania. On 7 November 1918, the Serbian army entered the Bay. Within a month, the
Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes was formed and was renamed as
Yugoslavia in 1929. The Bay was a municipality of Dalmatia until it was re-organized into smaller districts (
oblasts) in 1922. It was incorporated into the Oblast of
Cetinje and, from 1939, into the
Zeta Banovina. Under Ottoman and then Austro-Hungarian control Hercegovina had had a narrow exit to the sea, the so-called
Sutorina strip. In 1945
Montenegro was assigned the strip. According to the 1910 census, the bay had 40,582 inhabitants, of whom 24,794 were Eastern Orthodox and 14,523 Catholic. The Bay region was occupied by the
Royal Italian Army in April 1941, and was included in the
Governorate of Dalmatia until September 1943. Since 1945, it was part of the
People's Republic of Montenegro. ==Culture==