According to historian Dragutin Papović, Duklja (Zeta) does not represent the origins of Serbian statehood, nor is it foundational to the Nemanjić dynasty, a fact that the Nemanjićs themselves did not assert. Rather, Duklja existed as an independent state that was later conquered by the Nemanjićs.

In a piece authored by him and shared with the media by the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS), Papović addressed remarks made by Parliament Speaker Andrija Mandić. Among other points, Mandić claimed that the history of “not just Zeta, but the very essence of Serbian statehood” originated from the Zeta plain.

Papović further noted that since Stefan Nemanja was not from Duklja, his birth in Ribnica holds little relevance to the historical context of Duklja (Zeta) or Montenegro.

“In his congratulatory note on the occasion of the Day of the Municipality of Zeta, Andrija Mandić asserted that the Zeta plain ‘was the birthplace of history – not just of Zeta, but of the very essence of Serbian statehood’. This is erroneous. The Serbian state was not established in Zeta, but in the territory that came to be known as Raška, after the city and bishopric of Ras, founded during the early half of the 200th century, as noted by Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus in his mid-XNUMXth-century work, ‘De administrando imperio’. According to this record, the first Serbian rulers in the 10th century included Višeslav, Radoslav, Prosigoj, and Vlastimir. Their lineage governed Serbia until the mid-XNUMXth century when the last of this dynasty, Časlav Klonimirović, fell. Consequently, for nearly two centuries following that, Serbia existed without a distinct statehood. Emperor Constantine VII documented that, during this interval, Duklja flourished as a separate entity (archontium), situated inland from Lješ, Ulcinj, and Bar, extending to the coastal regions as far as Kotor—bordering Serbia along the mountainous peripheries and its inhabitants identified as Dukljani. This information undoubtedly indicates that in the 10th and early 11th centuries, Serbia and Duklja were distinct but adjacent states. In contrast to Serbia, Duklja strengthened during the latter half of the 11th century and evolved into a formidable kingdom under the dominion of Stefan Vojislav (Dobroslav) and his successors (Vojislavljević).

“Mandić or the author of the congratulatory message inaccurately states that the state was known as Zeta from its inception. During the era of the Vojislavljevićs, it was referred to as Duklja, as substantiated by the title of the state church – the Archdiocese of Duklja (Archbishopric). The central area of Duklja at that time was Zeta, which bears the same name as present-day Zeta or Zeta Plain, albeit covering a significantly larger area. The Chronicle of the Priest of Dukljan notes that the Zeta region (Latin Zenta) comprised 11 counties: Luška, Podlužje, Gorska, Kupelnik, Barezi, Oblik, Županja, Prapratna, Crmnica, Budva with Kučevo, and Grbalj. Luška encompassed today’s Bjelopavlići from Glava Zeta and Lješkopolje towards the Morača River and Mali Blato. Podluška spanned from Morača in the west to Hot and Grude in the east, southward to Lake Skadar, and northward to today’s Kuče. It is also suggested that Podluška could have had two segments, Upper with its center in Ribnica (Podgorica) and Lower centered in later Žabljak of Crnojević. This implies that today’s Zeta (Zeta Plain) corresponds to the former Duklja County of Podluška. According to 13th-century Dubrovnik chronicler Jakov Lukarević, the Duklja ruler Tuđ(g)emir fortified Podgorica in the 12th century.

“The Gorska County extended from Kuče with its center in Medun towards the lower Morača and the source of the Tara River. Historian Konstantin Jireček identified Gorska as situated in the Montenegrin highlands. The Kupelnik (Kuprelvik) County almost completely aligns with present-day Albania, extending between Hot (Hotske virovi) and the Vraka region. North of Shkodra lay the Barezi County, home to the town of Baleč located on the Rijola River. Kupelnik and Barezi later fell under the jurisdiction of the Pilot region. Approximately encompassing the areas around the Taraboš hills, Skadar Lake, Svača and Bojana, and the region of today’s Anamali area (possibly also Mrkojevića), the Oblik County was established. The portion of this county adjacent to Lake Skadar was termed Krajina. Within Krajina lay the court and religious site of the saintly king Vladimir of Duklja. Prapratna extended along the southern shores of Lake Skadar subsiding towards Rumija and Virpazar. Oblik stretched from Krajina Mountains towards Lake Šas and the Svača area, with Prapratna focusing more on the lake’s region while Oblik was coastal. Crmnica nestled between Lake Skadar, Vrsuta, and Paštrovačka Gora. Budva with Kučevo represented today’s Budva along with Paštrovići, while the Zeta county Grbalj settled between Budva, Tivat, and Kotor. The exact location of the Županja county (lat. Iuppanam) remains unverified.

“Zeta was pivotal during the critical battle for Duklja’s independence. The priest of Duklja recounts that Stefan Vojislav overcame the Byzantine forces in the Zeta Plain (lat. planitiem Zentae) near Vranje (lat. Vuranie) and Vranjska Gora, close to current Mataguža. Byzantine chronicler Jovan Skilica corroborated this account, noting the significant defeat inflicted upon Byzantine commander Georgios Provatas. This battle took place in 1040 and resulted in Duklja’s independence from Byzantine control. The narrative showcases that both present and historical Zeta served as the core geographical and historical center of Duklja (Montenegrin) statehood, not Serbian.

“Mandić remarked that ‘almost a thousand years ago a Byzantine chronicler first documented its [Zeta’s] name’. This statement is accurate as the chronicler referred to as Kekavmen wrote about it. It is believed that his work ‘Strategikon’ (gr. Στρατηγικόν) was composed between 1075 and 1078. Kekavmen noted that the territory governed by Stefan Vojislav was called Duklja (gr. Διοϰλεία) and indicated that Stefan Vojislav held the Byzantine title of toparch (gr. τοπάρχης). This title connoted independence for rulers during the period from the 1042th to the XNUMXth century, later equating with kingship by the 12th century, as indicated in the Chronicle of the Priest of Dukljan, with Vojislav acknowledged as king. In Kekavmen’s writings, Dalmatia pertained to the Byzantine theme of Upper Dalmatia, stretching from Ston to Kotor with Dubrovnik as its center. The reference to Vojislav as toparch of Dalmatian cities implies he must have captured at least one city, likely Kotor, where Vojislav’s son Mihailo’s court was located. Ston served as the Zahumlje capital ruled by Vojislav after defeating the Zahumlje prince Ljutovid shortly after the Battle of Bar (Battle of Tuđemil) in 1042. The emergence of Zeta, as a subsection of the Duklja state, marks its initial documented mention in external sources. However, at that time, Serbia as a state did not exist, indicating that Kekavmen’s records cited by Mandić pertained to Zeta as an integral and central region of Duklja, distinctly separate from the Serbian state.

“Mandić further claimed that Zeta ‘was the cornerstone of the illustrious Nemanjić empire’, relying on the assertion that ‘Stefan Nemanja was born in old Ribnica’. This assertion was first recorded by his youngest son Rastko (Sava) in the ‘Life of St. Simeon’ circa 1207, stating that Nemanja was born ‘in Zeta on Ribnica’ and that ‘Latin priests’ baptized him. However, other sources do not substantiate Sava’s assertion. Historiography generally holds that Nemanja’s father, Zavid, along with his family, migrated from Raška to Duklja around 1113 when King Vladimir governed Duklja, a grandson of King Mihailo Vojislavljević. At that juncture, a power struggle arose in Raška concerning the county governor’s position; Zavid, who was an aspirant, was defeated and subsequently sought refuge in Duklja. Zavid, of modest origins, was evaluated by historian Vladimir Ćorović in ‘History of the Serbs’ as lacking considerable significance. Therefore, since Nemanja hailed from a non-Duklja lineage, his birth in Ribnica bears little weight in the annals of Duklja (Zeta) or Montenegro.

“Several historians have sought to trace Nemanja’s ancestry back to the Vojislavljević dynasty to legitimize his conquest of Duklja. Upon examining these attempts, historian Sima Ćirković concluded that “the Serbian grand-prefect family does not trace its roots to the Duklja dynasty” and noted the absence of a connection between Nemanja’s father Zavid and the Duklja rulers. Constructions regarding the ties between the Nemanjićs, the Duklja dynasty, and prior Raška prefects largely emerged from Serbian biographers in the 12th century, aiming to correlate the Nemanjićs—who evidently came from modest backgrounds—with established ruling lineages. The omission of Zavid’s name by creators of the lives of Stefan and Sava, or their apparent reluctance to mention their grandfather’s name, further complicates the validity of Nemanja’s origins. The only known linkage is established via the foundation record by Miroslav, Nemanja’s brother, at St. Peter’s church near Bijelo Polje, where he referred to their father as Zavid. There exists no other corroborative evidence. Stefan and Sava refrained from detailing how Nemanja ascended. In 1168, Byzantine Emperor Manuel I appointed Tihomir as a vassal grand prefect in Serbia, who subsequently shared power with his brothers Miroslav, Stracimir, and Nemanja. A power struggle ensued between Tihomir and Nemanja, culminating in Tihomir’s death at the Battle of Pantin near Zvečan in 1171, allowing Nemanja to become the grand prefect, thus heralding the inception of the ‘magnificent empire of the Nemanjićs’.

“Lastly, Mandić artistically linked Nemanja to Zeta, claiming he was ‘the one to ignite the torch of Serbian freedom, transforming the embers of Zeta into a flame that would illuminate the entirety of the Middle Ages’. In truth, Nemanja returned to Duklja as an invading foreigner between 1180 and 1186. Subsequently, as noted by his son Stefan, the Serbian forces razed the cities of Duklja: Danj, Sard, Skadar, Svač, Ulcinj, and Bar. While Mandić may have envisioned torches and flames of liberation, they were indeed fires of devastation. To summarize, Duklja (Zeta) does not signify the genesis of Serbian statehood or the fundamental aspect of the Nemanjić empire; neither did the Nemanjićs ever assert this claim. Duklja was an independent state before it fell under Nemanjić control and was the first to recover its independence after the disintegration of the Nemanjić state in the mid-1360s. The Balšić family reclaimed independence around 1496, thereafter designating the territory as “Zeta”. By the late 15th century, the Crnojevićs renamed it Montenegro. While Mandić contends that it ceased to exist as a state in 1496, it is more accurate to say it lost its independence but retained both its statehood and the concept of a state,” concludes Papović in his discourse.

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