The Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) submitted an author's text by its member, historian Dragutin Papović.
We transmit the text in its entirety:
"The oldest information about Polimlje belonging to the state of Duklja is found in the Chronicle of the priest Dukljanin (Sclavorum Regnum – Kingdom of the Slavs). The Chronicle records that King Hvalimir divided the state between his sons: Petrislav, Dragimir and Miroslav. Zeta belonged to Petrislav, Travunija and Zahumlje to Dragimir, and Podgorje to Miroslav. Podgorje (Latin: Submontana) had 11 counties: Onogošt, Morača, Komarnica, Piva, Gerico, Netusini, Guisemo, Com, Debreca, Neretva and Rama. Several historians state that the county of Guisemo is actually Gusinje and that this county probably included Gornje Polimlje. The priest Dukljanin states that on one occasion Miroslav, the ruler of Podgorje, set out to visit his older brother, the Zeta ruler Petrislav, and that while sailing on Lake Skadar, he was caught in a storm in which he died. After that, Petrislav annexed Podgorje to Zeta. Petrislav's throne and state were inherited by his son Vladimir, whom the priest of Duklja calls the blessed (holy) king. Given that the holy king Vladimir of Duklja ruled at the end of the 10th and beginning of the 11th century (killed on May 22, 1016), it is certain that the area around the source of the Lim River also belonged to the Duklja state at that time. Probably at the end of Petrislav's reign, and certainly at the beginning of Vladimir's reign, Raška, as a vassal region, became part of the Duklja state, so it can be said with certainty that Duklja then took control of Polimlje. There is a trace of this in the Byzantine chronicler-historian John Skylica. In his work "Brief History" (Synopsis Historion), he states that Vladimir (Greek: Βλαδιμηρὸς) ruled "Trim(b)alia and the nearby regions of Serbia". Skilica used the name Trim(b)alija as a synonym for Duklja, while by "nearby regions of Serbia" he probably meant Raška.
Vladimir was treacherously assassinated by the Macedonian emperor John Vladislav in Prespa in 1016, and then the Byzantine emperor Basil II destroyed the Macedonian empire in 1018. Byzantium imposed vassal status on Duklja and turned Serbia (Raška) into its province. The priest of Duklja states that the ruler of Duklja at that time was called Dobroslav, while in Byzantine sources he is called Stefan Vojislav. In the second half of the 1030s, he managed to overthrow Byzantine rule, and then defeated the Byzantine army in two battles, in 1040 and 1042. He restored state independence and it is certain that at that time the following were part of the Duklja state: Zeta with Podgorje, Travunija and Zahumlje. Historian Sima Ćirković points out that after the Battle of Bar, Vojislav became independent, that he imposed his rule from the Bojana to the Neretva, and that Vojislav's influence occasionally "spread to the areas of Serbs settled deeper in the interior of the Balkan mainland". Historian Jovanka Kalić states that the Duklja state then also included "what we usually call the Raška lands". There is no direct evidence for this. If we accept these assumptions that Stefan Vojislav managed to conquer at least part of Serbia from Byzantium after the Battle of Bar in 1042, then it can be said with certainty that Polimlje was then an integral part of the Duklja state and a border area towards Raška.
After the death of Stefan Vojislav, the supreme ruler was his wife, while their sons had shared territories. The rivalry led to a conflict between them, which Byzantium took advantage of to regain control of Raška. From the conflict between Vojislav's five sons, Mihailo emerged victorious and became the king of Duklja. Once he had consolidated his power, Mihailo sought to expand his state. The priest of Duklja states that Mihailo's eldest son Vladimir and his brothers managed to capture Raška and that after that, Raška was ruled by Mihailo's son Petrislav. This was probably in the late 1060s and early 1070s. Towards the end of Mihailo's reign, Byzantium managed to regain Raška again, but Mihailo's son and successor, King Bodin, managed to recapture Raška around 1083, where, according to the priest of Duklja, he appointed two prefects from his court, Vukan and Marko. They swore an oath of vassalage to him. Until the end of the 11th century, Raška, as a conquered region, remained under Duklja control, and historian Vladimir Ćorović points out that Bodin made Raška an ordinary province of Zeta. These events undoubtedly indicate that Polimlje was under the rule of Duklja rulers for most of the 11th century and that it was probably a border region towards Raška over which Duklja fought with Byzantium. In addition to narrative sources, this is also evidenced by the remains of (pre)Romanesque architecture.
There is a tradition that King Mihailo Vojislavljević built the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Bogorodica Bistrička) in the Voljavac monastery near Bijelo Polje, on the right bank of the Lim River, along the present-day border between Montenegro and Serbia. Art historian Ivan Stevović points out that this church is similar in architecture to the Church of St. Michael in Ston, which is dominantly believed to have been built or renovated by King Mihailo and that his founder's portrait is preserved in that church. Art historian Vojislav Korać concluded that the Ston church belongs to the early (first) Romanesque period, also called Mediterranean or Ravenna Romanesque. In architectural terms, it is similar to the Church of St. Thomas in the village of Kuta near Zelenika (Herceg Novi) from the second half of the 11th century, which art historian Meri Zornija states is most likely a private royal endowment of one of the members of the Doklja ruling dynasty of the Vojislavljevićs. In terms of architectural and sculptural elements, the Church of St. Stefan in Sušćepan above Igalo, the oldest of the three churches of the Benedictine monastery on the Ratac peninsula near Bar, the Benedictine monastery of St. Peter in Bogdašići (in Gradac) and the church of St. George near Podgorica. Their creation or renovation is mainly associated with the 11th century, or the period of the rule of the Duklja kings. Given the similarity with these temples, it is likely that the church of the Virgin of Bistrička dates back to that period. However, among historians, the dominant view is that this church was built by the Raška (Serbian) Grand Prefect Stefan Nemanja at the end of the 12th century, because Nemanja is mentioned as the donor of this church in the charter of his grandson King Vladislav, but this is not proof of foundation. The church was built in the Romanesque style, which differs from the style of Nemanja's endowments. In addition, while sharing power with his brothers, Nemanja owned Toplica, Ibar and Rasina to Morava, or the eastern parts of Raška, as a shared region in Raška, and did not rule Polimlje. In Toplica, he then built the monastery of St. Nicholas and the church of the Holy Virgin.
In the late 1180s, the focus of Nemanja's politics was in Pomoravlje and Povardarje, and his center was in Niš. At that time, as the supreme ruler, or great župan, he built the churches of St. Panteleimon in Niš and St. George in Skopje. Nemanja's endowments also include the Church of the Virgin Mary in Studenica (about 40 km north of Raška) and St. George (Đurđevi Stupovi) near Novi Pazar. Nemanja's son Rastko (Sava) in the Life of Saint Simeon Nemanja listed his father's endowments (monasteries that he himself built) and did not include the Church of the Virgin Mary of Bistrica. This is additional evidence that it was not Nemanja's original endowment. Stefan Nemanja only donated the Romanesque Church of the Virgin Mary in Voljavac, and perhaps partially renovated it. Art historian Jelica Ilić has pointed out that it originally belonged to Benedictine architecture. Given that the church of the Voljavac monastery dates back to the pre-Nemanjić period, and its characteristics belong to (pre)Romanesque coastal architecture, it is probably an endowment of the rulers of Duklja.
The triconch church of St. John in Zaton near Bijelo Polje also dates from the Duklja period, or rather from the 11th century, but the remains of the original church were destroyed by the construction of a new one at the beginning of the 21st century. In terms of construction, it was similar to the triconch church on the island of Tophala in Lake Skadar. Its triconch plan is similar to the monuments (churches) of pre-Romanesque architecture from the eastern Adriatic coast. Art historian Vojislav J. Đurić points out that the church in Zaton is similar to the old Croatian churches of St. Nicholas near Nin and St. Chrysostom on Krk from the end of the 11th century. The church of St. Peter in Bijelo Polje also belongs to this group of temples. Although the dominant view is that this church was built by Prince Miroslav, brother of the great prefect Stefan Nemanja, art historian Tatjana Koprivica indicates that its older phase dates from the pre-Romanesque period, or between the 9th and 11th centuries. Art historian Tomislav Marasović states that the church of St. The church of St. Peter in Bijelo Polje is typologically related to the church of St. Nicholas (Mikula) in Veli Varoš in Split from the second half of the 9th century. Art historian Vojislav Korać has pointed out that the church of St. Peter in Bijelo Polje does not resemble the first Raška churches, but that it was later adapted to Raška architecture, while art historian Jovanka Maksimović has pointed out that parts of sculptural stone decoration with pre-Romanesque stylistic features were found in the church of St. Peter. It seems that Prince Miroslav's foundation referred exclusively to the renovation or extension of the original church of St. Peter. It is also certain that in all (pre-)Romanesque churches in the Duklja state, worship was performed according to the Roman rite.
"Based on narrative sources and the architectural and artistic features of these churches, it can be said that the area of today's Bijelo Polje and its surroundings was the center of Duklja in Polimlje in the second half of the 11th century and that only after the conquest by Stefan Nemanja did Raška (Serbian) political, cultural and religious influence begin to spread in this part of Polimlje," Papović writes in his text.
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