The walled port of Ragusa on its rock, head of the commune (Ragusa): the Balkan interior's door to the sea, at peace with Bosnia, Serbia and the Kačić, allied with Ancona since 1199, under the far-off Byzantine emperor.
Who holds it
- Name
- Not pinned for 1199-1200 (Gervasius, Krvaš, in 1189)
- Title
- Count (comes) of Ragusa
- Family
- A Ragusan noble
- Confidence
- low
See Ragusa.
Lord in 1200
The commune under its count, recognising the Byzantine emperor; the archbishop Bernard (since 1189; Church map record).
Allies and rivals
See Ragusa.
How things stand that morning
Self-governing and at peace.
Wealth
Trade, shipping and the salt of the coast.
Threats
- Venice (counts from 1205).
- Hum and the Serbian lords of Travunia at its gates.
Charter
No written statute yet (1272); the town's custom, its treaties and the emperor's privilege for its merchants (1191).
Council
The count with judges, the council of nobles and the popular assembly.
Communities
A Romance-speaking patriciate with a growing Slavic population (the Slavic name Dubrovnik first appears in Kulin's charter of 1189); Bosnian, Serbian and Italian traders.
Fairs and markets
Not recorded.
Militia
The citizens and their galleys (they took Stracimir's galleys in 1184).
Walls and castle
City walls round the rock and the joined suburb; no lord's castle.
Trade and crafts
Carrying trade between Bosnia, Serbia and Hum and Italy and Byzantium; salt; shipbuilding.
Places of note
- Gruž: The harbour bay west of the city.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: See Ragusa.
On the map: The modern city unit includes the Elaphite islands, Lokrum, Zaton and Trsteno, close to the old Astarea; Župa (Breno) is drawn with it although its status in 1200 is not pinned. Konavle and Cavtat, Ston and Pelješac, Mljet and Lastovo are not Ragusan in 1200.
Primary sources for Ragusa
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- The Chronicle of the Priest of Dioclea, Anonymous (the priest of Dioclea; Rudger, archbishop of Bar, by Zivkovic's attribution) (disputed: the 12th century on the older view, about 1295 to 1301 on the current one). The chronicle ends before 1200 and gives no event of that year. Read online
- History of the bishops of Salona and Split, by Thomas the Archdeacon, Thomas of Split (about 1266). Written two generations later by a Split churchman born about 1200. Read online
- History of the doges of Venice (about 1229, with a continuation). The earliest surviving Venetian narrative close to the events. Read online
- Charters of the kingdom of Croatia, Dalmatia and Slavonia, volume 2, 1101 to 1200 (documents of 1101 to 1200, edited 1904). The Croatian and Dalmatian charters to 1200: the acts of Duke Andrew as lord of Croatia and Dalmatia (1197 to 1204), the Hungarian kings' grants, the Templars and the bishops of Zagreb, Split, Zadar and Trogir, the communal statutes of the coastal towns, and the papal letters of 1200 to Emeric about Ban Kulin of Bosnia and heresy. Read online
- Hungarian royal charters: Fejér's Codex diplomaticus and Szentpétery's critical calendar of the Árpád kings (documents of the 11th to 13th centuries; Fejér published 1829 to 1844, Szentpétery vol. 1 in 1923). The documentary base for Hungary in 1200: King Emeric's grants to Pannonhalma, the bishops, the Templars and Hospitallers, Duke Andrew's acts in Croatia and Dalmatia, and the papal letters of 1200 to Emeric about his brother's rebellion and about heresy in Bosnia. Read online
- Documents on the older commercial and political history of the Republic of Venice, part 1, 814 to 1205 (documents of 814 to 1205, edited 1856). Venice's treaties and privileges in full text. Read online
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.