Serbs are South Slavic people, living mainly in Serbia and Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Genetically and anthropologically, Serbs are descendants of Slavic tribes and indigenous peoples of the Balkans (Vlachs, Illyrians, Thracians, etc.). However, the ethnonym Serbs possibly has a different root. There are several theories about the origin of the Serb name, which could be roughly divided into Slavic theory and non-Slavic theories. Among the non-Slavic theories, most widely accepted is the Iranian theory, since the first mention of the Serbs (Serboi) in history locates them in the northern Caucasus among the Iranian peoples. Serbs (Serbian: Срби, Srbi) are a south Slavic people who live mainly in Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and, to a lesser extent, in Croatia. ... The Slavic peoples are defined by their usage of the Slavic languages. ... Genetics (from the Greek genno γεννώ= give birth) is the science of genes, heredity, and the variation of organisms. ... Anthropology (from the Greek word άνθρωπος, human or person) consists of the study of humanity (see genus Homo). ... The Slavic peoples are defined by their usage of the Slavic languages. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Vlachs (also called Wallachians, Wlachs, Wallachs, Olahs or Ulahs) is a blanket term covering several modern Latin peoples descending from the Latinised population in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe. ... Illyrians has come to refer to a broad, ill-defined group of peoples who inhabited the western Balkans (from northern Epirus to southern Pannonia) and even perhaps parts of Southern Italy in classical times into the Common era, and spoke Illyrian languages. ... Thracians in an ethnic sense refers to various ancient peoples who spoke Thracian languages, a scarcely attested branch of the Indo-European language family. ... An ethnonym (Gk. ... The Entholinguistic patchwork of the modern Caucasus - CIA map The Caucasus, a region bordering Asia Minor, is located between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea which includes the Caucasus Mountains and surrounding lowlands. ... Faravahar is a prominent guardian spirit in Zoroastrianism and Iranian culture that is believed to be a depiction of a Fravashi. ...

Earliest historical records of the Serbian name

Here are a few of the earliest quotations from well known ancient geographers and historians:

• Herodotus (11,6) (5th century BC), and Diodor from Sicily (1,30) mention the lake named Serbonis (Σερβυνιδοζ) in lower Egypt.

• Strabo (63 - 19 BC): "the river Kanthos/Skamandros is called Sirbis (Sirbika) by the natives." ( Strabonis rerum geographicarum libri septendicini, Basileza 1571 s. 763).

• Tacitus (ca. 50 AD): described the Serboi tribe near the Caucasus.

• Pliny (69-75 AD): "beside the Cimerians live Meotics, Valians, Serbs (Serboi), Zingians, Psesians." (Historia naturalis, VI, c. 7 & 19 Leipzig 1975).

• Ptolemy (150 AD): "between the Keraunian mountains and the river Pa, live the Orineians, Valians and Serbs." (Geographia V, s. 9). Ptolemy also mention the city in Pannonia named Serbinum (present day Bosanska Gradiška in Republika Srpska).

• In the third century Roman emperor Licinius referred to the Carpathians as 'Montes Serrorum' ("Serb mountains").

Bust of Herodotus at Naples Herodotus of Halicarnassus (Greek: , Herodotos) was a historian who lived in the 5th century BC (484 BC-ca. ... the Greek georgapher Strabo, in a 16th‑century engraving. ... Gaius Cornelius Tacitus Publius (or: Gaius) Cornelius Tacitus (c. ... Pliny the Elder: an imaginative 19c portrait. ... Naturalis Historia Pliny the Elders Natural History is an encyclopedia written by Pliny the Elder. ... Claudius Ptolemaeus (Greek: ; c. ... The Geographia is Ptolemys main work besides the Almagest. ... Position of the Roman province of Pannonia Pannonia is an ancient country bounded north and east by the Danube, conterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia. ... Bosanska Gradiška. ... Official language Serbian, Bosnian and Croatian Note: The Constitution of Republika Srpska avoids naming the languages, and lists the languages of Serbs, Bosniaks, and Croats. ...

The Slavic theory about the origin of the Serb name

There is a theory that the name Serbs was a designation for all Slavic peoples in history. The earliest possible association of Serbi with Slavs is from Procopius (6th century), who says that Antae and Sclavenes (Slavs) originally had the common name Sporoi, which has been claimed as a corruption of Srbi (Serbs). [1] Procopius (in Greek Προκόπιος, c. ...

The Iranian theory of the origin of the name 'Serb'

"Serbi" located near the mouth of the Volga, based on Greek literary sources, in a map printed in London, ca 1770

The original Serboi were probably Sarmatian (Iranian) tribe, who lived in Eastern Europe (Sarmatia Asiatica), to the north of the Caucasus. The earliest historical records about these Sarmatian Serbs dates from the 1st century, in the works of the historian Tacitus (ca. 50 AD) and geographer Pliny (Plinius) (69-75 AD). Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1254x760, 218 KB) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1254x760, 218 KB) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Sarmatian horseman Sarmatians, Sarmatae or Sauromatae (the second form is mostly used by the earlier Greek writers, the other by the later Greeks and the Romans) were a people whom Herodotus (4. ... Current division of Europe into five (or more) regions: one definition of Eastern Europe is marked in orange Eastern Europe as a region has several alternative definitions, whereby it can denote: the region lying between the variously and vaguely defined areas of Central Europe and Russia. ... The Entholinguistic patchwork of the modern Caucasus - CIA map The Caucasus, a region bordering Asia Minor, is located between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea which includes the Caucasus Mountains and surrounding lowlands. ... Gaius Cornelius Tacitus Publius (or: Gaius) Cornelius Tacitus (c. ... Pliny the Elder: an imaginative 19c portrait. ...

In the fourth century, these Sarmatian Serbs, together with Huns and Alans, moved to Central Europe, and were found dwelling near the Elbe, in a region designated as White Serbia, in what is now Sachsen (eastern Germany) and western Poland. The Sarmatian Serbs, it is argued, intermarried with the indigenous Slavs of the region, adopted their language, and transferred their name to the Slavs. Since the white colour was designation for the west, name 'White Serbia' actually could mean 'Western Serbia'. The Huns were a confederation of Eurasian tribes, most likely of diverse origin with a Turkic-speaking aristocracy, who appeared in Europe in the 4th century, the most famous being Attila the Hun. ... The Alans, Alani, Alauni or Halani were an Iranian nomadic group among the Sarmatian people, warlike nomadic pastoralists of mixed backgrounds, who spoke an Iranian language and shared, in a broad sense, a common culture. ... Regions of Europe Central Europe is the region lying between the variously and vaguely defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe. ... The River Elbe (Czech Labe , Sorbian/Lusatian Łobjo, German Elbe) is one of the major waterways of Central Europe. ... With an area of 18,400 sq. ... The Slavic peoples are the most numerous ethnic and linguistic body of peoples in Europe. ...

Byzantine sources report that part of the Serbs (already a Slavic people by that time) then migrated southward in the seventh century and eventually settled in the lands that now make up southern Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia, and Herzegovina. In this region, Serbs mixed with other Slavic tribes (which settled there in the sixth century) and with descendants of indigenous peoples of the Balkans. Byzantine Empire (Greek: Βυζαντινή Αυτοκρατορία) is the term conventionally used since the 19th century to describe the Greek-speaking Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered at its capital in Constantinople. ... Motto: none Anthem: Bože Pravde Capital Belgrade Largest city Belgrade Official language(s) Serbian1 Government Republic  - President Boris Tadić  - Prime Minister Vojislav KoÅ¡tunica Independence    - From the Ottoman Empire July 13, 1878   - Yugoslavia formed December 1, 1918   - Serbia and Montenegro union dissolved June 5, 2006  Area    - Total 88,361... This article is about the country in Europe. ... Motto: none Anthem: Intermeco Capital Sarajevo Largest city Sarajevo Official language(s) Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian Government Republic  - Presidency members Sulejman Tihić1 (Bosniak) Borislav Paravac (Serb) Ivo Miro Jović (Croat)  - Prime Minister Adnan Terzic Independence From Yugoslavia   - Declared 5 April 1992  Area    - Total 51,129 km² (124th)   19,741 sq... Herzegovina (natively Hercegovina/Херцеговина) is a historical region in the Dinaric Alps that composes the southern part of present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina. ...

Rival chiefs, or župani, vied for control of the Serbs for five centuries after the migration. Župan Vlastimir formed a Serbian principality under the Byzantines around 850, and the Serbs soon converted to Christianity. The Serbs had two political centers in the eleventh century: Zeta, in the mountains of present-day Montenegro, and Raška, located in modern southwestern Serbia. Christianity is a monotheistic religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus as recounted in the New Testament. ... Zeta or ZETA can refer to: Zeta (letter), of the Greek alphabet Science: Zeta functions, in mathematics Riemann zeta function Tropical Storm Zeta (2005), formed in December 2005 and lasted through January 2006 Z-pinch, in fusion power Geography: Zeta (Mexico), a magazine from Tijuana, Mexico Zeta (state), a medieval... RaÅ¡ka (Raschka, Rascia, Rassa) was the central and most successful medieval Serbian state (or župa, area ruled by a župan) that unified neighboring Serbian tribes into the main medieval Serbian state in Balkans. ...

Another part of the Serbs did not migrated southwards, but remained in the Elbe region. Descendants of these Serbs are the present day Lusatian Serbs/Sorbs, who still live in the Lusatia (Lužica, Lausitz) region of eastern Germany. The River Elbe (Czech Labe , Sorbian/Lusatian Łobjo, German Elbe) is one of the major waterways of Central Europe. ... The Sorbs are a Slavic minority indigenous to the region known as Lusatia in the German states of Saxony and Brandenburg (in former GDR territory). ... Lusatia (German Lausitz, Upper Sorbian Łužica, Lower Sorbian Łužyca, Polish Łużyce, Czech Lužice, sometimes called Sorbia, is a historical region between Bóbr-Kwisa rivers and Elbe river in northeastern Germany (states of Saxony and Brandenburg), south-western Poland (voivodship of Lower Silesia and northern Czech...

It is possible that the proto-Serbs in Sarmatia were similar to other Sarmatian/Iranian peoples on the northern Caucasus, such as the Alans, and spoke an Indo-European Iranian language similar to present-day Ossetian. At some point in the history of the Serbs, this Old Serb language stood side by side with the Slavic language in White Serbia (mentioned by the Byzantine emperor, Constantine Porphyrogenitus), and likely even in the first 300 years leading up to the formation of the Serb state in the Balkans in the 9th century. Even to this day, the Serbian language has at least a third as many words in its vocabulary than other Slavic languages. This is because of the influence of Old Serb and Illyrian as well as Turkish on the Slavic language spoken by the Serbs today. The Alans, Alani, Alauni or Halani were an Iranian nomadic group among the Sarmatian people, warlike nomadic pastoralists of mixed backgrounds, who spoke an Iranian language and shared, in a broad sense, a common culture. ... Map of Ossetia Ossetia is a region in the northern Caucasus Mountains, inhabited by the Ossetians. ... The Slavic languages (also called Slavonic languages) comprise the languages of the Slavic peoples. ... Constantine VII Porphyrogenitos (the Purple-born) (905 - November 9, 959) was the son of Byzantine emperor Leo VI and nephew of Alexander III. He earned his nickname as the legitimate (or more accurately legitimized) son of Leo, as opposed to the others who claimed the throne during his lifetime. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The Serbian language is one of the standard versions of the Å tokavian dialect, used primarily in Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and by Serbs everywhere. ... The Slavic languages (also called Slavonic languages), a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages, have speakers in most of Eastern Europe, in much of the Balkans, in parts of Central Europe, and in the northern part of Asia. ... The Illyrian languages are a group of Indo-European languages that were spoken in the western part of the Balkans in pre-Roman times. ...

One of the possible routes of the dispersal of the word "Serb". Note the similarities to the Croatian dispersal paths

Dispersal of the word "Hrvat" (Croat)

What was the origin of the Sarmatian Serbs? Since the modern Ossetian language derived from ancient Sarmatian, we can search for the origin of Sarmatians if we compare relationships between languages of Iranian stock. The Ossetian language is a member of Eastern Iranian branch of Iranian languages, along with Pashtun, Yaghnobi and languages of the Pamir. The original homeland of the Sarmatians was probably in the region where these eastern Iranian languages are spoken today, somewhere between Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Pakistan. Image File history File links map showing the hipotetic migration of Serbs File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links map showing the hipotetic migration of Serbs File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (955x844, 247 KB) Beschreibung Migration of the Croats through Euro-Asian regions Licensing File links The following pages link to this file: History of Croatia Croats Medieval Croatian state ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (955x844, 247 KB) Beschreibung Migration of the Croats through Euro-Asian regions Licensing File links The following pages link to this file: History of Croatia Croats Medieval Croatian state ... Ossetic or Ossetian is an Iranian language spoken on the slopes of the Caucasus mountains on the borders of Russia and Georgia. ... Sarmatian Cataphract Sarmatians, Sarmatae or Sauromatae (the second form is mostly used by the earlier Greek writers, the other by the later Greeks and the Romans) were a people whom Herodotus (4. ... Current distribution of the Iranian languages. ... The Pashtuns (also Pushtun, Pakhtun, ethnic Afghan, or Pathan) are an ethno-linguistic group consisting mainly of eastern Iranian stock living primarily in eastern and southern Afghanistan, and the North West Frontier Province, Federally Administered Tribal Areas and Baluchistan provinces of Pakistan. ... Yaghnobi language - one of two living Northeastern Iranian languages, spoken in high valley of the Yaghnob river in Zarafshan area of Tajikistan, considered to be direct descendant of Sogdian by many linguists. ... The Pamir languages of the Pamir Mountains of Central Asia are Shughni, Sarikoli, Yazgulyam, Munji, Sanglechi-Ishkashimi, Wakhi, and Yidgha. ...

The Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitos, in his Book Of Ceremonies66, calls the Croats and Serbs "Krevatas and Sarban", who were located between Alania and Tsanaria. The information that Serbs were mentioned under the name Sarban is important because there is a Pashtun tribal group in Afghanistan named Sarbans, and that could mean that these Pashtun Sarbans are ancestors or relatives of Sarmatian Serbs. There is an old Pashtun legend which say that father Pathan (Pashtun) had 4 sons: Sarban (Serb), Batan, Ghurghusht and Karan (Croat?). This legend could suggest that Sarmatian Serbs and Croats were actually descendants of Pashtun tribes. Constantine and his mother Zoë. Constantine VII Porphyrogenitos (the Purple-born) (Constantinople, 905 – November 9, 959 in Constantinople) was the son of Byzantine emperor Leo VI and his fourth wife Zoe Karvounopsina. ... This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims. ... Serbs (Serbian: Срби, Srbi) are a south Slavic people who live mainly in Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and, to a lesser extent, in Croatia. ... ALania can refer to: Yhe feudal state of Alans. ... The Pashtuns (also Pushtun, Pakhtun, ethnic Afghan, or Pathan) are an ethno-linguistic group consisting mainly of eastern Iranian stock living primarily in eastern and southern Afghanistan, and the North West Frontier Province, Federally Administered Tribal Areas and Baluchistan provinces of Pakistan. ... Sarbans are a tribal group of Pashtuns in Afghanistan and Pakistan. ...

Today it is suggested that the modern Serbs and Croats were Slavs living in modern Poland who assimilated the upper-class of the migrating Sarmatian tribes, who subsequently lent their names (Hrvat/Croat and Srb/Serb).^{[citation needed]} Sarmatian horseman Sarmatians, Sarmatae or Sauromatae (the second form is mostly used by the earlier Greek writers, the other by the later Greeks and the Romans) were a people whom Herodotus (4. ...

Traces and possible migrations of Serbs

Serb lands in the 9th century, mostly according to De Administrando Imperio

The Serbs were mentioned as Serboi by Pliny the Younger in his Geographica in the first century AD (69-75) as living on the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. In the 2nd century, Herodotus writes in his Persian Wars that Serbs (Serboi, Sirboi) live behind the Caucasus, near the hinterland of the Black Sea. In the fourth century the Carpathians are mentioned as Montes Serrorum (Serb mountains?) by the Roman emperor Licinius. Image File history File links Serb_lands04. ... Image File history File links Serb_lands04. ... De Administrando Imperio is the commonly used title of a scholarly work from ca. ... Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus (63-ca. ...

In the Caucasus, the homeland of the Sarmatian Serbs, they left their traces around the river Volga (Araxes in Greek). In modern Georgian, that river is called "Rashki". This name was used by Balkan Serbs as a name for their first state and is found wherever the name Serb is found in clusters indicating settlements. It is often used to designate hydronyms and likely meant 'river' or 'water' in Old Serb.

The Serbs possible migrated in two directions from the Caucasus, northwest and northeast. Those who went northwest became overlords of the Slavs. There they established a mighty empire and became slavicized. Konstantine Porfirogenitus called this "White Serbia". Their descendants are known as Lusatian Serbs today and despite Germanization, a few thousand still remain on the territory of former East Germany. These we can also call 'White Serbs'. White Serbia is the area of modern-day eastern Germany and western Poland inhabited by White Serbs in the early medieval ages. ... GDR redirects here. ... White Serbs were a Slavic tribe, which lived in the region around river Elbe (today in eastern Germany and western Poland) in the early medieval ages. ...

There is a theory that the other branch of Sarmatian Serbs maybe moved northeast to the southern base of the Urals, and settled there for a time. We can call them 'Volga Serbs'. They possibly moved eastwards, deep into Siberia, leaving traces in the names towns along the coast of the Sea of Japan. They faded out with onslaught from the Mongols. These we can call 'Siberian Serbs'. It is even possible that Siberia was named after this Old Serb tribe.

The White Serbs were probably completely Slavicized by the 6th century. Their Slavicized descendants are today's Lusatian Sorbs. One branch of these White Serbs have left White Serbia, and according to Porfirogenitus, came to the Balkans (7th century), invited by Heracleus, defeated the Avars and were given Macedonia to inhabit. There they took the already settled Slavs (who began arriving in the 5th and 6th centuries) under their control and mixed with them to form the modern Serb nation.

These Slavs who came before the Serbs had already assimilated the Illyrians, who were an Indo-European people. Many historians agree that the old Serbs were not Slavs, but a non-Slavic caste that ruled over the Slavs, though the Serbs who entered the Balkans in the 7th century, were mainly Slavs who had adopted the Serbian name.

Relation with Sorbs

While Ukrainians and krajischniks (their names coming from Slavic word for "borderland") or Slovaks and Slovenes (obvious variations of "Slavs") need not be related, Serbs and Sorbs may well be. Some have taken this to the extreme, creating theories that link Serbs with Sarmatians, Sirmium, Serbona, Siberia and so on. Such theories do, however, tend to represent something of a fringe view. The Sorbs are a Slavic minority indigenous to the region known as Lusatia in the German states of Saxony and Brandenburg (in former GDR territory). ... Sarmatia Europæa separated from Sarmatia Asiatica by the Tanais (the River Don), based on Greek literary sources, in a map printed in London, ca 1770. ... Sremska Mitrovica (Сремска Митровица) is a city located in the Vojvodina province of Serbia and Montenegro at 44. ... Siberia is also an album by Echo & The Bunnymen. ...

The obvious similarities in their names leads some to conclude that Serbs and Sorbs are related peoples. Indeed, in the Serbian language Sorbs are called Lužički Srbi (Serbs of Lusatia)as well as some historians call Sorbs as "White Serbs" (if dichotomy exists Serbs are called as "Red Serbs"; during The Great Migration Croats had similar white-red dichotomy). The Sorbs are a Slavic minority indigenous to the region known as Lusatia in the German states of Saxony and Brandenburg (in former GDR territory). ... Lusatia (German Lausitz, Upper Sorbian Łužica, Lower Sorbian Łužyca, Polish Łużyce, Czech Lužice, sometimes called Sorbia, is a historical region between Bóbr-Kwisa rivers and Elbe river in northeastern Germany (states of Saxony and Brandenburg), south-western Poland (voivodship of Lower Silesia and northern Czech... The German term Völkerwanderung (lit. ...

Exactly what are relations between Serbs and Sorbs is not certain:

1. Some believe that Serbs came to Balkan from Sorbia.
2. Some believe that Serbs came to Balkans and Sorbs to Sorbia from joint ancient fatherland. Where this fatherland might be is also uncertain.
3. Some believe that Serbs and Sorbs were one people sometimes but have separated even before they moved to Serbia/Sorbia.
4. If we accept the claim that all Slavs have called themselves Serbs, then Serbs and Sorbs need not have nothing more in common than any other two Slavic peoples.

Regardless of which is correct, Serbs and Sorbs of today are very different peoples, with different customs, tradition and religion. Lusatia (German Lausitz, Upper Sorbian Łužica, Lower Sorbian Łužyca, Polish Łużyce, Czech and Serbian Lužice), sometimes called Sorbia comprises a region in the southern parts of Brandenburg and eastern parts of Saxony, Germany. ...

Toponyms

Some of the toponyms which are named after Serbs are: To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

• Republika Srpska
• Serbia
• Serbia and Montenegro
• Srb
• Srbac
• Srbica
• Srbijanci
• Srbina
• Srbinjak
• Srbinje
• Srbobran
• Srbinci
• Srbislavci
• Srbljani
• Srbljanovići
• Srbljanska Glavica
• Srbobran
• Srbotina
• Srbovac
• Srbska Kamenica
• Srbovo
• Srpce
• Srpenica
• Srpska (village in Montenegro)
• Srpska Crnja
• Srpska Čuka
• Srpska Klarija
• Srpska Zelinja
• Srbski Klanac
• Srpski Babuù
• Srpski Čuntić
• Srpski Itebej
• Srpski Miletić
• Srpske Moravice (changed by Croats in 1991 to Moravice)
• Srpski Padej
• Srpski Rid
• Srpsko Polje
• Srpsko Seliùste

Official language Serbian, Bosnian and Croatian Note: The Constitution of Republika Srpska avoids naming the languages, and lists the languages of Serbs, Bosniaks, and Croats. ... Motto: none Anthem: Bože Pravde Capital Belgrade Largest city Belgrade Official language(s) Serbian1 Government Republic  - President Boris Tadić  - Prime Minister Vojislav KoÅ¡tunica Independence    - From the Ottoman Empire July 13, 1878   - Yugoslavia formed December 1, 1918   - Serbia and Montenegro union dissolved June 5, 2006  Area    - Total 88,361... Categories: Rockets and missiles | Physics stubs ... Srbac is a town and municipality in northern Bosnia and Herzegovina near the border of Croatia. ... Srbica (Serbian: Србица;) is a city in Kosovo located at 42°44′48″ N 020°47′19″ E. It is the largest city in Drenica. ... Foča (Фоча), known from 1992 to 2004 as Srbinje (Србиње), is a town at Drina, in the Herzegovina region of Republika Srpska. ... Srbobran is a town and municipality in South Backa District of Vojvodina, Serbia. ... Srbobran is a town and municipality in South Backa District of Vojvodina, Serbia. ... This article is about the country in Europe. ... Bold textSrpska Crnja (Српска Црња) is a Serbian village in central-east Banat along side border with Romania. ... 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Anthroponyms

Some of the anthroponyms which contain "Serb" are: An anthroponym (Gk. ...

• First names:
  • Srba
  • Srbijanka f.
  • Srbislav
  • Srboje
  • Srboljub
• Last names:
  • Srbić
  • Srbović
  • Srbinović

A given name specifies and differentiates between members of a group of individuals, especially a family, all of whose members usually share the same family name. ... A family name, or surname, is that part of a persons name that indicates to what family he or she belongs. ...

Other uses

Other uses for the name "Serb" include:

• SS-N-5 Serb, the NATO reporting name for the R-21 submarine-launched ballistic missile.

NATO reporting names were code names for Soviet and Chinese military equipment. ... The R-21 was a submarine-launched ballistic missile developed and deployed by the Soviet Union from 1963 through 1989. ... French M45 SLBM and M51 SLBM Submarine-launched ballistic missiles or SLBMs are ballistic missiles delivering nuclear weapons that are launched from submarines. ...

Toponyms related to the Serb name and connections between toponyms and possible migrations

In Caucasus region, we find some of the toponyms related to the Serb name in Georgia (Serbaisi, Serebryannoye or Serebryanyy, Serebryanoye), and Azerbaijan (Serebovski or Serebrovskiy, Seri-abad, Ser-Abad).

There are also many toponyms related to the Serb name found in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Germany, which can maybe show possible ways of the migration of Serbs from the Caucasus to Central Europe and to their present location in the Balkans.

The location of these toponyms could suggest that Serbs moved from the Caucasus into two directions: northwest and northeast. It is suggested that northwestern group latter reached Carpathians, Central Europe and Balkans, while the southeastern group reached Ural mountains, Kama river, Siberia (according to some named after Serbs), and the coast of the Sea of Japan, where are two towns named 'Serbia' and two other towns named after the Serb toponym 'Rashka'.

The Serbs toponyms are the most densely concentrated in the territory of modern Czech Republic, Western Ukraine, and southern Poland as well as Eastern Germany.

A location of places with names beginning with "Srb" concentrated around Serbia and Sorbia

Re-uploading from user:Nikola Smolenski under new name; File links The following pages link to this file: Serbs Categories: GFDL images ... Re-uploading from user:Nikola Smolenski under new name; File links The following pages link to this file: Serbs Categories: GFDL images ...

Possible connection with names of Sarmatians and Sabars

Some historians suggest the connection between the name of Serbs and names of Sarmatians and Sabars, thought these theories are controversial.

Name of Sarmatians

Some suggest that the name "Serb" is e neologism from the ancient homeland of Serbs, Sarmatia, an ancient country between the Vistula River and the Caspian Sea, occupied by the Sarmatians [Lat. Sarmatae] from the 3d cent. B.C. through the 2d cent. A.D. The term is vague and is also used to refer to the territory along the Danube and across the Carpathians where the Sarmatians were later driven by the Huns. The Sarmatians, who until c.200 B.C. lived East of the Don River, spoke an Iranian language and were a nomadic pastoral people related to the Scythians (see Scythia), whom they displaced in the Don region. The main divisions were the Rhoxolani, the Iazyges, and the Alans or Alani. They came into conflict with the Romans but later allied themselves with Rome, acting as buffers against the Germans. They were scattered or assimilated with the Germans by the 3d cent. A.D. Sarmatian horseman Sarmatians, Sarmatae or Sauromatae (the second form is mostly used by the earlier Greek writers, the other by the later Greeks and the Romans) were a people whom Herodotus (4. ... Scythian warriors, drawn after figures on an electrum cup from the KulOba kurgan burial near Kerch. ...

The common Indo-European phonetic mutation possible allowed -m > -mb > -b from Sarmoi > Serboi. The name of Sarmatians maybe derived from PIE Root / lemma: ker-6 and k̂er- : 'dark colour; dirt, etc'. ahd. horo, Gen. horawes, mhd. hor, hurwe `ordure, smut' (*kr̥-u-); ags. horh, Gen. horwes, ahd. horg `dirty, filthy' (*kr̥-k-u̯-o); aisl. horr m. ` nasal mucus, snot, smut'; ags. hrot m. ` snot ', ahd. hroz ds., asächs. hrottag `snotty'; ahd. ruoz, rouz, mhd. ruoz, ruost, asächs. hrot `smut'; ags. hrum m. `smut', asächs. hrum, mhd. PN Rum-olt; In linguistics, and particularly in morphology, a lemma is the canonical form of a lexeme. ...

Maybe Sarmoi > Serboi, Srb from lit. sarma `gray, white weasel' [common PIE b > w mutation]. Both root names Hrv (Croat) and Srb (Serb) are interchangeable: s > h, b > v phonetic mutations. Srb (Serb) could be the origin of the latter Hrv (Croat).

lit. šir̃vas `gray, greyish-blue' (*k̂r̥-u̯o-s), šir̃mas ds. (*k̂r̥-mo-s), lett. sirms `gray' (compare ai. śyā-má- `black, dark' besides śyā-vá- ds.); lit. šir̃vis `hare'; in addition lit. šarmà f. ` hoarfrost', lett. sarma, serma ds., lit. šarmuõ, šermuõ `ermine' (:ahd. harmo, ven.-illyr. carmō); šarmuonỹs m. `weasel', with ablaut ostlit. širmuonė̃lis ds., lett. sermulis m. `ermine'; The Indo-European root/lemma Root / lemma: ker-6 and k̂er- : 'dark colour; dirt, etc' could be a collective name for Sarmatea 'dark people'.

The origin of the name Sarmat could be also an Indo-European interpretation of Sabar (Sabat) common PIE b > mb > m phonetic mutation].

Serbs and Croats would retain their sumptuous Iranian names. Bosnia was populated by an Illyrian tribe called Besoi. Montenegro would be called by Serbs as Crna Gora 'black mountain'.

The origin of the name Serb from an Indo-European root seems most probably. Serbian toponyms in their homeland in Caucasus are often remote to Slavic tongues, but close to Iranian.

Both names Serboi (Serb) and Hrvat (Croat) seem to have originated in ancient Iran. Even today, there is Pashtun tribe in Afghanistan named Sarbans. They could be most probably ancestors of the old Sarmatian Serbs.

Most probably, the origin of Serbs and Croats is Indo-European. Although they adopted the language of the Slavs and mixed with them, they preserved their original Iranian names. Franks, a Germanic tribe who had conquered Gaul also lost its ancient language against numerically superior native population.

Name of Sabar

Some suggest that the names of Turkic Asian tribes Sabar and Kavar (*Havar) - Avar derived from the same root [common shift b > v, also allophones s/ h]. Thus, Sabars and Avars could be also descendants of Iranian Serbs (*Sabar) and Croats (Hrvat).

The remnant of Sabar, Avar excellent horsemanship in Turkish language was stamped in the cognate: tr. süvari ' cavalier, cavalry, cavalryman, chevalier, mounted troops, man'.

In the mid 5th C., Priskos Rhetor was the first to deal with the Sabar tribe which existed in the West Siberian region. This supports the theory of Sabar origin from the Balkhash region which is further supported by the Chinese records concerning the related Hua tribes. According to Priscos's account, the Avar-Huns forced the Sabirs out of this land and over the Volga around 461-463CE because "a fog rose from the sea scaring people" and this was followed by countless "vultures descending upon the people". Then in 550, Zakharias Rhetor the church historian mentioned an "Avar" community in the west. Also in the mid 6th century, Menandros wrote about Avars. At the same time Procopius made a distinction in his History of the Wars, Books I and II, between White Huns and European Huns which Simokattes in the early half of the 7thC. defines as the real- and pseudo- avars respectively.

Based upon Simokattes's and other information, the Avars who entered Europe are thought to have been a combination of a (Uighur people called Hund(?) and (because of the anthropological evidence as well as etymology on Avar Khagaan names like Bayan meaning "prosperous" in Mongol but meaning female in most western Altaic tongues) a Mongolian people called Var(?) who united around Balk sometime between 410-470CE.

It has been determined through the unorganized information in various foreign resources that Sabar Turkish community had played an important role in the Western Siberia and the northern region of the Caucasus in the 5th-6th centuries DC. This Turkish community was named as Sabar, Sabir, and Savir in the Byzantine resources and as Savır, Sabr, S(a)bir, Sibir, etc. in the Armenian, Syrian Christian, and Islamic resources.

The are allegations, which stating that the Sabar people were of Slav or Mongolian or Finno-Ugrian origin. Recently, it has been suggested that they were Turks in origin in respect of the names that they hold and the historical and cultural characteristics. As a result of the labial attraction in various languages, the word of Sabar has been observed in various forms.

However, it is not very likely that the name of the Sabars come from the names of Sarbans or Serbs, which have Indo-European roots. The word of Sabar can be identified with Turkish language, and it was formulated as the addition of the suffix of +ar to the verb of "sab+ar" (=sap-ar= sapmak/ violate, deviate) (Some other examples are: Khazar, Bulgar, Kabar, etc). It has the meaning of "deviationist, defector, uncontrolled, free" and it is in compliance with the naming procedures among the Turks. Furthermore, the personal names pertaining to Sabar people are also Turkish. Balak, İlig-er, Bo-arık =Buğ-arık, etc.

Theory of modern-day Serbs origin

According to the theory based on the history, anthropology, and genetics, modern-day Serbs are an ethnic mix of three major different "peoples" and "races":

1. Sarmatians (Serboi - Old Serbs, who mixed with Slavs in Lusatia, and who gave their name to the Slavs).
2. Slavic peoples, including Slavic tribes which settled in the Balkans during the Avar invasion in the 6th century, and White Serbs (Sorbs of Lusatia), who settled in the Balkans in the 7th century, and who gave their name to the present-day Serbs.
3. Peoples of Dinaric Race (Vlachs, Illyrians, and Thracians), who became Slavicized after the arrival of Slavs to Balkans.

Sarmatia Europæa separated from Sarmatia Asiatica by the Tanais (the River Don), based on Greek literary sources, in a map printed in London, ca 1770. ... Serbi (Serboi) located near the mouth of the Volga, based on Greek literary sources, in a map printed in London, ca 1770 Serboi is the name of the ancient Sarmatian tribe that could be the possible predecessors of the present-day Slavic Serbs and Sorbs. ... The Slavic peoples are a linguistic and ethnic branch of Indo-European peoples, living mainly in Europe, where they constitute about one third of the population. ... White Serbs were a Slavic tribe, which lived in the region around river Elbe (today in eastern Germany and western Poland) in the early medieval ages. ... The Sorbs are a Slavic minority indigenous to the region known as Lusatia in the German states of Saxony and Brandenburg (in former GDR territory). ... In physical anthropology, the Dinaric race is one of the subcategories of the Europid (White; Caucasian) race into which it was divided by anthropologists in the early 20th century. ... Vlachs (also called Wallachians, Wlachs, Wallachs, Olahs or Ulahs) is a blanket term covering several modern Latin peoples descending from the Latinised population in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe. ... Illyrians has come to refer to a broad, ill-defined group of peoples who inhabited the western Balkans (from northern Epirus to southern Pannonia) and even perhaps parts of Southern Italy in classical times into the Common era, and spoke Illyrian languages. ... Thracians in an ethnic sense refers to various ancient peoples who spoke Thracian languages, a scarcely attested branch of the Indo-European language family. ...

Literature

• Aleksandar M. Petrović, Kratka arheografija Srba, Novi Sad, 1994.
• Živko D. Petković, Prve pojave srpskog imena, Beograd, 1996.
• Lazar Šebek, Stari Srbi, Serbi sveske 2, Izdavač: Krim, Beograd, Ložionička 4.
• Lazo M. Kostić, O srpskom imenu, Srbinje - Novi Sad, 2000.
• Sava S. Vujić - Bogdan M. Basarić, Severni Srbi (ne)zaboravljeni narod, Beograd, 1998.
• Nikola Jeremić, Srpska zemlja Bojka, Zemun, 1993.
• Relja Novaković, Baltički Sloveni u Beogradu i Srbiji, Beograd, 1985.
• Relja Novaković, Još o poreklu Srba, Beograd, 1992.
• Relja Novaković, Srbi, Beograd, 1993.
• Relja Novaković, Srbi i njihovi pradavni srodnici, Beograd, 2000.

References on Ancient and Medieval Serbs

• Ernst Schwartz, Das Vordringen der Slawen nach Western, Südost-Forschungen, Band XV, Mönchen 1956
• Ernestus Brotuff, Chronica von den Salz-Bornen und Erbauung der Hall an der Sala... (Weiland J.J. 1554) in zwei Büchern Verfaset und Fleiss beschrieben. Hall in Sachsen 1679
• Franz Martin Pelzels Geschichte der Böhmen, von ältesten bis auf die neuesten Zeiten. Aus den besten einheimischen und auswärtigen Geschichtsschreibern, Kroniken und gleichzeitigen Handschriften zusammen getragen, Erster Theil, Vierte fortgesetzte Auflage, Prag 1817
• Franz Grabler. Aus dem Geschichtswerk des Laonikos Chalkokondilos. Europa im XV. Jahrhundert von Byzantinern gesehen. Byzantinische Geschichtsschreiber, Graz-Wien-Köln (1954)
• Friderici Wideburgii, Origines et antiquitates Marggraviatus Misnici... Halae Salicae 1734
• Franc. Xav. El. B. De Pejacsevich, Historia Serviae seu colloquia XIII de Statu Regni et religionis Serviae ab exordio ad finem, sive a saeculo VII ad XV. Auetore F.X. El. B. de Pejacsevich. Colocae MDCCXCVI (1796)
• Howorth. The Spread of the Slaves, The Journal of the Antropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, vol. IX, London 1880, Part III The Northern Serbs or Sorabiens and the Obodriti
• Martin Kromer, De origine et rebus gestis Polonorum Iibri XXX (1555)
• Mauro Orbini, II regno De gli Slavi Hoggi corrottamente detti Schü-voni... In Pesaro MDCI (1601)
• Monumenta Germaniae Historica... Edidit G.H. Pertz. Tomus I-VI 1826-1844
• Nikolaus Volrab, Chronica von den Antiquiteten des Keisrlichen Stiftes/der Römische Burg und Stadt Marseburg... (Budišin 1556)
• Neuve Chronica Türkischer Nation von Türken selbst beschrieben Frankfurt am Mayn 1590
• Pomponii Melae de Chorographia Iibri tres recognovit Caroli;:- Fnck. Lipsiae 1880
• P.J. Schafariks, Slawische Alterthümer, II, Leipzig 1844
• Heinrich Kunstmann, Über die Herkunft der Polen von Balkan. Die Welt der Slawen, Halbsjahresschrift für Slavistik, Jahrgang XXIX, Heft 2, IV F. VIII, 2. München 1984
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• Joannes Simoni Vandalia a 1598. scripta. Mon. Ren germ, praecipue Cimbricarum et Megapolensium... T. I, Lipsiae 1739
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• Johann Georg Essigs Kurze Einleitung zu der allgemeinen und besonderen Welthistorie, aufs neue übersehen, vermehrt, und bis auf gegenwärtige Zeit fortgesetzte, von M. Johann Christian Walz, Prof. der Historie am Her-zogl. Gimnasio. Zehnte Ausgabe, Stuttgart 1777
• Karl Gottlob Anton, Erste Linien eines Versuches über die alten Slawen Ursprung, Sitten, Gebräuche, Meinungen und Kenntnisse. Ausgearbeitet von K.G. Anton, D. Leipzig 1783
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• Laskaris Kananos, Die Nordlandreise des Laskaris Kanons (Byz. Geschichtsschreiber)
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• Blondi Flavii Foroiuliensis Historiarum de inclinatione Romanorum. Impressarum Venetiis Thomam Alexandrinum anno Salutis MCCCCLXXXiiii (1484) Kalendis Julii. Tu i Abreviatio Pii Pont max. supra decades Blondi ab Inclinatione Imperii usque ad tempora Joannis Vicesimi tertii Pont. max.
• Chronica von dem Antiquiteten des Stifftes/der Romische Burg und Stadt Marseburg/an der Salach by Türingen/mit viel alten schöne Historien und Geschichten/als sich etwan vor alten Zeiten in Sachsen/Türingen/Meis-sen/und zu Wenden begeben... Gedruckt zu Budisin durch Nicolaum Wolrab MDLVI (1556)
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• Conjectus introduetionis, in notitiam Regni Hungriae Geographicam, Historicam, Politicam et Chronologicam, inde a prima Gentis et Regionis Hungaricae Originibus usque ad aetatem nostram. Breviter et succinte, per successions temporum, produetam Studio et Opera Joannis Tomka Szäszky, Posonii 1759
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• Codex Pomeraniae diplomaticus. Herausgegeben von D. Karl Friedrich Wilhelm Hasselbach... und D. Johann Gottfried Ludwig Kosegarten, Greifswald 1862
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• Dauidis Chytrej Chronicon Saxoniae et vicini orbis aretoi. Pars prima. Ab anno Christi 1500 usque ad 1524 cum indice. Rostochii anno CIDIDXCII (1592)
• Dissertatio de Lecho et Slavorum origine video meliora, proboque. Acta Societatis Jablonovianae de Slavis Lecho Czechoque. Item de Veris Zichis. Anni CIDIDCCLXXI (1771)
• C. Desjardins: Physisch-Statistisch und Politischer Atlas von Europa, C. Desjardins, Wien, 1838.
• Über die Abkunft der Slawen nach Lorenz Surowiecki von Paul Joseph Schaffarik, Doct. der Phil. und der f. k. Mag., Prof. am Gymnasium der Griech. n. un. Gemeinde in Neusatz, und der kön. Ges. der Freunde der Wiss. in Warschau, der Gel. Ges. an der Univ. in Krakau und der Gross-herz. lat. Soc. in Jena corr. Mitgliede. Leipzig, 1843
• Kiepert's Handatlas, Dietrich Reimer, Berlin, 1860.
• A. Stieler: Handatlas, Justus Perthes, Gotha, 1866
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• Nikodim Milaš: Православна Далмација (OrtodoxDalmatia), Izdavačka knjižarnica Novi Sad, 1901
• Кonstantin Jeriček: Историја Срба (History of Serbs), I-II, (photoiphya), Слово љубве, Београд, 1978
• Early references to Serboi: Alexander Kazhdan, Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium (1991), vol.3, pp.1875f.
• Ivo Vukicevich: Rex Germanorum Populos Sclavorum (An Inquiry into the Origin and Early History of the Serbs/Slavs of Sarmatia, Germania and Illyria), Universiyu Center Press, Santa Barbara, 2001
• Aleksandar J. Vukosavljević: Neka zapažanja o 30. glavi De administrando imperio — analiza izvora i osvrt na jedan dio istoriografije, Cape Town, 2004

Alexander Petrovich Kazhdan (1922 — Dumbarton Oaks, 1997) was the foremost Byzantinist of the late 20th century. ...

See also

• White Serbs
• Serbs
• Sorbs
• Serbia
• History of Serbs
• History of Serbia