“691. There came to Ragusa the men of two castles on the mainland, from Chastel Spilan and Chastel Gradaz,[24] and they all made their dwellings on the coast, for they were of the race of Epidaurum destroyed by the Saracens.”[25]
This obviously refers to the Latin colonists mentioned by the Imperial historian:—
“743. Many people came from Bosna with much wealth, for the king, Radosav, was a tyrant, and lived according to his pleasure: Murlacchi from the Narenta also came, and Catunari,[26] among whom there was a chief above all the others; they came with a great multitude of cattle of all sorts: to them was assigned the mountain of Saint Serge as a pasture, for it was so covered with trees that one could not see the sky, and so much timber was there that they made beams for their houses.”
Of the first two centuries of Ragusan history little is known. The town, like the other Latin communities of Dalmatia, at first formed part of the Eastern Empire. Heraclius had abandoned all the rest of the country to the Slaves, and even in the coast towns Imperial authority was becoming ever more shadowy. Under Michael II Balbus they were granted what practically amounted to autonomy, and they constituted themselves, as we have said, into municipia of the Italian type, while inland Dalmatia became part of Charlemagne’s Empire (803), to whom also some of the coast towns, including Zara, owed allegiance.[27] Ragusa, although still small, was increasing. At that time, with a world of barbarism all round, with everlasting wars between the various Slavonic tribes of the interior, there was indeed an opening for such a haven of refuge as this city offered.
We can picture it to ourselves as a small settlement where all that was civilised in Southern Dalmatia congregated—the scattered Latins from ruined townships and the more progressive Slaves. It was a beacon in the darkness, a spot where the peaceful and the industrious might pursue their avocations in safety. Of the internal constitution of the community in these early days, of its laws and customs, we have the meagrest information. The only account of them which we possess is that given in the Anonymous Chronicle, a not very reliable document of a much later date than the events recorded. The chief passage on the subject is as follows:—
“In Ragusa a division of all the people was made.... Those who were the richest were (appointed) chiefs and governors.... Each family had its own saint, some San Sergio, some this saint, some that.... And when men had come from Lower Vulasi (Wallachia),[28] a division of the citizens was made, each class for itself. Many Wallachians were rich in possessions—gold, silver, cattle, and other things: among them were many Chatunari, each of whom considered himself a count, and had his own Naredbenizi (stewards). One was master of the horse, another looked after the cattle, another after the sheep and goats, another managed the household, another commanded the servants. But there was one chief above all the others, called the Grand Chatunar.... These Chatunari formed the Sboro (Council or Parliament), and for their convenience divided the population into three parts: the first was of gentlemen, the second of burghers, the third of serfs. Many serfs had come from Wallachia with cattle, and it seemed to them a mean thing to be called even as the shepherds.[29] Some attended to the house, some to the horses, some to the person of their master, but the latter were few in number. The third part was of gentlemen; for at the beginning there were many who had fled from Bosna and Albania, and who were not men of low condition, but of much account, having been captains or counts or Naredbenizi, and these were of noble origin.... Those who were gentlemen were made governors of the land or were given other offices, and they alone entered the Sboro or General Council. The other part was of the people, populani, from pol vilani, or half villeins,[30] for although those villeins were of low condition, some were in the houses of gentlemen as guardians, and therefore enjoyed benefits.”
This account is somewhat confused and difficult to understand. As far as we can make out, the people were divided into three classes; i.e. the nobles, who alone formed the Grand Council, and were either the descendants of the original Latin refugees from Epidaurum and Salona, or those among the newcomers who were of noble birth; the middle class, consisting of non-noble burghers, the stewards, and chief retainers of the nobles, and the men of small property; the third class, which was composed of serfs and of the poorest citizens. Over the general assembly presided the head of the State, the Byzantine Duke, Prior, or Præses. After Ragusa had made submission to Venice in 998 we find Venetian counts instead.[31] During the intervals when the city was independent, and no foreign rulers were appointed, the head of the Government was chosen by the Council, as it was in after times. But even when sent from Venice or Constantinople he does not seem to have exercised much direct influence on the internal affairs of the Republic.
Besides the Count and the General Council, there was the assembly of the people, or laudo populi, to whom the decisions of the Council in all the more important cases had to be submitted. Lampredius, præses of Ragusa in 1023, sanctioned a decree “una cum omnibus ejusdem civitatis nobilibus,” “temporibus Sanctorum Imperatorum Basilii et Constantini.” Petrus Slabba, prior in 1044, issued another decree, “temporibus piissimi Augusti Constantini scilicet Monomacho ... cum parited nobiles atque ignobiles.”[32] Thus we have the aristocratic principle represented by the council of nobles, and the democratic principle by the assembly of the people, who were summoned “cum sonitu campane.”[33] As the constitution evolved, the laudo populi gradually dropped into disuse, and Ragusa finally developed into a purely aristocratic community on Venetian lines.
Next in authority to the head of the State was the bishop,[34] by whom the acts of the Government had to be countersigned. The question as to who should appoint this dignitary was frequently a subject of dispute between the Ragusans and the Venetians, on account of his political influence.
The Ragusans provided for the defence of their city by surrounding it with walls, “un muro di masiera e travi,”[35] as Ragnina says, and these fortifications stood them in good stead by enabling them to hold out against the Saracens, who in 847-848 besieged Ragusa for fifteen months. The citizens implored help from the Emperor Basil the Macedonian, and he at once sent a fleet, under Nicephorus, which relieved the beleaguered city from the raiders.[36]