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The Ohrid Myth Of Justiniana
Prima
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"The
archaeological works that were carried out in the period after the World War
II in the region of Ohrid, so rich in cultural strata.., resulted in the discovery
of Christian monuments from late Antiquity .... The extraordinary results of
the excavations of the monuments from that period filled the gap in our knowledge
of church building from the end of the 4th century to the flourishing of Christian
art under Justinian. The only information about Lichnidos of this period came
from the insubstantial written documents.''
This statement by Bitrakova could imply that Lichnidos ceased to develop with
the arrival of Roman tradition and rule. However " in the late-Imperial
period between the 4th and the 6th centuries Lichnidos became the capital of
the Roman province of New Epirus'' which is an indication of the increased importance
of the town. At the same time it also developed as an administrative centre
of the province, with all the functions of a Roman city. Christianity as a new
phenomenon would influence the town to the extent that a new element in the
regulation of the town functions would occur. Otherwise, Lichnidos continued
living in accordance with Roman law and to the 500 years of peaceful development
I can add another 200 years of continuous development.
On the territory of the Roman Empire in general, in this second, Christian period,
several historic events occurred which shattered the so- called Roman peace.
Constantine
the Great (306-337) imposed Christianity as the state religion with the Edict
of Milan in 313. But, as if having a premonition, on the site of a small settlement
called Byzantium he built Constantinople in 330. Soon after that it would become
the capital of the East regions of the Roman Empire. As soon as 395 Theodosius
(379-395) divided the Empire between his two sons and in 410 the Barbarians
led by Alaricus entered Rome. In the 5th century Constantinople took over the
government over the Roman Empire which was at that point seriously threatened
by the considerable migration of peoples to the north-east.
Bearing in mind the legend about St. Erasmus it is not surprising that the Christian
enclaves first formed outside Lichnidos. In the 3rd century, when Christians
were still exiled the activities of the apostles were outside the town. The
memory of these unknown preachers was preserved in the 4th- and the 5th -century
basilicas and the rich mosaics everywhere around the lake. 
However, in the middle of the 4th century Lichnidos was christianized. Bishop
Dionysius de Macedonia de Lychnido is mentioned as present at the Synod in Serdica
in 343, and some historians mention him as Bishop Zosimus , probably following
Greek sources. In the 5th century other bishops (episcops) are listed, Bishop
Theodore being the last. In 519 it was he who received the Papal delegation
from Rome on its way to Constantinople. He read the Pope's Bull in the church
at Lichnidos. Thus Christian Lichnidos continued living on the principles of
a Toman city. This implies that socio-political life continued to take place
in the forum, while the port and the market also continued to function. The
functioning of some old buildings, such as the amphitheatre and the pagan temples,
was prohibited ; consequently, they were deserted and their material was used
for new buildings. In Lichnidos, the polyconch church at Plaosnik was such a
building. In her assessment of the architectural characteristics and the extraordinary
quality of the interior decorations, Bitrakova claims that from the 4th to the
5th centuries it was the cathedral centre of the Ohrid bishops. I am of the
same opinion not only because "the church was in the centre of the town"
but because of some additional arguments as well. The monumentality and the
richness of the decoration of this church and its architecture in particular
separate it from all the other churches in the region of Ohrid. It is not a
typical basilica with a nave and two aisles, but a policonch! It is its architecture
that separates it from the basilica at Deboi . Situated in two most exposed
sites, these two churches had to differ in their architecture and
in their functions. Since the Roman basilica-market still functioned at that
time, I see no reason to associate St.Sophia with a cathedral church from this
period.
For
Christian Lichnidos the entire period from the 4th to the 5th centuries was
a period of continuity and of relative peace and prosperityo It could not be
interrupted even by the invasion of the Barbarians already in progress. In the
written sources a siege of Lichnidos in 479 was recorded, when the East Goths,
led by Theodorichus, arrived in these regions. But they could not conquer the
town "because it had fortifications, plenty of springs within the bulwarks
and was supplied with food." I need to comment on this event from the second
half of the 5th century for two reasons. The first one refers to that part of
the quotation which states that the city had "plenty of springs within
the bulwarks".To this day such springs have never been mentioned again
anywhere, nor are there any traces of them. However, we are familiar with the
manner in which the city was supplied with water from the lake before the waterworks
was built. Early in the morning, after the north winds had cleaned the lake
waters of all impurities, the people would collect water in jugs from bridges
flung out over the lake. Such "bridges" could be found on the tall
cliffs as well. Visible traces from older times can still be found by what is
known as the Bakalov Most above the existing terrace of Dolni Saraj. The lake
water was collected with a primitive windlass similar to those used in collecting
water from a well. Such a bridge for collecting water with all the installations,
existed until the 60's on the cliff close St.John the Theologian. I would say
that this is the proper explanation of the good supply of water even after the
siege in the 5th century.
The second assumption important for my thesis is the form of the fortress, already
described, with the separate sections for the port and the market. The assumption
that during the siege the East Goths were able to enter the poorly defended
sector is well groundedo Thus the basilica- market could have been plundered
and even torn down. Here I see the beginning of the destruction of this part
of the city and the abandoning of its urban functions in the Toman period.
Afterwards, at the beginning of the 6th century, a series of cataclysmic earthquakes
began, together with substantial changes in the political situation in the Roman
Empire. The first series of earthquakes in 518 destroyed Scupi, Stobi and other
cities in Dardania. Papazoglu claims that the destruction of Lichnidos should
not be connected with these earthquakes. The second series that occurred around
526 was even more catastrophic. " The last information about
Lichnidos in the late Imperial period is that of its destruction. According
to Procopius, because of the satanic nature of Emperor Justinian, among the
serious catastrophes that struck the Roman Empire during his rule , such as
wars, floods and the plague, there are also the earthquakes that in an instant
destroyed Antioch and Selucia in Syria, Anazarbos, Amasia, Polybotos and Philomelion
in Asia Minor and Corinth, Lichnidos and Dyrrachion in Epirus, all old and densely
populated cities. Most of the population died and the plague that followed killed
half of those who survived the earthquake.''However, that was not the definitive
ruin of the Roman Empire. Ostrogorski states that this happened in the beginning
of the 7th century when almost the entire Balkan Peninsula wasdefinitively occupied
by the Slavs.The old population was partially extinct, while some of them withdrew
to the mountains in the shoreal areas and on the islands. The old cities on
the mainland were devastated. This means that even after the catastrophes mentioned
by Procopius, the Roman Empire and Lichnidos with it, had almost a century to
heal their wounds and to rebuild. Actually, it was precisely the time of Justianian
I (527-565). Procopius, the chronicler of his time, beside his satanic nature,
also mentions his organizational abilities and his extraordinary building activities.
First he cleared the situation in Constantinople by destroying the "blue"
and the "green" factions that were opposed to the autocratic regime.
Then he turned to the west, conquering the Ostrogoth lands in Italy and destroying
the Vandal state in North Africa. During his rule Constantinople became definitively
the sole capital of the renewed Roman Empire.
The building activities at the time of Justinian are known in history as the
new blossoming of Christian art. "In the Central Balkan region on the Danube
alone he built numerous fortresses, watchtowers and other fortifications in
the period between 530 and 532. He entirely rebuilt the castle of Bederiana
and his birth place Taurisium in Dardania. Then he built a new city, named it
Justiniana Prima and decorated it with a variety of buildings and churches and
even a waterworks. With a special novella in 535 this city became the seat of
the autocephalous archbishops of Illyricum. In Dardania, he rebuilt the old
town Ulpiana and renamed it Justiniana Secunda. He also reconstructed and fortified
the old cities of Serdica, Naissus, Germana and Pautalia, and close to them
he built completely new cities.
Such a description of Justinian as restorer of the Empire and generous builder
raises a question relevant for my thesis, and it is, why is Lichnidos not on
the list of the cit-
ies
rebuilt by him? The answer may lie in the analogy with Salonica, which is also
not included in the description of the cities rebuilt by Justinian. The reason
is that after the earthquakes, Lichnidos was not destroyed to such an extent
that its citizens would abandon it, as were Skupi, Stobi etc. The earthquakes
did ruin many public buildings, churches and homes but the city walls remained
and with minor corrections were repaired. Procopius mentions the rebuilding
of old cities and does not mention Lichnidos simply because in its renewal it
had no need for assistance from the Empire, as did the cities of Naissus, Serdica
and Ulpiana all built on flat terrain. At the same time Lichnidos lies on a
naturally fortified geomorphologic formation and the lake provides an abundance
of water which is a prerequisite for survival.Until the first half of the 7th
century, like Salonica, Lichnidos survived all the catastrophes , while barbaric
raids only passed it by, since the raiders could not enter the town, as had
been the case in the siege of 479.
The time of Justinian, marked by a great renewal and building of cities and
Christian churches also represents a turning point in urbanization and building
techniques. The orthogonal network of city communications, together with the
forum as a central urban motif, was abandoned. The building of the new and magnificent
church of St. Sophia at Constantinople created a new central urban motif, a
cathedral church towards which the city streets converged. "The centralization
and the authority are strongly felt in the city ensemble, reflecting the leading
principles of the Byzantine(Romean) society.
Constantinople's St., Sophia created new principles in building technology.
It is highly probable that the lessons from the devastating earthquakes were
taken into full consideration. In the building of new and the reconstruction
of old churches the relatively thin walls and wooden roofs were substituted
with thicker walls that could bear massive vaults. In the architecture of the
Early Byzantine period from the 6th to the 8th centuries the most common type
of church is the domed basilica with massive walls and vaults".3' There
were also changes in the liturgical ceremony, which was moved from the centre
of the naos to the east .Thus, the chancel was partitioned by a triple icinostasis.
All famous basilicas in the central regions of the Balkan Peninsula reconstructed
or built in the 6th century and mentioned and described in detail in the works
of Stricevic had such architectural features.
The reconstruction of Lichnidos that followed the catastrophic earthquakes appears
as modest since the town did not have the time to bring back the old splendour.
It is only logical that the bulwarks of the fortress and the residential buildings
were reconstructed first. Due to the frequent raids of the Barbarians from the
north inland communication weakened and trade died with it. The Via Egnatia,
until recently the major communication and trade link, slowly lost its significance.
The major route ran along the northsouth axis, to the Danube region and along
the valleys of the rivers Morava, Vardar and Struma, where Justinian built the
largest number of fortifications. In such circumstances Lichnidos was rather
neglected and the port -once a great trade centre - lost its function and remained
ignored after the earthquakes. At that time not only basic needs had to be satisfied:
Christianity was essential in providing spiritual width as an incentive for
survival. Theodore, mentioned in written sources as the last bishop of Lichnidos
in 519, did not escape immediately after the earthquakes. Lichnidos must have
had other bishops after him since the final stabilizing of Slavs on the Balkans
and their conquest of the cities is recorded in history only at the beginning
of the 7th century.
Until that period the major preoccupation of the chroniclers was the defence
of Salonica. Some of the bishops who continued but were never mentioned must
have needed a location for a new church, since the reconstruction of the old
ones was inappropriate both to the new urban concept and to the building technology.
As in Philippi, they were to find the location in a desolate place in the port,
on the site of the basilica-market that had been destroyed. This location undoubtedly
reflects Justinian's choice of site for St. Sophia at Constantinople. Its location
was on the stage of a huge natural amphitheatre while it still followed the
direction of the Roman Cardo and remained in the vicinity of the gradually deserted
old forum. The old trading centre was replaced by a new spiritual centre with
a church and a place for a congregation different from that which would gather
in a forum. The earlier city functions that reflected the physical world (gymnasium,
palaestra, baths) were replaced with a cathedral - a building that represented
the spiritual world.
Here I will stress another, less important factor. Justinian certainly had a
special reason for choosing St. Sophia, part of the Christian idea of Trinity,
for his patron saint. As the epitome of holy wisdom she represents a link with
the Classical Iogos. Later on, following the example of Constantinople, many
cities built churches and named them St. Sophia. Some of these were Nicaea,
Salonica, Serdica and Trebizond and even Kiev in Ukraine. Why should not Lichnidos
be one of them? The oral tradition of Lichnidos/ Ohrid is also not to be neglected.
At the end of the 19th
century, Branislav Nusic wrote of one of them:" The citizens of Ohrid,
who truly believe that Ohrid is Justinian's birth place, also believe that this
church (St.Sophia) was built by Justinian himself. They state that he built
three churches with the same plan and the same name: the first one in Constantinople,
the second one in Sredec and the third one in Ohrid. One of these traditions
was substantiated by the archaeological research of Koco after the discovery
of the church of St. Panteleimon in Clement's monastery. Similarly, in support
of my thesis, I will accept the oral tradition about St.Sophia at Ohrid as authentic.
However, the final confirmation will come from those who live long enough to
see the detailed and comprehensive archaeological research. I would also like
to stress the fact that the Justinian tradition must not be neglected since
his name was added to the title of the Ohrid Archbishops in the 12th century……
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