Mačva
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mačva (Мачва) is a region of Serbia, situated in the northwest of Central Serbia. It is located in a fertile plain between the Sava and Drina rivers. The chief town of this region is Šabac. The modern Mačva District of Serbia is named after the region. A small northern part of Mačva region is located in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, in the Srem District.
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[edit] Name
The region is named after a town of Mačva, which existed in the Medieval Ages near the river Sava. In the past, the region was also known as Lower Srem, while the neighbouring region on the northern bank of the river Sava (present-day Srem) was known as Upper Srem.
In Serbian, the region is known as Mačva or Мачва, and in Hungarian as Macsó or Macsóság.
[edit] History
Mačva was inhabited since the Stone Age. Before the Roman conquest, the region was inhabited by Celtic Scordisces. In the first century BC, the region was conquered by the Romans, and Scordisces were pushed to the northern side of the Sava river. During the Roman rule, the region was part of the provinces of Moesia and Pannonia.
Roman rule lasted until the 5th century, and the region was conquered by the Sarmatians, Huns, Goths, Gepids, Langobards, and Avars. In the 6th century, Slavic tribes settled in the region.
The region was then included into Byzantine Empire, Frankish Kingdom, and Bulgaria. In the 9th and 10th centuries, the southern parts of the region were part of Serbia. In the 11th century, the Byzantine province known as the Thema of Sirmium included both, the present-day region of Srem and Mačva, thus the name of Srem became designation for the both regions. In the 12th century, southern parts of the region were part of Serbia, and northern parts part of the Byzantine Empire.
In the 13th century, the northern parts of the region were included into the Kingdom of Hungary and Banovina of Mačva was formed in 1274. Banovina was named after a town called Mačva, but the location of this settlement has not been clearly established in modern times. It is suspected that the town of Mačva existed a few kilometers down the river from modern Šabac.
During the Hungarian rule the region was ruled by several powerful bans. Hungarian king Bela IV granted authority over Mačva to Rostislav Mikhailovich, a refugee Russian prince. In the 13th century, Bela of Macsó (grandson of Hungarian king Bela IV) ruled Mačva as well as Usora and Soli (areas across Drina river in today's northeastern Bosnia).
Between 1282 and 1316 the Serb King Stefan Dragutin ruled the Kingdom of Srem, which consisted of Mačva, Usora and Soli. His capital cities were Debrc (between Belgrade and Šabac) and Belgrade. In that time the name Srem was designation for two territories: Upper Srem (present day Srem) and Lower Srem (present day Mačva). Kingdom of Srem under the rule of Stefan Dragutin was located in Lower Srem. Another local ruler, Ugrin Csák, ruled over Upper Srem and Slavonija.
At first, Stefan Dragutin was a vassal of the Hungarian king, but since the central power in the Kingdom of Hungary collapsed, both, Stefan Dragutin and Ugrin Csák were de facto independent rulers. Stefan Dragutin died in 1316, and was succeeded by his son, King Vladislav II (1316-1325). Vladislav II was defeated by the king of Serbia, Stefan Dečanski, in 1324, and after this, Mačva became a subject of dispute between the Kingdom of Serbia and the Kingdom of Hungary.
In the 14th century, the bans of the Garay family (Pál Garay, Miklós I Garay of Mačva and his son Miklós II Garay of Mačva) which were under the Hungarian suzerainty expanded their rule not only to Bosnia but to Srem and the last one also became the ban of Slavonia and Croatia, which was also part of the Hungarian kingdom at the time. In 1381, Mačva was part of the state of the Serbian prince Lazar Hrebeljanović.
In the 15th century, Mačva was part of Serbian Despotate, and since 1459, it was part of the Ottoman Empire. It was under Ottoman rule until 1718, when it was captured by the Habsburgs. Between 1718 and 1739, Mačva was part of the Habsburg-ruled Serbia, and since 1739, it was again part of the Ottoman Empire. In 1788, the "Mačvanska knežina" (a local administrative unit) had 25 villages with 845 houses. The name of the local governor ("oberknez") was Uroš Drmanović. Between 1804 and 1815, Mačva was part of Serbia ruled by Karađorđe, and since 1817 it was part of the autonomous Principality of Serbia.
During World War I, Austro-Hungarian army committed war crimes against innocent Serb civilians in Mačva and Podrinje. [1] Since 1918, the region was part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later renamed to Yugoslavia). Between 1918 and 1922 the region was known as Podrinjski okrug, between 1922 and 1929 as Podrinjska oblast, while between 1929 and 1941 it was part of the Drina Banovina. Between 1941 and 1944, Mačva was part of the Axis-occupied Serbia, and since 1945, it is part of the Socialist Republic of Serbia.
[edit] Bans and rulers of Mačva
- Rostislav Mikhailovich, ban of Mačva, a refugee Russian prince.
- Bela of Macsóság, ban of Mačva, a grandson of Hungarian king Bela IV.
- Stefan Dragutin, king of Lower Srem (Mačva) between 1282 and 1316.
- Stefan Vladislav II, king of Lower Srem (1316-1325).
- János Alsáni, ban of Mačva (-1360).
- Pál Alsáni, ban of Mačva.
- Pavle Gorjanski, ban of Mačva, 14th century.
- Nikola I Gorjanski of Mačva, ban of Mačva, 14th century.
- Nikola II Gorjanski of Mačva, ban of Mačva, since 1387.
- Juraj I Lacković, ban of Mačva (1392-1393).
- Ivan Morović, ban of Mačva (1397-?).
- Dezsö Bánfi of Gara, ban of Mačva (-1440).
- Imre Héderváry, ban of Mačva (1442-1445).
- Mate Morović, ban of Mačva (circa 1475).
- Nikola Iločki, ban of Mačva.
- Uroš Drmanović, oberknez of "Mačvanska knežina" in 1788.
[edit] Famous people from Mačva
- Milić Stanković, a certain controversial painter who became known as Milić od Mačve (meaning "Milić of Mačva").
- Laza Lazarević
- Dragan Martinović
- Bora Simić - Joja
- Nenad Stanković
[edit] Cities and towns
List of cities and towns in Mačva (with population figures):
- Šabac (54,832)
- Loznica (20,705)
- Banja Koviljača (6,274)
- Krupanj (4,875)
- Mali Zvornik (4,740)
- Mačvanska Mitrovica (3,823)
Note: Mačvanska Mitrovica is geographically located in Mačva, but it is part of Srem District (in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina).
