Crkvine Šopot and the First Inscription Mentioning Croats
Crkvine Šopot, i.e. the remains of the church of St. Jerome, is the place where Branimir’s inscription was found, in which the Croatian name is mentioned for the first time.
Šopot is a village in the immediate vicinity of the town of Benkovac. The locality of Crkvina, where the foundations of St. Jerome’s Church are situated, is located not far from the railway line and the Šopot spring of drinking water.
Archaeological investigations in Šopot, led by Father Mate Klarić in 1928, unearthed the foundations of the medieval Church of St. Jerome.
At this site, remains of a medieval church were discovered. Today, only its foundations are visible, along with various fragments of a stone altar screen decorated with medieval interlace (pleter) and a Latin inscription.
What gives this site historical significance is a text fragment from the altar screen, dating to the second half of the 9th century, which mentions the name of the Croatian Duke Branimir. Duke Branimir left behind a series of inscriptions in this region, but this is the first one that specifically mentions the Croats.
Branimir was also the first duke to receive confirmation of his rule from Pope John VIII, which, at that time, amounted to international recognition of Croatia.
However, the Church of St. Jerome, where the altar screen was found, belongs to a later period, after Branimir’s reign. Therefore, it is presumed that the church Duke Branimir built in the 9th century, for which the altar screen was originally made, is located somewhere nearby.
Location
Benkovac
The first traces of human life in the Benkovac area were found around the village of Smilčić that belonged to the Danilo culture. Before Roman conquest the area was inhabited by the Illyrian tribe of Liburnians. During the Roman Civil war the Liburnians sided with Caesar. The Romans mention the following Liburnian settlements: Nedinum (Nadin), Carinium (Karin), Varvaria (Bribir) and Asseria (Podgrađe). In 7th century the area was settled by Croats. The area of Benkovac was at the crossroads of four Croatian župas – Novljanska, Sidraška, Bribirska and Karinska. Near the village of Šopot, an inscription from the 9th century was found that mentions Branimir as a Croatian Duke.
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