Praevalitana

Praevalitana (also Prevalitana, Prevaliana, Praevaliana or Prevalis) was a Late Roman province that existed between 284 and 476. It included parts of present-day Montenegro, northern Albania, and southwestern Serbia.

Historical background

The Roman Empire conquered the region after the Third Illyrian War (168 BC), the Romans defeated Gentius, the last king of Illyria, at Scodra in 168 BC and captured him, bringing him to Rome in 165 BC. Four client-republics were set up, which were in fact ruled by Rome. Later, Illyricum was directly governed by Rome and organized as a province, with Scodra as its capital. Illyricum was split into two divisions in 10 AD, Pannonia and Dalmatia. The province of Dalmatia spread inland to cover all of the Dinaric Alps and most of the eastern Adriatic coast, including all actual Montenegro.

History

The province of Praevalitana was established during the reign of Emperor Diocletian (r. 284-305) from the southeastern corner of the former province of Dalmatia and became part of the Diocese of Moesia (290-357), one of 12 dioceses created by Diocletian. The Diocese of Moesia was later divided in two, the Diocese of Dacia in the north and the Diocese of Macedonia to the south. Praevalitana initially was part of the Diocese of Macedonia but later moved into the Diocese of Dacia (which comprised Dacia Mediterranea, Dacia Ripensis, Dardania and Moesia Inferior), a subdivision of the Praetorian prefecture of Illyricum (395). A province of brief existence, Macedonia Salutaris, was divided between Praevalitana and Epirus Nova (412).