🚩 Ras (fortress)

Ras, known in modern Serbian historiography as Stari Ras, was a medieval fortress complex located in the vicinity of former marketplace of Staro Trgovište, some 10–11 kilometers (6.2–6.8 mi) west of modern-day city of Novi Pazar in southwestern Serbia. Old Ras was part of the Eastern Roman Empire and was then a frontier fortress that switched hands between the First Bulgarian Empire and the Byzantine Empire, in the end becoming one of the first and main capitals of the medieval Serbian state. Located in today's region of Raška, its favorable position on the crossroads and trading routes between neighbouring regions added to its importance as a city.