228 Durazzo
the Fourth Lateran Council, 940–1216,2d ed. (Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1963); J. Armitage Robin-
son, The Times of Saint Dunstan (Oxford: Clarendon
Press, 1923).
Durazzo (Dyrrachium, Drac, Durrës) This was a port
city in DALMATIAnow in Albania, on the coast of the
Adriatic. It was historically important as the western end
of the Via Egnatia or the road to CONSTANTINOPLE.
Any attack on the BYZANTINEEMPIREfrom ITA LYhad to
conquer Durazzo to use the Via Egnatia to reach THESSA-
LONIKIand Constantinople.
The emperor Anastasius I (r. 491–518), who was
born in Durazzo carefully fortified the city with three
lines of walls. In the ninth century it was the base of
Byzantine sea power in the Adriatic and was organized
as a special defensive enclave. Every attempt by the
NORMANSof Italy to invade Byzantium began with an
attempt to capture Durazzo. In their first try in 1081,
they captured the city, controlling it until the death of
Robert GUISCARDin 1085. Subsequent Norman assaults
were not as successful. Other invaders from Italy such
as King WILLIAMII of SICILY, sacked the city in 1185 and
CHARLESI OFANJOUheld it briefly in 1274. VENICE,
which in the Adriatic was dominant in the 14th century,
controlled Durazzo from 1392 to 1501. There had been
attacks from the interior of the Balkan Peninsula. For
example, the SERBS with SAMUEL, CZAR of BULGARIA
seized the city for several years until the emperor BASIL
II retook it in 1005. In 1501 the city fell under the
OTTOMANS.
See alsoSTEPHENDUSˇAN.
Further reading:John V. A. Fine, The Early Medieval
Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Sixth to the Late Twelfth
Century(Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1991);
John V. A. Fine, The Late Medieval Balkans: A Critical Sur-
vey from the Late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman Conquest
(Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1994).dying SeeDEATH AND THE DEAD.Dyrrachium SeeDURAZZO.