Gdje žive Mirmidonci? Prilog raspravi o značenju pojmova Mirmidones i Marab u zadarskoj legendi o prijenosu moći sv. Krševana
Where do the Myrmidons live?: Contribution to the discussion on the meaning of the terms Mirmidones and Marab in a Jadertine legend

Summary/Abstract: Paper proposes an interpretation of the terms Mirmidones and Marab mentioned in Translatio beati Grisogoni, a medieval hagiographic legend from Zadar. In that text Mirmidones and Marab are refered to by the unknown hagiographer as personal name of the senior of an unindentified province and the province itself respectively. Departing from the discussion about the identity of Cruvvati et Mirmidones who took side with Carinthian duke Adalbero in the rebellion against the emperor in early 11th c., the author lists Croatian historians involved in the debate. Underlyining the importance of the work of Stjepan Antoljak who connected Myrmidones in abovementioned letter with the reference to senior Mirmidones in Jadertine legend, the author analyses the two terms as early medieval realia preserving the memory of certain early medieval Moravia. Taking into consideration the evidence for the existence of a political/administrative unit named Morava or Moravia at the confluence of river Morava in Danube in the period between 9th and 11th centuries the author questions the view held by many Croatian scholars that mention of Marab refers to early Medieval Croatian principality. Assuming that some kind of memory of early medieval Moravia (whether so called Great Moravia or ,,lesser Moravia” in modern-day Serbia) must have spread in the broader region during the 10th and 11th century, the author analyses contemporary Byzantine, Western and local sources in order to detect possible meaning of the terms Marab and Mirmidones in diverse contexts. Finally, concluding that Marab, most likely, stands for early medieval sklavinia and homonymous town, short-lasting Byzantine thema as well as early medieval bishopric, the riddle of the Jadertine legend is interpreted in the light of historical contacts between Dalmatia and western Bulgarian regions in the same period.

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