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Spasovica
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Place
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According to the Lives of Serbian Kings and Archbishops by the Serbian Archbishop Danilo II (ca. 1270/75-1337) and his successors, the Serbian King Stefan Uroš III Dečanski (reigned 1321-1331) gathered his army in the forefront of the Battle of Velbužd in the first half of 1330 on a field called Dobrič (Dobričko polje), located in today's South-Eastern Serbia at the confluence of the rivers Južna Morava and Toplica. He intended to await the Bulgarian Tsar Michael III Šišman (reigned 1323-1330) for a battle at this place. As messengers informed him that the Bulgarian Tsar had reached the region near the castle of Zemen at the Upper Strymon (Struma), where the then border of the Serbian Kingdom lay, he also set his army in motion and moved to Nagoričino, where he prayed in the Church of Saint George (priide vь monastirь svoi kь svetomu mučeniku Hristovu Georьgiju Nagoričьskomu). After that he crossed the region of Slavište, followed the upper course of the river Kriva Reka and arrived at Kriva Palanka, where he prayed in the nearby Monastery of Joakim of Osogovo (Sarandaporь). According to the Lives of Serbian Kings and Archbishops the Bulgarian Tsar came probably from his residence in Veliko Tărnovo and went through the town of Vidin to the castle of Zemen. Stefan Dečancski advanced by forced march to the river Sovolštica. According to the Byzantine Emperor and historian John Kantakuzenos (reigned 1347-1354) Michael III moved to a place, which was called Belmasdis (ἐν τόπῳ Βελμάσδιν, today's Kjustendil) by the locals, where he pitched his camp. The Byzantine historian Nikephoros Gregoras relates that Michael III invaded the land of the Serbs (ἐς τὴν τῶν Τριβαλλῶν χώραν) in the place, where the river Strymon has its source (ποταμοῦ τοῦ Στρυμόνος εἰσὶν αἱ πηγαί). Before the decisive battle, the Bulgarian army encamped in the area between the present villages of Šiškovci and Kopilovci. The battle took place on Saturday, 28 July, 1330 and ended with a victory of the Serbian army. Stefan Dečanski killed or captured Michael III Šišman and brought him to Žegligovo (adumere eum in Segligovo), where he was buried in the Church of Saint George in the village of Nagoričino (et sepulchro datus est in Ecclesia sancti Georgii in pago Gorichina). The Serbian King erected the Church of the Ascension of Jesus Christ (i crьkovь svetago vьznesenïa sьzdati tu; also called Sveti Spas, therefore Spasovica) on the hill of Spasovica in memory of the battle. The Church of Sveti Spas does not exist anymore. The entire hill is now abundantly covered with coniferous trees that have been planted systematically. On the highest point of the hill there is a clearing, on which no traces or remains of the church exist. Originally, the entire plain of Kjustendil could be overlooked from this point, which is now impossible due to the vegetation. The Church of Sveti Spas began to decline most likely in the 16th or 17th centuries. Already at the beginning of the 20th century only parts of it were preserved, as can be seen from the documentation of the Bulgarian scholar Jordan Ivanov (1872-1947). In or after the Second World War the church was completely ruined. The published descriptions and the photographic evidence enable an approximate architectural reconstruction of the Church of the Ascension of Jesus Christ. It was a cross-domed church (with four pillars). Above the narthex in the West there were two domes, above the naos one dome (diameter: about 3,7 m). The church had a rectangular ground plan (about 12 m x 8 m). The main entrance was in the West (in the narthex), a second in the South (in the naos). The narthex and the naos were interconnected with a door. The construction of the church was most likely completed after the death of the Serbian King Stefan Uroš III Dečanski (after 1331).
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