Unknown Archon


The Unknown Archon, Unknown Knez, Unnamed Serb Archon, or simply Serb Archon, refers to the Serbian prince who led the White Serbs from their homeland to settle in the Balkans during the reign of Byzantine Emperor Heraclius, as mentioned in Emperor Constantine VII's De Administrando Imperio. The work states that he was the progenitor of the first Serbian dynasty, and that he died before the settlement of the Bulgars. Serbian historiography commonly treats him as the first Serbian ruler.

''De Administrando Imperio''

Contemporary related events

Porphyrogenitus' account on the first Christianization of the Serbs can be dated to 632–638; this might have been Porphyrogenitus' invention, or might have actually taken place, encompassing a limited group of chiefs and then very poorly received by the wider layers of the tribe.
According to German historian Ludwig Albrecht Gebhardi, the Serb archon was a son of Dervan, who was the Duke of the Surbi, east of the Saale. This theory was supported by Miloš Milojević, and Relja Novaković included the possibility that they were relatives in his work.