The area of today’s Montenegro in late Antiquity and the early Middle Ages

During Roman rule, the area of today’s Montenegro became part of the province of Illyricum, (subsequently the province of Dalmatia), and from 297 AD it became part of the province of Praevalitana with its seat in Scodra (Shkodra, Skadar). During the division of the Roman Empire in 395 AD, the province of Praevalitana became part of the Eastern Roman Empire. Over the following centuries, the area of the Balkan Peninsula, including the province of Praevalitana, was exposed to barbarian attacks (from the Goths, Avars and Slavs). During the Avar and Slavic incursions in the 6th and 7th centuries AD into the territory of the Eastern Roman Empire, the imperial rulers, as well as the church authorities, underwent a complete decline in many areas of the Balkan Peninsula, including the province of Praevalitana.