This is the Small Fort of the ancient Smederevo fortress. A Citadel. The court of Despot Đurađ Branković, whose construction was completed in 1430.
Fujifilm X-T20, Canon EFs 18–135mm, f/3.5-5.6 IS STM @18mm, ISO200, 1/3800 sec, f3.5
The inscription on construction of the Small Fort was made in the Byzantine style, with red brick on the face of the highest tower of Small Fort. At the chart of the Smederevo fortress, this tower is located exactly above the number 11:
Fujifilm X-T20, Canon EFs 18–135mm, f/3.5-5.6 IS STM @71mm, ISO400, 1/1300 sec, f5
Fujifilm X-T20, Canon EFs 18–135mm, f/3.5-5.6 IS STM @20mm, ISO200, 1/5000 sec, f3.5
Let's get a little closer and see what's written on the tower:
Fujifilm X-T20, Canon EFs 18–135mm, f/3.5-5.6 IS STM @20mm, ISO200, 1/5000 sec, f3.5
It's still not quite clear. We will enhance colors to make the inscription more visible:
Fujifilm X-T20, Canon EFs 18–135mm, f/3.5-5.6 IS STM @67mm, ISO200, 1/2000 sec, f5
But behold! There is no mention of 1430 at all! It says something completely different here:
The translation from the language Serbs have spoke before the language reform reads as follows:
“To Christ God devoted Despot Đurađ, the Lord of Serbs and of Zeta littoral. This fort was built at his order in the year 6938”
If 6938 was 1430, then the Battle of Kosovo happened in 6897… then instead of 2019, it is actually 7527th year! Just imagine, a calendar older than a Sumerian inscriptions! According to this calendar, the year is counted from the Great Flood, which according to the tradition, occurred in the year 5508 before the birth of Christ. Its origin dates back to the time of Vinča culture, which is, in fact, the source civilization of all Slavs, and whose letter is Cyrillic, as Radivoje Pesic, professor of palaeolinguistics, has scientifically proven (text in Serbian) In support of this, the discovery of documents shows that the time was measured with almost identical calendar in the territories of today's Bulgaria and Ukraine.
In the territory of Serbia, this ancient calendar was in use and after Saint Sava wrote the Legislation (the first Constitution of the Serbian Orthodox Church, 1219 or 6727), in which, among other things, he made the Serbian national calendar official, changing however national names of the month to those from the Gregorian calendar. How were the months called by the people? (text in Serbian)
In Slavic countries, the national names of the month are obviously similar (text in Serbian), but there are deviations due to different climatic conditions. For example, since the linden flourishes a month earlier in the south than in northern Europe, the Croats have the name of Lipanj for June, and the Poles for July.
| Gregorian | Serbian | Croatian | Church |
|---|---|---|---|
| Januar | Кoložeg | Siječanj | Bogojavljenski |
| Februar | Sječko | Veljača | Sretenjski |
| Mart | Derikoža | Ožujak | Blagoveštenjski |
| April | Ležitrava | Travanj | Đurđevski |
| Maj | Cvetanj | Svibanj | Carski |
| Jun | Trešnjar | Lipanj | Petrovski |
| Jul | Žetvar | Srpanj | Ilinski |
| Avgust | Gumnik | Кolovoz | Gospođinski |
| Septembar | Grozdober | Rujan | Miholjski |
| Oktobar | Šumopad | Listopad | Mitrovski |
| Novembar | Studen | Studeni | Mratinjski |
| Decembar | Кoledar | Prosinac | Božićni |
The calendar distinguished two seasons — Summer, the period of vegetation (“from Đurđev’s to Mitrov’s day”), and Winter, the period of nature’s hibernation, from the beginning of November to the beginning of May.
As a comparison, documented calendars — that is, not just assumption that something could be a calendar — which were used in other parts of the World after our, go in this order:
Jewish calendar - 5776 years.
Chinese calendar - 4713 years.
Islamic calendar - 1434 years.
Lunar calendar from Myanmar - 1378 years.
The oldest preserved documents with the use of this calendar are the Studenica's tipik (Church Constitution) from 1195 (i.e., 6703) and the Kareian tipik of Saint Sava from 1199 (or 6707).
However, the most memorable document in front of the eyes of the whole World, certainly is a tower in the fortress of the then Capital Serbian city of Smederevo.
