In the previous part, we stopped when the Romans took over the village, however, we will not dwell on it for long as the Roman rule will not be long-lived. The most important traces of their presence live in the archaeological site behind the monastery. It is there they left proof of just how much they loved their warm baths. They built a Roman bath complex that remained in use until late in the Middle Ages but eventually died out with the misfortunes that befell the monastery and the village.

The main feature the Roman rule was the construction of fortress cities, which used to tower the valleys below and were ruled by local governors. On the east side hills of the village, an old tower can be found, however, this was more a small outpost to the main fortress in Strumica rather than a fully-fledged fortress. Vodocha remained an outpost of the Strumica fortress until the VI century when the onslaught of migration of the Slavic tribes completely changed the ethnic map of the Strumica valley. This period in the Strumica Valley is marked by the rule of independent small aristocratic rulers at this time, which made dealing with the enormous resettlement of Slavic tribes virtually impossible.

The local population and the Slavic tribes will start assimilating and creating new waves in history.

The settlement of the Slavic tribes also brought about a change in toponyms. This is exactly how the only city in the Strumica Valley would get its name, after the Slavic tribe Strumjani who settled the valley and the surrounding region. We can read about these events from the biography of the Fifteen Tiberiopolis Martyrs, written by Theophylact of Ohrid. In his book, he describes the arrival of the Avar-Slavic tribes and their subsequent setting fire to the city of Tiberiopolis. This led to Vodocha being inhabited by the Strumjani who assimilated with the locals already living there.

The next big ethnic stir-up came not long after. Namely, to conquer and rule the Strumica valley the Byzantine emperor Nicephorus I (802-811) tried to break the Macedonian ethnic homogeneity by bringing colonists from the area of ​​Vitinia, Asia Minor. However, the plan failed, primarily, due to the wars waged with the Bulgarian ruler Krum, which resulted in the destruction of the Strumica Fortress and also lay ruin the entire valley. Finding the locals unfriendly and warlike the colonists decided to leave. The next wave of colonists would not come back again until the Ottoman armies conquered the valley centuries later.

The fertility of the Strumica Valley will give birth to a new “Golden Era” Vodocha. This era is perhaps the most turbulent but also the most historically significant for the little village. In the early 50s of the IX century, Strumica became an important trade centre in the region, both commercial and religious. Tiberiopolis as it was known, was the centre of the Tiberiopolis Administrative area that stretched through the entire valley up to the river Bregalnica. Due to the significance of its monastery complex, Vodocha was chosen as the seat of the Archbishop. As luck would have it, a royal deputy that would soon be appointed to administer, was no other than the beacon of Slavic culture and literacy, St. Methodius.

The golden age of the small village starts here. The Eastern Roman Empire had Christianity as its official religion, so in his mission to administer the area, Methodius was tasked with converting the local Slavic pagan population to Christianity. According to historical sources, the small village on the river Vodochnica, with its monastery complex, will serve as the seat of his episcopate and a place from where Methodius will administer his area and convert the Slavs to Christianity.

The problem that Byzantium would face in converting the Slavs was that they were illiterate. Slavic was a spoken language but not written. Hence, the need to create an alphabet. For this noblest of missions, the Byzantine emperor chose Methodius and his brother Cyril. This mission is known in history as the “Moravian mission”.

The cause and reason for the Moravian mission were the letters that the Moravian prince Rostislav sent to the Byzantine emperor Michael III. Rostislav sought to consolidate his recently established state, Moravia, which was threatened by the German clergy. To remove the danger he sought preachers who would spread the teachings of Christ in Slavic. Byzantium and the Emperor gladly accepted his request because the German-Bulgarian alliance was a danger to both Moravia and the security of Byzantium. They saw the mission as a way diplomatic win and an opportunity to assert their influence way beyond their borders.

Cyril and Methodius gladly accepted the task. Cyril started the journey by leaving his home town of Thessaloniki for Vodocha, where Methodius will host him, and according to unconfirmed assumptions, it is right here where they will work together on creating the Glagolitic alphabet – the first Slavic alphabet in the year 855.

After the completion of the preparations, the saintly brothers from Vodocha will leave directly on the mission which will completely change history. The Slavs will become Christians and the Church-Slavic language will come into existence. However, Vodocha will continue to play an important role in the years after as well.

According to certain episcopal writings, after the death of Cyril and Methodius, their student Clement of Ohrid is mentioned as the Bishop of Tiberiopolis. Having in mind Vodocha was the seat of the Bishop, it can be assumed that the creator of the “Cyrillic Alphabet” lived and worked here as well. So the small sleepy slopes on the small river bank gave birth to literacy and culture for millions around the world. Just to re-emphasise the importance of this, the Cyrillic alphabet is currently still used by millions of users around the globe.

Unfortunately, the golden age will soon come to an end, and most unexpectedly. In an era where rulers fell as flies, the Bulgars and Byzantines changed as rules of the region frequently. This vacuum created by the constant war created an opportunity for the local aristocracy to seize power. This led to the creation of the first and only medieval Macedonian kingdom. The Kingdom of Samuil. The joy that surely reigned in the region after the formation of Samuel’s state, in which the Strumica region and the fortress played a significant role, will end in disaster.

This fatal end will completely change little Milno and its subsequent history

To be continued…