Middle Ages

After the Byzantine conquest of Skopje, the surroundings of Veles became once again a border territory of the Macedonian state, as that one in ancient times. Veles has been mentioned a couple of times in the written sources from that period. Veles was mentioned in the Basil II’s Charter from 1019, as a seat of the parish under the jurisdiction of the Pelagonia’s (Bitola’s) bishop. A detailed description has been preserved talking about the tsar Theodore II Lascaris, who took back Veles under his rule and urged the troop of 500 people to surrender. In 1330, after the fight near Velbužd, Serbia conquered the border Byzantine fortifications Veles, Čeršče and Prosek. Since the border has been moved far to the south, Veles lost its previous military strategic significance, while in the old fortress kept living the civil town of Veles.