Gradiste, Zeleznik and Koprijan fortifications

Not far away from the village of Miljkovac there are two fortifications, most likely dating from the same period – the 6th century. On the left bank of the Toponicka river there is a late antiquity fortification known among the locals as Gradiste. It was constructed in the period of Justinian the Great, and its purpose was to control the road from the Morava river to Svrljig. In the fort a church was discovered, with an altar made of marble tables and walls decorated with frescoes: only traces of them remain in the crumbled rocks.

On the other side, on the right bank of the Toponicka river, across Gradiste, there was a fortification from the time of Justinian on whose foundations the city Zeleznik was constructed, most likely in the 14th century.

The last fortification in this series, the ancient Koprijan, known among the locals as Kurvingrad, is located above the village of Malosiste south of Nis. It is clearly visible from the highway leading to Skopje and Thessaloniki. At the first glance already it is clear that putting up a fortification on this location was a wise choice, because it controlled the main road leading from Nis to Thessaloniki, but also the very river of Morava. The assumption is that the fort was erected in the 6th century, during the renewal of the northern borders undertaken by the emperor Justinian and that, on these old foundations, a fortress was put up in 1372.