The earliest possible date of its creation is 971, when Byzantine armies conquered Bulgaria and re-established Byzantine supreme rule over the interior of Southeastern Europe, including the central Serbian lands, as attested by the Chronicle of the Priest of Duklja. One of the newly formed administrative units was the Catepanate of Ras. It was established as a Byzantine stronghold in Serbian lands, but its territorial jurisdiction can not be precisely determined. The Catepanate was short lived, as the rest of the Byzantine rule in Bulgarian and Serbian lands. After the death of emperor John (976) it was captured the First Bulgarian Empire.[1][2][3][4][5][6]Basil II recaptured it about 40 years later in 1016-18. It remained a Byzantine frontier area until John II Komnenos lost the area as a result of the Byzantine–Hungarian War (1127–1129). The fortress of Ras was then burnt by the Serbian army. Its last commander was a Kritoplos who was then punished by Emperor for the fall of the fortress.[7]
One of the sources for the organization of the Catepanate is a seal of a strategos of Ras, dated to the reign of Byzantine Emperor John Tzimiskes (969–976). The seal belonged to protospatharios and katepano of Ras named John, who is the only known holder of the office of Catepan of Ras.[8]
