Drougoubitai

Two distinct branches are mentioned in the sources, one living in medieval Macedonia to the north and east of Thessalonica and around Veroia (in modern Greece).

[1] It is considered to derive from "*Drъgъvitji" (from Proto-Slavic word "*drъgъva", 'swamp'), and to be "undoubtedly" related to the East Slavic tribe of Dregoviches or originating from the same area of Pripyat Marshes.

[1] The 7th-century Miracles of Saint Demetrius, which chronicle the Slavic invasions and settlement in the Balkans, list the first branch of the Drougoubitai along with four other Sclaveni tribes living in the vicinity of Thessalonica.

Nicolas Oikonomides has suggested that at about the same time, the tribe was placed under a Byzantine military governor with the title of strategos.

In the late 10th and 11th centuries, Drougoubiteia is attested as being united with the themes of Thessalonica and Strymon into a single province.