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This was initially only one of the many writings of Constantine Porphyrogenitos, but it later attained considerable importance as a source for the earlier history of and Arab s. Moreover, it contains extensive discussion regarding the potential for alliances with various peoples of the Pontic Steppe and the Caucasus to counter the power of the Khazar Khaganate . For this reason its original Greek title was "Περι εθνων" (''Peri Ethnon'') which translates as "About the Peoples". One theme of the work is the idea that various enemies can be manipulated to fight each other, rather than use imperial money and resources to wage war against them. It is also notable that the work describes the use of Greek Fire . Unfortunately, Constantine does not give its ingredients, as its composition was such a secret that he could not describe it even to his own son (for whom the work was originally written). In the 53 chapters it covers many topics and describes various peoples and regions: for instance, Moravia, Iberians and Slavs in different parts of contemporary Greece and Turkey. It also includes bizarre Genealogies : one example is prophet Mohammad's in chapter 14. PARTS ABOUT CROATS AND SERBS A few chapters have become controversial due to conflicting political aspirations, chiefly of Croats and Serbs. Namely, the dispute is centered about the following chapters:
as well as
Constantine's description has become a weapon in colliding Croatian and Serbian national ideologies from mid-19th century onwards, since the emperor had given early distribution of Croats and Serbs upon their arrival, and by reading historical records and interpretations into contemporary situation, it was used (or misused) as a tool in arming current national geopolitical claims with a sort of "historical legitimacy". Although such misuse may seem grotesque, it is still a standard weapon in nationalist arsenals, especially with regard to the supposedly contended lands of Bosnia And Herzegovina , Montenegro and southern Croatia , Dalmatia in particular. Historians differ in their assessment of the credibility of these passages. Croatian historians have by and large all used material from DAI either as a primary source or correlated it with other sources to ascertain facts about the early medieval history of the Croats and Serbs. Historians such as Franjo Rački , Ferdo Šišić , Tadija Smičiklas , Nada Klaić , Vjekoslav Klaić considered the document mostly authentic. Radoslav Katičić expressed doubts about some parts of the text but established a middle-ground opinion about it. Others such as Lujo Margetić , Dominik Mandić and Krunoslav Draganović downplayed the document as dubious. Certain conclusions seem to have become, more or less, generally accepted:
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