This dissertation is focused on the study of medieval Vlach populations in the broad hinterland of Ragusa (Dubrovnik) in the second half of the 13th and the first half of the 14th centuries. Particular attention is paid to the information obtained by the study of medieval Ragusan archival records, particularly the ones containing data on Vlachs that were located in southwestern parts of Nemanjic Serbia (eastern Hum and Travunia) surrounding the citycommune od Ragusa. The studied period extends from the late 12th century when the first Vlach groups were registered as transhumant pastoralists in medieval Serbia, through the mid13th century when they started to appear in east Hum and Travunia, up to the first half of the 14th century when the prince (ban) of Bosnia extended his rule to most of Hum. The indicated period represents the initial phase of the economic and social development of Vlach societies in the Ragusan hinterland, which will reach their zenith in the late 14th and during the 15th centuries. Although this dissertation occasionally touches upon later periods of Vlach presence in east Hum and Travunia as well, my research is mainly focused on earlier periods because it was during the late 13th and the early 14th centuries that basic Vlach social structures were formed in this region and firm economic relations with their Ragusan and other neighbours were shaped. It was these relations that significantly contributed to a notable economic growth of Vlach societies and the rise of Ragusan inland trade during the 14th and 15th centuries. The research methodology applied in this study includes a comparative analysis of different types of medieval sources (diplomatic records, notary records, and narrative sources) as well as sources of different origin (Ragusan, Serb, Ottoman).