The ancient settlement of the city of Bar, also known as Stari Bar, was inhabited since the VII BC by the Illyrian tribes, as witnessed by the potteries discovered in last decades. About in the III century BC, the Romans started a war against the Illyrian kingdom, completely destroyed in 168 BC. Thus, the ancient Bar initiated a process of Romanization, experiencing a socio-economic growth since the first century BC. The Eastern Roman Empire contributed to the complete reconstruction of the town since the VI century AC. Bar was defended by high walls, bordering the citadel, and it was located on the top of a hill. The process of christianisation of the Slavs ended in the middle of the 9th century. During this period, many Paleo-Eastern Roman Empire churches were restored, including St. Theodore's Church, which received new furniture in the spirit of pre-Romanesque art.

The town reborn continued during the medieval Serb state Duklja domination (VII-XII A.C.). In fact, around the XI century AC, during the reign of the first saint in the Serb Ortodox Church, Saint Jovan Vladimir, Bar became the ecclesiastical seat of the region, including the cities of Kotor, Ulcinj and others. During the reign of the king Konstantin Bodin, the state of Duklja will experience the peak of its power and prosperity. King Konstantin united almost all Serb states: Duklja, Travunija, Zahumlje, Raška and Bosna. During the great Serb-Bulgarian war 1072. he becomes Bulgarian tzar with name Petar III.

In the 1183. A.C. the town was claimed by big župan Stefan Nemanja, the founder of the Nemanjić dynasty. He subsequently leaves the reign over Bar to his oldest son Vukan Nemanjić. In this period Bar lives its largest economic, political and cultural development. During the 1330. Nemanjić dynasty starts forging coins named Folar or the Silver Dinar.

Vicko Zmajević, archbishop of Bar and Primate of Serb, in his writings mentions that, the spouse of Serb king Stefan Uroš I, Jelena Anžujska (Angel) restored the town of Bar in 1262. Zmajević was the big opponent of Ortodox church.

After the rule of Nemanjić dynasty the town enters to be a part of Serb state Zeta, under the Balšić dynasty, they were involved in a war against the Venetian Republic. The Venetians finally conquested Bar and controlled the city from 1443 to 1571, when the Ottomans won the Adriatic war against the “Serenissima” Republic.

The Ottoman Empire included Bar for centuries, representing a conversion for many buildings, spaces and traditions. The urban organization of the town changed with the construction of new strategic buildings devoted to Islam. The old town of Bar was finally liberated from the Ottomans by the Montenegrin soldiers guided by the King Nikola. In this occasion, the city was deeply damaged by the attack and, thus, definitively abandoned.