The classical explanation of the name is due to Constantine VII's "De Administrando Imperio" (10th century). According to this account, Ragusa () is the foundation of the refugees from Epidaurum (Ragusa Vecchia), a Greek city situated some to the south of Ragusa, when that city was destroyed in the Slavic incursions of the 7th century. The name is explained as a corruption of "Lausa", the name of the rocky island on which the city was built (connected by Constantine to Greek "rock, stone").