Human activity in the Cem basin has been recorded since the late Copper Age near Rakića Kuće in Tuzi.
The tumulus of Rakića Kuće contained nine skeletons and clay figurines with some anthropomorphic attributes.
The area of Tuzi remained an area of settlement in the Bronze Age.
Tumuli and burial artifacts have been found around Dinosha and Lopari in the period that ranges from the Bronze Age to the Hellenistic Period.

Illyrian tribes are found in Cem in the beginning of classical antiquity.
The best known in recorded history are the Ardiaei, Labeatae and Docleatae.
Artifacts from this era have been excavated in Selcë, where a hoard of coins that were minted by king Gentius (181-168 BC) was found.
Reports on these findings were first published by archaeologist Arthur Evans after 1880.

In the centuries of Roman rule that followed, the Cem region served mostly as a route between the urbanized centers of the Roman Balkans in the province of Praevalitana.
Water from the river was transported to Doclea for the supply of local Roman townships from the 1st to the 6th century AD.
 Some traces of fortifications from this era remain.
Among those fortifications, Procopius (6th century) mentions Clementiana, a location that is connected to modern-day Kelmend.
The fort system is related with the Ostrogothic invasion of Dalmatia in the late 5th century, which turned former Praevalitana in a border area of the Eastern Roman Empire.
Justinian secured the area in the Gothic War in 535.

Avar-Slavic raids and incursions caused the fall of many post-Roman routes and urban centers.
New Slavic polities emerge in the region in the 11th century onwards: Duklja later as part of Raška and the Serbian Empire.
The Venetian Republic appears as a dominant force in the late 14th century.
Until the consolidation of Ottoman rule in the 15th century, the Zeta plain and Cem were a borderland between Venice, the Principality of Zeta and local Albanian tribes (fis) and rulers.

The Albanian fis pattern of settlements on the banks of Cem continued in the Ottoman period and even after the division of Cem between Montenegro and Albania in the Balkan Wars.
Today, the history of these communities is retained as an important part of the cultural heritage of the region.
The Ottomans placed the Cem area under the jurisdiction of the Sanjak of Scutari to control the Catholic clans of Malësia.
Nevertheless, in practice the villages of Cem were semi-autonomous throughout the era.
The tribal division was as follows: Cem of Selcë and Cem of Vukël fell within Kelmendi tribal territory.
As Cem passes into modern Montenegro after Grabom, the settlements of right-bank Cem were part of Triepshi.
The villages of left-bank Cem were part of Hoti and beyond that the river passed into Gruda.

Historical accounts about Cem increased in second half of the 19th century as the Great Power took interest in the region for their geopolitical interests and the Principality of Montenegro expanded into Ottoman territory.
The Congress of Berlin in 1878 awarded Triepshi to Montenegro but this decision met resistance in that area as did the - ultimately annulled - annexation of Tuzi by Montenegro, so the border area remained vague until the Balkan Wars.
For the next 30 years the Cem basin was in a state of conflict between the Ottomans, the Montenegrin Principality and the Albanian national movement with ever-changing tactical alliances between those forces and the involvement of Great Powers like Austria and Russia.
Of the many campaigns, battles and skirmishes of that period, the battle on the hill of Deçiq in the Albanian revolt of 1911 against the Ottomans is marked as one the better known and important events.
It is possibly one of the first times the Albanian flag was hoisted in a battle after the 15th century.
This action was undertaken by Ded Gjo Luli of Hoti who is a celebrated figure in the Cem area with yearly events in his honor.

The London Peace Conference in 1912-1913 set the Albanian-Montenegrin border which remains to this day the boundary that divides Cem.
A part of the populatio
Human activity in the Cem basin has been recorded since the late Copper Age near Rakića Kuće in Tuzi. The tumulus of Rakića Kuće contained nine skeletons and clay figurines with some anthropomorphic attributes. The area of Tuzi remained an area of settlement in the Bronze Age. Tumuli and burial artifacts have been found around Dinosha and Lopari in the period that ranges from the Bronze Age to the Hellenistic Period.
Illyrian tribes are found in Cem in the beginning of classical antiquity. The best known in recorded history are the Ardiaei, Labeatae and Docleatae. Artifacts from this era have been excavated in Selcë, where a hoard of coins that were minted by king Gentius (181-168 BC) was found. Reports on these findings were first published by archaeologist Arthur Evans after 1880.
In the centuries of Roman rule that followed, the Cem region served mostly as a route between the urbanized centers of the Roman Balkans in the province of Praevalitana. Water from the river was transported to Doclea for the supply of local Roman townships from the 1st to the 6th century AD.  Some traces of fortifications from this era remain. Among those fortifications, Procopius (6th century) mentions Clementiana, a location that is connected to modern-day Kelmend. The fort system is related with the Ostrogothic invasion of Dalmatia in the late 5th century, which turned former Praevalitana in a border area of the Eastern Roman Empire. Justinian secured the area in the Gothic War in 535.
Avar-Slavic raids and incursions caused the fall of many post-Roman routes and urban centers. New Slavic polities emerge in the region in the 11th century onwards: Duklja later as part of Raška and the Serbian Empire. The Venetian Republic appears as a dominant force in the late 14th century. Until the consolidation of Ottoman rule in the 15th century, the Zeta plain and Cem were a borderland between Venice, the Principality of Zeta and local Albanian tribes (fis) and rulers.
The Albanian fis pattern of settlements on the banks of Cem continued in the Ottoman period and even after the division of Cem between Montenegro and Albania in the Balkan Wars. Today, the history of these communities is retained as an important part of the cultural heritage of the region. The Ottomans placed the Cem area under the jurisdiction of the Sanjak of Scutari to control the Catholic clans of Malësia. Nevertheless, in practice the villages of Cem were semi-autonomous throughout the era. The tribal division was as follows: Cem of Selcë and Cem of Vukël fell within Kelmendi tribal territory. As Cem passes into modern Montenegro after Grabom, the settlements of right-bank Cem were part of Triepshi. The villages of left-bank Cem were part of Hoti and beyond that the river passed into Gruda.
Historical accounts about Cem increased in second half of the 19th century as the Great Power took interest in the region for their geopolitical interests and the Principality of Montenegro expanded into Ottoman territory. The Congress of Berlin in 1878 awarded Triepshi to Montenegro but this decision met resistance in that area as did the - ultimately annulled - annexation of Tuzi by Montenegro, so the border area remained vague until the Balkan Wars. For the next 30 years the Cem basin was in a state of conflict between the Ottomans, the Montenegrin Principality and the Albanian national movement with ever-changing tactical alliances between those forces and the involvement of Great Powers like Austria and Russia. Of the many campaigns, battles and skirmishes of that period, the battle on the hill of Deçiq in the Albanian revolt of 1911 against the Ottomans is marked as one the better known and important events. It is possibly one of the first times the Albanian flag was hoisted in a battle after the 15th century. This action was undertaken by Ded Gjo Luli of Hoti who is a celebrated figure in the Cem area with yearly events in his honor.
The London Peace Conference in 1912-1913 set the Albanian-Montenegrin border which remains to this day the boundary that divides Cem. A part of the populatio
Cem (river)