Stefan Vojislav
Stefan Vojislav | |
---|---|
Prince of the Serbs (ὁ τῶν Σέρβων ἄρχων)[1] Prince of Serbia[2] Toparchof theDalmatiankastra ofZetaandSton | |
Prince of Duklja | |
Reign | 1018–1043 |
Predecessor | Dragimir |
Successor | Neda |
Died | 1043 |
Burial | Church of St. Andrew,Prapratna |
Spouse | Neda |
Issue |
|
Dynasty | Vojislavljević(founded) |
Father | Dragimir |
Religion | Chalcedonian Christianity |
Stefan Vojislav(Serbian Cyrillic:Стефан Војислав;Greek:Στέφανος Βοϊσθλάβος;[A]fl.1034–d. 1043) was thePrinceofDukljafrom 1018 to 1043. Beginning in the year 1018, he served as aByzantinegovernor, until 1034 when he led an unsuccessful revolt that landed him in a prison atConstantinople.He managed to escape and returned home, this time successfully gaining the independence of his statelet and expanding his rule over southernDalmatiaand its hinterland. He is the eponymous founder of theVojislavljević dynasty.
Origin and early life
[edit]The contemporary Byzantine writers call him either aSerbor a Dukljan (Βοϊσθλάβος ὁ Διοκλητιανός),[3]but do not mention his genealogy, while theChronicle of the Priest of Duklja,a posterior, more dubious source, calls him a cousin to previous rulerJovan Vladimir(r. 990–1016).[4][5]Having reached its pinnacle during the long reign of emperorBasil II,theByzantine empireentered a steady decline following his death in 1025. This was particularly evident in theBalkans,where the elimination of the perennialBulgarianthreat combined with an insensitive taxation policy helped spur liberation movements. Vojislav the Dukljan held the title ofarchon,andtoparchof theDalmatiankastraofZetaandSton
(ἦν δὲ εἰς τὰ κάστρα Δαλματίας εἰς τὴν Ζένταν καὶ εἰς τὴν Στάμνον τοπάρχης Βοϊσθλάβος ὁ Διοκλητιανός).[6][7][3]
The affairs of the Dalmatians, Serbs, Croats and others were overseen bystrategoiinNiš,Skopje,Ragusa (Dubrovnik)andDyrrhachium.[8]Vojislav had regular meetings with Katakalon Klazomenites (Catacalon), the strategos of Ragusa, and at one occasion, kidnapped him and his party because Vojislav wanted him to be thegodfatherto his son Katakalon at hisbaptism.[7]This shows a close relationship between native leaders and Byzantine officers in the peripheral zone of the Empire afterBasil's "reconquest".[6]
Revolts
[edit]...Stefan Vojislav, arhon of Serbs, who not long ago escaped from Constantinople and took the land of the Serbs, banishing Theophilos Erotikos.
Around 1034 (according toJohn Skylitzes), the Dukljans renounced Byzantine rule. Stefan Vojislav, cousin of the murderedJovan Vladimir,organized a rebellion taking advantage of the death of the emperorRomanos III Argyros.He was defeated and imprisoned inConstantinoplein 1035/1036[9]while his realm was put under the control of the strategosTheophilos Erotikos.In late 1037 or early 1038, he managed to break out of the prison and returned to Duklja, where he organized a new rebellion, also targeting the Serb allies of the Emperor in the neighbouring regions.[10][11]
By means ofguerilla tacticsand the distracting effects of other uprisings, he staved off several punitive expeditions and asserted partial control over the principalities ofTravunijaandZahumlje.Thus, by 1040 his state stretched in the coastal region fromStonin the north, down to his capital,Skadar,set up along the southern banks of theSkadar Lake,with other courts set up inTrebinje,KotorandBar.[12]
Wars with Byzantines
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/90/Rumija_Moutain.jpg/220px-Rumija_Moutain.jpg)
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4f/The_Serbs_massacre_the_Byzantines_in_the_mountain_passes.jpg/220px-The_Serbs_massacre_the_Byzantines_in_the_mountain_passes.jpg)
1039–42
[edit]In 1039, the Byzantine EmperorMichael IV the Paphlagonianwas waiting inThessalonicafor a shipment of 10 kentenars of gold (7,200 gold nomismata[13]) coming from his provinces inSouthern Italy,but the cargo ship (galley) was wrecked off the Doclean coast due to stormy weather in the winter and the goods were taken by Vojislav, who refused to return it upon Michael's requests.[1][12]The emperor, who had already retaken Dyrrhachium, became furious and sent general George Probatas to tackle Vojislav, but the Byzantine army, unfamiliar with the terrain, was ambushed in the gorges and totally defeated. Vojislav's son,Radoslav,is noted as having killed a Byzantine military commander on the battlefield.Kekaumenos,astrategossent for Vojislav, ended up imprisoned by Vojislav and taken toSton.
The 1040-41Uprising of Peter Delyan,who crowned himself "CzarPeter of the Bulgarians ", made another Byzantine incursion against Duklja unlikely as the Byzantines were now occupied by the Bulgarian advance.
1042
[edit]In 1042, the new emperorConstantine IXdecided to attack Duklja with an army based inDyrrhachiumand the neighbouring themes. The Byzantine army under Michaelus Anastasii was defeated and Vojislav ensured a future for Duklja without imperial authority.[14] The battle took place in the mountainous area betweenBarand Crmnica after midnight on October 7, 1042. Prior to the battle a man entered the Byzantine camp and spread false information about a huge enemy army, causing panic among the Byzantines. Stefan Vojislav, along with three of his sons, led the Dukljans into battle. They slowly moved down the hills along with shouting and blowing horns and trumpets so it would exaggerate their appearance. The Byzantines were trapped in the mountainous area, as the Dukljans blocked the passage. They caught the Byzantines unprepared and managed to cause chaos among their ranks and after heavy fighting routed the remaining Byzantine forces. Some historical records claim that two-thirds of the Byzantine army had been killed. Byzantine historianJohn Skylitzes(1040–1101) claimed that 60,000 Byzantines participated in the battle, but these records are considered[by whom?]inaccurate. Most historians agree that there were about 40,000 Byzantines. Numbers of the Serb army are unknown, but are considered to be largely inferior to the Byzantines. Voislav dispatched 50 Byzantine captives to tell the rest about the huge victory.
1043
[edit]In 1042, thežupanofRaška(a renewed subordinate title, showing Byzantine overlordship),[12]Ban of Bosniaand Prince of HumLjutovid,received a large sum of imperial gold and silver for their support to overthrow Vojislav.[15]Ljutovid led the army against Duklja in 1043 but his army was ambushed at the Klobuk hill[16]ofKonavli(then part of Travunia), by Vojislav, and defeated.
Last years
[edit]Vojislav spent the rest of his rule in peace and died in 1043. He was succeeded by his widow and their five sons - Gojislav, Predimir,Mihailo,Saganek and Radoslav.[17]He was buried in the Church of St. Andrew inPrapratna,a town betweenBarandUlcinj.Duklja remained the center of the Serbian state, replacing (in terms of leadership) the inner regions (Grand Principality of Serbiai.e.Raška); it held this position for a few decades, under the rule of his son Mihailo I in Duklja while the other regions were later united underVukan I of Serbia.
Titles
[edit]- "archon,andtoparchof theDalmatiankastraofZetaandSton",his Byzantine title, according to theStrategikon of Kekaumenos(1075–78).[7]
- "Prince of the Serbs" (ὁ τῶν Σέρβων ἄρχων), according toJohn Skylitzes(fl. 1057–59).[1]
- "Prince of Serbia", according toGeorge Kedrenos(fl. 1050s).[2]
See also
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
Annotations
[edit]- ^Name:His name isVojislav(Greek:Βοϊσθλάβος), he added the self-styled titleStefan,originating from the Greek word Στέφανος (Stephanos) meaning "crowned". Kekaumenos also calls him "Vojislav the Diokletian"[18]and "Tribounios the Serb" (Τριβούνιος ό Σέρβος).[19]His name is transliterated in Latin asStephanus Boisthlabus,and in English asStephen Voislav.In theChronicle of the Priest of Duklja,he is calledDobroslav,although this is the only source that calls him with that name.[20]
- ^Origin and Genealogy:
- Skylitzes,[1]Zonaras,[21]Cedrenus,[2]Glykas,[22]Kekaumenos[19]call him a Serb (Σέρβος), or Dukljan (Βοϊσθλάβος ὁ Διοκλητιανός).[20]
- According to theChronicles of the Priest of Doclea(of somewhat dubious historical value[23]), Vojislav was born in the month of April, inBrusno,to the uncle of Jovan Vladimir,PrinceDragomir(r. 1016-1018), and the daughter ofRaškanžupanLjutomir(possible fabrication ofLjutovid[24]) and was raised inBosniaby his mother.[10]His father had succeeded Jovan Vladimir in 1016, and ruled until his murder byKotorlocals in 1018.[25]Lazarević
References
[edit]- ^abcdScylitzes, 408-9
- ^abcCedrenus, ed. Bonn, II, p. 526
- ^abW.Wassiliewski; V.Jernstedt (January 2013).Cecaumeni Strategicon Et Incerti Scriptoris de Officiis Regiis Libellus(in Greek). Books on Demand.ISBN9785424147531.
- ^Živković 2006, "Стефан Војислав".
- ^Van Antwerp Fine 1991, p.203.
- ^abStephenson 2003b,p. 124.
- ^abcKekaumenos, ed Litavrin, 170-2
- ^Magdalino, Paul (2003).Byzantinum in the Year 1000.Brill. p. 124.ISBN90-04-12097-1.
- ^Vizantološki institut SANU, „Vizantijski izvori za istoriju naroda Jugoslavije (III tom) “(fototipsko izdanje originala iz 1967), Beograd 2007ISBN978-86-83883-09-7
- ^abFine 1991,p. 203.
- ^Ćirković 2004,p. 25.
- ^abcFine 1991,p. 206.
- ^Tibor Živković, „Portreti srpskih vladara (IX-XII) “, Beograd 2006ISBN86-17-13754-1
- ^Cedrenus II, col. 275.
- ^Stephenson 2003a,p. 42–43.
- ^Marko Vego (1957).Naselja bosanske srednjevjekovne države.Svjetlost.
- ^Fine 1991,p. 213.
- ^Kekaumenos 108.11-12
- ^abKekaumenos 104.14
- ^abLazarević 2014,p. 434.
- ^Zonaras 17.20.7
- ^Glykas 594.3-7
- ^Slovo.Vol. 47–49. 1999. p. 22.
a text of somewhat dubious value as a historical source
- ^Živković 2008,pp. 222.
- ^Fine 1991,p. 202.
Sources
[edit]- Primary sources
- Шишић, Фердо,ed. (1928).Летопис Попа Дукљанина (Chronicle of the Priest of Duklja).Београд-Загреб: Српска краљевска академија.
- Кунчер, Драгана (2009).Gesta Regum Sclavorum.Vol. 1. Београд-Никшић: Историјски институт, Манастир Острог.
- Живковић, Тибор(2009).Gesta Regum Sclavorum.Vol. 2. Београд-Никшић: Историјски институт, Манастир Острог.
- Thurn, Hans, ed. (1973).Ioannis Scylitzae Synopsis historiarum.Berlin-New York: De Gruyter.ISBN9783110022858.
- Secondary sources
- Ćirković, Sima(2004).The Serbs.Malden: Blackwell Publishing.ISBN9781405142915.
- Curta, Florin(2006).Southeastern Europe in the Middle Ages, 500–1250.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Fine, John Van Antwerp Jr.(1991) [1983].The Early Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Sixth to the Late Twelfth Century.Ann Arbor, Michigan: University of Michigan Press.ISBN0472081497.
- Jeffreys, Michael; et al., eds. (2011)."Voislav Stefan, ruler of the Serbians".Prosopographical Reading of Byzantine Sources, 1025-1150.Prosopography of the Byzantine World.
- Krsmanović, Bojana (2008).The Byzantine Province in Change: On the Threshold Between the 10th and the 11th Century.Belgrade: Institute for Byzantine Studies.ISBN9789603710608.
- Lazarević, Dragana (2014). "The Invention of the Balkan Identities: Finding the Founding Fathers and the Myths of Origin - the Montenegrin Case".Историја и географија: Сусрети и прожимања.Београд: Институт за новију историју Србије. pp. 423–443.ISBN9788670051256.
- Komatina, Predrag (2012)."Srbija i Duklja u delu Jovana Skilice"(PDF).Zbornik radova.XLIX.Vizantološki institut.
- Stephenson, Paul (2003a).The Legend of Basil the Bulgar-Slayer.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.ISBN9780521815307.
- Stephenson, Paul (2003b). "The Balkan Frontier in the Year 1000".Byzantium in the Year 1000.Leiden-Boston: Brill. pp. 109–134.ISBN9004120971.
- Vlasto, Alexis P.(1970).The Entry of the Slavs into Christendom: An Introduction to the Medieval History of the Slavs.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.ISBN9780521074599.
- Živković, Tibor(2008).Forging unity: The South Slavs between East and West 550-1150.Belgrade: The Institute of History, Čigoja štampa.ISBN9788675585732.