Vojin of Gacko or Vojvoda Vojin was a Serb

Serbs

The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...

 voivode (military commander, Duke) and magnate (velikaš) that held the province of Gacko

Gacko

Gacko is a town and municipality in southeastern Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Republika Srpska entity. It is situated in the Foča Region.-Geography:The town is in a short distance from Montenegro...

, also known as Hum

Zahumlje

Zachlumia or Zahumlje was a medieval principality located in modern-day regions of Herzegovina and southern Dalmatia...

(in modern Herzegovina

Herzegovina

Herzegovina is the southern region of Bosnia and Herzegovina. While there is no official border distinguishing it from the Bosnian region, it is generally accepted that the borders of the region are Croatia to the west, Montenegro to the south, the canton boundaries of the Herzegovina-Neretva...

), in ca.1322-1347, serving King Stephen Uroš III Dečanski (r. 1322–1331) and Emperor Stephen Dušan the Mighty (r. 1331-1355). He is described as one of the most important nobles (velmoža) of King Stephen, and when the King and his son Dušan entered a succession war, Vojin supported the son. Vojin plundered Dubrovnik in August 1325, and took part in the Battle of Velbazhd (1330), and the southern military campaigns of the Serbian Empire

Serbian Empire

The Serbian Empire was a short-lived medieval empire in the Balkans that emerged from the Serbian Kingdom. Stephen Uroš IV Dušan was crowned Emperor of Serbs and Greeks on 16 April, 1346, a title signifying a successorship to the Eastern Roman Empire...

.

Vojin is the eponymous founder of the Vojinović noble family, which eventually became one of the most powerful families as provincial lords during the fall of the Serbian Empire

Fall of the Serbian Empire

Following the death of child-less Uroš the Weak, the Serbian Empire was left without an heir and the military commanders obtained the rule of the past provinces and districts , continuing their offices with titles such as gospodin and despot etc., given to them during the Empire...

. His sons Altoman

Altoman Vojinović

Altoman Vojinović of Zeta in the 14th century.He was born the eldest son of Vojvoda Vojin, who had fought under Stefan Dečanski and Stefan Dušan.He is believed to have died in 1363, but the last mention of him is in 1359....

 and Vojislav

Vojislav Vojinović

Vojislav Vojinović was a 14th-century Serbian nobleman that held the title "Duke of Gacko" from 1349 to 1363. He was a members of the Serbian noble House of Vojinović. Emperor Dušan the Mighty installed him as a "Duke of Hum" in 1358....

 were recognized as overlords of the Hum

Hum

A hum is a sound made by humming a wordless tone with the mouth opened or closed, forcing the sound to emerge from the nose. To hum is to produce such a sound, most often with a melody. It is difficult to hum with your nose pinched closed for more than a few seconds...

 region (Herzegovina

Herzegovina

Herzegovina is the southern region of Bosnia and Herzegovina. While there is no official border distinguishing it from the Bosnian region, it is generally accepted that the borders of the region are Croatia to the west, Montenegro to the south, the canton boundaries of the Herzegovina-Neretva...

). His daughter Vojislava married nobleman Brajko Branivojević.

Family

• Miloš, mentioned as stavioca in 1333, died young
• Altoman (d. 1359), veliki župan, married Ratoslava Mladenović (Branković)
• Vojislav (d. 25.10.1363), veliki knez
• Vojislava (also Voisava or Sela), married Brajko Branivojević

Sources

• Grupa autora, „Rodoslovne tablice i grbovi srpskih dinastija i vlastele (prema tablicama Alekse Ivića)“ (drugo znatno dopunjeno i prošireno izdanje), Beograd, 1991. ISBN 86-7685-007-0
• John V.A. Fine. (1994). The Late Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman Conquest. The University of Michigan Press. ISBN 0-472-08260-4
• George C. Soulis, The Serbs and Byzantium during the reign of Emperor Stephen Dusan (1331-1355) and his successors, Athens, 1995. ISBN 0-88402-137-8
• Rade Mihaljčić, „Kraj srpskog carstva“ , Beograd, 1975.