Zachlumia - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Zachlumia or Zahumlje was a medieval principality located in modern-day regions of 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...

and southern Dalmatia

Dalmatia

Dalmatia is a historical region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It stretches from the island of Rab in the northwest to the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. The hinterland, the Dalmatian Zagora, ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north to just a few kilometers in the south....

(today parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...

and Croatia

Croatia

Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...

, respectively). Sometimes fully independent or semi-independent Slavic entity, Zahumlje was mainly under foreign powers; Byzantine Empire

Byzantine Empire

The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...

, Kingdom of Croatia

Kingdom of Croatia (medieval)

The Kingdom of Croatia , also known as the Kingdom of the Croats , was a medieval kingdom covering most of what is today Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Balkans.Established in 925, it ruled as a sovereign state for almost two centuries...

, Kingdom of Serbia, Kingdom of Hungary

Kingdom of Hungary

The Kingdom of Hungary comprised present-day Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia , Transylvania , Carpatho Ruthenia , Vojvodina , Burgenland , and other smaller territories surrounding present-day Hungary's borders...

and at the end under Ottoman Empire

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

Name (Etymology)

The principality is named Zahumlje or Hum in Bosnian

Bosnian language

Bosnian is a South Slavic language, spoken by Bosniaks. As a standardized form of the Shtokavian dialect, it is one of the three official languages of Bosnia and Herzegovina....

, Croatian

Croatian language

Croatian is the collective name for the standard language and dialects spoken by Croats, principally in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Serbian province of Vojvodina and other neighbouring countries...

and Serbian

Serbian language

Serbian is a form of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language, spoken by Serbs in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and neighbouring countries....

(Serbian Cyrillic

Serbian Cyrillic alphabet

The Serbian Cyrillic alphabet is an adaptation of the Cyrillic script for the Serbian language, developed in 1818 by Serbian linguist Vuk Karadžić. It is one of the two standard modern alphabets used to write the Serbian language, the other being Latin...

: Захумље, Хум). It is Zachlumia in Latin, Хлъмъ in Old Church Slavonic

Old Church Slavonic

Old Church Slavonic or Old Church Slavic was the first literary Slavic language, first developed by the 9th century Byzantine Greek missionaries Saints Cyril and Methodius who were credited with standardizing the language and using it for translating the Bible and other Ancient Greek...

, and Ζαχλούμων χώρα ("land of Zachlumians") in Greek. The names Chelmania, Chulmia and terra de Chelmo appear in later Latin and Italian chronicles. South Slavic Zahumlje got its name from the mountain of Hum (za + Hum "behind the Hum"), above Bona

Blagaj

Blagaj is a village-town in the south-eastern region of the Mostar basin, in the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It stands at the edge of Bišće plain and is one of the most valuable mixed urban and rural structures in Bosnia and Herzegovina, distinguished from other similar...

, at the mouth of the Buna

Buna River

Buna River may refer to:* Buna River in Bosnia and Herzegovina, left tributary of the Neretva* Bojana River in Albania and Montenegro, Buna in Albanian, which flows from Lake Shkodra into the Adriatic....

. Hum in turn derived its name from Vulgar Latin (Vlach) culme meaning "Hill".

Geography and People

The Archonty of Hum had two major cities: Bona and Hum. The main settlements in Zachlumia were Ston

Ston

Ston is a village and municipality in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County of Croatia, located at the south of isthmus of the Pelješac peninsula. The town of Ston is the center of the Ston municipality.- Demographics :...

, Ošlje, Dobar, the towns of Mokriski

Mokro

Mokro is a village near Široki Brijeg, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is below Čerigaj....

and Glumainik. The Principality sprang from Dalmatia

Dalmatia

to the northwest and Pagania to the west; to the mountain of Kalinovik and the Field of Gatak, where it bordered Travunia

Travunia

Travunia was a medieval region, administrative unit and principality, which was part of Medieval Serbia , and in its last years, the Bosnian Kingdom . The county became hereditary in a number of noble houses, often kin to the ruling dynasty. The region came under Ottoman rule in 1482...

. The most eastern border of Zahumlje went along the line Popovo

Popovo

Popovo is a town in northeastern Bulgaria, part of Targovishte Province. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Popovo Municipality...

-Ljubinje

Ljubinje

Ljubinje is a town and municipality in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in south-eastern part of Herzegovina region.-Demographics:...

-Dabar

Dabar

The word dabar means "word" or "talk" in Hebrew. Dabar occurs in various contexts in the Hebrew Bible.In the Hebrew Bible, dabar is sometimes used in reference to the "Divine Word", and in an active sense as a "word event", or prophetic words....

and met with the Travunian border at the City of Ragusa

Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik is a Croatian city on the Adriatic Sea coast, positioned at the terminal end of the Isthmus of Dubrovnik. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations on the Adriatic, a seaport and the centre of Dubrovnik-Neretva county. Its total population is 42,641...

, which had to pay the annual tax mogorish of 36 pieces of gold to the Zachlumian rulers and at times accept their rule. Zachlumia was split on 9 Zhupanates

Županija

Županija may refer to:...

: that of Ston

Ston

, that of Popovo

Popovo

Popovo is a town in northeastern Bulgaria, part of Targovishte Province. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Popovo Municipality...

, Dubrava

Dubrava

Dubrava, Dúbrava, Dubrawa or Dabrava is a toponym common in Slavic regions. Terminology is derived from an old Slavic word dub and it generally means "oak forest", "woods of dub". Oak was an important tree in Slavic mythology...

's, Luka

Luka (zhupa)

Luka was a zhupa of the medieval principality of Zahumlje . It was situated in a swampy area on both sides of Neretva river, from Bregava and Trebizat down to the sea. It bordered with the zhupas of Rastok , Vuceric , Drijeva and Adriatic Sea...

, Dabar

Dabar

, Žapska, goričku and Večenik around Neretva

Neretva

Neretva is the largest river of the eastern part of the Adriatic basin. It has been harnessed and controlled to a large extent by four HE power-plants with large dams and their storage lakes, but it is still recognized for its natural beauty, diversity of its landscape and visual...

. Zahumlje had access to the Adriatic Sea with the Peninsular of Rat

Pelješac

Pelješac is a peninsula in southern Dalmatia in Croatia. The peninsula is part of the Dubrovnik-Neretva County and is the second largest peninsula in Croatia...

and faced Serbia

Serbia

Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...

northwards. In the later stages, Zahumlje was split into two Duchies: Upper Zahumlje at the west and Lower Zahumlje at the east.

The people were Slavic migrants who colonized migrated to the regions since as early as the 6th century and mixed with the local Romanized populace. Zachlumia's hereditary dynasty, the House of Višević, most probably descended from Slavic Litziki tribe populating the upper streams of the Vistula

Vistula

The Vistula is the longest and the most important river in Poland, at 1,047 km in length. The watershed area of the Vistula is , of which lies within Poland ....

in which H T Norris, cites Al-Masudi, in claiming that in several areas Croats and Serbs where intermixed, especially in the upper Vistula.

7th century

In the second decade of the 7th century, the Avars

Avars

Avar or Avars may refer to:* Eurasian Avars, a nomadic people that conquered the Hungarian Steppe in the early Middle Ages* Uar * Caucasian Avars, a modern people of the Caucasus** Avar language, the language of the Caucasian Avars...

and their Slavic subjects occupied most of the Byzantine

Byzantium

Byzantium was an ancient Greek city, founded by Greek colonists from Megara in 667 BC and named after their king Byzas . The name Byzantium is a Latinization of the original name Byzantion...

province of Dalmatia

Dalmatia (Roman province)

Dalmatia was an ancient Roman province. Its name is probably derived from the name of an Illyrian tribe called the Dalmatae which lived in the area of the eastern Adriatic coast in Classical antiquity....

including the territory of what would become Zahumlje, sacking towns and enslaving or displacing the local population. Some of the Slavs and Avars might have permanently settled in the occupied areas. They attacked Constantinople

Constantinople

Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...

in 626 but were defeated by the Byzantines, after which the Avars ceased to play a significant role in the Balkans

Balkans

The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...

.

Around 630, during the reign of Byzantine Emperor Heraclius

Heraclius

Heraclius was Byzantine Emperor from 610 to 641.He was responsible for introducing Greek as the empire's official language. His rise to power began in 608, when he and his father, Heraclius the Elder, the exarch of Africa, successfully led a revolt against the unpopular usurper Phocas.Heraclius'...

, Serbs

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...

and Croats

Croats

Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...

(Slavic tribes) led by their respective aristocracies entered the western Balkans from the north, which was approved by the emperor. They inhabited areas that had been devastated by the Avars, where Byzantium (East Roman Empire) had generally been reduced to only a nominal ruler. Zahumlje was one of the regions settled by the Serbs. Much of Dalmatia was some time earlier settled by the Croats, and Zahumlje bordered their territory on the north.

"From Ragusa begins the domain of the Zachlumi (Ζαχλοῦμοι) and stretches along as far as the river Orontius; and on the side of the coast it is neighbour to the Pagani, but on the side of the mountain country it is neighbour to the Croats on the north and to Serbia at the front."

"The Zahumljani (Захумљани) that now live there are Serbs, originating from the time of the prince (archont)
Unknown Archont
The Unknown Archont is a conventional name given by historians to the Serbian leader who led the White Serbs from their homeland to settle in the Balkans after 610, during the reign of Byzantine Emperor Heraclius ....

who fled to emperor Heraclius"

"The land of the Zahumljani comprise the following cities: Ston (το Σταγνον / to Stagnon), Mokriskik (το Μοκρισκικ), Josli (το Ιοσλε / to Iosle), Galumainik (το Γαλυμαενικ / to Galumaenik), Dobriskik (το Δοβρισκικ / to Dovriskik)"

—De Administrando Imperio
De Administrando Imperio
De Administrando Imperio is the Latin title of a Greek work written by the 10th-century Eastern Roman Emperor Constantine VII. The Greek title of the work is...

by Constantine VII

Constantine VII

Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos or Porphyrogenitus, "the Purple-born" was the fourth Emperor of the Macedonian dynasty of the Byzantine Empire, reigning from 913 to 959...

9th century

Charlemagne

Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...

, King of the Franks from 768 until his death in 814, expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire

Frankish Empire

Francia or Frankia, later also called the Frankish Empire , Frankish Kingdom , Frankish Realm or occasionally Frankland, was the territory inhabited and ruled by the Franks from the 3rd to the 10th century...

that incorporated much of western and central Europe. He brought the Frankish state face to face with the Slavs to the northeast and the Avars and Slavs to the southeast of the Frankish empire. Dalmatia which was southeast of the Frankish empire, was chiefly in the hands of Slavic tribes. North of Dubrovnik these came to be under Croatian Župans and eventually came to consider themselves Croatians, while many of those to the south of Dubrovnik were coming to consider themselves Serbs. Despite Frankish overlordship, the Franks had almost no role in Dalmatia (Dalmatian (Littoral) Croatia and Zahumlje) in the period from the 820s through 840s.

In 866, a major Arab raid along Dalmatia

Dalmatia

struck Budva

Budva

Budva is a coastal town in Montenegro. It has around 15,000 inhabitants, and it is the centre of municipality...

and Kotor

Kotor

Kotor is a coastal city in Montenegro. It is located in a secluded part of the Gulf of Kotor. The city has a population of 13,510 and is the administrative center of the municipality....

, and then laid siege to Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik

in 867. The city of Dubrovnik appealed to Byzantine Emperor Basil the Macedonian

Basil I

Basil I, called the Macedonian was a Byzantine emperor of probable Armenian descent who reigned from 867 to 886. Born a simple peasant in the Byzantine theme of Macedonia, he rose in the imperial court, and usurped the imperial throne from Emperor Michael III...

, who responded by sending over one hundred ships. Finally, the 866–867 Saracens' siege of Dubrovnik, which lasted fifteen months, was raised due to the intervention of Basil I, who sent a fleet under the command of Niketas Oryphas

Niketas Oryphas

Niketas Oryphas or Oöryphas was a distinguished Byzantine official, patrician and admiral under the emperors Michael III and Basil I the Macedonian , who achieved several naval victories against the Saracen raiders....

in relief of the city. After this successesful intervention, the Byzantine navy

Byzantine navy

The Byzantine navy was the naval force of the East Roman or Byzantine Empire. Like the empire it served, it was a direct continuation from its imperial Roman predecessor, but played a far greater role in the defense and survival of the state then its earlier iterations...

sailed along the coast collecting promises of loyalty to the empire from the Dalmatian cities. At this moment the local Slavic tribes (the Slavs of Trebinje, Duklja and Zahumlje) also accepted Byzantine suzerainty. Afterwards, the Slavs of Dalmatia and Zahumlje took part in the Byzantine military actions against the Arabs in Bari

Bari

Bari is the capital city of the province of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, in Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy after Naples, and is well known as a port and university city, as well as the city of Saint Nicholas...

in 870-871. The Roman cities in Dalmatia had long been pillaged by the Slavic tribes in the mountaines around them. Basil I allowed the towns to pay tribute to the Slavic tribes to reduce the Slavs raiding. Presumably a large portion of this tribute went to the prince of Dalmatian (Littoral) Croatia. In late 870s, the theme of Dalmatia ("thema Dalmatias") was established, but with no real Byzantine authority.

In 879, the Pope

Pope

The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...

ask for help from Croatian

Croats

prince Zdeslav

Zdeslav of Croatia

Zdeslav was a Knez of Dalmatian Croatia in 864 and again in 878–879. He was from the House of Trpimirović.-Biography:Zdeslav was a son of Trpimir I. After his father death in 864, an uprising was raised by a powerful Croatian nobleman from Knin - Domagoj, and Zdeslav was exiled with his...

for an armed escort for his delegates across southern Dalmatia and Zahumlje. Later in 880, the Pope ask the same from Zdeslav's successor, prince Branimir

Branimir of Croatia

Branimir was a ruler of Dalmatian Croatia who reigned as Knez from 879 to 892. He was recognized by Pope John VIII as the Duke of the Croats...

10th century

The history of Zahumlje as a greater political entity starts with the emerging of Michael of Zahumlje, an independent Slavic

South Slavs

The South Slavs are the southern branch of the Slavic peoples and speak South Slavic languages. Geographically, the South Slavs are native to the Balkan peninsula, the southern Pannonian Plain and the eastern Alps...

ruler who flourished in the early part of the 10th century. A neighbour of Croatian Kingdom

Kingdom of Croatia (medieval)

and Serbia (Rascia)

Raška (state)

Principality of Serbia or Serbian Principality was an early medieval state of the Serbs ruled by the Vlastimirović dynasty, that existed from ca 768 to 969 in Southeastern Europe. It was established through an unification of several provincial chiefs under the supreme rule of a certain Višeslav,...

as well as an ally of Bulgaria

First Bulgarian Empire

The First Bulgarian Empire was a medieval Bulgarian state founded in the north-eastern Balkans in c. 680 by the Bulgars, uniting with seven South Slavic tribes...

, he was nevertheless able to maintain independent rule throughout at least a good part of his reign.

Michael have come into territorial conflict with the Peter Gojniković, the ruler of Serbia, who was extending his power westwards. To eliminate that threat and as a close ally of Bulgaria, Michael warned the Bulgarian Tsar Simeon I

Simeon I of Bulgaria

Simeon I the Great ruled over Bulgaria from 893 to 927, during the First Bulgarian Empire. Simeon's successful campaigns against the Byzantines, Magyars and Serbs led Bulgaria to its greatest territorial expansion ever, making it the most powerful state in contemporary Eastern Europe...

about the alliance between Peter and Symeon's enemy, the Byzantine Empire

Byzantine Empire

. In 912 Mihailo kidnapped the Venetian Doge's son Peter Badoari that was returning to Venice from Constantinople and sent him to Czar Simeon as a sign of loyalty. Symeon attacked Serbia and captured Peter, who later died in prison, and Michael was able to restore the majority of control. Before the annexation of Serbia in 924, Bulgaria did not yet border on Zahumlje, but a part of Croatia lay between both lands. The Venetian chronicler John the Deacon (d. 1009) says that in 912 during Michael's rule, Zachlumia was a part of the Croatian land.

"Qui (Petrus) dum C h r o a t o r u m fines rediens transire vellet, a Michahele Sclavorum duce fraude deceptus..."

-Chronicon Venetum, John the Deacon

The Historia Salonitana maior, whose composition may have begun in the late 13th century, cites a letter of Pope John X

Pope John X

Pope John X, Pope from March 914 to May 928, was deacon at Bologna when he attracted the attention of Theodora, the wife of Theophylact, Count of Tusculum, the most powerful noble in Rome, through whose influence he was elevated first to the see of Bologna and then to the archbishopric of...

to Tomislav

Tomislav

King Tomislav was a ruler of Croatia in the Middle Ages. He reigned from 910 until 928, first as Duke of Dalmatian Croatia in 910–925, and then became first King of the Croatian Kingdom in 925–928....

, "king (rex) of the Croats", in which he refers to the first council in some detail. If the letter is authentic, it shows that the council was attended not only by the bishops of Croatian and Byzantine Dalmatia, but also by Tomislav, whose territory also included the Byzantine cities of Dalmatia, and by a number of Michael's representatives. Zahumlje may have been under Croatian influence, but remained a separate political entity. Both Zahumlje and Croatia were under the religious jurisdiction of the Archbishopric of Split. In this letter, John describes Michael as "the most excellent leader of the Zachlumi" (excellentissimus dux Chulmorum).

"et Michahele in suis finibus praesidente duce...dictus Chroatorum rex et Michael cum suis proceribus, simulque episcopis Dalmatiarum."

-Illyricum Sacrum, Daniele Farlati

Daniele Farlati

Daniele Farlati was an ecclesiastical historian.Farlati was born in San Daniele del Friuli in the present Italian province of Udine. After having studied in Gorizia he entered, in 1707, the Society of Jesus in Bologna...

After the Italian city of Siponto

Siponto

Siponto was an ancient port town of Apulia in southern Italy. The town was abandoned after earthquakes in the 13th century; today the area is administered as a frazione of the comune of Manfredonia, in the province of Foggia...

was heavily jeopardized by the raiding Arabs and Langobards, Mihailo ousted a magnificent military victory by taking the city upon the recommendations from Constantinople and orders from his ally, King Tomislav Trpimirovic, but didn't keep it permanently. Mihailo Višević entered into closer relations with the Byzantine Empire, after the death of Bugaria's Tsar Simeon. He gained the grand titles of the Byzantine court as anthypatos
Anthypatos
Anthypatos is the translation in Greek of the Latin proconsul. In the Greek-speaking East, it was used to denote this office in Roman and early Byzantine times, surviving as an administrative office until the 9th century...

and patrician (patrikios). He remained as ruler of Zahumlje into the 940s, while maintaining good relations with the Papacy

Pope

The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...

.

The historical work Historia Salonitana
Historia Salonitana
Historia Salonitana by Thomas the Archdeacon is a historic chronicle from the 13th century which contains significant information about the early history of the Croats.It was first published by Ivan Lučić Lucius...

by Thomas the Archdeacon

Thomas the Archdeacon

Thomas the Archdeacon was a medieval Dalmatian historian and Archdeacon of Split most remembered for Historia Salonitana, a chronicle of the Bishops and Archbishops of Split until 1266....

, when describing the regin of Croatian king Stephen Držislav in late 10th century, notes that Duchy of Hum (Chulmie) was a part of the Kingdom of Croatia

Kingdom of Croatia (medieval)

, before and after Stjepan Držislav.

11th century

In a charter dated July 1039, Ljutovid of Zahumlje who was an independent Slavic

South Slavs

ruler of Zahumlje, styled himself "Ljutovit, protospatharios
Protospatharios
Prōtospatharios was one of the highest court dignities of the middle Byzantine period , awarded to senior generals and provincial governors, as well as to foreign princes.-History:...

epi tou Chrysotriklinou, hypatos, strategos" of Serbia and Zahumlje, which suggests the Byzantine Emperor granted him nominal right over neighbouring lands, including Duklja

Duklja

Doclea or Duklja was a medieval state with hereditary lands roughly encompassing the territories of present-day southeastern Montenegro, from Kotor on the west to the river Bojana on the east and to the sources of Zeta and Morača rivers on the north....

. Ljutovid's claim to be strategos not only of Zahumlje, but all Serbia suggests that he had been courted by the emperor, and awarded nominal rights neighbouring lands, including Duklja, which was at the time at war with the empire. If we can trust the Chronicle of the Priest of Duklja, our only narrative source, we must conclude that none of the Serbian lands was under direct Byzantine control in 1042. Vojislav of Duklja (fl. 1018-1043) soon took Zahumlje from the Byzantines. He probably did this while defeating Ljutovid, and the region remains a part of Duklja

Duklja

, later becoming part of Rascia under Vukan I (1082–1112).

12th century

About 1150, the Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Komnenos

Manuel I Komnenos

Manuel I Komnenos was a Byzantine Emperor of the 12th century who reigned over a crucial turning point in the history of Byzantium and the Mediterranean....

displeased with king Radoslav of Duklja

Radoslav of Duklja

Radoslav Gradinjić was the Prince of Duklja, from 1146 to 1148.He succeeded his father, Gradinja, as ruler of Dioclea. However, Radoslav had to travel to Byzantine emperor Manuel Comenus in Constantinople to gain the authority to rule over Dioclea, which he did...

, divided up his lands between princes of the old Serbian family of Zavida, and Stefan Nemanja

Stefan Nemanja

Stefan Nemanja was the Grand Prince of the Grand Principality of Serbia from 1166 to 1196, a heir of the Vukanović dynasty that marked the beginning of a greater Serbian realm .He is remembered for his contributions to Serbian culture and...

secured the land of Hum. After 1168 when Nemanja was raised to the Serbian throne with Manuel's favor, Hum passed to his brother Miroslav

Miroslav of Hum

Miroslav Zavidović or Miroslav of Hum was a 12th-century Great Prince of Zachlumia from 1162 to 1190, an administrative division of the medieval Serbian Principality covering Herzegovina and southern Dalmatia....

. He married a sister of Ban Kulin

Ban Kulin

Ban Kulin was a notable Ban of Bosnia who ruled from 1180 to 1204 first as a vassal of the Byzantine Empire and then of the Kingdom of Hungary. He was brought to the power by Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Comnenus. He had a son, Stjepan Kulinić who succeeded him as Bosnian Ban...

, who in meantime acquired the throne of Bosnia

Bosnia (region)

Bosnia is a eponomous region of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It lies mainly in the Dinaric Alps, ranging to the southern borders of the Pannonian plain, with the rivers Sava and Drina marking its northern and eastern borders. The other eponomous region, the southern, other half of the country is...

. The subjects of Miroslav and Kulin included both Catholic and Orthodoxs. In meantime, both Bosnia and Hum had been fought between Kingdom of Hungary

Kingdom of Hungary

and Byzantine Empire

Byzantine Empire

. The Catholic supported the former and the Orthodoxs the latter. A support of the growing herasy seemed the best solution for both Kulin and Miroslav.

Following the death of Emperor Manuel in 1180 Miroslav started ecclesiastical superior of Hum. He refused to allow Rainer, Latin Arcbishop of Spalato (Split) whom he consider to be an agent of Hungarian king, to consecrate a bishop for the town of Ston

Ston

. In addition, Miroslav confiscated the Arcbishop's money. Rainer complained to the Pope Alexander III

Alexander III

Alexander III may refer to:*Alexander III of Macedon , also known as Alexander the Great*Alexander , Byzantine Emperor *Pope Alexander III, pope from 1159 to 1181*Alexander III of Scotland , king of Scotland...

, who sent Teobald to report on the matter. The Pope's nuncio Teobald found Miroslav as a patron of heretics. After this, the Pope wrote to king Béla III of Hungary

Béla III of Hungary

Béla III was King of Hungary and Croatia . He was educated in the court of the Byzantine Emperor Manuel I who was planning to ensure his succession in the Byzantine Empire till the birth of his own son...

who was overlord of Hum (which Miroslav did not recognize), telling him to see that Miroslav performed his duty, but Miroslav remained as Prince of Hum. In 1190-1192, Stefan Nemanja briefly assigned the rule of Hum to his son Rastko Nemanjić, while Miroslav held the Lim region

Lim River

The Lim is a river flowing through Montenegro, Albania, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. long, it's the right and the longest tributary of the Drina.- Montenegro and Serbia :...

with Bijelo Polje

Bijelo Polje

Bijelo Polje is a town in northern Montenegro. It has a population of 15,883 .Bijelo Polje is the center of municipality . It is unofficial center of north-eastern region of Montenegro...

. Rastko however took monastic vows and Miroslav continued ruling Hum after 1192.

Latin vengeance came in March 1198, when Andrew II of Hungary

Andrew II of Hungary

Andrew II the Jerosolimitan was King of Hungary and Croatia . He was the younger son of King Béla III of Hungary, who invested him with the government of the Principality of Halych...

become the prince of Dalmatia, Croatia and Hum, while Miroslav died a year after and his wife was living in exile. The Miroslav Gospels is the oldest surviving documents written in Old Church Slavonic

Old Church Slavonic

, very likely produced for the Church of St Peter in Lima, commissioned by Miroslav.

13th century

Radoslav of Zahumlje was from 1254 a vassal of Hungary, but probably afterwards his land were absorbed into Serbia. However, he was at war with Serbia in 1268, while still under Hungarian suzerainty. But seaking to centralize his realm, Stephen Uroš I of Serbia tried to stamp out regional differences by dropping references to Zahumlje (Hum), Trebinje and Duklja (Zeta), and called himself "King of all Serbian land and the Coast". Miroslav's descendants dropped to the level of other local nobels.

14th century

Paul I Šubić of Bribir as Ban of Croatia and Dalmatia controlled Croatia from Gvozd Mountain

Petrova Gora

Petrova Gora is a mountain range in central Croatia. The mountain used to be named Gvozd , but was renamed after 1097 to honour Petar Svačić, the last native king of Croatia who died on the mountain in a battle against Coloman of Hungary.During World War II, Petrova Gora was the location of the...

to the river Neretva mouth

Neretva

. Paul became Lord of all of Bosnia in 1299. Although supporting the king, Paul continued to act independently, and ruled over a large portion of modern-day Croatia and Bosnia. In the course of the war between Stephen Uroš II Milutin and Stephen Dragutin, Paul Šubić expanded not only into western Hum, but also beyond the Neretva river, and took the region of Nevesinje

Nevesinje

Nevesinje is a town and municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina, located in eastern Herzegovina between Mostar and Gacko. It is administratively part of the Republika Srpska entity.-Geography:...

and Ston

Ston

. In 1312, Hum was added to the title of Mladen II Šubić

Mladen II Šubić of Bribir

Mladen II Šubić of Bribir , a Croatian leader and member of the Šubić noble family, was a Ban of Croatia and Lord of all of Bosnia.-Biography:...

, who succeeded Paul. At least part of Paul's conquests were granted to his vassal Constantine Nelipčić

House of Nelipić

The House of Nelipić, also called Nelipac or Nelipčić were a medieval Croatian noble family from Dalmatian Zagora in Croatia. They were greatly involved in political situations in Dalmatia, and in Bosnia...

. After Paul's death, Milutin and Dragutin concluded a peace, and went to war against Šubić family. In the war that followed Milutin took one of Mladen's brother captive, and to get him back Mladen Šubić had to agree to restore a part of Hum to Milutin. After this agreement in 1313 the Neretva again became the border between eastern and western Hum.

By 1325, the Branivojević family had emerged as strongest in Hum. Probably at their highest point they ruled from Cetina

Cetina

Cetina is a river in southern Croatia. It has a length of and its basin covers an area of . Cetina descends from an altitude of 385 m at its source to the sea level when it flows into the Adriatic Sea. It is the most water-rich river in Dalmatia....

River to the town of Kotor

Kotor

Kotor is a coastal city in Montenegro. It is located in a secluded part of the Gulf of Kotor. The city has a population of 13,510 and is the administrative center of the municipality....

. Though nominal vassals of Serbia, the Branivojević family attacked Serbian interests and other local nobles of Hum, who in 1526 turned against Serbia and Branivojević family. The Hum nobles approached to Stjepan Kotromanić II, the ban of Bosnia, who then annexed most of Hum. The Draživojevići of Nevesinje as vassals of Bosnian Ban, become the leading family of Hum in 1330s. Because of the war in 1327-1328 between Serbia and Dubrovnik, Bosnian lordship of inner Hum and the war in Macedonia, Stephen Uroš IV Dušan sold Ston

Ston

and Pelješac

Pelješac

Pelješac is a peninsula in southern Dalmatia in Croatia. The peninsula is part of the Dubrovnik-Neretva County and is the second largest peninsula in Croatia...

to Dubrovnik, and turned fighting to east in Macedonia.

The region was overwhelmed by the House of Kotromanić

House of Kotromanic

The Kotromanić dynasty was a ruling house that ruled in the medieval Bosnia and the surrounding lands, from the 13th century as Bans until the crowning with the Bosnian crowns in 1377 and then as kings until the Ottoman conquest conquest in 1463....

from Bosnia in 1322-1326. By the mid-14th century, Bosnia apparently reached a peak under Ban Tvrtko I

Tvrtko I of Bosnia

Stjepan Tvrtko I was a ruler of medieval Bosnia. He ruled in 1353–1366 and again in 1367–1377 as Ban and in 1377–1391 as the first Bosnian King....

who came into power in 1353.

15th century

In the beginning of the 15th century, Hrvoje Vukčić Hrvatinić ruled over the western Hum, and Sandalj Hranić Kosača

Sandalj Hranic, Grand Duke of Hum

Sandalj Hranić Kosača was a medieval noble from the House of Kosača. He ruled the area between Neretva and Drina rivers in Bosnia with the title Grand Duke of Hum between 1392 and his death in 1435....

ruled over its eastern part, while the Neretva river remaind a border between their possessions.

Bosnian regional lord Stjepan Vukčić Kosača

Stjepan Vukcic Kosaca

Stjepan Vukčić Kosača was a Herzegovina nobleman. He was a member of the House of Kosača, a Grand Duke of Herzegovina, Lord of Zahumlje and Primorje and also Herzog of Serbian Saint Sava...

who ruled over Zahumlje, in 1448 dropped his title "Vojvode of Bosnia", assuming the title "Herceg [Duke] of Hum and the Coast". He changed it again in 1449 to "Herceg of Saint Sava" in recollection of the Serbian saint. This title had considerable public relations value, because Sava's relics were consider miracle-working by people of all Christian faiths. His lands were known as Herzog's lands or later Herzegovina

Herzegovina

.

In 1451 he attacked Dubrovnik, and laid siege to the city. He had earlier been made a Ragusan nobleman and, consequently, the Ragusan government now proclaimed him a traitor. A reward of 15,000 ducat

Ducat

The ducat is a gold coin that was used as a trade coin throughout Europe before World War I. Its weight is 3.4909 grams of .986 gold, which is 0.1107 troy ounce, actual gold weight...

s, a palace in Dubrovnik worth 2,000 ducats, and an annual income of 300 ducats was offered to anyone who would kill him, along with the promise of hereditary Ragusan nobility which also helped hold this promise to whomever did the deed. Stjepan was so scared by the threat that he finally raised the siege.

Hum

Zdeslav of Croatia
Zdeslav of Croatia
Zdeslav was a Knez of Dalmatian Croatia in 864 and again in 878–879. He was from the House of Trpimirović.-Biography:Zdeslav was a son of Trpimir I. After his father death in 864, an uprising was raised by a powerful Croatian nobleman from Knin - Domagoj, and Zdeslav was exiled with his...

, knez of Littoral Croatia 878-879
Branimir of Croatia
Branimir of Croatia
Branimir was a ruler of Dalmatian Croatia who reigned as Knez from 879 to 892. He was recognized by Pope John VIII as the Duke of the Croats...

, knez of Littoral Croatia 879-892
Michael of Zahumlje, independent Slavic ruler of Zahumlje, Prince of Zahumlje 910-940
Stephen Držislav of Croatia, King of Croatia 969-997
Zavida
Zavida
Zavida or Beli Uroš was a 12th-century Serbian royal member who briefly ruled as Župan of Zahumlje and later held the title "Lord of Ribnica"....

, Duke of Zahumlje before 1113
Stefan Nemanja
Stefan Nemanja
Stefan Nemanja was the Grand Prince of the Grand Principality of Serbia from 1166 to 1196, a heir of the Vukanović dynasty that marked the beginning of a greater Serbian realm .He is remembered for his contributions to Serbian culture and...

, Grand župan of Rascia
Rascia
Rascia was a medieval region that served as the principal province of the Serbian realm. It was an administrative division under the direct rule of the monarch and sometimes as an appanage. The term has been used to refer to various Serbian states throughout the Middle Ages...

1150
Slavogast
Slavogast
Slavogast was a 12th-century Serbian noble that ruled as Ban of Zachlumia 1154-1156.He governed Zahumlje under the rule of Desa of Serbia ....

, Ban of Zahumlje 1151-1156 (under Desa of Serbia)
Miroslav of Hum
Miroslav of Hum
Miroslav Zavidović or Miroslav of Hum was a 12th-century Great Prince of Zachlumia from 1162 to 1190, an administrative division of the medieval Serbian Principality covering Herzegovina and southern Dalmatia....

Prince of Zahumlje 1162-1190
Rastko
Saint Sava
Saint Sava was a Serbian Prince and Orthodox monk, the first Archbishop of the autocephalous Serbian Church, the founder of Serbian law and literature, and a diplomat. Sava was born Rastko Nemanjić , the youngest son of Serbian Grand Župan Stefan Nemanja , and ruled the appanage of Hum briefly in...

of Nemanja 1190 - 1192 ruling in the name of Stefan Nemanja
Stefan Nemanja
Stefan Nemanja was the Grand Prince of the Grand Principality of Serbia from 1166 to 1196, a heir of the Vukanović dynasty that marked the beginning of a greater Serbian realm .He is remembered for his contributions to Serbian culture and...
Miroslav of Hum
Miroslav of Hum
Miroslav Zavidović or Miroslav of Hum was a 12th-century Great Prince of Zachlumia from 1162 to 1190, an administrative division of the medieval Serbian Principality covering Herzegovina and southern Dalmatia....

Prince of Zahumlje 1192-1198
Andrew II of Hungary
Andrew II of Hungary
Andrew II the Jerosolimitan was King of Hungary and Croatia . He was the younger son of King Béla III of Hungary, who invested him with the government of the Principality of Halych...

1198 - 1199
Petar, son of Miroslav, Duke
Duke
A duke or duchess is a member of the nobility, historically of highest rank below the monarch, and historically controlling a duchy...

of Zahumlje 1199-1227 and a count
Count
A count or countess is an aristocratic nobleman in European countries. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The adjective form of the word is...

of the city of Split 1222-1225. He married a daughter of Duke
Duke
A duke or duchess is a member of the nobility, historically of highest rank below the monarch, and historically controlling a duchy...

Berthold von Meran, Margrave
Margrave
A margrave or margravine was a medieval hereditary nobleman with military responsibilities in a border province of a kingdom. Border provinces usually had more exposure to military incursions from the outside, compared to interior provinces, and thus a margrave usually had larger and more active...

of Istria
Istria
Istria , formerly Histria , is the largest peninsula in the Adriatic Sea. The peninsula is located at the head of the Adriatic between the Gulf of Trieste and the Bay of Kvarner...
Toljen II, son of Toljen, Duke
Duke
A duke or duchess is a member of the nobility, historically of highest rank below the monarch, and historically controlling a duchy...

of Upper Zahumlje up to 1239
Nikola, Prince
Župa
A Župa is a Slavic term, used historically among the Southern and Western branches of the Slavs, originally denoting various territorial and other sub-units, usually a small administrative division, especially a gathering of several villages...

of Zahumlje. He married Katarina Kotromanić in 1238
Andrija, son of Miroslav, Prince of the Seaside and Duke
Duke
A duke or duchess is a member of the nobility, historically of highest rank below the monarch, and historically controlling a duchy...

of southern Zahumlje up to 1250
Bogdan, son of Andrija, Prince of Zahumlje up to 1249, died 1252
Radoslav of Zahumlje, son of Andrija, Prince of Zahumlje in 1249 - 1268
Bogdan II 1285 - 1299
Mladen I Šubić of Bribir
Mladen I Šubić of Bribir
Mladen I Šubić of Bribir was a member of the Croatian noble family Šubić, at the end of 13th and beginning of the 14th century.He was a brother of a famous ban of Croatia Paul I Šubić of Bribir, who appointed Mladen as a commissar of dalmatinan city of Split, along with Klis Fortress.After Paul I...

, a Croatian noble and Bosnian Ban from 1299–1304
Paul I Šubić of Bribir, a Ban of Croatia
Ban of Croatia
Ban of Croatia was the title of local rulers and after 1102 viceroys of Croatia. From earliest periods of Croatian state, some provinces were ruled by Bans as a rulers representative and supreme military commander. In the 18th century, Croatian bans eventually become chief government officials in...

and Lord of all of Bosnia from 1304–1312
Mladen II Šubić of Bribir
Mladen II Šubić of Bribir
Mladen II Šubić of Bribir , a Croatian leader and member of the Šubić noble family, was a Ban of Croatia and Lord of all of Bosnia.-Biography:...

, "Ban the Croats and Bosnia and general lord of Hum country" 1312 - 1322
Stefan Konstantin
Stefan Konstantin
Stephen Constantine was the King of Serbia briefly for a year 1321–1322. He initially held the appanage of Zeta . He was the only pretender to the Serbian thone, after his father had exiled his younger brother and initial heir Stefan Uroš III...

, Prince of Zahumlje, pretender to the Serbian throne in 1323.
Stjepan Kotromanic II, a Bosnian Ban from 1325–1353
Tvrtko, the first Bosnian King 1353 - 1391
Jovan Uglješa
Jovan Ugljesa
Jovan Uglješa Mrnjavčević was a 14th-century Serbian noble and brother of Serbian ruler Vukašin Mrnjavčević.-Life:Uglješa was the son of Mrnjava, a treasurer of Helen of Anjou, the queen consort of Stephen Uroš I of Serbia....

, a descendant of the Serbian House of Mrnjavčević governed Zahumlje from approx. 1391 until his death in 1404.
Stephen Ostoja of Bosnia 1408 - 1418
Sandalj Hranić Kosača, Grand Duke of Hum from 1392–1435
Stjepan Vukčić Kosača
Stjepan Vukcic Kosaca
Stjepan Vukčić Kosača was a Herzegovina nobleman. He was a member of the House of Kosača, a Grand Duke of Herzegovina, Lord of Zahumlje and Primorje and also Herzog of Serbian Saint Sava...

(1435–1466), in 1448 changed his title "Vojvode of Bosnia" into "Herceg [Duke] of Hum and the Coast", and from 1449 into "Herceg of Saint Sava"
Vlatko Hercegović from 1466 to 1481

Other

The honorific title "Grand Voivode/Duke of Zahumlije" has been granted at times to junior members of the Petrović-Njegoš dynasty that ruled the Kingdom of Montenegro

Kingdom of Montenegro

The Kingdom of Montenegro was a monarchy in southeastern Europe during the tumultuous years on the Balkan Peninsula leading up to and during World War I. Legally it was a constitutional monarchy, but absolutist in practice...

until 1918. The last grand duke, Prince Peter of Montenegro

Prince Peter of Montenegro

Prince Peter Petrovich-Njegosh of Montenegro, Grand Voivode of Zahumlije was a soldier in the Balkan and First World War and a member of the Royal Family of Montenegro.-Early life:...

, died in 1932.

External links

http://genealogy.euweb.cz/balkan/balkan5.html
http://worldroots.com/brigitte/theroff/balkan.htm

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Name (Etymology)

Geography and People

7th century

9th century

10th century

11th century

12th century

13th century

14th century

15th century

Hum

Other

See also

External links