Altoman Vojinović ( sr, Алтоман Војиновић; 1335–59) was a Serbian magnate (''

velikaš Velikaš ( sr-cyr, великаш, /) is the Serbo-Croatian word for 'magnate', derived from ('great, large, grand'). Another word is , which was commonly used for provincial lords (). It was used to refer to the highest nobility of Serbia in the ...

'') who served

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

Stefan Dušan Stefan Uroš IV Dušan ( sr-Cyrl, Стефан Урош IV Душан, ), known as Dušan the Mighty ( sr, / ; circa 1308 – 20 December 1355), was the King of Serbia from 8 September 1331 and Tsar (or Emperor) and autocrat of the Serbs, Gr ...

(r. 1331–55) as ''župan'' ("count") and Emperor

Uroš V __NOTOC__ Uroš ( sr-Cyrl, Урош) is a South Slavic given or last name primarily spread amongst Serbs, and Slovenians (mostly of Serbian descent). This noun has been interpreted as "lords", because it usually appears in conjunction with ''velmõ ...

(r. 1355–71) as '' veliki župan'' ("grand count"). His father Vojin was a general (''vojvoda'') with the title of ''knez'', while his younger brother

Vojislav Vojislav ( sr-Cyrl, Војислав, ) is a Serbian masculine given name, a Slavic dithematic name (of two lexemes), derived from the Slavic words ''voj'' ("war, warrior"), and ''slava'' ("glory, fame"), which both are very common in Slavic nam ...

also had the title of ''knez''.

Life

Altoman was the middle son of Vojin, a general that served King

Stefan Dečanski Stefan Uroš III ( sr-Cyrl, Стефан Урош III, ), known as Stefan Dečanski ( sr-Cyrl, Стефан Дечански, ; 1276 – 11 November 1331), was the King of Serbia from 6 January 1322 to 8 September 1331. Dečanski was the son of ...

and King Stefan Dušan and held the title of ''knez'' of Hum. Vojin was one of the more powerful nobles of King Stefan Dečanski, while his sons,

Miloš Miloš, Milos, Miłosz or spelling variations thereof is a masculine given name and a surname. It may refer to: Given name Sportsmen * Miłosz Bernatajtys, Polish rower * Miloš Bogunović, Serbian footballer * Miloš Budaković, Serbian ...

, Altoman and

, were in Young King Dušan's circle. With the conflict between the King and his son, however, Vojin and other noblemen joined the Young King (1330–31). Vojin's support of Dušan further elevated the Vojinović family. In 1333, King Dušan sent the eldest son, Miloš, to Ragusa as part of the negotiation team. After the death of Vojin, his sons divided their father's province. Soon after, Miloš died, with his part being divided among his brothers. Altoman was a ''župan'' somewhere in the surroundings of Ragusa (being mentioned with the title in 1340) while Vojislav was a ''

stavilac Stavilac ( sr-cyr, ставилац, literally meaning "placer") was a court title in Medieval Bosnia and Medieval Serbia in the Middle Ages. It was similar to the Byzantine court offices of ''domestikos'' and cup-bearer (''pinkernes'', known in Ser ...

'', who then received the title of ''knez'' in 1355, after being very active and useful to Emperor Dušan in the period of 1350–55. After the Emperor's death (20 December 1355), it seems that Vojislav progressed, his influence and territory becoming greater. Altoman married Ratoslava, the daughter of ''vojvoda''

Mladen Mladen () is a South Slavic masculine given name, derived from the Slavic root ''mlad'' (, ), meaning "young". It is present in Bulgarian, Serbian, and Croatian society since the Middle Ages. Notable people with the name include: * Mladen (vojv ...

, and thus became brother-in-law with Branko Mladenović, the progenitor of the Branković family. Branko's son was

Vuk Branković Vuk Branković ( sr-cyr, Вук Бранковић, , 1345 – 6 October 1397) was a Serbian medieval nobleman who, during the Fall of the Serbian Empire, inherited a province that extended over present-day southern and southwestern Serbia, enti ...

, a later magnate. In 1340, Altoman had the title of ''

župan Župan is a noble and administrative title used in several states in Central and Southeastern Europe between the 7th century and the 21st century. It was (and in Croatia still is) the leader of the administrative unit župa (or zhupa, županija). ...

'', while his high reputation is seen from the

Republic of Ragusa hr, Sloboda se ne prodaje za sve zlato svijeta it, La libertà non si vende nemmeno per tutto l'oro del mondo"Liberty is not sold for all the gold in the world" , population_estimate = 90 000 in the XVI Century , currency = ...

renting a war galley to Altoman's wedding, which was quite contrary to customs. His son,

Nikola Nikola () is a given name which, like Nicholas, is a version of the Greek ''Nikolaos'' (Νικόλαος). It is common as a masculine given name in the South Slavic countries (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, North Macedonia, Montene ...

, was born in the second half of 1348. Altoman died some time after 1359, which was used as an opportunity by Vojislav who took the territories that Nikola had inherited, most likely leaving Nikola and Ratoslava with only a small part to hold. According to 19th-century historiography, Altoman was killed by

Lazar Hrebeljanović Lazar Hrebeljanović ( sr-cyr, Лазар Хребељановић; ca. 1329 – 15 June 1389) was a medieval Serbian ruler who created the largest and most powerful state on the territory of the disintegrated Serbian Empire. Lazar's state, ...

Possessions

Altoman's province included Gruža, with the fortified castle-town of Čestin, Rudnik, and the surrounding areas.

Family

He married Ratoslava, the daughter of ''vojvoda''

and sister of

Branko Mladenović Branko ( sr-cyr, Бранко; 1331–65) was a Serbian magnate who served to king and Serbian Empire, emperor Stefan Dušan (r. 1331–55), and emperor Stefan Uroš V (r. 1355–71), with the titles of ''sluga'' and later ''sevastokrator''. A me ...

, the Lord of

Ohrid Ohrid ( mk, Охрид ) is a city in North Macedonia and is the seat of the Ohrid Municipality. It is the largest city on Lake Ohrid and the List of cities in North Macedonia, eighth-largest city in the country, with the municipality recording ...

. He had a son,

Nikola Altomanović Nikola Altomanović ( sr-Cyrl, Никола Алтомановић; died after 1395) was a 14th-century Serbian župan of the House of Vojinović. He ruled the areas from Rudnik, over Polimlje, Podrinje, east Herzegovina with Trebinje, reaching ...

Annotations

References

Sources

* * *Смиљанић, Аранђел. "ДВА СРПСКА ВЕЛИКА ЖУПАНА ИЗ XIV ВИЈЕКА: АЛТОМАН И АНДРИЈА ГРОПА." " РАДОВИ" ЧАСОПИС ЗА ХУМАНИСТИЧКЕ И ДРУШТВЕНЕ НАУКЕ 2.22 (2016). {{DEFAULTSORT:Vojinovic, Altoman 14th-century Serbian nobility People of the Serbian Empire Altoman 14th-century births 14th-century deaths Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown