Dabiživ Čihorić ( sr-cyr, Дабижив Чихорић; 1334 – died January 1362) was a Serbian nobleman who served king and emperor

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) 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), with the title of ''sluga''. He was not a usual ''sluga'' (a

cup-bearer A cup-bearer was historically an officer of high rank in royal courts, whose duty was to pour and serve the drinks at the royal table. On account of the constant fear of plots and intrigues (such as poisoning), a person must have been regarded as ...

), but had the same responsibilities as those of the ''

kaznac Kaznac ( sr-cyr, казнац) was a court title of the state employee in medieval Bosnia and Serbia who was in charge for the treasury in the territory under his jurisdiction — ''kaznačina'' (казначина). The name of the title is derive ...

'' and ''

tepčija Tepčija ( sr-cyr, тепчија) was a court title of Croatia, Serbia and Bosnia in the Middle Ages. The functions and position in the court is unclear. It was first mentioned in Croatia in the second half of the 11th century, and later in Serbi ...

''. A member of the Čihorić family (also called Drugović), a powerful family in the

Trebinje Trebinje ( sr-Cyrl, Требиње, ) is a city and municipality located in the Republika Srpska entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the southernmost city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and is situated on the banks of Trebišnjica river in the re ...

region, his brothers Vratko and Nenac held 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). ...

'' (count), while Stepko held the title of ''tepčija''. Dabiživ was present in the hinterland of Dubrovnik between 1334 and 1349, but was first mentioned with the title of ''sluga'' in 1343 (''Dabiseo sluga''). That mention is of him together with the Ragusan rector Marco Mauroceno and "elders" (''starce'') established boundaries between territories of 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 = ...

and Trebinje, that is, the

Kingdom of Serbia The Kingdom of Serbia ( sr-cyr, Краљевина Србија, Kraljevina Srbija) was a country located in the Balkans which was created when the ruler of the Principality of Serbia, Milan I, was proclaimed king in 1882. Since 1817, the Princi ...

. In 1345 the Ragusan ministers complained to Stefan Dušan that Dabiživ had imposed a customs tax at Trebinje, one

dinar The dinar () is the principal currency unit in several countries near the Mediterranean Sea, and its historical use is even more widespread. The modern dinar's historical antecedents are the gold dinar and the silver dirham, the main coin of ...

per each goods load that passed by. Stefan Dušan abolished this tax, as known from a letter dated 26 October 1346 sent from Serres. Dabiživ's competences is explained as that he acted as the royal deputy in

and

Konavle Konavle () is a municipality and a small region located southeast of Dubrovnik, Croatia. It is administratively part of the Dubrovnik-Neretva County and the center of the municipality is Cavtat. Demographics The total municipality population wa ...

. Earlier, in 1330, the governor of Konavle and the wider area of Trebinje was ''župan'' Hlapen. It is assumed that Dabiživ was part of the preparations of organizing a special court of "young king" Uroš V, that while he governed Trebinje he was decided to be the ''sluga'' of Uroš V. In 1346,

Uglješa Mrnjavčević Jovan Uglješa Mrnjavčević ( sr-Cyrl, Јован Угљеша Мрњавчевић; fl. 1346–1371), known as Jovan Uglješa ( sr-Cyrl, Јован Угљеша), was a Serbian medieval nobleman of the Mrnjavčević family and one of the m ...

became the deputy in Trebinje and Konavle. After the coronation of Stefan Dušan as emperor (1346), when Uroš V became king and co-ruler, Dabiživ left Trebinje to be in the nearest circle of Uroš V, whom he served faithfully until his death in January 1362. Dabiživ was buried at the

Treskavac monastery Treskavac ( sr-cyrl, Трескавац) is a village in the municipality of Ribnik, Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally ...

near

Prilep Prilep ( mk, Прилеп ) is the fourth-largest city in North Macedonia. It has a population of 66,246 and is known as "the city under Marko's Towers" because of its proximity to the towers of Prince Marko. Name The name of Prilep appear ...

, his grave inscription mentioning him as the ''enohijar'' (which according to S. Novaković was the brewer or cellarer, that is, a cup-bearer, ) of emperor Uroš V. Dabiživ Čihorić "the younger" (fl. 1383–1402), a nobleman in Popovo, was Dabiživ's relative, likely nephew (as the son of Nenac).

References

Sources

* * * * * * {{s-end 14th-century Serbian nobility Medieval Serbian magnates People of the Serbian Empire People of the Kingdom of Serbia (medieval) Year of birth unknown 1362 deaths Trebinje Medieval Herzegovina History of the Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina