Hranislav ( bg, Хранислав;
Medieval Greek
Medieval Greek (also known as Middle Greek, Byzantine Greek, or Romaic) is the stage of the Greek language between the end of classical antiquity in the 5th–6th centuries and the end of the Middle Ages, conventionally dated to the Ottoman co ...
: ,
[Pachymeres, ed. Failler, p. 469] ''Chranisthlavos'') (
fl. 1278–1304) was a
Bulgarian
Bulgarian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria
* Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group
* Bulgarian language, a Slavic language
* Bulgarian alphabet
* A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria
* Bul ...
military commander who was a close associate of rebel leader and later
Tsar
Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East Slavs, East and South Slavs, South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''Caesar (title), caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" i ...
Ivaylo
Ivaylo (died 1281), also spelled Ivailo ( bg, Ивайло), was a rebel leader who ruled briefly as tsar of Bulgaria. In 1277, he spearheaded a peasant uprising and forced the Bulgarian nobility to accept him as emperor. He reigned as emperor fr ...
(r. 1277–1280). After being captured by the
Byzantines, Hranislav entered the service of
Andronikos II Palaiologos
, image = Andronikos II Palaiologos2.jpg
, caption = Miniature from the manuscript of George Pachymeres' ''Historia''
, succession = Byzantine emperor
, reign = 11 December 1282 –24 May 1328
, coronation = 8 Novembe ...
(r. 1282–1328) as his ''
megas tzaousios
Magnús Þór Jónsson (born 7 April 1945), better known by the stage name Megas, is a vocalist, songwriter, and writer who is well known in his native Iceland.
Interest in music
Being an admirer of Elvis Presley, Megas welcomed the arrival of ...
''. As a Byzantine officer, he commanded a detachment which assisted the
Catalan Company
The Catalan Company or the Great Catalan Company (Spanish: ''Compañía Catalana'', Catalan: ''Gran Companyia Catalana'', Latin: ''Exercitus francorum'', ''Societas exercitus catalanorum'', ''Societas cathalanorum'', ''Magna Societas Catalanorum' ...
in the anti-
Turkish wars in
Asia Minor
Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...
.
Biography
Few details are known about Hranislav prior to his capture by the Byzantines. Byzantine historian
George Pachymeres
George Pachymeres ( el, Γεώργιος Παχυμέρης, Geórgios Pachyméris; 1242 – 1310) was a Byzantine Greek historian, philosopher, music theorist and miscellaneous writer.
Biography
Pachymeres was born at Nicaea, in Bithynia, wher ...
describes him as a "warlike man, a Bulgarian by descent" and one of Ivaylo's officers and supporters.
[Павлов][Андреев, p. 390][Pachymeres, ed. Failler, p. 468] Historian Plamen Pavlov theorizes that Hranislav must have been an early follower of Ivaylo from the very outbreak of
his uprising and thus one of his most trusted commanders. He believes Hranislav was granted the Byzantine loan-title of ''
megas primikerios The Latin term ''primicerius'', hellenized as ''primikērios'' ( el, πριμικήριος), was a title applied in the later Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire to the heads of administrative departments, and also used by the Church to denote th ...
'' after Ivaylo was installed in the capital
Tarnovo
Veliko Tarnovo ( bg, Велико Търново, Veliko Tărnovo, ; "Great Tarnovo") is a town in north central Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Veliko Tarnovo Province.
Often referred as the "''City of the Tsars''", Veliko Tarnovo ...
.
Hranislav was taken captive by the armies of
Michael VIII Palaiologos
Michael VIII Palaiologos or Palaeologus ( el, Μιχαὴλ Δούκας Ἄγγελος Κομνηνὸς Παλαιολόγος, Mikhaēl Doukas Angelos Komnēnos Palaiologos; 1224 – 11 December 1282) reigned as the co-emperor of the Empire ...
(r. 1259–1282), whose campaigns against
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
in 1278–1280 sought to eliminate Ivaylo and put
Ivan Asen III
Ivan Asen III ( bg, Иван Асен III, also Йоан Асен III, ''Ioan Asen III'', and in English ''John Asen III''), ruled as tsar of Bulgaria 1279–1280. Ivan Asen III was the son of Mitso Asen of Bulgaria and Maria of Bulgaria, a daught ...
(r. 1279–1280) on the Bulgarian throne. Hranislav had to spend at least a few years imprisoned in
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
before Michael's son and next
Byzantine Emperor
This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as le ...
Andronikos II Palaiologos released him.
[Иречек, p. 334] Andronikos desired to make use of Hranislav's military talents and elevated him to the status of ''megas tzaousios''. Bulgarian scholars interpret the role of the ''megas tzaousios'' as the head of the imperial guard
[Българска енциклопедия А–Я] and a chief assistant of the ''megas primikerios''.
In fact, the nature of this military office, which derives from
Turkish ''
çavuş'', "messenger", is far from clear.
[Kazhdan, pp. 2135–2136]
In his new duty as a Byzantine general, Hranislav was deployed to northwest Asia Minor, where his major task was the defence of that province against the advancing Turks. He was subordinate to the Western mercenary
Roger de Flor
Roger de Flor (1267 – 30 April 1305), also known as Ruggero/Ruggiero da Fiore or Rutger von Blum or Ruggero Flores, was an Italian military adventurer and condottiere active in Aragonese Sicily, Italy, and the Byzantine Empire. He was the ...
and his Catalan Company, though he stood in charge of a separate military unit. His forces may have included a Bulgarian participation of unknown number.
[Андреев, p. 391]
Hranislav's detachment took part in the Byzantine–Catalan victory over the Turks at
Germe in the spring of 1304.
However, the distribution of loot proved to be a major matter of dispute between Roger and Hranislav. The former accused the latter of greediness and in the ensuing conflict hanged twelve of his soldiers. Roger even stabbed Hranislav with his sword and was about to hang him, had it not been for the intervention of other Byzantine generals, who saved the Bulgarian due to his "many praiseworthy acts".
Nothing is known of Hranislav's destiny after 1304, although he is not mentioned to have died from his wounds.
Legacy
Hranislav is briefly referenced in national writer
Ivan Vazov
Ivan Minchov Vazov ( bg, Иван Минчов Вазов; – 22 September 1921) was a Bulgarian poet, novelist and playwright, often referred to as "the Patriarch of Bulgarian literature". He was born in Sopot, a town in the Rose Valley ...
's 1907 novel ''Svetoslav Terter''. In one of the chapters, the book tells the story of Hranislav's fictional nephew Radoil, a brigand and adventurer who fought the
Tatars
The Tatars ()[Tatar]
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different of
Nogai Khan
Nogai, or Noğay (; also spelled Nogay, Nogaj, Nohai, Nokhai, Noqai, Ngoche, Noche, Kara Nokhai, and Isa Nogai; died 1299/1300) was a general and kingmaker of the Golden Horde and a great-great-grandson of Genghis Khan. His grandfather was Bo'al/ ...
and the
Seljuks
The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; fa, سلجوقیان ''Saljuqian'', alternatively spelled as Seljuqs or Saljuqs), also known as Seljuk Turks, Seljuk Turkomans "The defeat in August 1071 of the Byzantine emperor Romanos Diogenes
by the Turk ...
. In Vazov's novel, Hranislav is described as a famous hero from Ivaylo's time.
References
Sources
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*
*
*
*
* {{cite book , title=Българска енциклопедия А–Я , publisher=БАН, Труд, Сирма , language=bg , year=2002 , chapter=Хранислав (?) , trans-title=Bulgarian Encyclopedia A–Ya, trans-chapter=Hranislav (?) , isbn=954-8104-08-3 , type=CD
13th-century births
14th-century deaths
13th-century Bulgarian people
14th-century Bulgarian people
13th-century Byzantine people
14th-century Byzantine people
Bulgarian people of the Byzantine–Bulgarian Wars
Medieval Bulgarian military personnel
Byzantine generals