Pribislav (, ) was Prince of the Serbs for a year, in 891–892, before being deposed by his cousin

Petar Petar (, sr-Cyrl, Петар) is a South Slavic masculine given name, their variant of the Biblical name Petros cognate to Peter. Derivative forms include Pero, Pejo, Pera, Perica, Petrica, Periša. Feminine equivalent is Petra. People ...

. He was the eldest son of Mutimir (r. 851–891) of the

Vlastimirović dynasty The House of Vlastimirović ( sr-Cyrl, Властимировић, Vlastimirovići / Властимировићи) was the first Serbian royal dynasty, named after Prince Vlastimir (ruled c. 831–851), who was recognized by the Byzantine Em ...

, who ruled during the expanding and Christianization of Serbia.

Life

His father had with his brothers

Strojimir Strojimir ( sr-cyr, Стројимир; ) was the co-ruler of the Serbian Principality alongside his two brothers Mutimir and Gojnik, from ca 851 to his and Gojnik's deposition in the 880s after an unsuccessful coup against the eldest Prince Mu ...

and

Gojnik Gojnik Vlastimirović or Gojnik of Serbia (, ) was a Serbian Župan who was subject to his elder brother Mutimir, the Grand Župan of the Serbian lands ( Rascia) from ca. 850–860 with his brother Strojimir. He was the youngest son of Vlas ...

, defeated the Bulgar Army sent by ''Tsar''

Boris I of Bulgaria Boris I (also ''Bogoris''), venerated as Saint Boris I (Mihail) the Baptizer (, ; died 2 May 907), was the ruler (knyaz) of the First Bulgarian Empire from 852 to 889. Despite a number of military setbacks, the reign of Boris I was marked wit ...

and led by his son

Vladimir Vladimir (, , pre-1918 orthography: ) is a masculine given name of Slavic origin, widespread throughout all Slavic nations in different forms and spellings. The earliest record of a person with the name is Vladimir of Bulgaria (). Etymology ...

.''The early medieval Balkans''
p. 141
/ref> Vladimir was captured together with 12

boyar A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Bulgaria, Kievan Rus' (and later Russia), Moldavia and Wallachia (and later Romania), Lithuania and among Baltic Germans. C ...

s. Boris I and Mutimir agreed on peace (and perhaps an alliance), and Mutimir sent his sons

Bran Bran, also known as miller's bran, is the component of a Cereal, cereal grain consisting of the hard layersthe combined aleurone and Fruit anatomy#Pericarp layers, pericarpsurrounding the endosperm. Maize, Corn (maize) bran also includes the p ...

and Stefan beyond the border to escort the prisoners, where they exchanged items as a sign of peace: Boris himself gave them "rich gifts", while he was given "two

slave Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

s, two

falcon Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Some small species of falcons with long, narrow wings are called hobbies, and some that hover while hunting are called kestrels. Falcons are widely distrib ...

s, two

dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the gray wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it was selectively bred from a population of wolves during the Late Pleistocene by hunter-gatherers. ...

s, and eighty

fur A fur is a soft, thick growth of hair that covers the skin of almost all mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an ...

s". In the 880s, Mutimir seized the throne, exiling his younger brothers and

Klonimir Klonimir ( sr-cyr, Клонимир, , fl. 896) was a Serbian prince of the Vlastimirović dynasty, and pretender to the throne of the Serbian Principality. His father and uncle, co-princes Strojimir and Gojnik, had been exiled to Bulgaria wit ...

, Strojimir's son, to the court of Boris I in the Bulgar Khanate. This was most likely due to treachery.Đekić, Đ. 2009, "Why did prince Mutimir keep Petar Gojnikovic?", Teme, vol. 33, no. 2, pp. 683-688
PDF
/ref>

, the son of Gojnik, was kept at the Serbian court of Mutimir for political reasons, but he soon fled to

Branimir of Croatia Branimir () was List of dukes and kings of Croatia, Duke of Croatia, reigning from 879 to 892. His country received papal recognition as a state from Pope John VIII on 7 June 879. During his reign, Duchy of Croatia retained its sovereignty from ...

. Mutimir died in 890 or 891, leaving the throne to his eldest son, Pribislav. Pribislav had only ruled for a year when Petar returned in 892, defeating him in battle and seizing the throne. Pribislav fled to

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

with his brothers

and Stefan. Bran later returned and led an unsuccessful rebellion against Petar in 894.The early medieval Balkans, p. 150 Bran was defeated, captured and blinded (a Byzantine tradition meant to disqualify a person from taking the throne) His only son, Zaharija, remained in

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

for a long period before successfully seizing the throne with Byzantine aid, ruling from 922–924.

Legacy

The ''Pribislav'' mentioned in the Gospel of Cividale (''codex aquileiensis''), is most likely referring to Pribislav.

Notes

References

Sources

* * * * Ćorović, Vladimir, ''Istorija srpskog naroda'', Book I, (In Serbian
Electric Book, RastkoElectronic Book, Antikvarneknjige (Cyrillic)
**Drugi Period

''Pokrštavanje Južnih Slovena'' * * Ferjančić, B. 1997, "Basile I et la restauration du pouvoir byzantin au IXème siècle", Zbornik radova Vizantološkog instituta, no. 36, pp. 9–30. * * * Tibor Živković, ''Portreti srpskih vladara'' (IX—XII),

Beograd Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. The population of the Belgrade metropolitan area is 1,68 ...

, 2006 (), p. 11 * * Vizantološki institut SANU (Božidar Ferjančić), „Vizantijski izvori za istoriju naroda Jugoslavije (II tom)“ (fototipsko izdanje originala iz 1957), Beograd 2007 * {{Serbian monarchs 9th-century Serbian monarchs Vlastimirović dynasty Serbian exiles 9th-century births Year of death unknown Slavic warriors Christian monarchs