Toljen ( sr-cyr, Тољен; fl. 1189) was a Serbian prince (''knez''), who ruled Hum between 1192–1196, serving his uncle Serbian Grand Prince

Stefan Nemanja Stefan Nemanja (Serbian Cyrillic alphabet, Serbian Cyrillic: , ; – 13 February 1199) was the Grand Prince (Grand Župan#Serbia, Veliki Župan) of the Grand Principality of Serbia, Serbian Grand Principality (also known as Raška (region), Raš ...

(r. 1166–1196).

Life

His father was

Miroslav of Hum Miroslav Zavidović ( sr-cyr, Мирослав Завидовић) was a 12th-century prince of Zachumlia from 1162 to 1190, an administrative division (appanage) of the Grand Principality of Serbia ('' Rascia'') covering Herzegovina and souther ...

(r. 1166–1190; 1192) and his mother was a sister of

Ban Kulin Kulin ( sh-Cyrl, Кулин; d. November 1204) was the Ban of Bosnia from 1180 to 1204, first as a vassal of the Byzantine Empire and then of the Kingdom of Hungary, although his state was de facto independent. Kulin was son of the first known ...

of Bosnia. Miroslav had ruled Hum under nominal rule of his brother,

. In order to secure Serbian-German relations, during the talks between Stefan Nemanja and Frederic Barbarossa during his passing through Serbia during the

Third Crusade The Third Crusade (1189–1192) was an attempt led by King Philip II of France, King Richard I of England and Emperor Frederick Barbarossa to reconquer the Holy Land following the capture of Jerusalem by the Ayyubid sultan Saladin in 1187. F ...

, it was arranged that Toljen was betrothed (between 27 Jul 1189 and 24 Apr 1190) to the daughter of Berthold IV, "Duke of Merano Marchese di Istria" and his wife Agnes von Wettin. Berthold IV, who was in Barbarossa's entourage at Niš, had an important part in the Serbian-German talks.Srejović 1892, p. 257 It was also decided that ''knez'' Toljen would succeed his father before any of his brothers. Toljen was to await his spouse at

Istria Istria ( ; Croatian language, Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; Italian language, Italian and Venetian language, Venetian: ; ; Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian: ; ; ) is the largest peninsula within the Adriatic Sea. Located at th ...

on the feast day of St. George the following year. In ca. 1190, Stefan Nemanja briefly assigned the rule of Hum to his son

Rastko Nemanjić Saint Sava (, ; Old Church Slavonic: ; Glagolitic: ; ; 1169 or 1174 – 14 January 1235/6), known as the Enlightener or the Illuminator, was a Serbs, Serbian prince and Eastern Orthodox Church, Orthodox monk, abbot of Studenica Monastery, Studeni ...

, meanwhile Miroslav held the Lim region with

Bijelo Polje Bijelo Polje (Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Бијело Поље, ) is a town located in the Northern Montenegro, Northern Region of Montenegro, situated along Lim (river), Lim River. It has an urban population of 12,900 (2011 census). It is the ad ...

.Fine 1994, pp. 19-20, 52 Rastko however took monastic vows and Miroslav continued ruling Hum or parts of it after 1192. Miroslav died of old age in 1198.

Family

Together they had one son, Toljen II, who succeeded as ''Prince'' later in 1227-1239.

Annotations

References

Sources

* * *Конст. Јиречек: Тољен син кнеза Мир о слава хумског. Српска кр. А кадемија. Глас ХХХV. 1892 12th-century Serbian royalty Vukanović dynasty {{Serbia-bio-stub