Vojnomir, Voynomir or Vonomir I was a Slavic military commander in Frankish service, the duke of

Slavs in Lower Pannonia Early Slavs settled in the eastern and southern parts of the former Roman province of Pannonia. The term ''Lower Pannonia'' ( la, Pannonia inferior, hu, Alsó-pannoniai grófság, sh-Latn-Cyrl, Donja Panonija, Доња Панонија, sl, Spo ...

, who ruled from c. 790 to c. 800 or from 791 to c. 810 over an area that corresponds to modern-day Slavonia, Croatia. The Royal Frankish Annals makes mention of a ''Wonomyrus Sclavus'' (Vojnomir the Slav) active in 795. Eric of Friuli, sent Vojnomir with his army into

Pannonia Pannonia (, ) was a province of the Roman Empire bounded on the north and east by the Danube, coterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia. Pannonia was located in the territory that is now wes ...

, between the Danube and Tisza, where they pillaged the Avars' dominions. According to

Milko Kos Milko Kos (12 December 1892 – 24 March 1972) was a Slovenian historian, considered the father of the Ljubljana school of historiography. He was born in the town of Gorizia (then part of Austro-Hungarian Empire, now in Italy), where his fa ...

they were not met with serious Avar resistance, and they conquered many forts.Kos Milko (1902)
''Gradivo za zgodovino Slovencev v srednjem veku''. Ljubljana, Leonova družba. Case 293, pg. 325-327.
/ref> The next year the Avars were defeated and Frankish power was extended further east, to the central Danube. Vojnomir's leading position in the campaign has been presumed as very possible with regard to the textual analysis of '' Annales regni Francorum''.Šišić Ferdo (1902). ''Povijest Hrvata u vrijeme narodnih vladara''. Zagreb, Nakladni zavod matice Hrvatske. pp. 304-305 His origin and social position are not mentioned in any contemporary medieval source. His identity has been the subject of several hypotheses.

Hypotheses

Vojnomir remains an enigmatic historical personality. Even the correct reading of his name is unclear. Instead of Vojnomir the original ''Wonomyro'' (''Uuonomiro'', ''Uuonomyro'') could also be read as Zvonimir, just like the name of the Croatian king

Demetrius Zvonimir Demetrius Zvonimir ( hr, Dmitar Zvonimir, ; died 1089) was a King of Dalmatia and Croatia from 1076 until his death in 1089. He was crowned as king in Solin on 8 October 1076. Zvonimir also served as Ban of Croatia (1064–1074), and was named ...

has been corrupted in ''Svinimiro''.Nenad, Labus (2000):
Tko je ubio vojvodu Erika
'. From: Šanjek Franjo (ur): ''Radovi Zavoda za povijesne znanosti HAZU u Zadru''. Sv. 42. Page. 10. Some authors interpret Vojnomir as having been a Croatian duke, a military leader of the Frankish army, or the prince of

Carniola Carniola ( sl, Kranjska; , german: Krain; it, Carniola; hu, Krajna) is a historical region that comprised parts of present-day Slovenia. Although as a whole it does not exist anymore, Slovenes living within the former borders of the region sti ...

.for example W. Pohl, H. Krahwinkler, R. Bratož, F. Kos, M. Kos, B. Grafenauer. In: Štih, Peter (2001). ''Ozemlje Slovenije v zgodnjem srednjem veku: Osnovne poteze zgodovinskega razvoja od začetka 6. do konca 9. stoletja.'' Ljubljana, Filozofska fakulteta. Page 41-42; and in: Grafenauer Bogo
''Vojnomir''
/ref> There are three most reliable hypotheses about his origin: the "Pannonian hypothesis", the "Career hypothesis" and the "Carniolan hypothesis". At least two explanations could be read in the context of modern nationalistic mythology: Slovene and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

authors from the Austrian part of Austria-Hungary are prone to support the Carniolan origin and Croatian authors are prone to support the Pannonian or the Istrian origin.

Pannonian hypothesis

According to the Pannonian hypothesis, Vojnomir was a ''knez'' (duke or prince) of the

from ca. 790 to 800 or from 791 to ca. 810. He is believed to have fought the Pannonian Avars during their occupation of what is today northern Croatia; according to Francis Dvornik, he launched a joint counterattack with the help of Frankish troops under King Charlemagne in 791, successfully driving the Avars out of Croatia. In return for the help of Charlemagne, Vojnomir was obliged to recognize the Frankish sovereignty and convert to Christianity. On Christmas Day in 800, a year after the

Siege of Trsat The siege of Trsat ( hr, Opsada Trsata) was a battle fought over possession of the town of Trsat ( la, Tarsatica)The city of Tarsatica, where the siege happened, was probably located at the present Old Town in Rijeka, not at Trsat itself, which i ...

, the

Pope Leo III Pope Leo III (died 12 June 816) was bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 26 December 795 to his death. Protected by Charlemagne from the supporters of his predecessor, Adrian I, Leo subsequently strengthened Charlemagne's position b ...

crowned Charlemagne as ''Imperator Romanorum'' ( "Emperor of the Romans") in Saint Peter's Basilica. Nicephorus I of the Byzantine Empire and Charlemagne of the Holy Roman Empire settle their imperial boundaries in 803. Following these events, known as the ''

Pax Nicephori ''Pax Nicephori'', Latin for the "Peace of Nicephorus", is a term used to refer to both a peace treaty of 803, tentatively concluded between emperors Charlemagne, of the Frankish empire, and Nikephoros I, of the Byzantine empire, and the outcome ...

'', the

Duchy of Croatia The Duchy of Croatia (; also Duchy of the Croats, hr , Kneževina Hrvata; ) was a medieval state that was established by White Croats who migrated into the area of the former Roman province of Dalmatia 7th century CE. Throughout its existence ...

peacefully accepted limited Frankish overlordship. Contrary to Croatia, after the death of duke Vojnomir, the former Frankish ally Lower Pannonia led a resistance to Frankish domination under the leadership of duke Ljudevit Posavski. Fine Jr. claimed that Vojnomir was a Croatian duke who aided Charlemagne's major victory against the Pannonian Avars in 796, after which the Franks were made overlords "over the Croatians of northern Dalmatia, Slavonia and Pannonia".

Career hypothesis

The military hypothesis claims that Vojnomir was only a Slav making a career in the Frankish troops. He was not a ruler. From the only reliable contemporary source, ''Annales regni Francorum'', it is known that Vojnomir was a military leader.Grafenauer Bogo
''Vojnomir''
His status as a duke or a prince is not mentioned at all. In the past most of the historians described Vojnomir as one of Slavic dukes or princes in the neighbourhood of Friuli. However, according to

Peter Štih Peter Štih (born 27 November 1960) is a Slovenian historian, specialising in medieval history. Štih was born in Ljubljana, but spent most of his childhood years in the town of Most na Soči in the Goriška region of western Slovenia. He atten ...

, it is hard to believe that a leader of a foreign land could be accepted as a Frankish military leader by the Franks; he was probably only an exceptional Slavic individual who made his career in the Frankish army and perhaps he was only a Friulian Slav. According to

Nenad Labus Nenad (; Cyrillic script: Ненад) is a male personal name of Slavic origin common in countries that speak Slavic languages. It is more widespread in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, and North Macedonia than in other count ...

, Vojnomir could also have been a military leader from

Istria Istria ( ; Croatian language, Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; ist, Eîstria; Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian, Italian language, Italian and Venetian language, Venetian: ; formerly in Latin and in Ancient Greek) is the larges ...

Carniolan hypothesis

Many authors interpret Vojnomir as the Prince of Carniola. One of the arguments is that Carniola was the land just between Friuli and Avaria. Frankish troops passed Carniola, so this land is natural candidate for Vojnomir's homeland.Kos Milko (1933). ''Zgodovina Slovencev od naselitve do reformacije''. Ljubljana, Jugoslovanska knjigarna. Str. 64. Carniolans also hated their Avarian enemies. There are claims that the ancestors of the Croats were not the subjects of the Franks at this time. The Carniolans on the other side were already ruled by the Franks from 791 AD with their basic autonomy and the rule of their own domestic princes retained until the rebel of

Ljudevit Ljudevit () is a Croatian masculine given name. The name comes from the word ''ljudi'', meaning ''people''. The name Ljudevit is also used as a translation of foreign names such as Ludwig or Louis. Ljudevit may refer to: * Ljudevit (Lower Pannon ...

. Regarding the subordination of the Croat ancestors it was proved only for the Slavs in Dalmatia, whereas the Pannonian Slavs could have been subjected to the Franks already in the year 791.

References

Sources