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, Sp ...

, who ruled from c. 790 to c. 800 or from 791 to c. 810 over an area that corresponds to modern-day

Slavonia Slavonia (; hr, Slavonija) is, with Dalmatia, Croatia proper, and Istria, one of the four historical regions of Croatia. Taking up the east of the country, it roughly corresponds with five Croatian counties: Brod-Posavina, Osijek-Baran ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

. The

Royal Frankish Annals The ''Royal Frankish Annals'' (Latin: ''Annales regni Francorum''), also called the ''Annales Laurissenses maiores'' ('Greater Lorsch Annals'), are a series of annals composed in Latin in the Carolingian Francia, recording year-by-year the state ...

makes mention of a ''Wonomyrus Sclavus'' (Vojnomir the Slav) active in 795.

Eric of Friuli Eric (also ''Heirichus'' or ''Ehericus''; died 799) was the Duke of Friuli (''dux Foroiulensis'') from 789 to his death. He was the eldest son of Gerold of Vinzgouw and by the marriage of his sister Hildegard the brother-in-law of Charlemagne. B ...

, sent Vojnomir with his army into Pannonia, between the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , p ...

and

Tisza The Tisza, Tysa or Tisa, is one of the major rivers of Central and Eastern Europe. Once, it was called "the most Hungarian river" because it flowed entirely within the Kingdom of Hungary. Today, it crosses several national borders. The Tisza be ...

, where they pillaged the Avars' dominions. According to Milko Kos 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 The ''Royal Frankish Annals'' (Latin: ''Annales regni Francorum''), also called the ''Annales Laurissenses maiores'' ('Greater Lorsch Annals'), are a series of annals composed in Latin in the Carolingian Francia, recording year-by-year the state ...

''.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 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.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 authors from the Austrian part of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

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 The Pannonian Avars () were an alliance of several groups of Eurasian nomads of various origins. The peoples were also known as the Obri in chronicles of Rus, the Abaroi or Varchonitai ( el, Βαρχονίτες, Varchonítes), or Pseudo-Avars ...

during their occupation of what is today northern

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

; according to Francis Dvornik, he launched a joint counterattack with the help of

Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages * Francia, a post-Roman state in France and Germany * East Francia, the successor state to Francia in Germany ...

troops under King

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first ...

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 Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

. 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 ...

, the Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne as ''Imperator Romanorum'' ( "Emperor of the Romans") in

Saint Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican ( it, Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano), or simply Saint Peter's Basilica ( la, Basilica Sancti Petri), is a Church (building), church built in the Renaissance architecture, Renaissanc ...

Nicephorus I Nikephoros I or Nicephorus I ( gr, Νικηφόρος; 750 – 26 July 811) was Byzantine emperor from 802 to 811. Having served Empress Irene as '' genikos logothetēs'', he subsequently ousted her from power and took the throne himself. In r ...

of the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

and Charlemagne of the Holy Roman Empire settle their imperial boundaries in 803. Following these events, known as the '' Pax Nicephori'', the Duchy of Croatia 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 Ljudevit () or Liudewit ( la, Liudewitus), often also , was the Duke of the Slavs in Lower Pannonia from 810 to 823. The capital of his realm was in Sisak (today in Croatia). As the ruler of the Pannonian Slavs, he led a resistance to Frankish do ...

. 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, 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, Vojnomir could also have been a military leader from Istria.

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. 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