Tihomir of Serbia ( sr-cyr, Тихомир Завидовић, ''Tikhomir Zavidović''; велики жупан Тихомир, ''veliki župan Tikhomir'', "Great

Župan Župan is a noble and administrative title used in several states in Central and Southeastern Europe between the 7th century and the 21st century. It was (and in Croatia still is) the leader of the administrative unit župa (or zhupa, županija) ...

Tikhomir"; before 1113 – 1171) was the

Grand Prince Grand prince or great prince (feminine: grand princess or great princess) ( la, magnus princeps; Greek: ''megas archon''; russian: великий князь, velikiy knyaz) is a title of nobility ranked in honour below emperor, equal of king ...

( sr-cyr, велики жупан / '' veliki župan'') of the

Grand Principality of Serbia Grand Principality of Serbia ( sr, Великожупанска Србија, Velikožupanska Srbija), or Rascia ( sr, Рашка, Raška), was a medieval Serbian state that existed from the second half of the 11th century up until 1217, when it ...

(1166).

Life

He was the first-born child of

Zavida Zavida (Serbian Cyrillic: Завида) or Beli Uroš (Бели Урош, "White Uroš") was a 12th-century Serbian royal who briefly ruled as ''Župan of Zachumlia'' and later held the title ''Lord of Ribnica''. He was a close kinsman, or even a ...

. Tihomir was appointed the Grand Prince of Serbia (1166) by Byzantine Emperor

Manuel I Comnenus Manuel I Komnenos ( el, Μανουήλ Κομνηνός, translit=Manouíl Komnenos, translit-std=ISO; 28 November 1118 – 24 September 1180), Latinized Comnenus, also called Porphyrogennetos (; " born in the purple"), was a Byzantine empero ...

though he ruled jointly with his brothers. The lands were divided: Stracimir ruled

West Morava West Morava ( sr, Западна Морава, Zapadna Morava, ) is a river in Central Serbia, a 184 km-long headstream of the Great Morava, which it forms with the South Morava. It was known as Brongus in antiquity. Origin The West Mora ...

, Miroslav ruled

Zahumlje Zachlumia or Zachumlia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Zahumlje, Захумље, ), also Hum, was a medieval principality located in the modern-day regions of Herzegovina and southern Dalmatia (today parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia ...

and

Travunia Travunia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Travunija, Травунија; el, Τερβουνία, Tervounía; grc, Τερβουνία, Terbounía; la, Tribunia) was a South Slavic medieval principality that was part of Medieval Serbia (850–1 ...

Stefan Nemanja Stefan Nemanja (Serbian Cyrillic: , ; – 13 February 1199) was the Grand Prince ( Veliki Župan) of the Serbian Grand Principality (also known as Raška, lat. ) from 1166 to 1196. A member of the Vukanović dynasty, Nemanja founded the Nema ...

was given Toplica,

Ibar Ibar may refer to: People * Ibar of Beggerin (died 500), Irish saint * Íbar of Killibar Beg, Irish saint * Hilmi Ibar (born 1947), Kosovar academic * José Ibar (born 1969), Cuban baseball player Places * Ibar District, a division of the Serbia ...

, Rasina and Reke. Nemanja was also a vassal to Manuel I, through his

appanage An appanage, or apanage (; french: apanage ), is the grant of an estate, title, office or other thing of value to a younger child of a sovereign, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture. It was common in much o ...

of Dubočica. Tihomir's younger brother Nemanja aided the Imperial army against the Hungarians in Srem in 1164. The tie between Nemanja and Manuel I was most likely seen as a threat to Tihomir. Stefan Nemanja built the Monastery of Saint Nicholas in

Kuršumlija Kuršumlija ( sr-Cyrl, Куршумлија, ) is a town and municipality located in the Toplica District of the Southern Serbia (Geographical Region), southern Serbia. It is situated near the rivers Toplica River, Toplica, Kosanica and Banjska, ...

and the Monastery of the Holy Mother of Christ near

Kosanica The Kosanica () is a river in southern Serbia. It is a southern, right tributary of the Toplica near Kuršumlija Kuršumlija ( sr-Cyrl, Куршумлија, ) is a town and municipality located in the Toplica District of the southern Serbi ...

- Toplica, without the approval of Tihomir. Nemanja had felt that he had the free will of doing so, Tihomir disagreed, Nemanja was, or Tihomir thought that he was trying to assert independence through his relation to Manuel I. Tihomir had Nemanja chained and thrown into jail, his lands were annexed. Nemanja's supporters convinced the Church that Tihomir had done all this because of his disapproval of church building, thus the Church turned against Tihomir, and Nemanja managed to escape the jail and returned to his province. Stefan Nemanja mobilized an army, possibly with Byzantine help, and headed for the crownland. Manuel I might have been displeased with Tihomir's actions. Nemanja was triumphant; Tihomir and Miroslav and Stracimir were expelled to

Byzantium Byzantium () or Byzantion ( grc, Βυζάντιον) was an ancient Greek city in classical antiquity that became known as Constantinople in late antiquity and Istanbul today. The Greek name ''Byzantion'' and its Latinization ''Byzantium' ...

in 1167. Stefan Nemanja quickly became a powerful figure, and Manuel I subsequently turned to Tihomir and his brothers. The Byzantine Empire wanted to see Serbia divided by several princes to keep it weak. Manuel I provided Tihomir with an army, coming in from

Skopje Skopje ( , , ; mk, Скопје ; sq, Shkup) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre. The territory of Skopje has been inhabited since at least 4000 BC; r ...

. In 1171, Nemanja raised a large army and defeated Tihomir's forces at the

Battle of Pantina The Battle of Pantina was fought between the Byzantine Empire and the Grand Principality of Serbia in 1167. It was part of a war of succession within Serbia, in which the Byzantines intervened on behalf of the deposed Grand Prince Tihomir of Serb ...

near

Zvečan Zvečan ( sr-Cyrl, Звечан) or Zveçan ( sq-definite, Zveçani) is a town and municipality located in the Mitrovica District in Kosovo. As of 2015, it has a population of 16,650 inhabitants. It covers an area of , and consists of a town and ...

. Tihomir drowned in the River of Sitnica. Nemanja captured his other brothers and made peace, giving them rule in their former lands by recognizing him as the only ruler of Serbia. The

Nemanjić dynasty The House of Nemanjić ( sr-Cyrl, Немањић, Немањићи; Nemanjić, Nemanjići, ) was the most prominent dynasty of Serbia in the Middle Ages. This princely, royal, and later imperial house produced twelve Serbian monarchs, who rule ...

was named after Stefan Nemanja who ruled Serbia until 1371.

References

Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tihomir, Stefan 12th-century Serbian monarchs Vukanović dynasty Executed monarchs Eastern Orthodox monarchs 1160s deaths Year of birth unknown Executed Serbian people 12th-century Byzantine people People of the Grand Principality of Serbia 12th-century Eastern Orthodox Christians