Mladen ( sr-cyr, Младен; 1323–26) was a Serbian magnate that served King

Stefan Dečanski Stefan Uroš III ( sr-Cyrl, Стефан Урош III, ), known as Stefan Dečanski ( sr-Cyrl, Стефан Дечански, ; 1276 – 11 November 1331), was the King of Serbia from 6 January 1322 to 8 September 1331. Dečanski was the son of ...

( 1322–1331), holding the titles of ''

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, županij ...

'' (count), and later '' vojvoda'' (general). He was the father of Branko Mladenović, a later magnate. Mladen and his brother Nikola hailed from a family that held estates in

Drenica Drenica ( al, Drenicë, Drenica, ), also known as the Drenica Valley, is a hilly region in central Kosovo, covering roughly around of Kosovo's total area (6%). It consists of two municipalities, Drenas and Skenderaj, and several villages in Kli ...

, in

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

, during the reign of Stefan Milutin (r. 1282–1321). The family was elevated during the rule of King

(r. 1322–1331); Mladen is mentioned in 1323 as governing

Trebinje Trebinje ( sr-Cyrl, Требиње, ) is a city and municipality located in the Republika Srpska entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the southernmost city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and is situated on the banks of Trebišnjica river in the r ...

and Dračevica, while his brother Nikola is mentioned as serving as governor in northern Albania in 1329. King Stefan Dečanski's confirmation on the rights of Ragusan merchants dating to March 25, 1326, was attended by ''vojvoda'' Mladen, ''

tepčija Tepčija ( sr-cyr, тепчија) was a court title of Croatia, Serbia and Bosnia in the Middle Ages. The functions and position in the court is unclear. It was first mentioned in Croatia in the second half of the 11th century, and later in Serbi ...

'' Vladoje, and ''

čelnik ''Čelnik'' ( sr-cyr, челник) was a high court title in the Kingdom of Serbia, Serbian Empire and Serbian Despotate. In its early form, the holder was entrusted with the security of property belonging to the Orthodox Church from the aristoc ...

Đuraš Ilijić Đuraš Ilijić ( sr-cyrl, Ђураш Илијић, 1326–62) was a nobleman who served the Serbian monarchs Stefan Dečanski (r. 1321–1331), Stefan Dušan (r. 1331–1355) and Uroš V (r. 1355–1371), from 1326 until his death in 1362. He ha ...

. The Serbian court hierarchy was as follows: '' stavilac'', ''

'', ''

kaznac Kaznac ( sr-cyr, казнац) was a court title of the state employee in medieval Bosnia and Serbia who was in charge for the treasury in the territory under his jurisdiction — ''kaznačina'' (казначина). The name of the title is derive ...

'', ''

'' and '' vojvoda'', the supreme title. Although the family was influential, it was not among the most powerful families at the Serbian court. It is unknown whether Mladen lived to serve King

Stefan Dušan Stefan Uroš IV Dušan ( sr-Cyrl, Стефан Урош IV Душан, ), known as Dušan the Mighty ( sr, / ; circa 1308 – 20 December 1355), was the King of Serbia from 8 September 1331 and Tsar (or Emperor) and autocrat of the Serbs, Gre ...

, as is the case with many other magnates such as ''vojvoda'' Vojin and ''čelnik''

Gradislav Vojšić Gradislav Vojšić ( sr, Градислав Војшић; 1284–1327) was a Serbian nobleman who served the Serbian Kings Stefan Uroš II Milutin (r. 1282–1321) and Stefan Uroš III (r. 1322–1331). He was the first known ''čelnik'' of t ...

. The last mention of him in documents dates to 1326. He had a son, Branko, and a daughter, Ratoslava. Ratoslava married ''župan'' Altoman, the son of ''vojvoda'' Vojin. Branko was among the magnates that were given Byzantine court titles upon the crowning of

as Emperor (1346), receiving the title of ''

sevastokrator ''Sebastokrator'' ( grc-byz, Σεβαστοκράτωρ, Sevastokrátor, August Ruler, ; bg, севастократор, sevastokrator; sh, sebastokrator), was a senior court title in the late Byzantine Empire. It was also used by other rulers wh ...

''.;

References

Sources

* * * *{{citation , last=Fajfrić , first=Željko , author-link= Željko Fajfrić , url= http://www.rastko.rs/kosovo/istorija/zfajfric-brankovici.html , title=Sveta loza Brankovića , publisher=Janus; Rastko, edition=Internet , orig-year=1999 , year=2000b , location=Belgrade 14th-century deaths 13th-century births 14th-century Serbian nobility Medieval Serbian magnates Medieval Serbian military leaders History of the Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina People of the Kingdom of Serbia (medieval) Kosovo Serbs