Altoman Vojinović (; 1335–59) was a Serbian magnate ('' velikaš'') who served

Emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

Stefan Dušan Stephen (honorific), Stefan Uroš IV Dušan ( sr-Cyrl, Стефан Урош IV Душан), also known as Dušan the Mighty ( sr-Cyrl, Душан Силни; – 20 December 1355), was the King of Serbia from 8 September 1331 and Emperor of th ...

(r. 1331–55) as ''župan'' ("count") and Emperor Uroš V (r. 1355–71) as '' veliki župan'' ("grand count"). His father Vojin was a general (''vojvoda'') with the title of ''knez'', while his younger brother

Vojislav Vojislav ( sr-Cyrl, Војислав, ) is a Serbian masculine given name, a Slavic dithematic name (of two lexemes), derived from the Slavic words ''voj'' ("war, warrior"), and ''slava'' ("glory, fame"). Its feminine form is '' Vojislava''. ...

also had the title of ''knez''.

Life

Altoman was the middle son of Vojin, a general that served King

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

and King Stefan Dušan and held the title of ''knez'' of Hum. Vojin was one of the more powerful nobles of King Stefan Dečanski, while his sons, Miloš, Altoman and

, were in Young King Dušan's circle. With the conflict between the King and his son, however, Vojin and other noblemen joined the Young King (1330–31). Vojin's support of Dušan further elevated the Vojinović family. In 1333, King Dušan sent the eldest son, Miloš, to Ragusa as part of the negotiation team. After the death of Vojin, his sons divided their father's province. Soon after, Miloš died, with his part being divided among his brothers. Altoman was a ''župan'' somewhere in the surroundings of Ragusa (being mentioned with the title in 1340) while Vojislav was a ''

stavilac Stavilac ( sr-Cyrl, ставилац, literally meaning "placer") was a court title in Medieval Bosnia and Medieval Serbia in the Middle Ages. It was similar to the Byzantine court offices of ''domestikos'' and cup-bearer (''pinkernes'', known in Se ...

'', who then received the title of ''knez'' in 1355, after being very active and useful to Emperor Dušan in the period of 1350–55. After the Emperor's death (20 December 1355), it seems that Vojislav progressed, his influence and territory becoming greater. Altoman married Ratoslava, the daughter of ''vojvoda'' Mladen, and thus became brother-in-law with Branko Mladenović, the progenitor of the Branković family. Branko's son was

Vuk Branković Vuk Branković ( sr-Cyrl, Вук Бранковић, , 1345 – 6 October 1397) was a Serbian medieval nobleman who, during the Fall of the Serbian Empire, inherited a province that extended over present-day southern and southwestern Serbia, enti ...

, a later magnate. In 1340, Altoman had the title of ''

župan Župan is a noble and administrative title used in several states in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe between the 7th century and the 21st century. It was (and in Croatia still is) the leader of the administrat ...

'', while his high reputation is seen from the

Republic of Ragusa The Republic of Ragusa, or the Republic of Dubrovnik, was an maritime republics, aristocratic maritime republic centered on the city of Dubrovnik (''Ragusa'' in Italian and Latin; ''Raguxa'' in Venetian) in South Dalmatia (today in southernmost ...

renting a war galley to Altoman's wedding, which was quite contrary to customs. His son,

Nikola Nikola () is a given name which, like Nicholas, is a version of the Greek '' Nikolaos'' (Νικόλαος) and it means "the winner of the people". It is common as a masculine given name in the South Slavic countries (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bul ...

, was born in the second half of 1348. Altoman died some time after 1359, which was used as an opportunity by Vojislav who took the territories that Nikola had inherited, most likely leaving Nikola and Ratoslava with only a small part to hold. According to 19th-century historiography, Altoman was killed by

Lazar Hrebeljanović Lazar Hrebeljanović ( sr-Cyrl, Лазар Хребељановић; – 15 June 1389) was a medieval List of Serbian monarchs, Serbian ruler who created the largest and most powerful state on the territory of the disintegrated Serbian Empir ...

Possessions

Altoman's province included Gruža, with the fortified castle-town of Čestin, Rudnik, and the surrounding areas.

Family

He married Ratoslava, the daughter of ''vojvoda'' Mladen and sister of

Branko Mladenović Branko ( sr-cyr, Бранко; 1331–65) was a Serbian magnate who served to king and Serbian Empire, emperor Stefan Dušan (r. 1331–55), and emperor Stefan Uroš V (r. 1355–71), with the titles of ''sluga'' and later ''sevastokrator''. A m ...

, the Lord of Ohrid. He had a son, Nikola Altomanović.

Annotations

References

Sources

* * *Смиљанић, Аранђел. "ДВА СРПСКА ВЕЛИКА ЖУПАНА ИЗ XIV ВИЈЕКА: АЛТОМАН И АНДРИЈА ГРОПА." " РАДОВИ" ЧАСОПИС ЗА ХУМАНИСТИЧКЕ И ДРУШТВЕНЕ НАУКЕ 2.22 (2016). {{DEFAULTSORT:Vojinovic, Altoman 14th-century Serbian nobility People from the Serbian Empire Altoman 14th-century births 14th-century deaths Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown