Grand, Great or Chief Župan ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Велики жупан, Veliki župan, , ) is the English rendering of a South Slavic title which relates etymologically to '' Župan'' (originally a ''

pater familias The ''pater familias'', also written as ''paterfamilias'' (: ''patres familias''), was the head of a Roman family. The ''pater familias'' was the oldest living male in a household, and could legally exercise autocratic authority over his extende ...

'', later the tribal chief of a unit called a

župa A župa, or zhupa, is a historical type of administrative division in Southeast Europe and Central Europe, that originated in medieval South Slavs, South Slavic culture, commonly translated as "county" or "parish". It was mentioned for the first t ...

). It was most commonly attested among the

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Serbia, culture, History of Serbia, history, and Serbian lan ...

Bulgaria

A decorated silver cup with a

Medieval Greek Medieval Greek (also known as Middle Greek, Byzantine Greek, or Romaic; Greek: ) is the stage of the Greek language between the end of classical antiquity in the 5th–6th centuries and the end of the Middle Ages, conventionally dated to the ...

inscription attests to the use of the title ''zoupanos megas'' in 9th-century

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

. The inscription refers to a certain Sivin (Bulgar name), who appears to have held that position at the time of Kniaz Boris I (852–889). Sivin was among the Bulgarian

boyar A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Bulgaria, Kievan Rus' (and later Russia), Moldavia and Wallachia (and later Romania), Lithuania and among Baltic Germans. C ...

s who supported the official

Christianization Christianization (or Christianisation) is a term for the specific type of change that occurs when someone or something has been or is being converted to Christianity. Christianization has, for the most part, spread through missions by individu ...

, as the subsequently added line "May God help" suggests. The title ''zoupan tarkanos'' was also interpreted as having same or similar meaning.

Serbia

In the Middle Ages, the Serbian ''veliki župan'' (велики жупан) was the supreme chieftain in the multi-tribal society. The title signifies overlordship as the leader of lesser chieftains titled ''

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 ...

''. It was used by the Serb rulers in the 11th and 12th centuries. In Greek, it was known as ''archizoupanos'' (ἄρχιζουπάνος), ''megazoupanos'' (μεγαζουπάνος) and ''megalos zoupanos'' (μεγάλος ζουπάνος). In the 1090s, Vukan became the ''veliki župan'' in

Grand Principality of Serbia The Grand Principality of Serbia ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Великожупанска Србија, Velikožupanska Srbija, separator=" / "), also known by the anachronistic exonym Raška (region), Rascia ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Рашка, Raška, separator=" ...

. Stefan Nemanja expelled his brother Tihomir in 1168 and assumed the title of ''veliki župan'', as described in the Charter of Hilandar (). A Latin document used ''mega iupanus'' for King Stefan the First-Crowned (). Afterward, it was a high noble rank with notable holders such as Altoman Vojinović ( 1335–59).

Yugoslavia

It was used in the

Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () has been its colloq ...

(1922–29) as a governmental title for the head of the ''

oblast An oblast ( or ) is a type of administrative division in Bulgaria and several post-Soviet states, including Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. Historically, it was used in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. The term ''oblast'' is often translated i ...

'' (an administrative division), the state was divided into 33 oblasts.

Bulgaria

Serbia

Yugoslavia

References

Further reading