Ivaniš ( sr-cyr, Иваниш, 1348) was a Serbian magnate (''

velikaš Velikaš (, ) is the Serbo-Croatian word for 'magnate', derived from ('great, large, grand'). Another word is , which was commonly used for provincial lords (). It was used to refer to the highest nobility of Serbia in the Middle Ages and Croatia ...

'') 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 '' despot''. He is mentioned in Emperor Dušan's charter of the

Monastery of the Holy Archangels The Monastery of the Holy Archangels (; ) is a Serbian Orthodox monastery located in Prizren, Kosovo. The monastery was founded by the Serbian Emperor Stefan Uroš IV Dušan of Serbia, Stefan Dušan (reigned 1331–1355) between 1343 and 1352 on ...

near

Prizren Prizren ( sq-definite, Prizreni, ; sr-cyr, Призрен) is the second List of cities and towns in Kosovo, most populous city and Municipalities of Kosovo, municipality of Kosovo and seat of the eponymous municipality and District of Prizren, ...

, dated 1348, in which he calls Ivaniš a "parent of my Empire". Not much is known about him, though his high dignitary title and the fact that Dušan called him "his parent" without a doubt shows that he was a close relative with the royal family. Ivaniš had possessions in the Toplica region and granted one of his villages to the Monastery. Ivaniš and then his son, Altoman, held a province in Toplica, evidently near the core of the future province of

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 ...

. His son Altoman married a sister of

and had a son, Ivaniš, who died between 1372 and 1389, and was buried at

Visoki Dečani The Visoki Dečani Monastery is a medieval Serbian Orthodox Christian monastery located near Deçan, Kosovo. It was founded in the first half of the 14th century by Stefan Dečanski, List of Serbian monarchs, King of Serbia. Dečani is by far t ...

. Some historians earlier believed that Ivaniš was related to Lazar's wife,

Milica Nemanjić Princess Milica Hrebeljanović née Nemanjić ( · ca. 1335 – November 11, 1405) also known as Empress (''Tsaritsa'') Milica, was a List of Serbian consorts, royal consort of Serbia by marriage to Prince Lazar, who fell in the Battle of Kosovo ...

. Some did also try to connect him to monk

Dorotej of Hilandar Dorotej or Dorotheus ( sr-cyr, Доротеј) was a Serbian Orthodox abbot of Hilandar and the '' protos'' of Mount Athos from 1356 until 1366. He is noted for writing a charter for the monastery of Drenča in 1382. Life Drenča The village of ...

, who is known to have held the ''despot'' title prior to his monastic vows, and was the

ktetor ''Ktetor'' () or ''ktitor'' (; ka, ქტიტორი ; ), meaning 'founder', is a title given in the Middle Ages to the provider of funds for construction or reconstruction of an Eastern Orthodox church or monastery, for the addition of icons ...

of the

Drenča Drenča ( sr-cyrl, Дренча) is a village in the municipality of Aleksandrovac, Serbia. The monastery of Drenča dates back to the Middle Ages. According to the 2002 census, the village has a population of 255 people.Popis stanovništva, doma ...

Monastery in Rasina, although his

secular name A legal name is the name that identifies a person for legal, administrative and other official purposes. A person's legal birth name generally is the name of the person that was given for the purpose of Civil registry, registration of the birth ...

is not preserved.

Family tree

*Ivaniš (d. after 1348) **Altoman ***Ivaniš (d. 1372–89)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ivanis 14th-century Serbian nobility 14th-century births 14th-century deaths Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown Despots of the Serbian Empire Medieval Serbian magnates