Prijezda I ( sr-cyr, Пријезда I; (1211–1287) was a Bosnian Ban as a

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain ...

of the

Hungarian Kingdom The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

, reigning 1250–1287. He was probably the founder of the

House of Kotromanić A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air cond ...

Biography

From Christianity to Heresy and back

Prijezda was originally a

Roman Catholic Christian The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international instituti ...

, but he converted to

Bogomilism Bogomilism (; ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", bogumilstvo, богумилство) was a Christian neo-Gnostic, dualist sect founded in the First Bulgarian Empire by the priest Bogomil during the reign of Tsar Peter I in the 10th century. It ...

later on. According to the

Pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

's letter to Ban

Matej Ninoslav Matej Ninoslav ( sr-Cyrl, Матеј Нинослав; died 1250) was the Ban of Bosnia in the period of 1232–50. Most of Bosnia was under the Kingdom of Hungary from 1235 to 1241. Ninoslav was also a Prince of Split in 1242–1244 during the lo ...

, he converted back to

Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

during Matej's reign. As he could not be trusted because of his previous

conversion Conversion or convert may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''The Convert'', a 2023 film produced by Jump Film & Television and Brouhaha Entertainment * "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman'' * ...

, he was forced to send his son as a guarantee to the

Dominican Order The Order of Preachers (, abbreviated OP), commonly known as the Dominican Order, is a Catholic Church, Catholic mendicant order of pontifical right that was founded in France by a Castilians, Castilian priest named Saint Dominic, Dominic de Gu ...

. Ban Matej Ninoslav had to beg even to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

itself for the release of Prijezda's son, Prijezda II, guaranteeing that they are none other than faithful Catholics – but the pleas reached deaf ears.

Reign during the Crusade

During the Bosnian Crusade (1234–1239) against

, Hungarian prince

Coloman Coloman, ( (also Slovak, Czech, Croatian), , ; ) The Germanic origin name Coloman used by Germans since the 9th century. * Coloman, King of Hungary * Coloman of Galicia-Lodomeria Coloman of Galicia (; ; 1208 – 1241) was the rulerfrom 1214 pr ...

commanding the

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

Armies An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

conquered most of Bosnia and temporarily pushed Matej and his forces. He gave the

title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify their generation, official position, military rank, professional or academic qualification, or nobility. In some languages, titles may be ins ...

of Bosnian Ban to Prijezda, who was Ninoslav's closest living relative. Prijezda ruled for only two years, because Matej managed to restore control over most of Bosnia after the Hungarian defeat in the face of the

Mongols Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China ( Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family o ...

. As Prijezda was in mortal danger, he fled to

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

Ban

After the death of

in 1250, the question of power over

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

was initiated. Ninoslav's sons fought valiantly to keep Bosnia independent, but eventually

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

Béla IV of Hungary Béla IV (1206 – 3 May 1270) was King of Hungary and King of Croatia, Croatia between 1235 and 1270, and Duke of Styria from 1254 to 1258. As the oldest son of Andrew II of Hungary, King Andrew II, he was crowned upon the initiative of a group ...

martially subjected Bosnia and made Prijezda its Ban, who vouched to rule in

's name. After he became Ban, Prijezda started a campaign to exterminate the

Bosnian Church The Bosnian Church ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=/, Crkva bosanska, Црква босанска) was an autonomous Christian church in medieval Bosnia and Herzegovina. Historians traditionally connected the church with the Bogomils, although this ...

heresy Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, particularly the accepted beliefs or religious law of a religious organization. A heretic is a proponent of heresy. Heresy in Heresy in Christian ...

in Bosnia. Due to his ruthless fight against the Bogumils, the Pope ordered the Dominicans to return him his son as it appeared that Prijezda became a pious Catholic. On 11 November 1253 Hungarian King Bela wrote how he fiercely fought against the Bosnian heretics with his armies. After that, King Bela partitioned the Bosnian banate in a way that Prijezda was given Bosnia proper, the area between the valleys of the rivers of Vrbas and Bosna, as his hereditary demesne. Usora and Soli on the other hand were made separate banates ruled by Bans named by the King – Rostislav,

Béla Béla may refer to: * Béla (crater), an elongated lunar crater * Béla (given name), a common Hungarian male given name See also * Bela (disambiguation) * Belá (disambiguation) * Bělá (disambiguation) Bělá may refer to: Places in the Cze ...

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * he He ..., a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name * Michael (bishop elect)">Michael (surname)">he He ..., a given nam ...

– later subjected to the

Banate of Macsó The Banate of Macsó or the Banate of Mačva (, sr-Cyrl-Latn, Мачванска бановина, Mačvanska banovina, separator=" / ") was an administrative division ( banate) of the medieval Kingdom of Hungary, which was located in the pres ...

, which had been raised to a

Dukedom Dukedom may refer to: * The title and office of a duke * Duchy, a realm ruled by a duke or duchess * Dukedom, Kentucky and Tennessee, United States * ''Dukedom'' (game), a land management game See also * Lists of dukedoms Lists of dukedoms incl ...

. Eventually, Bosnia itself was subjected to the Duchy of Macsó. Because of his heroic fights, Prijezda received the title "Fidelis Noster" ("Our Faithful") from the Hungarian King, as well as several lands outside Bosnia, around

Gornji Miholjac Gornji Miholjac is a village in Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the north ...

. King Bela IV of Hungary attacked the Serb Kingdom of Rascia of King

Stefan Uroš I Stefan Uroš I ( sr-Cyrl, Стефан Урош I; 1223 – 1 May 1277), known as Uroš the Great () was the King of Serbia from 1243 to 1276, succeeding his brother Stefan Vladislav. He was one of the most important rulers in Serbian history ...

and conquered

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, r ...

in 1254 which it gave to Prijezda's Bosnia, but the eventual peace between Hungary and 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 ...

returned it to Rascia. In 1255 the Hungarian King granted new lands to the Bosnian Ban in Slavonia. Prijezda had to dispatch Bosnian forces in 1260 to fight in the Hungarian Army against the Bohemian King. In 1270, King Bela IV died. He was succeeded by his son

Stephen V Stephen V may refer to: *Pope Stephen IV, aka Stephen V, Pope from 816 to 817 *Pope Stephen V (885–891) *Stephen V of Hungary (born before 1239 – 1272), King of Hungary and Croatia, Duke of Styria *Stephen V Báthory (1430–1493), Hungarian co ...

. The powerful Duke of Macsó was killed a war in 1272. The same year King Stephen V died. The Hungarian throne was succeeded by his son Ladislaus IV. He was too young to rule, so his

Cuman The Cumans or Kumans were a Turkic nomadic people from Central Asia comprising the western branch of the Cuman–Kipchak confederation who spoke the Cuman language. They are referred to as Polovtsians (''Polovtsy'') in Rus' chronicles, as " ...

mother Elizabeth acted as

regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

. During these changing times for the power in

Prijezda's power dropped severely. Not only did several Hungarian nobles, including Ugrin of Severin, Hungary's

treasure Treasure (from from Greek ''thēsauros'', "treasure store") is a concentration of wealth — often originating from ancient history — that is considered lost and/or forgotten until rediscovered. Some jurisdictions legally define what constit ...

-holder included Bosnia in their titles, but a certain Bosnian

nobleman Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...

Stephen appeared in Bosnia with high influence and prestige; greatly surpassing that of Prijezda. In 1284, Prijezda arranged a marriage between the

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

Princess Princess is a title used by a female member of a regnant monarch's family or by a female ruler of a principality. The male equivalent is a prince (from Latin '' princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for ...

Jelisaveta, daughter of the King of

Syrmia Syrmia (Ekavian sh-Latn-Cyrl, Srem, Срем, separator=" / " or Ijekavian sh-Latn-Cyrl, Srijem, Сријем, label=none, separator=" / ") is a region of the southern Pannonian Plain, which lies between the Danube and Sava rivers. It is div ...

Stefan Dragutin Stefan Dragutin ( sr-Cyrl, Стефан Драгутин, ; died 12 March 1316), was List of Serbian monarchs, King of Serbia from 1276 to 1282. From 1282, he ruled a Realm of Stefan Dragutin, separate kingdom which included northern Serbia, and ...

, and his son

Stephen I Kotromanić Stephen I Kotromanić ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, separator=" / ", Стефан I, Stjepan I) (1242–1314) was a Bosnian Ban from 1287 to 1290 jointly with Ban Prijezda II and 1290–1314 alone as a vassal of the Kingdom of Hungary. Origin His ancestry is ...

in an attempt to forge an ever-lasting alliance with Dragutin. Prijezda was forced to withdraw from the throne in 1287 due to his old age. He spent his last hours on his estate in Zemljenik.

Children

Prijezda had four children: *

– ''it is not known precisely if he was his son'' * Prijezda II *Vuk (died 1287) *a daughter that married Ladislaus, son of Stephen Vodički of the

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

n Babonić family

Sources

* Veselinović, Andrija & Ljušić, Radoš (2001). ''Српске династије'', Platoneum. * Ćorović, Vladimir (2005). ''ИЛУСТРОВАНА ИСТОРИЈА СРБА'', Book II,

Politika ( sr-Cyrl, Политика, lit=Politics) is a Serbian daily newspaper, published in Belgrade. Founded in 1904 by Vladislav F. Ribnikar, it is the oldest daily newspaper still in circulation in the Balkans. Publishing and ownership is publ ...

. * ''Intervju – ДИНАСТИЈЕ и владари јужнословенских народа''. Special Edition 12, 16 June 1989.

External links

History of the Serbs
by

Vladimir Ćorović Vladimir Ćorović ( sr-cyrl, Владимир Ћоровић; 27 October 1885 – 12 April 1941) was a Serb historian, university professor, author, and academic. Ćorović served two terms as the Rector of the University of Belgrade and twice ...

{{Authority control Bans of Bosnia 1211 births 1287 deaths Kotromanić dynasty 13th-century Hungarian people 13th-century Bosnian people Bosnia and Herzegovina Roman Catholics People of the Banate of Bosnia 13th-century governors Bosnian monarchs