Velikaš (, ) is the

Serbo-Croatian Serbo-Croatian ( / ), also known as Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian (BCMS), is a South Slavic language and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro. It is a pluricentric language with four mutually i ...

word for '

magnate The term magnate, from the late Latin ''magnas'', a great man, itself from Latin ''magnus'', "great", means a man from the higher nobility, a man who belongs to the high office-holders or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or ot ...

', 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 The medieval period in the history of Serbia began in the 6th century with the Slavic migrations to Southeastern Europe, and lasted until the Ottoman Serbia, Ottoman conquest of Serbian lands in the second half of the 15th century. The period i ...

and Croatia in the Middle Ages while the highest nobility in

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 ...

were called ''

vlastelin Vlastelin ( vlastelini) is the Serbian language word for the "magnate", derived from ''vlast'' ("rule, power, authority, government, management, office"). Other words are ''velmoža'' and ''velikaš'', sometimes used interchangeably, particularly to ...

'' (, lower status). It is the equivalent of

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 ...

, used in

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...

. Titles used by the higher nobility include '' vojvoda'' (general, duke), '' veliki župan'', etc.

Serbian magnates

Serbian Empire

Magnates with Byzantine court titles * prince

Simeon Uroš Simeon Uroš ( sr-Cyrl, Симеон Урош, ; 1326–1370), nicknamed Siniša (), was a self-proclaimed Emperor of Serbs and Greeks, from 1356 to 1370. He was son of Serbian King Stephen Uroš III and Byzantine Princess Maria Palaiologina. ...

, Dušan's half-brother, duke of Epirus and Acarnania *

Jovan Asen John Komnenos Asen was the ruler of the Principality of Valona from 1345 to 1363, initially as a vassal of the Serbian Empire, and after 1355 as a largely independent lord. Descended from high-ranking Bulgarian nobility, John was a brother of b ...

, Dušan's brother-in-law, governor in southern Albania *

Jovan Oliver Jovan Oliver Grčinić (; ca. 1310–1356) was a magnate of the Serbian Emperor Dušan the Mighty (r. 1331–1355), holding the titles of ''sebastokrator'' and ''despotes'', and the rank of "great voivode", showing his prominence and status as on ...

, Dušan's close associate, and governor in Ovče Pole and left Vardar *

Dejan Dejan () is a South Slavic masculine given name, derived from the Slavic verb ''dejati'', meaning "to act, to do". The name and the derived surname Dejanović are common among South Slavs. The name is first recorded in 1325 (1333) for a voevo ...

, Dušan's brother-in-law, governor of Pčinja *

Branko Branko (Cyrillic script: Бранко; ) is a South Slavic male given name found in all of the former Yugoslavia. It is related to the names Branimir and Branislav, and the female equivalent is Branka. People named Branko include: * Branko (DJ), P ...

, Dušan's relative, governor of Ohrid *

Preljub Preljub ( sr-Cyrl, Прељуб; c. 1312–1356) was a Serbian magnate who served Emperor Stefan Dušan (r. 1331–55) as '' vojvoda'' (general). He participated in the southern conquests and held Thessaly with the rank of ''caesar'' (''kesar'') ...

, Dušan's son-in-law, , duke of Kastoria, Voden and Veria, and governor of Thessaly *

Vojihna Vojihna Nemanjić of Drama or simply Vojin of Drama ( sr-Cyrl, Војихна ; ca 1298–1360), was a Serbian feudal nobleman, member of the collateral branch of Nemanjić dynasty, ruling family of the medieval Serbia, that rose through the ra ...

, Dušan's relative, and governor of Drama * Grgur, Dušan's relative (son of Branko), and governor of Polog Magnates with Slavic court titles *

Altoman Vojinović Altoman Vojinović (; 1335–59) was a Serbian magnate ('' velikaš'') who served Emperor Stefan Dušan (r. 1331–55) as ''župan'' ("count") and Emperor Uroš V (r. 1355–71) as '' veliki župan'' ("grand count"). His father Vojin was a gen ...

, son of Vojin and son-in-law of Mladen

Croatian magnates

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Velikas Slavic titles Serbian noble titles * *