Vojislav Vojinović (, d. 1363) was a 14th-century
Serbian nobleman, and one of the leading members of Serbian noble
House of Vojinović. He held prominent offices during the reigns of Serbian Emperors
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 ...
and
Stefan Uroš. His father
Vojin was governor of the region of
Hum, while Vojislav held several positions, from 1349 to 1363. After 1355, he became the most influential noble in northwestern parts of the
Serbian Empire
The Serbian Empire ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Српско царство, Srpsko carstvo, separator=" / ", ) was a medieval Serbian state that emerged from the Kingdom of Serbia. It was established in 1346 by Dušan the Mighty, who significantly expande ...
, controlling frontier regions between the
Adriatic coast
The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to ...
and river
Drina
The Drina ( sr-Cyrl, Дрина, ) is a long river in the Balkans, which forms a large portion of the border between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. It is the longest tributary of the Sava River and the longest karst river in the Dinaric Al ...
, including
Konavli
Konavle () is a municipality and a small Dalmatian subregion located southeast of Dubrovnik, Croatia.
The region is administratively part of the Dubrovnik-Neretva County and the center of the municipality is Cavtat.
Demographics
The total muni ...
,
Trebinje
Trebinje ( sr-Cyrl, Требиње, ) is a city and municipality in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the southernmost city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and is situated on the banks of the Trebišnjica river in the region of East Her ...
,
Popovo Polje
Popovo Polje ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Popovo polje, Попово поље, , is a '' polje'' (karstic field) in Bosnia and Herzegovina, located in a southernmost region of the country, near the Adriatic coast. Its size is .
Popovo polje ...
,
Gacko
Gacko ( sr-cyrl, Гацко) is a town and municipality in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in the region of East Herzegovina (Bosnia and Herzegovina), East Herzegovina. As of 2013, the town has a population of 5,784 inh ...
and
Užice
Užice ( sr-cyr, Ужице, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative centre of the Zlatibor District in western Serbia. It is located on the banks of the river Đetinja. According to the 2022 census, the city proper has a popu ...
.
Family
He was born the youngest son of
Vojvoda Vojin
Vojin of Gacko or Vojvoda Vojin (; fl. 1322–1347) was a Serbian magnate (''velikaš'') and ''voivode'' (military commander equivalent to duke), who was holding the area around Gacko, which was part of '' Hum'', ca.1322-1347. He was in serv ...
, who had fought under the command of
Stefan of Dečani and
Stefan Dušan the Mighty IV. His older brother
Altoman ruled a part of
Zeta
Zeta (, ; uppercase Ζ, lowercase ζ; , , classical or ''zē̂ta''; ''zíta'') is the sixth letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 7. It was derived from the Phoenician alphabet, Phoenician letter zay ...
.
He married Gojislava and had two sons, Dobrivoj and Stefan. His widow inherited the lands of Vojislav and his brother
Altoman Vojinović.
War with Hungary and Dubrovnik
In 1358 Ludvig the first of Hungary invaded Serbia and Vojislav supported the campaign of
Tsar Uroš against the invasion. Indeed, as the major magnate in the region bordering with Hungary he was key to the Serbian defense against Hungary and for Vojislav, already influential before, this provided a foundation for much greater influence.
As a result of the
Treaty of Zadar
The Treaty of Zadar, also known as the Treaty of Zara, was a peace treaty signed in Zadar, Dalmatia on February 18, 1358. Under the treaty, the Venetian Republic lost influence over its Dalmatian holdings in exchange for ending hostilities with L ...
Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik, historically known as Ragusa, is a city in southern Dalmatia, Croatia, by the Adriatic Sea. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, a Port, seaport and the centre of the Dubrovni ...
came under Hungarian rule in 1358. Dubrovnik was granted an important concession that it should be able to continue trade with Serbia even in the event of war between Serbia and Hungary.
Ston
Ston () is a settlement and a municipality in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County of Croatia, located at the south of isthmus of the Pelješac peninsula.
History
Because of its geopolitical and strategic position, Ston has had a rich history since ...
and its peninsula, held by Dubrovnik, had formerly been part of Serbia and crucially as Vojislav considered himself the Duke (Knez) of Hum, part of the Hum. As Vojislav threatened Dubrovnik, "I shall take from you
Stonski Rat because it is mine; I am the Duke of Hum and
Stonski Rat is the seat of the Hum Duchy which means it is mine".
[R. Mihaljčić, Kraj Srpskog Carstva, SKZ, Beograd. 1975. pp. 39.] Vojislav plundered the
Ragusa Ragusa may refer to:
Places Croatia
* Ragusa, Dalmatia, the historical name of the city of Dubrovnik
* the Republic of Ragusa (or Republic of Dubrovnik), the maritime city-state of Ragusa
* Ragusa Vecchia, historical Italian name of Cavtat, a t ...
n territories. During the war 1361–1362 between Dubrovnik and
Kotor
Kotor (Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Котор, ), historically known as Cattaro (from Italian language, Italian: ), is a town in Coastal Montenegro, Coastal region of Montenegro. It is located in a secluded part of the Bay of Kotor. The city has ...
, Vojislav sided with Kotor; peace was signed in 1362 and the borders were restored.
Death
He died of the plague on October 25, 1363, and was buried in the Serbian Monastery of ''Saint Nikola of
Debar'', in
Priboj
Priboj ( sr-Cyrl, Прибој, ) is a town and municipality located in the Zlatibor District of southwestern Serbia. The population of the town is 13,172, while the population of the municipality is 23,514.
Geography
The municipality of Priboj i ...
on the
Lim, the inscription on his tomb says: ''"Great Duke of All Serbian,
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
and
maritime lands"''.
References
Sources
*
*
*
External links
Oblasni gospodari u 14. veku page 2 (Serbian)
14th-century Serbian nobility
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''.
...
1363 deaths
14th-century deaths from plague (disease)
Year of birth unknown
Medieval Serbian magnates
Gacko
Medieval Herzegovina
History of the Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina
{{Serbia-bio-stub