Grand Župan

Grand, Great or Chief Župan (Serbian: Велики жупан, Veliki župan, Latin: magnus iupanus, Greek: ζουπανος μεγας, romanized: zoupanos megas) is the English rendering of a South Slavic title which relates etymologically to Župan (originally a pater familias, later the tribal chief of a unit called a župa). It was most commonly attested among the Serbs.

Bulgaria

A decorated silver cup with a Medieval Greek inscription attests to the use of the title zoupanos megas in 9th-century Bulgaria.^[1] The inscription refers to a certain Sivin (Bulgar name^[1]), who appears to have held that position at the time of Kniaz Boris I (852–889). Sivin was among the Bulgarian boyars who supported the official Christianization, as the subsequently added line "May God help" suggests.^[2]^[3] The title zoupan tarkanos was also interpreted as having same or similar meaning.^[4]^[5]

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.^[6] It was used by the Serb rulers in the 11th and 12th centuries.^[7] In Greek, it was known as archizoupanos (ἄρχιζουπάνος), megazoupanos (μεγαζουπάνος) and megalos zoupanos (μεγάλος ζουπάνος).^[7]

In the 1090s, Vukan became the veliki župan in Grand Principality of Serbia.^[8] Stefan Nemanja expelled his brother Tihomir in 1168 and assumed the title of veliki župan,^[9] as described in the Charter of Hilandar (и постави ме великог жупана).^[10] A Latin document used mega iupanus for King Stefan the First-Crowned (Stephanus dominus Seruie siue Rasie, qui mega iupanus).^[11] Afterward, it was a high noble rank with notable holders such as Altoman Vojinović (fl. 1335–59).

Yugoslavia

It was used in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (1922–29) as a governmental title for the head of the oblast (an administrative division),^[12] the state was divided into 33 oblasts.

References

^ ^a ^b Petkov, Kiril (2008). The Voices of Medieval Bulgaria, Seventh-Fifteenth Century: The Records of a Bygone Culture. Brill. p. 37. ISBN 9789004168312.
^ Бешевлиев, Веселин (1981). Прабългарски епиграфски паметници [Bulgar Epigraphic Records] (in Bulgarian). София: Издателство на Отечествения фронт. pp. 160–162. OCLC 8554080.
^ Андреев, Йордан; Лазаров, Иван; Павлов, Пламен (1999). Кой кой е в средновековна България [Who is Who in Medieval Bulgaria] (in Bulgarian). Петър Берон. p. 338. ISBN 978-954-402-047-7.
^ Curta, Florin (2006). Southeastern Europe in the Middle Ages, 500–1250. Cambridge University Press. p. 164. ISBN 9780521815390.
^ Pohl, Walter (2018). The Avars: A Steppe Empire in Central Europe, 567–822. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press. p. 367. ISBN 978-1501729409.
^ Francis William Carter; David Turnock (1999). The States of Eastern Europe. Ashgate. p. 252. ISBN 978-1-85521-512-2.
^ ^a ^b Сима Ћирковић; Раде Михальчић (1999). Лексикон српског средњег века. Knowledge. p. 73. ISBN 9788683233014. ВЕЛИКИ ЖУПАН - 1. Титула српског владара у XI и XII веку. Гласила је велнм жупднк и била превођена одговарајућим терминима, грчки арџ- ^огтагот, игуа^огтауге, цеуаХа? ^огтожх, латин- ски те^ајирапиз, та§пиз ...
^ John Van Antwerp Fine (1991). The Early Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Sixth to the Late Twelfth Century. University of Michigan Press. pp. 225–. ISBN 0-472-08149-7.
^ Paul Stephenson (29 June 2000). Byzantium's Balkan Frontier: A Political Study of the Northern Balkans, 900-1204. Cambridge University Press. pp. 267–. ISBN 978-0-521-77017-0.
^ Jovo Radoš (2000). Počeci filozofije prava kod Srba. Prometej. ISBN 9788676394906.
^ Radovi. Vol. 19. 1972. p. 29.
^ Yugoslavia. (1922). Stenografske beles ke Narodne skups tine Kraljevine Srba, Hrvata i Slovenaca: Redovan saziv. p. 29.

Bulgaria

Serbia

Yugoslavia

References

Further reading