Jump to content

Pribislav of Serbia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pribislav
Prince / Archont / Knez
of Serbs / Serbia
Prince of Serbia
Reign891–892
PredecessorMutimir
SuccessorPetar
Born845/850
DiedAfter 892
IssueZaharija
HouseVlastimirović dynasty
FatherMutimir
ReligionChalcedonian Christian

Pribislav (Serbian: Прибислав, Greek: Πριβέσθλαβος[A]) was Prince of the Serbs for a year, in 891–892, before being deposed by his cousin Petar. He was the eldest son of Mutimir (r. 851–891) of the Vlastimirović dynasty, who ruled during the expanding and Christianization of Serbia.

Life

[edit]

His father had with his brothers Strojimir and Gojnik, defeated the Bulgar Army sent by Tsar Boris I of Bulgaria and led by his son Vladimir.[1] Vladimir was captured together with 12 boyars. Boris I and Mutimir agreed on peace (and perhaps an alliance[1]), and Mutimir sent his sons Bran and Stefan beyond the border to escort the prisoners, where they exchanged items as a sign of peace: Boris himself gave them "rich gifts", while he was given "two slaves, two falcons, two dogs, and eighty furs".[2]

In the 880s, Mutimir seized the throne, exiling his younger brothers and Klonimir, Strojimir's son, to the court of Boris I in the Bulgar Khanate.[1] This was most likely due to treachery.[3] Petar, the son of Gojnik, was kept at the Serbian court of Mutimir for political reasons,[3] but he soon fled to Branimir of Croatia.[1]

Mutimir died in 890 or 891, leaving the throne to his eldest son, Pribislav.[1] Pribislav had only ruled for a year when Petar returned in 892, defeating him in battle and seizing the throne. Pribislav fled to Croatia with his brothers Bran and Stefan.[1] Bran later returned and led an unsuccessful rebellion against Petar in 894.[4] Bran was defeated, captured and blinded (a Byzantine tradition meant to disqualify a person from taking the throne[5])

His only son, Zaharija, remained in Constantinople for a long period before successfully seizing the throne with Byzantine aid, ruling from 922–924.

Vlastimir
Mutimir
PribislavBranStefan
Zaharija I

Legacy

[edit]

The Pribislav mentioned in the Gospel of Cividale (codex aquileiensis), is most likely referring to Pribislav.[6][7][8]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^
    Name: The first attestation of his name is the Greek Pribeslavos (Πριβέσθλαβος[9]), in Latin Pribesthlabus[10] or Preuuisclao,[11] in Serbian Pribislav or Prvoslav (Прибислав/Првослав, meaning "First-glorified"; from the words prvo - first, and slava - glory). He was a descendant of Vlastimirović, his father was Mutimir, hence, according to the contemporary naming culture, his name was Pribislav Mutimirović Vlastimirović.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f The early medieval Balkans, p. 141
  2. ^ Southeastern Europe
  3. ^ a b Đekić, Đ. 2009, "Why did prince Mutimir keep Petar Gojnikovic?", Teme, vol. 33, no. 2, pp. 683-688. PDF
  4. ^ The early medieval Balkans, p. 150
  5. ^ Longworth, Philip (1997), The making of Eastern Europe: from prehistory to postcommunism (1997 ed.), Palgrave Macmillan, p. 321, ISBN 0-312-17445-4
  6. ^ Đorđe Sp Radojičić (1967). Književna zbivanja i stvaranja kod Srba u srednjem veku i u tursko doba. Matic srpska. p. 27.
  7. ^ Die Welt der Slaven. Böhlau. 1965. p. 104.
  8. ^ (Eggers 1996, p. 51)
  9. ^ De Administrando Imperio, ch. 32
  10. ^ Johann Grosse II (Héritiers), Nova acta eruditorum, 1764, p. 169
  11. ^ Kos, F.; Kos, M. (1906). knj. L. 801-1000. Lenova družba. Retrieved 2015-08-23.

Sources

[edit]
Pribislav
Regnal titles
Preceded by Prince of Serbia
891–892
Succeeded by