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Duchy of Saint Sava

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Duchy of Saint Sava
1448–1482
Flag of Saint Sava
Flag
Coat of arms of Saint Sava
Coat of arms
War in Zeta (1441–1444). Duchy of Stephen Vukcic Kosaca annexed Upper Zeta. Conquered the city of Bar, with the fortress (now Old Bar) in Lower Zeta.
War in Zeta (1441–1444). Duchy of Stephen Vukcic Kosaca annexed Upper Zeta. Conquered the city of Bar, with the fortress (now Old Bar) in Lower Zeta.
CapitalBlagaj
Largest cityHerceg-Novi
GovernmentFeudal state
Historical eraLate Medieval
• Established
1448
• Disestablished
1482
 Succeeded by
Sanjak of Herzegovina
Today part of
Part of a series on the
History of Herzegovina
flag Bosnia and Herzegovina portal
Part of a series on the
History of
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Sclavonia Croatia Bosnia cum Dalmatiæ parte
Early history
Middle Ages
Ottoman era
Habsburg era
Yugoslavia
Contemporary
Republika Srpska)
flag Bosnia and Herzegovina portal

The Duchy of Saint Sava[1][2][3][4][5][6][a] (Serbo-Croatian: Vojvodstvo Svetog Save, Војводство Светог Саве)[10] was a late medieval polity in southeastern Europe, that existed from 1448 up to 1482, when it was absorbed by the Ottoman Empire. It was founded and controlled by the Kosača noble family, whose rulers held the title Duke of Saint Sava (Serbo-Croatian: Herceg od Svetog Save, Херцег од Светог Саве).[11] Their domains included southern parts of modern-day Bosnia and Herzegovina, extending to southern parts of modern-day coastal Croatia, northwestern Montenegro and southwestern Serbia. Its founder, Stjepan Vukčić Kosača (duke since 1448), titled himself Herceg of Saint Sava,[12][13][14][15][16] a title which would later give rise to the new name to the region: Herzegovina, and will be also used by the Ottomans as Hersek Sancağı (Sanjak of the Herzeg), designating the Sanjak of Herzegovina.[17]

In various sources, and historiographical traditions, the name of the duchy is recorded or used in several forms, varying mostly in the way the name of Saint Sava is spelled in different languages: Latin: Ducatus Sancti Sabbae,[18][19] Italian: Ducato di San Sabba,[20] German: Herzogtum des hl. Sava.[21] In English historiography, forms such as the "Duchy of Saint Sava" or "Duchy of St. Sava" were used since the 19th century.[22]

History[edit]

Coronelli map (1690), designating the region as: „Parte del Ducato di S. Saba”
Further information: Kingdom of Bosnia

Until the 14th century, most regions of the later Duchy of Saint Sava were part of medieval Serbia,[23][24] and then part of the medieval Bosnia,[25] that reached its high under Stephen Tvrtko I (d. 1391), king of Serbs, Bosnia and Maritime.[26] At its greatest extent, under Stjepan Vukčić Kosača, and later his sons Vladislav and Vlatko, the Kosača noble family ruled the territories that included significant part of modern-day Bosnia and Herzegovina, and extended to parts of modern-day coastal Croatia, northwestern Montenegro and southeastern part of modern Serbia. Stjepan titled himself "Herceg of Saint Sava", after the first Serbian Archbishop, Saint Sava. The title is of German origin, Herzog ("Duke"), and it was used as an equivalent to the South Slavic title Vojvoda.[27][28] Stjepan's title of Duke (Herceg) would later give the name to the present-day region of Herzegovina, as the Ottomans used the term "Hersek Sancağı" (Sanjak of the Herzeg) for the newly formed Sanjak of Herzegovina.

Stjepan's relations with Bosnian kings were turbulent, since he became a mighty feudal lord, with high ambitions. On 15 February 1444, Stjepan signed a treaty with Alfonso V, King of Aragon and Naples, becoming his vassal in exchange for the king's help against Stjepan's enemies, namely King Stephen Thomas of Bosnia, Duke Ivaniš Pavlović and the Republic of Venice. In the same treaty Stjepan promised to pay regular tribute to Alfonso instead of his tribute to the Ottoman sultan, which he had done up until then.[29]

Since the autumn of 1448, Stjepan Vukčić Kosača started to style himself as "Herceg" (from herzog or duke). Initialy, he was mentioned in one document as "Herceg of Hum and Primorje" (1448), but from the beginning of 1449 and further on, he styled himself as "Herceg of Saint Sava" (Latin: Dux Sancti Sabae). The title "Duke of Saint Sava" had considerable symbolic value, because Saint Sava's relics, which were located in monastery Mileševa within Stjepan's domains, were considered miracle-working by people of all Christian faiths in the region.[30][31][12] This significantly improved relations between Stjepan and the Serbian Despot Đurađ Branković, as they formed an alliance the same year and conquered Višegrad and Srebrnica from the Bosnian crown.

In 1451, Stjepan attacked Dubrovnik, and laid siege to the city. He had earlier been made a Ragusan nobleman and, consequently, the Ragusan government now proclaimed him a traitor. A reward of 15,000 ducats, a palace in Dubrovnik worth 2,000 ducats, and an annual income of 300 ducats was offered to anyone who would kill him, along with the promise of hereditary Ragusan nobility which also helped hold this promise to whoever did the deed. Stjepan was so scared by the threat that he finally raised the siege.[32]

Stjepan's domains covered various regions, from the river Lim in the east, to beyond the river Neretva in the west, and upper Drina in the north, encompassing several historical territories (zemlja and župa), such as: Hum, Primorje, Travunija, Onogošt, Drina, Polimlje and others.[33]

Religious composition of those regions was complex,[34] since Stjepan's subjects belonged to three Christian denominations (Eastern Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism, and the Bosnian Church). Prominent members of his court were metropolian David of Mileševa (of the Serbian Patriarchate of Peć), and gost Radin (of the Bosnian Church).[35][36]

In 1463, the Ottomans conquered the Bosnian Kingdom, and in 1465 they also conquered most of the eastern part of Stjepan's domains, organizing the captured territories as the Vilayet of the Herceg (Vilâyet-i Hersek) within the Sanjak of Bosnia, and later (c. 1470) reorganizing the same region as a separate Sanjak of Herzegovina.[37]

Stjepan Vukčić died in 1466, and was succeeded by his sons Vladislav Hercegović and Vlatko Hercegović. The elder brother ruled in western regions, while the younger governed over the remaining southeastern parts, centered in Herceg-Novi.[38][39] By 1467, much of the Duchy was occupied by the Ottoman governor of the Sanjak of Bosnia, Isa Bey Ishaković.[40] As a result, Vladislav left for Hungary and received an estate in Slavonia.[38][39] In 1470, Vlatko concluded a treaty with the Ottoman sultan, thus securing the existence of his domain,[41] which was gradually reduced to the region of Novi.[42]

In 1482, Vlatko was overpowered by Ottoman forces led by Stjepan Vukčić's youngest son, Hersekzade Ahmed Pasha, who had converted to Islam prior to that. Both Vladislav and Vlatko, and their descendants who lived in Hungary and Venice, kept the title "Duke of Saint Sava" and used it until the extinction of the Kosača family in the 17th century.[43][44][45][46] The term Duchy of Saint Sava was used to refer to Herzegovina in official correspondence until the late 17th century.[b]

Rulers[edit]

See also[edit]

Footnotes[edit]

  1. ^ Some sources, such as the scholar Bojka Djukanovic, also refer to it as the Dukedom of St. Sava.[7] Another rendering of its name is the Herzegovina of St. Sava.[8] The latter is attested to in maps dating from 1513 to 1818.[9]
  2. ^ In February 1688, Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I was urged by cardinal Pietro Marcellino Corradini to grant imperial protection to twelve prominent Bosnian Muslim families since they "would be followed [by others] in Serbia, in the Duchy of St. Sava [Hercegovina] and other lands adjacent to this Republic, as well as in other dependencies of the kingdom of Hungary".[47] That December, Leopold issued a protective patent "for all inhabitants of the Dukedom of St. Sava or Herzegovina".[48]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Miller 1923, p. 574.
  2. ^ Encyclopædia Britannica, t. 15 (1953), p. 756.
  3. ^ Pitcher 1972, p. 71.
  4. ^ Zlatar 1992a, pp. 374, 414.
  5. ^ Nicol 1997, p. XV.
  6. ^ Kozličić, Bratanić & Uglešić 2011, p. 35: "Herzegovina's real name was Duchy of St. Sava (Ducatus Sancti Sabbae)"
  7. ^ Djukanovic 2023, p. 386.
  8. ^ Osborne 1967, p. 195.
  9. ^ Vemić & Lović 2014, p. 683.
  10. ^ Djukanovic 2023, p. 39.
  11. ^ Zlatar 1995, p. 9.
  12. ^ a b Fine 1994, p. 578.
  13. ^ Bataković 1996, p. 21.
  14. ^ Ćirković 2004, p. 106.
  15. ^ Bataković 2005, p. 82.
  16. ^ Behmen 2009, p. 208.
  17. ^ Šabanović 1959, pp. 44–46.
  18. ^ Fresne 1746, p. 126.
  19. ^ Zirdum 1977, p. 196.
  20. ^ Orbini 1601, pp. 380–382.
  21. ^ Vogel, Walther (1925): Dan neue Europa und seine historisch-geografischen Grudlagen. Paderborn: Salzwasser Verlag, p. 336.
  22. ^ Evans 1876, p. LI, 217, 300, 302.
  23. ^ Fine 1991, p. 160.
  24. ^ Fine 1994, pp. 8, 203.
  25. ^ Ćirković 2004, p. 62.
  26. ^ Nakaš, Lejla (2011): Konkordancijski rječnik ćirilskih povelja srednjovjekovne Bosne, pp. 42–49.
  27. ^ Ćirković 2004, pp. 106, 108.
  28. ^ Nakaš, Lejla (2011): Konkordancijski rječnik ćirilskih povelja srednjovjekovne Bosne, pp. 113–114, 118–125, 129–132, 135–139.
  29. ^ Ćirković 1964a, p. 278-279.
  30. ^ Ćirković 1964a, p. 290.
  31. ^ Ćirković 1964b, p. 106-108.
  32. ^ Krekić 1978, pp. 388–389.
  33. ^ Dinić 1940, pp. 151–259.
  34. ^ Špoljarić 2019, p. 156.
  35. ^ Ćirković 1964a, p. 287.
  36. ^ Fine 2007, pp. 136–143.
  37. ^ Šabanović 1959, pp. 136–143.
  38. ^ a b Laszowski 1898, pp. 25–29.
  39. ^ a b Pálosfalvi 2016, p. 118.
  40. ^ Ursinus 2007, p. 411.
  41. ^ Beldiceanu-Steinherr & Bojović 1993, pp. 75–86.
  42. ^ Paulus & Weber 2020, pp. 208–260.
  43. ^ Behmen 2009, p. 209.
  44. ^ Pálosfalvi 2014, p. 153.
  45. ^ Pálosfalvi 2016, pp. 111–125.
  46. ^ Pálosfalvi 2018, pp. 211, 222, 456.
  47. ^ Zlatar 1992b, p. 160.
  48. ^ Stanojević 2004, p. 21.

Sources[edit]

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