Altoman Vojinović

Altoman Vojinović (Serbian: Алтоман Војиновић;^[a] fl. 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 general (vojvoda) with the title of knez, while his younger brother Vojislav also had the title of knez.

Dejan
župan of the Serbian Empire
Serbian imperial magnate
Reign	župan (fl. 1340–59)
Titles and styles župan (жупан), count veliki župan (велики жупан), grand count^[b]
Born	Early 14th century^[c] Serbian Kingdom
Died	after 1359^[c]
Noble family	Vojinović
Spouse	Ratoslava Mladenović
Issue Nikola Altomanović
Father	Vojin

Life

Altoman was the middle son of Vojin, a general that served King Stefan Dečanski and King Stefan Dušan and held the title of knez of Hum. Vojin was one of the more powerful nobles of King Stefan Dečanski, while his sons, Miloš, Altoman and Vojislav, were in Young King Dušan's circle.[1] With the conflict between the King and his son, however, Vojin and other noblemen joined the Young King (1330–31). Vojin's support of Dušan further elevated the Vojinović family.[2]

In 1333, King Dušan sent the eldest son, Miloš, to Ragusa as part of the negotiation team.[1] After the death of Vojin, his sons divided their father's province.[2] Soon after, Miloš died, with his part being divided among his brothers.[3] Altoman was a župan somewhere in the surroundings of Ragusa[3] (being mentioned with the title in 1340)[2] while Vojislav was a stavilac, who then received the title of knez in 1355, after being very active and useful to Emperor Dušan in the period of 1350–55.[3] After the Emperor's death (20 December 1355), it seems that Vojislav progressed, his influence and territory becoming greater.[3]

Altoman married Ratoslava, the daughter of vojvoda Mladen, and thus became brother-in-law with Branko Mladenović, the progenitor of the Branković family.[2] Branko's son was Vuk Branković, a later magnate. In c. 1340, Altoman had the title of župan, while his high reputation is seen from the Republic of Ragusa renting a war galley to Altoman's wedding, which was quite contrary to customs.[2] His son, Nikola, was born in the second half of 1348.[2] Altoman died some time after 1359,^[c] which was used as an opportunity by Vojislav who took the territories that Nikola had inherited, most likely leaving Nikola and Ratoslava with only a small part to hold.[2]

According to 19th-century historiography, Altoman was killed by Lazar Hrebeljanović.

Possessions

Altoman's province included Gruža, with the fortified castle-town of Čestin, Rudnik, and the surrounding areas.[4]

Family

He married Ratoslava, the daughter of vojvoda Mladen and sister of Branko Mladenović, the Lord of Ohrid. He had a son, Nikola Altomanović.

Annotations

1. ^
   In historiography, he is either known with the patronymic Vojinović, or with his title župan (жупан Алтоман). Vladan Đorđević (1844–1930) called him "the High-Handed" (жупан Алтоман Високоруки).[5]
2. ^
   The inscription on the tomb of his wife mentions him and his son, with the titles veliki župan and župan, respectively. This means that Altoman without a doubt had the title of veliki župan, and that his son did not inherit that honour, but only inherited the title of župan.[6]
3. ^
   The birth date of Altoman is unknown. He is mentioned for the first time in 1335.[7] He died some time after 1359,[4] when he was last mentioned with a date; his wife died a few years later.[6]

References

1. Fajfrić 2000a, ch. 43. Sukobi oko prestola, paragraph 17
2. Fajfrić 2000a, ch. 47. Veliki župan Nikola Altomanović, paragraph 2
3. Fajfrić 2000a, ch. 43. Sukobi oko prestola, paragraph 18
4. Miloš Blagojević (2004). Nemanjići i Lazarevići i srpska srednjovekovna državnost. Zavod za udžbenike i nastavna sredstva. p. 44.
5. Владан Ђорђевић (1875). Отаџбина. p. 82.
6. Vizantološki institut (2004). Zbornik radova. 41–42. Srpska akademija nauka i umetnosti. pp. 311–312.
7. Srđan Rudić (2006). Vlastela Ilirskog grbovnika. Istorijski institut. p. 119.

Sources

• Fajfrić, Željko (2000a) [1998], Sveta loza Stefana Nemanje (in Serbian) (Internet ed.), Belgrade: "Tehnologije, izdavastvo, agencija Janus", "Rastko".CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Fajfrić, Željko (2000b), Veliki župan Nikola Altomanović (in Serbian) (Internet ed.), Belgrade: "Grafosrem", "Rastko".CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Смиљанић, Аранђел. "ДВА СРПСКА ВЕЛИКА ЖУПАНА ИЗ XIV ВИЈЕКА: АЛТОМАН И АНДРИЈА ГРОПА." " РАДОВИ" ЧАСОПИС ЗА ХУМАНИСТИЧКЕ И ДРУШТВЕНЕ НАУКЕ 2.22 (2016).