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Jovan Vladimir or John Vladimir (; c. 990 – 22 May 1016) was the ruler of Duklja, the most powerful Serbian principality of the time,〔Fine 1991, pp. 193, 202〕 from around 1000 to 1016. He ruled during the protracted war between the Byzantine Empire and the First Bulgarian Empire. Vladimir was acknowledged as a pious, just, and peaceful ruler. He is recognized as a martyr and saint, with his feast day being celebrated on 22 May. Jovan Vladimir had a close relationship with Byzantium but this did not save Duklja from the expansionist Tsar Samuel of Bulgaria, who conquered the principality in around 1010 and took Vladimir prisoner. A medieval chronicle asserts that Samuel's daughter, Theodora Kosara, fell in love with Vladimir and begged her father for his hand. The tsar allowed the marriage and returned Duklja to Vladimir, who ruled as his vassal. Vladimir took no part in his father-in-law's war efforts. The warfare culminated with Tsar Samuel's defeat by the Byzantines in 1014 and death soon after. In 1016, Vladimir fell victim to a plot by Ivan Vladislav, the last ruler of the First Bulgarian Empire. He was beheaded in front of a church in Prespa, the empire's capital, and was buried there. He was soon recognized as a martyr and saint. His widow, Kosara, reburied him in the ''Prečista Krajinska'' Church, near his court in southeastern Duklja. In 1381, his remains were preserved in the Church of St Jovan Vladimir near Elbasan, and since 1995 they have been kept in the Orthodox cathedral of Tirana, Albania. The saint's remains are considered Christian relics, and attract many believers, especially on his feast day, when the relics are taken to the church near Elbasan for a celebration. The cross Vladimir held when he was beheaded is also regarded as a relic. Traditionally under the care of the Andrović family from the village of Velji Mikulići in southeastern Montenegro, the cross is only shown to believers on the Feast of Pentecost, when it is carried in a procession to the summit of Mount Rumija. Jovan Vladimir is regarded as the first Serbian saint and the patron saint of the town of Bar in Montenegro. His earliest, lost hagiography was probably written sometime between 1075 and 1089; a shortened version, written in Latin, is preserved in the Chronicle of the Priest of Duklja. His hagiographies in Greek and Church Slavonic were first published, respectively, in 1690 and 1802. The saint is classically depicted in icons as a monarch wearing a crown and regal clothes, with a cross in his right hand and his own head in his left hand. He is fabled to have carried his severed head to his place of burial. ==Life== Duklja was an early medieval Serbian principality whose borders coincided for the most part with those of present-day Montenegro.〔Fine 1991, pp. 202–3〕 The state rose greatly in power after the disintegration of Serbia that followed the death of its ruler, Prince Časlav, around 943. Though the extent of Časlav's Serbia is uncertain, it is known that it included Raška (now part of Central Serbia) and Bosnia. Raška had subsequently come under Duklja's political dominance, along with the neighboring Serbian principalities of Travunia and Zachlumia (in present-day Herzegovina and south Dalmatia).〔Živković 2006, pp. 50–57〕〔Fine 1991, pp. 193–95〕 The Byzantines often referred to Duklja as Serbia.〔Ostrogorsky 1998, pp. 293, 298〕 Around 1000, Vladimir, still a boy, succeeded his father Petrislav as the ruler of Duklja.〔Živković 2006, pp. 66–72〕 Petrislav is regarded as the earliest ruler of Duklja whose existence can be confirmed by primary historical sources, which also indicate that he was in close relations with Byzantium.〔〔Živković 2009, pp. 260–62〕 The principality consisted of two provinces: Zenta in the south and Podgoria in the north. A local tradition has it that Vladimir's court was situated on the hillock called Kraljič, at the village of Koštanjica near Lake Skadar, in the Krajina region of southeastern Montenegro.〔Milović and Mustafić 2001, p. 54〕 Near Kraljič lie the ruins of the ''Prečista Krajinska'' Church (dedicated to Theotokos), which already existed in Vladimir's time.〔Jireček 1911, (p. 205 )〕 According to Daniele Farlati, an 18th-century ecclesiastical historian, the court and residence of Serbian rulers once stood in Krajina.〔Farlati 1817, (p. 13 ) (col 2)〕 Vladimir's reign is recounted in Chapter 36 of the Chronicle of the Priest of Duklja, completed between 1299 and 1301; Chapters 34 and 35 deal with his father and uncles. These three chapters of the chronicle are most likely based on a lost biography of Vladimir written in Duklja sometime between 1075 and 1089.〔〔Živković 2009, pp. 267–69〕 Both the chronicle and the 11th-century Byzantine historian John Skylitzes described Vladimir as a wise, pious, just, and peaceful ruler.〔Rudger 2010, para. 1〕〔Skylitzes and Cedrenus 1839, (p. 463 )〕 Vladimir's reign coincided with a protracted war between the Byzantine Emperor Basil II (r. 976–1025) and the ruler of the First Bulgarian Empire, Tsar Samuel (r. 980–1014). Basil II might have sought the support of other Balkan rulers for his fight against Samuel, and he intensified diplomatic contacts with Duklja for this purpose. A Serbian diplomatic mission, most likely sent from Duklja, arrived in the Byzantine capital of Constantinople in 992 and was recorded in a charter of the Great Lavra Monastery, written in 993.〔Ostrogorsky 1956, pp. 273–75〕 In 1004 or 1005, Emperor Basil recovered from Samuel the city of Dyrrhachium,〔Živković 2002, pp. 9–24〕 the major stronghold on the Adriatic coast, south of Duklja. Since 1005, Basil had also controlled the coastal lands north and south of that city, parts of the Byzantine Theme of Dyrrhachium.〔Stephenson 2005, pp. 160–62〕 Byzantium thus established a territorial contact with Prince Vladimir's Duklja, which was in turn connected to the Byzantine Theme of Dalmatia, consisting of Adriatic towns northwest of Duklja. The Republic of Venice, an ally of Byzantium, militarily intervened in Dalmatia in 1000 to protect the towns from attacks by Croats and Narentines. Venetian rule over Dalmatia on behalf of Basil was confirmed by the emperor in 1004 or 1005. Svetislav Surinja, a Venetian ally, was crowned Croatian king. Venice, the Dalmatian towns, Croatia, and Vladimir's Duklja, were thus aligned in a compact pro-Byzantine bloc connected to Byzantium via Dyrrhachium.〔 The close relations with Byzantium, however, did not help Prince Vladimir. Samuel attacked Duklja in 1009 or 1010, as part of his campaign aimed at breaking up that pro-Byzantine bloc, which could have threatened him.〔 Vladimir retreated with his army and many of his people to his fortress on a hill named Oblik, close to the southeastern tip of Lake Skadar.〔 According to the Chronicle of the Priest of Duklja, he performed a miracle there: the hill was infested with venomous snakes, but when he offered up a prayer to the Lord, their bites became harmless.〔 Part of Samuel's army lay siege to the hill, and the remainder attacked the nearby coastal town of Ulcinj, which was part of the fortification system of the Theme of Dyrrhachium. Vladimir eventually surrendered, a decision the chronicle attributed to his wish to deliver his people from famine and the sword. He was sent to a prison in Samuel's capital of Prespa, located in western Macedonia.〔 Having failed to conquer Ulcinj, which received men and supplies by sea from Dalmatian towns, the tsar directed his forces toward Dalmatia. There he burned the towns of Kotor and Dubrovnik, and ravaged the region as far northwest as Zadar. He then returned to Bulgaria via Bosnia and Raška.〔 A consequence of this campaign was the Bulgarian occupation of Duklja, Travunia, Zachlumia, Bosnia, and Raška.〔 Venetian, and indirectly Byzantine power in Dalmatia was weakened. Samuel had succeeded in breaking up the pro-Byzantine bloc.〔 The chronicle states that while Vladimir languished in the Prespa prison, praying day and night, an angel of the Lord appeared to him and foretold that he would shortly be freed, but that he would die a martyr's death. His fate in captivity was described in a romantic story involving him and Theodora Kosara, Tsar Samuel's daughter. This is the chronicle's description of how they met:〔Rudger 2010, para. 2〕 Kosara then begged her father for Vladimir's hand, and the tsar granted her request. He restored his new son-in-law to the throne of Duklja.〔〔Jireček 1911, (pp. 206–7 )〕 In reality, the marriage was probably a result of Samuel's political assessment: he may have decided that Vladimir would be a more loyal vassal if he was married to his daughter.〔 Resolving thus the question of Duklja, Samuel could concentrate more troops in Macedonia and Thessaly, the main site of his conflict with Byzantium. The chronicle claims that the tsar also gave Vladimir the whole territory of Dyrrachium. The prince could in fact have been given a northern part of that territory, which was partially under Samuel's rule. A brief note on Vladimir by John Skylitzes may indicate that the prince also received some territory in Raška.〔〔 His paternal uncle Dragimir, ruler of Travunia and Zachlumia, who had retreated before Samuel's army, was given back his lands to rule, also as the tsar's vassal.〔〔 Thereafter, as recorded in the chronicle, "Vladimir lived with his wife Cossara in all sanctity and chastity, worshipping God and serving him night and day, and he ruled the people entrusted to him in a Godfearing and just manner."〔Rudger 2010, para. 3〕 There are no indications that Vladimir took any part in his father-in-law's war efforts.〔 The warfare culminated in Samuel's disastrous defeat by the Byzantines in 1014, and on 6 October that same year, the tsar died of a heart attack.〔〔Fine 1991, pp. 198–99〕 He was succeeded by his son, Gavril Radomir, whose reign was short: his cousin Ivan Vladislav killed him in 1015 and ruled in his stead.〔 Vladislav sent messengers to Vladimir demanding his attendance at the court in Prespa, but Kosara advised him not to go and went there herself instead. Vladislav received her with honor and urged Vladimir to come as well, sending him a golden cross as a token of safe conduct. The chronicle relates the prince's reply:〔 Two bishops and a hermit came to Vladimir, gave him a wooden cross, and confirmed that the tsar had made a pledge of faith on it. Vladimir kissed the cross and clutched it to his chest, collected a few followers, and set off for Prespa. As he arrived, on 22 May 1016, he went into a church to pray. When he exited the church, he was struck down by Vladislav's soldiers and beheaded.〔〔Rudger 2010, para. 4〕 According to Skylitzes, Vladimir believed Vladislav's pledge, told to him by the Bulgarian archbishop David. He then allowed himself to fall into Vladislav's hands, and was executed.〔〔 The motivation behind the murder is unclear. Since Samuel's defeat in 1014, the Bulgarians had been losing battle after battle, and Vladislav probably suspected or was informed that Vladimir planned to restore Duklja's alliance with Byzantium.〔〔 This alliance would be particularly disturbing for Tsar Vladislav because of the proximity of Duklja to Dyrrhachium, which was a target of the tsar's war efforts.〔 In early 1018 Vladislav led an unsuccessful attack against Dyrrhachium, outside whose walls he found his death.〔 The chronicle asserts that Vladimir appeared before Vladislav when he dined in his camp outside Dyrrhachium, and slew him while he cried for help.〔Rudger 2010, para. 5〕 In the same year, the Byzantine army—led by the victorious Emperor Basil—terminated the First Bulgarian Empire.〔 As Vladimir and Kosara had no children, his successor was his uncle Dragimir, ruler of Travunia and Zachlumia. Accompanied by soldiers, he set off for Duklja to establish himself as its ruler, probably in the first half of 1018. When he came to Kotor, the town's inhabitants ambushed and killed him after inviting him to a banquet, and his soldiers returned to Travunia. Duklja was not mentioned again in the sources until the 1030s. Some scholars believe that it was placed under direct Byzantine rule around 1018, while others believe it remained a Byzantine vassal state under an unknown native ruler.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「Jovan Vladimir」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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