Stefan Radoslav of Serbia - Ruler of Zachlumia

Ruler of Zachlumia

According to "The Realm of the Slavs" (1601) by Mavro Orbin, Stefan Radoslav served as ruler of Zachlumia during the reign of his father. However the sources Orbin used for his history of Zachlumia are not identified by name. They are considered lost and Orbin remains our earliest extant source for several of the events mentioned. According to it Miroslav, the Great was succeeded by his son Andrew (Andrija), only ten-years-old. Missing from the text is Toljen, a son of Miroslav who was mentioned as heir apparent in other sources. With Andrew being underage, the local nobility proceeded to depose him. They offered the crown to Peter (Petar), whose relation to his predecessors is not mentioned by Orbin. Fine notes that later scholars tend to assume Peter was another son of Miroslav and brother or half-brother to Andrew. Some time later, the cause of the exiled Andrew was taken up by Stefan Nemanjić who invated Zachlumia. Peter was forced to retreat to the areas west and north of the river Neretva. The rest of Zachlumia fell into the control of Nemanjić. Fine points that the areas supposedly held by Peter would not be uncontested. They are known from other sources to have been claimed by Andrew, Duke of Croatia and Dalmatia since 1198. Orbin next claims that Nemanjić divided Zachlumia between his cousin Andrew, son of Miroslav and his own son, Radolslav. Andrew was given control of Popovo and coastal Hum. The mainland was granted to Radoslav. Orbin then claims that Radoslav died and Nemanjić granted his area to Andrew. Fine points that Radoslav could not have predeceased his father. We know from other sources that he went on to succeed him. Nemanjić could have simply removed him for his position of authority for reasons lost to us. Orbin continues his account but Radoslav is not mentioned again.

Fine points that the reliability of the above account is at times difficult to determine because the lack of further sources. There are some obvious inaccuracies at times but the basics of the story could be true. A succession crisis in Zachlumia with the existence of rival heirs would be quite plausible. Nemanjić would have reason to get involved. His ongoing rivalry with his brother in the late 1190s would require him to secure control over Zachlumia, in order to prevent Vukan from claiming control for himself. However his activities in the area are otherwise unrecorded. His motivation for backing Andrew against Peter is also unclear. Either of the two could serve as rulers of a puppet state. Installing Radoslav as ruler of eastern Zachlumia would be a way to secure tighter control of the region.

Orbin does not actually provide dates for the events of his account. Fine proceeds to estimate them, based on sources recording other events in the wider region. He estimates the death of Miroslav to 1198. Explaining why Andrew of Croatia and Dalmatia chose that year to attack. He acquired control over areas of Zachlumia northwest of the Neretva. By 1203, this Andrew was involved in conflict with his own brother, Emeric of Hungary. The ongoing conflict would allow Peter to claim the areas northwest of the Neretva for himself. He could have either taken advantage of Andrew's troops already withdrawing or using his own forces to drive them out. Either way, Andrew could probably not afford maintaining two fronts of war at the same time. Securing the area as his powerbase, Peter could then drive his brother from eastern Zachlumia. The amount of time between the time Andrew of Zachlumia went into exile and the decision of Nemanjić to intervene is left unclear in the account by Orbin. Fine suggests it could have been more than a decade. He suggests it could be as late as 1216, just a year before Nemanjić was declared a King by Pope Honorius III. Nemanjić could by then devote his forces to securing eastern Zachlumia for Andrew, his intended puppet ruler. He could then attempt to secure even tighter control by appointing Radoslav in the areas directly bordering Raška. The area could have stayed under his control for longer than Orbin indicates. Fine points that Andrew seems to have "disappeared from the scene" by 1218 when Peter is recorded to have taken over the coastal areas. There seems to be no indication of Peter extending his control to the areas supposedly ruled by Radoslav.