Gojnik Vlastimirović or Gojnik of Serbia ( sr, Гојник, la, Goinicus) was a

Serbian Serbian may refer to: * someone or something related to Serbia, a country in Southeastern Europe * someone or something related to the Serbs, a South Slavic people * Serbian language * Serbian names See also * * * Old Serbian (disambiguation ...

Župan who was subject to his elder brother Mutimir, the Grand Župan of the Serbian lands ( Rascia) from ca. 850-860 with his brother Strojimir. He was the youngest son of Vlastimir of Serbia, the first independent ruler of Rascia. Gojnik, together with his brothers Strojimir and Mutimir, defeated the Bulgar Army sent by Tsar Boris and led by his son Vladimir, who was together with 12

boyar A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Kievan Rus', Bulgaria, Russia, Wallachia and Moldavia, and later Romania, Lithuania and among Baltic Germans. Boyars were ...

s captured by the Serbs. Peace was agreed and two sons of Mutimir ( Pribislav and Stefan) escorted prisoners towards the border at

Stari Ras Ras ( sr-Cyrl, Рас; lat, Arsa), known in modern Serbian historiography as Stari Ras ( sr-Cyrl, Стари Рас, "Old Ras"), is a medieval fortress located in the vicinity of former market-place of ''Staro Trgovište'', some 11 km wes ...

. There Boris gave them rich gifts and was given 2 slaves, 2 falcons, two dogs, and 80 furs by Mutimir. Soon after this in the 860s the younger brothers start a rebellion against Mutimir after he had given them less and less power. Mutimir crushes the rebellion and the two brothers are sent as prisoners, a guarantee of peace, to Tsar Boris I court at Pliska, the Bulgar capital. He was treated well by the Bulgarians, Khan Boris himself chose the wife of Klonimir Strojimirović, the only son of Strojimir. In 2006, a golden seal of Gojnik's brother, prince Strojimir, dated to 855-896, was bought by the Serbian state from an auction in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

, from an unknown Russian. It was sold for a total 20,000 €, topping the Bulgarian offer of 15,000 €. It is of

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

handcraft (from

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

), weighs 15.64 g, has a

cross A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is termed a s ...

and Greek inscription: "God, help Strojimir".

References

Sources

* * * * * Ferjančić, B. 1997, "Basile I et la restauration du pouvoir byzantin au IXème siècle", Zbornik Radova Vizantološkog Instituta, no. 36, pp. 9–30. * * * *

External links

Steven Runciman, A History of the First Bulgarian Empire, London 1930.
* Eastern Orthodox monarchs 9th-century Serbian royalty Vlastimirović dynasty People of the Bulgarian–Serbian Wars Slavic warriors {{Serbia-bio-stub