Gojnik Vlastimirović or Gojnik of Serbia (, ) was a Serbian 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 Bulgaria, Kievan Rus' (and later Russia), Moldavia and Wallachia (and later Romania), Lithuania and among Baltic Germans. C ...

s captured by the Serbs. Peace was agreed and two sons of Mutimir ( Pribislav and Stefan) escorted prisoners towards the border at Stari Ras. 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 is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, 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 known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

handcraft (from

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

), weighs 15.64 g, has a

cross A cross is a religious symbol consisting of two Intersection (set theory), intersecting Line (geometry), lines, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of t ...

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