Gradinja ( sr-cyr, Градиња) or Gradihna (; 1125–46) was the ruler of
Duklja
Duklja ( sr-Cyrl, Дукља; ; ) was a medieval South Slavs, South Slavic state which roughly encompassed the territories of modern-day southeastern Montenegro, from the Bay of Kotor in the west to the Bojana river in the east, and to the sou ...
, from either 1131 to 1142 or 1135 to 1146. Gradinja is one of many persons (alongside Branislav, Gojislav, Georgije and Grubeša among others) mentioned only in the ''
Chronicle of the Priest of Duklja'' (CPD), not found in Byzantine sources as the other Serbian rulers and royalty. Gradinja was the son of Dukljan prince
Branislav Branislav () is a Czech, Croatian, Russian, Slovak, Serbian, Slovene and Ukrainian given name. It also appears in Polish as Bronisław, in Russian as ''Bronislav,'' and Ukrainian as ''Boronyslav.'' The name is derived from the Slavic elements bran ...
, and the brother of
Grubeša, the former ruler (r. 1118–25).
Around 1125, Gradinja, the rival of
Đorđe, married himself in ''Raška'' (
Grand Principality of Serbia
The Grand Principality of Serbia ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Великожупанска Србија, Velikožupanska Srbija, separator=" / "), also known by the anachronistic exonym Raška (region), Rascia ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Рашка, Raška, separator=" ...
), with the "intent of returning the rule", according to
Mavro Orbini. Following the second war with the Byzantines, in which King Đorđe was defeated and imprisoned in the stronghold of
Oblik, the Byzantines appointed Gradinja as ruler of Duklja, to rule as a vassal. According to the CPD, Gradinja was gentle, tame, compassionate and a protector of the widows and the poor. The power and territorial extent of Duklja was, in the time of his reign, greatly decreased.
His son
Radoslav inherited the throne in 1146.
Gradinja was according to Gavro Škrivanić buried in the
Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus in Bojana.
See also
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Duklja
Duklja ( sr-Cyrl, Дукља; ; ) was a medieval South Slavs, South Slavic state which roughly encompassed the territories of modern-day southeastern Montenegro, from the Bay of Kotor in the west to the Bojana river in the east, and to the sou ...
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Vojislavljević dynasty
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Vukanović dynasty
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Grand Principality of Serbia
The Grand Principality of Serbia ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Великожупанска Србија, Velikožupanska Srbija, separator=" / "), also known by the anachronistic exonym Raška (region), Rascia ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Рашка, Raška, separator=" ...
References
Sources
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{{S-end
12th-century monarchs in Europe
12th-century Serbian nobility
12th-century Byzantine people
Monarchs of Duklja
Vojislavljević dynasty
Pretenders
12th-century deaths
People from the Grand Principality of Serbia