Jovan Vladimir

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Festival icon of St. Jovan Vladimir with depictions of his deeds (18th century)

Jovan Vladimir ( Serbian Јован Владимир; Bulgarian Иван Владимир Ivan Vladimir ; German also Johannes Wladimir ; *  10th century ; † 22 May 1016 ) was the ruler of Duklja , the most important Serbian principality of his time. He is venerated by the Serbian Orthodox Church as a martyr and a national symbol .

Life

Jovan Vladimir took over the rule of Duklja (today mostly in the territory of Montenegro ) around 990 . At this time Byzantium and the first Bulgarian empire under Tsar Samuil († 1014) fought for supremacy in the region . Since the Bulgarian Empire was closer and therefore more threatening, Jovan Vladimir sympathized with Byzantium. When Samuil won a victory over Byzantium, he took him as a prisoner of war to his capital. Oral tradition, which was not written down until the 12th century, says that Samuil's daughter Kosara fell in love with Jovan Vladimir there and asked her father to marry him. He agreed and gave his son-in-law back his principality, plus the city of Trebinje .

In the following years, Jovan Vladimir was a Bulgarian vassal and is said to have behaved neutrally in the Bulgarian-Byzantine dispute, which brought his principality a time of peace and ecclesiastical and cultural bloom. After the defeat and death of his father-in-law, the first Bulgarian empire under his successor, the last tsar Ivan Wladislaw († 1018), was smashed by the Byzantines. Since Ivan Wladislaw Jovan mistrusted Vladimir, he had him lured into an ambush in the Presparegion (now Northern Greece ) and beheaded in 1016 .

The grave of Jovan Vladimir is said to have been identified by the Greek archaeologist Nikolaos Moutsopoulos in the basilica of Agios Achillios on the island of the same name in the Little Prespa Lake . The relics of the saint were venerated for centuries in the monastery named after him near Elbasan in central Albania . In 1995 they were transferred to Tirana .

In iconography , Jovan Vladimir is depicted with a crown and cross and with the severed head in his hand.

Under his patronage standing church Hl. Great Martyr Jovan Vladimir in Belgrade .

Web links

Commons : St. Jovan Vladimir  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ May 22nd - according to the Julian calendar calculation June 4th of the Gregorian calendar - is the ancient liturgical day of remembrance of St. Jovan Vladimir, which is also considered the day of his death.
  2. ↑ Nikolaos Moutsopoulos: Базиликата "Свети Ахилий" в Преспа. Един исторически паметник-светиня ("The Basilica of Agios Achillios in Prespa. A historical site"), Sofia 2007
personal data
SURNAME Jovan Vladimir
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Ivan Vladimir
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Prince of Duklja, Orthodox saint
DATE OF BIRTH 10th century
DATE OF DEATH May 22, 1016