Pavle of Serbia

Pavle
Prince of the Serbs
Prince of Serbia
Reign	917–921
Predecessor	Petar
Successor	Zaharija
Born	ca. 870 Ras
Died	921
House	Vlastimirović
Father	Bran
Religion	Eastern Christianity

Pavle (Serbian: Павле, Greek: Παῦλος^[a]; c. 870–921) was the Prince of the Serbs from 917 to 921. He was put on the throne by the Bulgarian Tsar Symeon I of Bulgaria, who had murdered the previous Prince, Petar, after he had become a Byzantine ally. Pavle ruled for four years, before being defeated by Zaharija, his cousin. Pavle was the son of Bran, the middle son of Mutimir (r. 851–891) of Vlastimirović dynasty.

Pavle was born in the 870s,^[1] between 870 and 874^[2] to Bran Mutimirović, the middle son of Mutimir. His Christian name, in relation to the previous generation of pagan names, shows the spread Christianization of Serbs.^[3] After Mutimir, his grandfather, had died in 891, Pribislav succeeded as Prince. Pribislav ruled briefly for a year, when Petar returned and defeated him. Pribislav fled to Croatia with his brothers Bran (Pavle's father) and Stefan.^[4] Bran later returned and led an unsuccessful rebellion against Petar in 894^[5] Bran was defeated, captured and blinded (as per Byzantine tradition).^[6]

Vlastimirović dynasty

Višeslav (c. 780) Radoslav (after 800) Prosigoj (before 830) Vlastimir (c. 830–851) Mutimir (c. 851–891) Pribislav (891–892) Petar (892–917) Pavle (917–921) Zaharija (921–924) Časlav (933–960)

In 917, a Byzantine army led by Leo Phokas invaded Bulgaria, but was decisively defeated at the Battle of Achelous on 20 August 917.^[7] After Achelous,^[5] Symeon sent an army to Serbia led by Pavle (after he had heard of an Byzantine-Serbian alliance), to take the Serbian throne, however, unsuccessfully as Petar proved a good opponent. Symeon then sent generals Marmais and Theodore Sigritsa, persuading Petar (through an oath) to come out and meet them, then captured and took him to Bulgaria where he was put in prison, dying within a year.^[5] Symeon put Pavle on the Serbian throne.^[5]

In 920, Zaharija, the exiled son of Pribislav (the eldest of Mutimir's sons), is sent by Romanos I Lekapenos (r. 920–944) to seize the throne. Zaharija was the rightful pretender. Pavle defeats and captures him, handing him over to Symeon, where he is held for future tactics. In the meantime, Pavle switches to Byzantine support and Symeon now dispatches Zaharije with Bulgarian troops in 921. Zaharija wins the battle, and quickly revows his Byzantine alliance. There are no more mentions of Pavle.

See also

• Byzantine–Bulgarian war of 913–927
• Bulgarian–Serbian wars of 917–924

Annotations

1. ^ His name is attested as Greek Paulos (Παῦλος). In historiography, he is known as Pavle Branović (Павле Брановић).

References

1. Živković 2006.
2. Veselinović & Ljušić 2008.
3. A. P. Vlasto (2 October 1970). The Entry of the Slavs Into Christendom: An Introduction to the Medieval History of the Slavs. CUP Archive. pp. 209–. ISBN 978-0-521-07459-9.
4. Fine 1991, p. 141.
5. Fine 1991, p. 150.
6. Ferjančić 1966.
7. Fine 1991, p. 149.

Sources

Primary sources

• Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (1967). Moravcsik, Gyula, ed. De Administrando Imperio (4 ed.). Washington D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks Center for Byzantine Studies. ISBN 978-0-88402-021-9.

Secondary sources

• Ćorović, Vladimir (2001). Istorija Srpskog Naroda [History of the Serb People] (in Serbian) (Internet ed.). Belgrade: Ars Libri.
• Ferjančić, Božidar (1966). Vizantija i Južni Sloveni [Byzantium and the South Slavs] (in Serbo-Croatian). Belgrade: Zavod za izdavanje udžbenika Socijalističke Republike Srbije.
• Fine, John Van Antwerp (1991). The Early Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Sixth to the Late Twelfth Century. Michigan: The University of Michigan Press. ISBN 0-472-08149-7.
• Novaković, Relja (1981). Gde se Nalazila Srbija od VII do X Veka [Where Serbia was situated from the 7th to 10th centuries]. Serbia, Belgrade: Narodna knjiga. pp. 61–63.
• Stephenson, Paul (2000). Byzantium's Balkan Frontier: A Political Study of the Northern Balkans, 900-1204. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-77017-3.
• Veselinović, Andrija; Ljušić, Radoš (2008). Srpske dinastije. Službene glasnik. ISBN 978-86-7549-921-3.
• Živković, Tibor (2006). Portreti Srpskih Vladara (IX—XII Vek) (in Serbian). Belgrade. ISBN 86-17-13754-1.