Maps of Power

Pirivatrić 2013

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ID 6939
System Class Bibliography
Bibliography Article
Case Study Historical Region of Macedonia TIB 16 , Byzantino-Serbian Border Zones in Transition (1282–1355)

Description

Srdjan Pirivatrić, Vizantijske titule Jovana Olivera. Prilog istraživanju problema njihovog porekla i hronologije, in: Zbornik radova Vizantološkog instituta 50/2 (2013) 713-724.

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Actors (1)
Name Class Begin End Relation Type Description
Liberos Ioannes Person Mentioned in several sources between 1336 and 1354. The inscription placed next to the portrait of Ioannes Liberos on the north wall of the naos in the Monastery of Saint Archangel Michael and Holy Father Gabriel in Lěsnovo lists all dignities, which were granted to him during his career (azь rabь hristovь iōanь ōliverь po milosti božiei i gospodina mi krala stefana bihь u srьblemь veliky čelnikь potom veliki sulga potomь veliki voevoda potomь veliky sevastokratorь i/a za věrnoe emu porabotanije po milosti božiei i veliki despotь vseja srьbskije zemle i pomorьskije i učestnikь grьkomь). Srdjan Pirivatrić presumes that the titles of grand sebastrokrator, grand despot and učestnik, were bestowed upon Ioannes Liberos by Byzantine imperial authorities before coronation of the Serbian Emperor Stefan Uroš IV Dušan in 1346. He held the position of veliki čelnik, before 1341. veliki sluga (megas domestikos), 1332–1341 (ja sluga veli Ōliverь/Iōanь veliki sluga Ōliverь vьse srpskie zemlie i pomorskie). veliki vojvoda (megas dux) 1341/1342 (sь trudomь i podanijemь raba božija ioana velikago voevode olivera; Veliki voevoda Ōlïver povelě pisati, a Stanislavь pisa; ōbьdrьžeštu ōblastiju vseju ōvčepolьskoju velikomu vojevodě Ōliveru, vь horě Zletovcěi; jegože velikyi vojevoda Ōliverь sьzda is temelja; povelěnijemь gospodina velikago vojevode Ōlivera; Bogь da prostitь velikago vojevodu Ōlivera). He was the son-in-law of Georgios Karabides (Γεώργιος Καραβίδης). His brother was Mpogdanos (Μπογδάνος, Bogdan). He was married to Maria Liberissa (Μαρία Λιβέρισσα, Ana Marija). He had six sons (Kraikos [Κράϊκος, Krajko], Damianos [Δαμιανός, Damjan], Vidoslavь, Dabiživь, Rusinь, Oliverь) and one daughter (Danica). Already in 1334 he got acquainted with Ioannes Kantakuzenos during the meeting between the Byzantine Emperor Andronikos III Palaiologos and Stefan Uroš IV Dušan in Rhadobosdion (Radovište). They became friends. Jovan Oliver entrusted before 1341 his subordinate Todorь with the task to settle the deserted settlement site Sveti Dimitrije in Jastrebnica, which was in possession of the Monastery of Saint Demetrius in Kočane. Jovan Oliver issued between 1332 and 1341 a charter, in which were listed the rights and duties of Todorь at Sveti Dimitrije in Jastrebnica (Naidohь selište pusto Svetago Dimitrija u Jastrebnicě i podahь moga člověka Todora, koi mi se prěda izь Grьkь, po ruce da naseli ōmozi selo). Ioannes Liberos, the son-in-law of Georgios Karabides, stated on 28th June 1336 in the presence of Nikola Falletro, the comes of the town of Ragusa, that he received the former treasury of Karabides from Junije Lukarević. Ioannes Liberos swore that he will give the treasury to the Serbian King Stefan Uroš IV Dušan and request a charter for Junije Lukarević from the king, which will confirm the receipt of treasury and ruled out the possibility of demand by the king, Liberos or the children of Karabides (Oliuer Gherchinich, baro domini Regis Raxie et gener Charauide, constitutes ante presentiam nobilis et potentis viri domini Nicolai Falletro, honorabilis comitis Ragusii, contentus e confessus fuit habuisse et recepisse et apud se habere a Junio de Lucarom de Ragusio unam centuram de argento et unam ladicam de argento, ponderis inter ambas librarum tredecim et unciarum V, et centum nonaginta quinque ducatos de auro, que centura et ladica et ducati acomandati fuerunt per dictum Carauidam, socerum olim dicti Oliueri, eidem Junio, ut idem Junius confessus fuit. Et similiter idem Oliverius confessus fuit tantas fuisse res et ducatos, accomandatas eidem Junio per dictum Charauidam et non plures, cum infrascriptis pactis et condictionibus, uidelicet quod ipse Oliuerius teneatur et debeat predictam centuram et ladicam et ducatos dare in manibus domini Regis Raxie in presentia Petri de Ribica et Marini filii Junii de Uolcasso de Ragusio et fieri facere ab ipso Rege eidem Junio de Lucaro unam apouiliam, sigillatam suo sigillo, continentem, qualiter ipse dominus Rex uel suus successor nec frater, filii seu filia dicti Charauidi seu aliqua alia persona de dicta centura et ladica et ducatis non possint facere uel mouere aliquam litem uel questionem in regno Raxie et Slauonie seu in aliquo loco, in curia uel extra, eidem Junio). Ioannes Liberos owned and received from the Serbian King Stefan Uroš IV Dušan landed estates in the region of Ovče Pole, Zletovo and Tikveš for his service. According to the stone inscription above the Western Entrance of the Katholikon in the Monastery of Saint Archangel Michael and Holy Father Gabriel in Lěsnovo from 1340/1341, he, his wife and his son Kraikos (Κράϊκος, Krajko) sponsored the reconstruction and the painted decoration of the monastery. He, his wife and his Kraikos (Κράϊκος, Krajko) endowed the Monastery of Saint Archangel Michael and Holy Father Gabriel in Lěsnovo with lands in the surrounding area (sьzda se světlyi i čьs(t)nъï.hramь.velikago vojevode vьïšnih silь. Arhistratiga Mihaila. Sьzda se i sьvrьši se. Vь dni Stefan(a) kral(a). Sь trudomь. Ï podanijemь raba B(ož)ija Ïōan(a) veikago voevode Ōlivera. I podružija ego rabu B(o)žiju Annu. Maru i vьzljublennago emu s(y)na Kraika. V(ь) lět(o). ƺ.ō.m.ḟ. se že sela i metohïe. Selo konь crkve Lěsnovo. Sь zaselkomъ Lukovu i u Bakově crkvь S(ve)t(o)ga Nikole sь selomь. Ï na rěcě zaselьkь Globica i selo Dobrьevo i u Drěvěnoi. S(ve)tьï Elisei i zaslьk Peštno i S(ve)ty Prokopije. I katunь Vlah(a) na Stroi i u Štipě S(ve)ty Nikola pop Sïfievь. i. k. kukei). He supplied the monastery with the Menaion. The scribe Stanislavь, who wrote the menaion, recorded, that Ioannes Liberos donated also frames for the screen icons and church vessels to the monastery with the intention to grant the monastery to the Hilandar Monastery (velikyi vojevoda ōliverь sьzda is temelija i sьvrьšivь i popisa i vsakimi dorotami ukrasivь, sьsudï zlatьïmi i srebrьnьïmi pokova velikyje ikony srebromь i zlatomь, jakože jestь lěpo domь božii ukrašati, podavь sela i metohije i pašišta i livade i planine milostiōvь kralevovь utvrьdivь vse sinore i zapisavь zlatopečatnymь hrisovulomь i prědastь ju u svetu goru stoi bogorodici hilandarьskoi sь vsakymь utvrьždenijemь). As a Grand Duke, Ioannes Liberos, ordered the fabrication of a metal polycandilion with an inscribed medallion for the Monastery of Saint Archangel Michael and Holy Father Gabriel in Lěsnovo (voevoda oliver anna marija). When the Byzantine Emperor Ioannes VI Kantakuzenos had proceeded in 1342 with his army along the right bank of the river Vardar, he discovered the forces of Ioannes Liberos near Belesos (Veles). The Byzantine emperor sent an envoy to Liberos in order to remind him of the friendly contacts they had before. Very short after the Byzantine Emperor Ioannes VI Kantakuzenos had crossed the river, Ioannes Liberos hosted him and his troops for three days. The Byzantine Emperor Ioannes VI Kantakuzenos, who placed reliance on Liberos, even proposed a marriage between his son Manuel and Danica, the daughter of Liberos. Ioannes Liberos provided accomodation for the Byzatine emperor and his troops in Skopje. In the meantime Liberos visited the Serbian King Stefan Uroš IV Dušan in the area of Morava. Liberos persuaded the Serbian King Stefan Uroš IV Dušan to receive the Byzantine Emperor Ioannes VI Kantakuzenos favourably. The Serbian King Stefan Uroš IV Dušan then sent Mpogdanos (Μπογδάνος, Bogdan), the brother of Ioannes Liberos, to the Byzantine Emperor Ioannes VI Kantakuzenos in order to let him know about his soon arrival in Tao (Pauni) near Pristenon (Priština). In July/August 1342 the Serbian King Stefan Uroš IV Dušan formed an alliance with the Byzantine Emperor Ioannes VI Kantakuzenos. Ioannes Liberos brought the Serbian King Stefan Uroš IV Dušan to convince the Byzantine Emperor Ioannes VI Kantakuzenos in regard of the engagment beween Danica and Manuel. Ioannes Liberos then accompanied the Byzantine Emperor with the Serbian auxiliary forces on the campaign to the town Serres. He fell ill before the gates of town of Serres. As sebastokrator Ioannes Liberos donated another medallion with monogramms for the polycandilion in the Monastery of Saint Archangel Michael and Holy Father Gabriel in Lěsnovo. The monastic endowment of Ioannes Liberos became a seat of new founded Episcopy of Zletovo between 1346 and 1347, which is documented in the charter of confirmation issued by the Serbian Emperor Stefan Uroš IV Dušan (v’seljubimomu vlastelinu svetago carьsva mi despotu Ōliveru, iže jestь sьzdalь svetyi hramь ōnь ōtь osnovanija, iže vь městě Lěsnově, i ukrasivь v’sěkymi lěpotami crьkьvnymi, i udarovavь sel’mi i sь zaselьci, i sь planinami, i sь pročïimi ōtesy zemlje te). Ioannes Liberos together with his wife and his sons Kraikos (Κράϊκος, Krajko) and Damianos (Δαμιανός, Damjan) were the patrons of the parecclesion of the Saint John the Baptist in the Church of Saint Sophia in Ōhrid. The chapel was erected between the years 1347–1350. Ioannes Liberos together with his wife and his son Damianos (Δαμιανός, Damjan) are depicted within the ktitorial composition on the western wall of the chapel. The portrait of Kraikos (Κράϊκος, Krajko) is situated on the northern wall of the chapel. Ioannes Liberos and his family sponsored a new narthex as a addition to the Monastery of Saint Archangel Michael and Holy Father Gabriel in Lěsnovo. The painted ktitorial composition with Ioannes Liberos, Maria Liberissa (Μαρία Λιβέρισσα, Ana Marija), Kraikos (Κράϊκος, Krajko) and Damianos (Δαμιανός, Damjan) is on the northern wall of the narthex. The fresco inscription above the entrance from the narthex to the naos gives details about the donors and the date 1349, when the narthex was decorated (Ἀνηγέρθη ἐκ βάθρων, καὶ ἀνηστορίθη ὁ θεῖος καὶ πάνσεπτος ναὸς τοῦ ταξιαρχου Μιχ δι’ ἐξόδου τοῦ πανευτυχεστάτου δεσπότου Ιωάννου τοῦ Λύβερί. καὶ τῆς πανευτυχεστάτης βασιλείσης Μαρίας τῆς Λυβερίσης καὶ τῶν τέκνων αὐτῶν, Κραίκου καὶ Δαμιανοῦ. ἐπὶ τῆς βασιλεί Στεφάνου καὶ Ἐλένης, καὶ τοῦ ύιοῦ αὐτῶν κράλη τοῦ Οὐροσι μηνὶ αὐγύστῳ ѕʹ ἔτους ϛωνζ ἰνδ β). Ioannes Liberos appears for the last time in the papal letter from May 1354, in which Innocent VI. sent the identical instructions for the most powerful nobles in the Serbian empire, who contributed to the possibility of an union between the Serbian and Roman churches (Oliverio despoto Serviae).
Places (2)
Name Class Begin End Description
Lěsnovo (1), Monastery of Saint Archangel Michael Place Saint Gavrilo Lesnovski came, according to the detailed Vita of him, from a rich family in Osečko pole (ōt strani Ōsečkōmъ pole, roditelemь bogatu sělo i blagočestivu). After a vision he built the Church of the Nativity of the Holy Mother of God with the funding of his parents on the field of Osiče (na pole Ōsiče). He then departed for the Lěsnovo Monastery (vь monastirь Lesnovskyj), from which he was released after a probationary period with the blessing of the abbot to enter a hermitage near the monastery and Zletovo (za nekoj skïtь blizь prjamo manastirь, vь dolь prjamo Zletovo). The lively influx of people, who were sick and obsessed, caused that the Saint sought solitude in Lukovo (i preide vo stranu Lukovo). The Saint Gavrilo Lesnovski escaped also from Lukovo and found refuge in the mountains, where he stayed on the mountain top Oblovъ until his death (verhъ Ōblovъ). The saint appeared in a dream to a Russian monk named Iosif and entrusted him to transfer his body from Oblovь to the Lěsnovo monastery. Iosif brought the relics of the Saint Gavrilo Lesnovski to the Monastery of Lěsnovo, where numerous miracles occured near the saints relics. In such a way the only daughter of a rich Armenian from Kratovo was healed (Vo gradь Kratovo). According to the Vita, the saint also came to the aid of a local Bulgarian prince named Mihail in the fight against the Pechenegs and Cumans. Mihail had to flee from his opponents to Ratkovica (vo stranu Ratkovicu). He was able with the assistance of the saint to sidle up to the opposing general Mavragan near Rataica in Zletovo (u Slětovo) and to kill him (u Rataicě i ubi Mavragana). Finally, the Vita also mentions the Serbian Despot Jovan Oliver and his erection of a large monastery church in Lěsnovo in honor of the saint, with which he replaced a small church building. The short life of the Saint Gavrilo Lesnovski, on the other hand, reports that the saint himself built the Lěsnovo monastery. The 12th-century Vita of the Saint Joakim Osogovski mentions the Church of the Saint Michael the Archangel in the mountains of Lěsnovo (Lesnovsuju gljemu goru...hram vь ime arhïstratiga Mihaila). The scribe Stanislavь completed in 1330 a Slavic manuscript in the Monastery of Saint Michael the Archangel in the mountains of Lěsnovo, which was in the domain of Ovče Pole and the region of Zletovo (vь ōblasti ōvčepolьskoi vь horě zljętovstěi, v gorě lěsnovьstěi, v monastiri stgo arhistratiga Mihaila). The scribe Stanislavь finished his prologue of the manuscript in the time, when Dragoslavь ruled over the land of Zletovo as Župan (ōbdrьžjaštu horoję Zlętovьskoję županu Dra’goslavu). In the course of the renovation of the monastery (1340/41) a Slavic donor inscription was placed on the stone at the katholikon. The inscription begins on a marble lintel above the entrance door in the west of the katholikon (i.e. on the eastern wall of the narthex), continues outside above the south entrance to the naos, can be dated to the year 1340/41 and mentions the katholikon as "Church of the Great Commander of Heavenly Hosts, Archangel Michael" (hramь velikago vojevode vy`snh silь arhistratiga mihaila). The grand duke (veliki vojvoda) Jovan Oliver with his wife Anna Mara and his son Kraiko, who were living during the reign of "King Stefan" (Stefan Uroš IV Dušan) are mentioned as the founders. According to the Slavic inscription, the following possessions belonged to the monastery at that time: the village near the monastery Lěsnovo, the hamlet Lukovo, the village Bakovo with the Church of Saint Nicholas (Sveti Nikola), the hamlet Globica, the village Dobrěevo, the Church of Holy Prophet Elisha (Sveti Elisei) in the village Drěvěno, the hamlet Peštno, the Church of the Saint Prokopios (Sveti Prokopie), the Katun of the Vlachs Stroi, the Church of Saint Nicholas (Sveti Nikola) of the priest Sïfie, twenty houses in the town of Štip and annually 100 perpers from the revenue of the market in Zletovo. The scribe Stanislavь copied a Menaion at the request of Jovan Oliver destined for the Monastery of the Saint Michael the Archangel in Lěsnovo in 1342 according to the colophon of the manuscript written in Slavic language (rukoju mnogogrěšnago Stanislava). The toponym Lěsnovo appears in this colophone (vь městě rekoměmь Лěsnově), although it is not clear whether this refers to the village or the monastery. Before the Serbian Emperor Stefan Uroš IV Dušan was able to found the bishopric of Zletovo with its seat in the Lěsnovo Monastery in 1346/47, he sought consensus with church and secular dignitaries. He reached the consensus with the Serbian Patriarch Joanikije II, the Archbishop Nikola of Ōhrid, the Metropolitan Jovan of Skopje and the founder of the monastery, the Serbian despot Jovan Oliver. In the founding charter of the Serbian Emperor Stefan Uroš IV. Dušan for the Eparchy of Zletovo with its seat in the Monastery Lěsnovo from the year 1346/47 the erection of the monastery by the Serbian Espot Jovan Oliver is mentioned (sьzdati jemu hramь vь ime velikoslavnyhь i besplьtnyihь činonačelnikьь arhistratiga Mihaila i Gabrïila, vь straně že zletovьscěi rekomōje Lěsnovo...v městě Lěsnově; crьkvi Arhanggelu u Zletovoi; podь crьkvь svetago Arhistratiga lěsnovьskoga). This plot of land gave its name to both the monastery and the neighboring village of Lěsnovo. A Greek inscription on a fresco above the entrance door in the west of the katholikon (i.e. on the eastern wall of the narthex) from 1349 shows that the narthex was erected and painted before 1349 (probably 1347/48) (ὁ θεῖος καὶ πάνσεπτος ναὸς τοῦ ταξιάρχου Μιχαὴλ). A note in the Slavic manuscript Lesnovski parenesis relates that it was written in Zletovo at the place called Lěsnovo in the Monastery of the Holy Archangel Michael in 1353 (vь zemli zljatovsьskoi, vь městě rekoměmь Lěsnovo, vь ōbiteli svetago arhistratiga Mihaila), as Arsenije was the Bishop of Zletovo. The Eparchy of Zletovo was probably abolished around 1370. The Serbian local ruler Konstantin Dragaš donated on the 15th August 1381 the Monastery Lěsnovo with all its possessions to the Hilandar Monastery (crьkvь lěsnovьsku svetagō Arhaaggela; crьkvь Svetagō arhaggela lěsnovьskoga). In 1428, 1429 and 1434 a Slavic Apostolos, a Slavic Mēnaion and a Slavic Oktōēchos were written in Lěsnovo, about which corresponding marginal notes provide information.
Lěsnovo (2) Place There is a brook called Štona in Lěsnovo (2). The name Štona indicates that there was a mining activity of the Saxons at Lěsnovo (2) in the Middle Ages. The scribe Stanislavь completed in 1330 a Slavic manuscript in the Monastery of Saint Michael the Archangel in the mountains of Lěsnovo, which was in the domain of Ovče Pole and the region of Zletovo (vь ōblasti ōvčepolьskoi vь horě zljętovstěi, v gorě lěsnovьstěi, v monastiri stgo arhistratiga Mihaila). The scribe Stanislavь finished his prologue of the manuscript in the time, when Dragoslavь ruled over the land of Zletovo as župan (ōbdrьžjaštu horoję Zlętovьskoję županu Dra’goslavu). The village Lěsnovo (2) is mentioned in the Slavic donor inscription of the Monastery Lěsnovo (1) from the year 1340/41 as a monastic property. The scribe Stanislavь copied a Menaion at the request of Jovan Oliver destined for the Monastery of the Saint Michael the Archangel in Lěsnovo in 1342 according to the colophon of the manuscript written in Slavic language (rukoju mnogogrěšnago Stanislava). The toponym Lěsnovo appears in this colophone (vь městě rekoměmь Лěsnově), although it is not clear whether this refers to the village or the monastery. Furthermore, the village Lesnovo (2) appears in the founding charter of the Serbian Emperor Stefan Uroš IV. Dušan for the Eparchy of Zletovo with its seat in the Monastery Lěsnovo (1) from the year 1346/47 (selo blizь crьkve Лěsnovo). The Serbian local ruler Konstantin Dragaš donated on the 15th August 1381 the Monastery Lěsnovo (1) with all its possessions, including the village Lěsnovo (2) with its hamlet Lukovo (selo Lěsnovo I sь zaselkomь Lukovōmь), to the Hilandar Monastery.