7th century In the second decade of the 7th century, the
Avars and their
Slavic subjects occupied most of the
Byzantine province of Dalmatia, including the territory of what would become Zahumlje, sacking towns and enslaving or displacing the local population. Some of the Slavs and Avars might have permanently settled in the occupied areas. They attacked
Constantinople in 626 but were defeated by the Byzantines, after which the Avars ceased to play a significant role in the
Balkans. Around 630, during the reign of
Byzantine Emperor Heraclius,
Serbs and
Croats (Slavic tribes) led by their respective aristocracies entered the western Balkans from the north, which was approved by the emperor. They inhabited areas that had been devastated by the Avars, where Byzantium (East Roman Empire) had generally been reduced to only nominal rule. According to
DAI, Zahumlje was one of the regions settled by the Serbs from
an area near Thessaloniki who previously arrived there from
White Serbia, but a closer reading of the source suggests that the Constantine VII's consideration about the population's ethnic identity is based on Serbian political rule and influence during the time of
Časlav of Serbia and does not indicate ethnic origin. According to
Noel Malcolm, today's western Serbia was area where Serbs settled in 7th century and from there they expanded their rule on territory of Zachlumia. According to
Tibor Živković the area of the Vistula where the
Litziki ancestors of
Michael of Zahumlje originate was the place where
White Croats would be expected and not
White Serbs, and it's unclear whether the Zachlumians "in the migration period to the Balkans really were Serbs or Croats or Slavic tribes which in alliance with Serbs or Croats arrived in the Balkans". According to
Francis Dvornik the Zachlumians "had a closer bond of interest with the Croats than with the Serbs, since they seem to have migrated to their new home not with the Serbs, but with the Croats". Michael's tribal origin is related to the oral tradition from
Historia Salonitana by
Thomas the Archdeacon about seven or eight tribes of nobles called
Lingones who arrived from
Poland and settled in
Croatia. Much of Dalmatia was sometime earlier settled by the Croats, and Zahumlje bordered their territory on the north. According to Thomas the Archdeacon, when describing the reign of Croatian king
Stephen Držislav in the late 10th century, notes that Duchy of Hum (Zachlumia or Chulmie) was a part of the Kingdom of Croatia, before and after Stjepan Držislav:
9th century Charlemagne,
King of the Franks from 768 until his death in 814, expanded the Frankish kingdom into an
empire (800) that incorporated much of western and central Europe. He brought the Frankish state face to face with the
West Slavs to the northeast and the
Avars and
South Slavs to the southeast of the Frankish empire. Dalmatia which was southeast of the Frankish empire, was chiefly in the hands of South Slavic tribes. North of Dubrovnik these came to be under Croatian
župans (princes) and eventually came to consider themselves Croatians, while many of those to the south of Dubrovnik were coming to consider themselves Serbs. Despite Frankish overlordship, the Franks had almost no role in Dalmatia (
Dalmatian Croatia and Zahumlje) in the period from the 820s through 840s. In 866, a major
Arab raid along
Dalmatia struck
Budva and
Kotor, and then laid siege to
Dubrovnik in 867. The city of Dubrovnik appealed to
Byzantine Emperor Basil the Macedonian, who responded by sending over one hundred ships. Finally, the 866–867 Saracens' siege of Dubrovnik, which lasted fifteen months, was raised due to the intervention of Basil I, who sent a fleet under the command of
Niketas Oryphas in relief of the city. After this successful intervention, the
Byzantine navy sailed along the coast collecting promises of loyalty to the empire from
the Dalmatian cities. At this moment the local Slavic tribes (in Zahumlje, Travunija, and Konavle), who had aided the intervention, also accepted Byzantine suzerainty. Afterwards, the Slavs of Dalmatia and Zahumlje took part in the Byzantine military actions against the Arabs in
Bari in 870–871. The Roman cities in Dalmatia had long been pillaged by the Slavic tribes in the mountaines around them. Basil I allowed the towns to pay tribute to the Slavic tribes to reduce the Slavs raiding. Presumably a large portion of this tribute went to the prince of
Dalmatian Croatia. In late 870s, the
theme of Dalmatia ("thema Dalmatias") was established, but with no real Byzantine authority. These small cities in the region (also
Dyrrachium) did not stretch into the hinterlands, and had none military capacity, thus Basil I paid a tax of '72 gold coins' to the princes of Zahumlje and Travunia. In 879, the
Pope asked for help from duke
Zdeslav Trpimirović for an armed escort for his delegates across southern Dalmatia and Zahumlje. Later in 880, the Pope ask the same from Zdeslav's successor, prince
Branimir.
10th century and the
Bulgarian Empire. The history of Zahumlje as a greater political entity starts with the emerging of
Michael of Zahumlje, an independent
South Slavic ruler who flourished in the early part of the 10th century. A neighbour of
Croatian Kingdom and
Principality of Serbia as well as an ally of
Bulgaria, he was nevertheless able to maintain independent rule throughout at least a good part of his reign. Michael have come into territorial conflict with the neighbouring prince
Peter Gojniković, the ruler of
inner Serbia, who was extending his power westwards. To eliminate that threat and as a close ally of Bulgaria, Michael warned the Bulgarian Tsar
Simeon I about the alliance between Peter and Symeon's enemy, the
Byzantine Empire. In 912 Michael kidnapped the Venetian Doge's son Peter Badoari that was returning to Venice from Constantinople and sent him to Czar Simeon as a sign of loyalty. Symeon attacked inner Serbia and captured Peter, who later died in prison, and Michael was able to restore the majority of control. The
Historia Salonitana maior, whose composition may have begun in the late 13th century, cites a letter of
Pope John X to
Tomislav, "king (
rex) of the Croats", in which he refers to the first council in some detail. If the letter is authentic, it shows that the council was attended not only by the bishops of Croatian and Byzantine Dalmatia, but also by Tomislav, whose territory also included the Byzantine cities of Dalmatia, and by a number of Michael's representatives. Zahumlje may have been under Croatian influence, but remained a separate political entity. Both Zahumlje and Croatia were under the religious jurisdiction of the
Archbishopric of Split. In this letter, John describes Michael as "the most excellent leader of the Zachlumi" (
excellentissimus dux Chulmorum), and is mentioned the Ston bishopric (
ecclesia Stagnensis) which jurisdiction remained under Split until 1022. It is uncertain whether the inscription and depiction of a Slavic ruler in the Church of St. Michael in Ston is a reference to Michael of Zahumlje, the 11th century
Mihailo I of Duklja or St. Michael himself. After the Italian city of
Siponto () was heavily jeopardized by the raiding Arabs and Langobards, Mihailo won a magnificent military victory by taking the city upon the recommendations from Constantinople and orders from his ally, King Tomislav Trpimirovic, but didn't keep it permanently. Mihailo Višević entered into closer relations with the Byzantine Empire, after the death of Bulgaria's Tsar Simeon. He gained the grand titles of the Byzantine court as
anthypatos and patrician (
patrikios). He remained as ruler of Zahumlje into the 940s, while maintaining good relations with the
Papacy.
Post-Michael of Zahumlje period After the death of Michael (after c. 930s or 940s), the fate of Zahumlje is uncertain due to lack of historical sources about it. Some historians believe that Zahumlje came under the rule of prince
Časlav of Serbia, but there's no evidence for it and
DAI which was written in the mid-10th century clearly states that Zachlumia is a separate polity from Serbia. The 13th century
Thomas the Archdeacon claimed that the Croatian kingdom included Zachlumia before and after
Stephen Držislav (969–997), but that's also disputable. In 2018, excavations at
Oricum in southern
Albania uncovered a 22 mm
lead bulla of a certain Nikola, titled
archon of Zahumlje. Published and dated to the last quarter of the 10th century by the French historian Vivien Prigent. This is the only known historical reference to this ruler of Zachlumia. Prigent suggests that the archon Nikola may have been identical with the Zahumlje-Travunia prince
Dragimir, from the
Chronicle of the Priest of Duklja, and thus mentioned on the seal under his Christian name. In the late 990s, Bulgarian Tsar Samuel made client states out of most of the Balkans, including Duklja and Zahumlje. In 998, Samuel launched a major campaign against
Jovan Vladimir to prevent a Byzantine-Serbian alliance, resulting in a surrender. The Bulgarian troops proceeded to pass through
Dalmatia, taking control of
Kotor and journeying to Dubrovnik. Although they failed to take Dubrovnik, they devastated the surrounding villages. The Bulgarian army then attacked Croatia in support of the rebel princes
Krešimir III and
Gojslav and advanced northwest as far as
Split,
Trogir and
Zadar, then northeast through
Bosnia and
Raška and returned to Bulgaria.
11th century By 1020, Byzantine Emperor
Basil I expanded control in the whole region, but the Byzantines used local elite to rule over local polities although under Byzantine vassalage and supervision of Byzantine officials. In the
Pope Benedict VIII's bull from 27 September 1022 is mentioned Zahumlje kingdom (
regno Lachomis), and would be again in the bull of
Pope Gregory VII from 1076 (as
regno Zaculmi), which confirmed the jurisdiction of the
archdiocese of Dubrovnik. In a charter dated July 1039,
Ljutovid of Zahumlje who was an independent
Slavic ruler of Zahumlje, styled himself
"Ljutovit, protospatharios epi tou Chrysotriklinou, hypatos, strategos" of Serbia and Zahumlje. According to historian Paul Stephenson, it "suggests that he had been courted by the emperor, and awarded nominal rights neighbouring lands, including Duklja, which was at the time at war with the empire. According to historical sources, the Serbian lands were under Byzantine control or vassalage until 1040s, but not under a direct control.
Vojislav of Duklja (fl. 1018–1043) soon took Zahumlje from the Byzantines. During the rule of
Constantine Bodin (r. 1081–1101), neither Bosnia, Serbia nor Zahumlje was ever integrated into Doclea, each retained its own nobility and institutions and simply acquired a
Vojislavljević to head the local structure as Prince or Duke. Zahumlje subsequently became part of the
Grand Principality of Serbia.
12th century Kočapar, the Prince of Duklja (r. 1102–1103), ruled in the name of
Vukan I of Serbia. There was a split between the two, and Vukan sent forces to Duklja, making Kočapar flee to Bosnia and then Zahumlje, where he died.
Zavida ruled Zahumlje before getting into a conflict with his brothers, resulting in him being exiled to Duklja, where he would have the title of
Lord of Ribnica.
Grand Princes Desa (r. 1148–1162) and
Uroš II Prvoslav ruled Serbia together 1149–1153; Desa had the title of 'Prince of Duklja, Travunija and Zahumlje', mentioned in 1150 and 1151. About 1150, the Byzantine Emperor
Manuel I Komnenos displeased with king
Radoslav of Duklja, divided up his lands between princes of the old Serbian family of Zavida, and
Stefan Nemanja secured the land of Hum. After 1168 when Nemanja was raised to the Serbian throne with Manuel's favor, Hum passed to his brother
Miroslav. He married a sister of
Ban Kulin, who in meantime acquired the throne of
Bosnia. The subjects of Miroslav and Kulin included both Catholic and Orthodox. Prince Miroslav himself was Orthodox. In meantime, both Bosnia and Hum had been fought between
Kingdom of Hungary and
Byzantine Empire. The Catholics supported the former and the Orthodox the latter. A support of the growing heresy seemed the best solution for both Kulin and Miroslav. , one of the oldest surviving documents written in Serbian recension of
Old Church Slavonic, was created by order by prince
Miroslav of Hum Following the death of Emperor Manuel in 1180 Miroslav started ecclesiastical superior of Hum. He refused to allow Rainer, Latin Archbishop of Spalato (
Split) whom he considered to be an agent of Hungarian king, to consecrate a bishop for the town of
Ston. In addition, Miroslav confiscated the Archbishop's money. Rainer complained to the
Pope Alexander III, who sent Teobald to report on the matter. The Pope's nuncio Teobald found Miroslav as a patron of heretics. After this, the Pope wrote to king
Béla III of Hungary who was overlord of Hum (which Miroslav did not recognize), telling him to see that Miroslav performed his duty, but Miroslav remained as
Prince of Hum. In 1190–1192, Stefan Nemanja briefly assigned the rule of Hum to his son
Rastko Nemanjić, while Miroslav held the
Lim region with
Bijelo Polje. Rastko however took monastic vows and Miroslav continued ruling Hum after 1192. Latin vengeance came in March 1198, when
Andrew II of Hungary become the prince of Dalmatia, Croatia and Hum, while Miroslav died a year after and his wife was living in exile. The
Miroslav Gospels are the oldest surviving documents written in Serbian recension of
Old Church Slavonic, very likely produced for the Church of St Peter in Lima, commissioned by prince Miroslav.
13th century in 1265 Until beginning of the 13th century, areas of Zahumlje were under jurisdiction of the Roman Church. When
Sava became the first
archbishop of Serbia in 1219, he appointed
Ilarion as the
Orthodox bishop of Hum.
Andrija Mirosavljević is entitled the rule of Hum, but the Hum nobility chose his brother
Petar. Andrija is exiled to Rascia, to the court of his cousin Grand Prince
Stefan Nemanjić. In the meantime, Petar fought successfully with neighbouring Bosnia and Croatia. Stefan Nemanjić sided with Andrija and went to war and secured Hum and Popovo field for Andrija sometime after his accession. Petar was defeated and crossed the Neretva, continuing to rule the west and north of the Neretva, which had around 1205 been briefly occupied by
Andrew II of Hungary.
Toljen II, the son of
Toljen Mirosavljević, succeeded as prince, ruling 1227–1237. Andrija's sons
Bogdan,
Radoslav and
George succeed as princes of Hum in 1249, Radoslav held the supreme rule. During the war against Ragusa, he aided his kinsman
Stephen Uroš I of Serbia, at the same time swearing allegiance to
Béla IV of Hungary. Following an earthquake in the Hum capital of Ston, the Serbian Orthodox bishop of Hum moved to the church of St Peter and St Paul built on the
Lim River near the Serbian border in the 1250s.
Radoslav of Zahumlje was from 1254 a vassal of Hungary, but probably afterwards his land were absorbed into Serbia. However, he was at war with Serbia in 1268, while still under Hungarian suzerainty. But seeking to centralize his realm,
Stephen Uroš I of Serbia tried to stamp out regional differences by dropping references to Zahumlje (Hum), Trebinje and Duklja (Zeta), and called himself "King of all Serbian land and the Coast". Miroslav's descendants dropped to the level of other local nobles.
14th century Paul I Šubić of Bribir as
Ban of Croatia and Dalmatia controlled Croatia from
Gvozd Mountain to the river
Neretva mouth. Paul became
Lord of all of Bosnia in 1299. Although supporting the king, Paul continued to act independently, and ruled over a large portion of modern-day Croatia and Bosnia. In the course of the war between
Stephen Uroš II Milutin and
Stephen Dragutin, Paul Šubić in 1301-1303 expanded not only into western Hum, but also beyond the Neretva river, and took the region of
Nevesinje and
Ston. He also fought over
Kotor and its surroundings, but without further territorial gains. Bosnian regional lord
Stjepan Vukčić Kosača ruled over Zahumlje, or Humska zemlja as it was called at this point. In 1448 he assumed the title
herzog and styled himself
Herzog of Hum and the Coast, Grand Duke of Bosnia, Knyaz of Drina, and the rest, and since 1450,
Herzog of Saint Sava, Lord of Hum, Grand Duke of Bosnia, Knyaz of Drina, and the rest. This "Saint Sava" part of the title had considerable public relations value, because
Sava's relics were consider miracle-working by people of all Christian faiths. Stjepan's title will prompt the
Ottomans to start calling
Humska zemlja by using the possessive form of the noun
Herceg,
Herceg's land(s) (
Herzegovina), which remains a long-lasting legacy in the name of Bosnia and Herzegovina to this day. In 1451 he attacked Dubrovnik, and laid siege to the city. He had earlier been made a Ragusan nobleman and, consequently, the Ragusan government now proclaimed him a traitor. A reward of 15,000
ducats, a palace in Dubrovnik worth 2,000 ducats, and an annual income of 300 ducats was offered to anyone who would kill him, along with the promise of hereditary Ragusan nobility which also helped hold this promise to whoever did the deed. Stjepan was so scared by the threat that he finally raised the siege. ==Demographics==