66 Facts About Jovan Vladimir

Jovan Vladimir ruled during the protracted war between the Byzantine Empire and the Bulgarian Empire.

Jovan Vladimir had a close relationship with Byzantium but this did not save Duklja from the expansionist Tsar Samuel of Bulgaria, who conquered the principality around 1010 and took Vladimir prisoner.

The tsar allowed the marriage and returned Duklja to Jovan Vladimir, who ruled as his vassal.

In 1016, Jovan Vladimir fell victim to a plot by Ivan Vladislav, the last ruler of the First Bulgarian Empire.

Jovan Vladimir was beheaded in front of a church in Prespa, the empire's capital, and was buried there.

Jovan Vladimir was recognized as a martyr and saint.

The cross Jovan Vladimir held when he was beheaded is regarded as a relic.

Jovan Vladimir is regarded as the first Serbian saint and the patron saint of the town of Bar in Montenegro.

Jovan Vladimir's earliest, lost hagiography was probably written sometime between 1075 and 1089; a shortened version, written in Latin, is preserved in the Chronicle of the Priest of Duklja.

Jovan Vladimir is fabled to have carried his severed head to his place of burial.

Jovan Vladimir's reign is recounted in Chapter 36 of the Chronicle of the Priest of Duklja, completed between 1299 and 1301; Chapters 34 and 35 deal with his father and uncles.

Venice, the Dalmatian towns, Croatia, and Jovan Vladimir's Duklja, were thus aligned in a compact pro-Byzantine bloc connected to Byzantium via Dyrrhachium.

Jovan Vladimir retreated with his army and many of his people to his fortress on a hill named Oblik, close to the southeastern tip of Lake Skadar.

Jovan Vladimir eventually surrendered, a decision the chronicle attributed to his wish to deliver his people from famine and the sword.

Jovan Vladimir was sent to a prison in Samuel's capital of Prespa, located in western Macedonia.

The chronicle states that while Jovan Vladimir languished in the Prespa prison, praying day and night, an angel of the Lord appeared to him and foretold that he would shortly be freed, but that he would die a martyr's death.

Jovan Vladimir approached her father and begged that she might go down with her maids and wash the head and feet of the chained captives.

Jovan Vladimir's father granted her wish, so she descended and carried out her good work.

Jovan Vladimir stopped to talk to him, and to her his speech seemed sweeter than honey and the honeycomb.

Jovan Vladimir restored his new son-in-law to the throne of Duklja.

Jovan Vladimir was succeeded by his son, Gavril Radomir, whose reign was short: his cousin Ivan Vladislav killed him in 1015 and ruled in his stead.

Vladislav sent messengers to Jovan Vladimir demanding his attendance at the court in Prespa, but Kosara advised him not to go and went there herself instead.

Vladislav received her with honor and urged Jovan Vladimir to come as well, sending him a golden cross as a token of safe conduct.

Two bishops and a hermit came to Jovan Vladimir, gave him a wooden cross, and confirmed that the tsar had made a pledge of faith on it.

Jovan Vladimir kissed the cross and clutched it to his chest, collected a few followers, and set off for Prespa.

Jovan Vladimir then allowed himself to fall into Vladislav's hands, and was executed.

Since Samuel's defeat in 1014, the Bulgarians had been losing battle after battle, and Vladislav probably suspected or was informed that Jovan Vladimir planned to restore Duklja's alliance with Byzantium.

The chronicle asserts that Jovan Vladimir appeared before Vladislav when he dined in his camp outside Dyrrhachium, and slew him while he cried for help.

Jovan Vladimir was buried in Prespa, in the same church in front of which he was martyred.

Jovan Vladimir was the first ruler of a Serbian state who was elevated to sainthood.

Jovan Vladimir interred him in the Precista Krajinska Church, near his court, in the region of Skadarska Krajina.

Jovan Vladimir was mentioned as the patron saint of Dyrrhachium in a Greek liturgical text.

Jovan Vladimir commented on the chronicle's account that Kosara transported Vladimir's body "to a place known as Krajina, where his court was": While his court was possibly in the region of Krajina before his captivity, after he married Kosara it could have been near Elbasan, in the territory of Dyrrachium he received from Tsar Samuel.

Jovan Vladimir was interred near the latter court, which was replaced in the chronicle with the former.

An Orthodox monastery grew around the church near Elbasan, and became the center of veneration of Saint Jovan Vladimir, which was limited to an area around the monastery.

Jovan Vladimir is called the Holy King in southeastern Montenegro, and hence the hillock thought to be the site of his court is named Kraljic.

The oldest preserved hagiography of Saint Jovan Vladimir is contained in Chapter 36 of the Chronicle of the Priest of Duklja.

Jovan Vladimir wrote Chapter 36 as a summary of an older hagiography of Vladimir, written in Duklja most likely sometime between 1075 and 1089.

The Vojislavljevics succeeded in those endeavors, though Jovan Vladimir was not recognized as a saint by the Catholic Church.

The hagiography in the chronicle is the source for the "Poem of King Jovan Vladimir" composed in the 18th century by a Franciscan friar from Dalmatia, Andrija Kacic Miosic.

The "Poem of King Jovan Vladimir" is composed in a manner derived from the style of the South Slavic oral epics.

The Greek akolouthia on Saint Jovan Vladimir, containing his hagiography, prayers to him, and hymns to be chanted in church services on his feast day, was printed in Venice in 1690.

Jovan Vladimir married a daughter of Samuel, the tsar of Bulgaria and Ohrid.

Jovan Vladimir succeeded his father as emperor of Albania, Illyria, and Dalmatia.

From his early youth, Jovan Vladimir longed for the Kingdom of God.

Jovan Vladimir was a heretic like her brother, whom she incited to kill Jovan.

Only when Jovan Vladimir gave him his own sword was the murderer able to cut off his head.

Jovan Vladimir caught it in the air and rode on to the church he had built near Elbasan.

Jovan Vladimir was buried in the church, which then became the scene of many miracles.

Jovan Vladimir was captured and imprisoned by the Bulgarian ruler Samuel.

Vladislav invited Jovan Vladimir to visit him, as if to discuss the needs of their peoples.

When Kosara came to him instead, Vladislav received her with apparent kindness; therefore Jovan Vladimir came as well.

Vladislav was able to cut off his head only after Jovan Vladimir gave him his own sword.

An important model for the iconography of Saint Jovan Vladimir is an engraving in the 1690 edition of the Greek akolouthia.

Jovan Vladimir depicted the saint with a mustache and short beard, wearing a cloak and a crown inscribed with lilies, holding a cross in his right hand, and his severed head in his left hand.

The icon's position on the iconostasis indicates that Jovan Vladimir was an important figure of local veneration.

Jovan Vladimir was often depicted in the company of Saints Clement and Naum in Macedonian churches.

Saint Jovan Vladimir is represented on frescos in three monasteries of Mount Athos: Hilandar, Zograf, and Philotheou; and three Bulgarian monasteries: Rila, Troyan, and Lozen.

Jovan Vladimir holds a cross, a sceptre, and an olive branch in his right hand, while his crowned severed head is in his left hand.

Jovan Vladimir wears an ermine cloak and a robe with floral designs, adorned with large gems surrounded by pearls.

Several legends about Jovan Vladimir have been recorded in western Macedonia.

The locals claim that it is where Jovan Vladimir was born and later brought his severed head.

Jovan Vladimir struck his son-in-law with a sword, but could not cut him.

Only when Jovan Vladimir gave him his own sword was the emperor able to cut off his head.

Jovan Vladimir took his severed head and went towards the site of his future church.

Jovan Vladimir lived on their island, where he was killed by a cousin of his out of jealousy, and his body was taken via Ohrid to Albania.