List of rulers of Duklja


This is a list of rulers of Duklja.

List of rulers

PictureNameTitleReignNotesGenealogy
Peter"archon of Dioklea" ?He was an archon of Duklja in the 10th or 11th century. The only information on him is from a seal found in the 19th century, which is decorated on the observe with a bust of the Virgin Mary holding a medallion of Christ and flanked by two cruciform invocative monograms. The text is in Greek letters, saying "Petrou, Archontos Diokleias, Amin" Υ ΑΡΧΟΝΤΟΣ ΔΙΟΚΛΙΑ - Peter, archon of Dioklea, Amen. The seal shows that although Duklja underwent turmoil in the 9th century, the region still continued under Byzantine rule, or if not authority, influence.-
Jovan VladimirPrince fl. 1000–1016Jovan fought to protect Duklja from Bulgarian expansion, making an alliance with Byzantium; Bulgaria however conquered Duklja in 997 and took Jovan Vladimir prisoner. Jovan ruled Duklja as a vassal of the Bulgarian empire until 1016.CPD: Petrislav
Stefan Vojislav"Prince of the Serbs" or "of Serbia"
toparch of the Dalmatian kastra of Zeta and Ston		 1018–1034
1040–1043		Overthrew the Byzantine supremacy over Serbs in Duklja; founder of the Vojislavljević dynasty; in 1035 rebelled against the Byzantine Empire, but forced to sign an armistice; went to war again in 1040, which would be continued by his heir and son, Mihailo. Except Duklja, his realm included Travunija with Konavli and Zahumlje.CPD: Dragomir
Mihailo I"Prince of Tribals or Serbs"
"King of Slavs"		 1050–1077
1077–1081		Crowned King by the pope in 1077.Stefan Vojislav
Constantine Bodin"protosebastos and executor of Dioklea and Serbia"
King 		1081–1085
1085–1091		Tsar of Bulgaria as Peter III in 1072.-
Dobroslav IIKing 1101–1102Overthrown by Vukan of Rascia and Kočopar.-
KočaparUnknown 1102–1103Brought to power by Vukan of Rascia. Vassal of the Grand Principality of Rascia. Killed in battle against Zachlumoi.-
VladimirUnknown 1103–1113Married daughter of Vukan of Rascia. Vassal of the Grand Principality of Rascia. He was poisoned by his cousin Đorđe.-
ĐorđeUnknown 1113–1118Son of Constantine Bodin. Đorđe was overthrown by Uroš I of Rascia in 1118.-
GrubešaUnknown 1118–1125Overthrew Đorđe with the help of the Byzantines.-
ĐorđeUnknown 1125–1131Second rule. Vassal of the Grand Principality of Rascia.-
GradinjaPrince 1131–1146Appointed to Doclean throne by Byzantines after Đorđe's defeat in the second Doclean-Byzantine War.-
RadoslavPrince 1146–1148Byzantine vassal. Only dynastic member to be mentioned as Prince of Doclea.-
Mihailo IIPrince 1148–1186Byzantine vassal.-

Duklja continues as a crownland of Grand Principality of Serbia, under Vukan Nemanjić and Đorđe Nemanjić.

Rulers according to the Chronicle of the Priest of Duklja

The following rulers are mentioned only in the Chronicle of the Priest of Duklja, written by a Catholic monk of the Cistercian order by the name of Roger at the request of Croatian Ban Paul Šubić. It was written in two versions – the first one in Split in 1298 while Roger was handling the Archbishop of Split's finances, and the second ca. 1300, while he was the Archbishop of Antivari. The chronicle, built round a core written in Slavonic, but added to by a bishop of Bar intent on demonstrating his diocese' superiority over that of Split, is one of the oldest known written sources, but only Latin redactions from the 16th and 17th centuries have been preserved.
Historians have largely discounted it, though it contains material on the early history of the South Slavs. The work describes the Slavs as a peaceful people imported by the rulers of the Goths, who invaded the area in the 5th century, but it doesn't attempt to elaborate on how and when this happened. Furthermore, it mentions Bosnia and Rascia as the two Serbian lands, while describing the southern Dalmatian Zahumlje, Travunia and Duklja as Croatian lands in the Early Middle Ages - these contradict the Byzantine work De Administrando Imperio and other contemporary sources.
Various inaccurate or simply false claims make it an unreliable source. This work is, as the majority of modern historians think, mainly fictional, or wishful thinking, however, it does give us a unique insight into the whole era from the point of view of the indigenous Slavic population. One of the prime controversies of the Chronicle, lies in the fact that the Antivari Archepiscopate did not exist between 1142 and 1198 – and that is the time Rudger is supposed to have been the Archbishop.