| Mihailo I Mihailo Vojislavljević |
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| King of Slavs (rex Sclavorum) Ruler of Tribals and Serbs |
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| Mihailo I on a fresco in the Church of St. Michael in Ston. | |
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| Reign | 1050-1081 |
| Predecessor | Vojislav |
| Successor | Constantine Bodin |
| Issue | |
| Vladimir Constantin Bodin Dobroslav II Petrislav |
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| House | Vojislavljević |
| Father | Vojislav |
| Died | 1081 |
| Religion | Eastern Christianity |
Mihailo I Vojislavljević (Serbian Cyrillic: Михаило I Војислављевић, Anglicised: Michael I) was the Grand Prince of Duklja from 1050 to 1081. He alienated himself from the Byzantines, and sought to improve relations with the West, and in 1077 he was recognized as King by controversial Pope Gregory VII, in the aftermath of the Church schism of 1054. He succeeded his father as Prince of the Serbs,[1] a title signifying supreme leadership among Serbs.
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With the death of Stefan Vojislav, the rule was divided between the five sons.[3] Gojislav had recevied Travunia (Trebinje), and briefly ruled until he was killed by local nobles, who set up Domanek as Prince.[3] Mihailo pursued and attacked Domanek, who fled, in his place Saganek was put to govern Travunia.[3] Domanek then returned, and drove out Saganek.[3] Mihailo offered the office to Radoslav, who declined, afraid of losing Luška župa (future Zeta).[3] Radoslav perhaps distrusted his brother, thinking he would seize Zeta, but Mihailo seems to have offered him a deal.[3]
The Byzantine Empire, wanting to take advantage of the death of Stefan Vojislav, prepared an offensive against unstable Duklja.[3] At this time, the four remaining brothers made peace and made an alliance.[3] The treaty concluded is the oldest in Serbian history.[3] After the agreement, Radoslav attacked Trebinje, killing Domanek.[3] After this event, their mother (who had acted as an stability in the relations between the brothers) died.[3] He succeeded as Knez of "Duklja" in 1046, or as his realm was called by contemporary Cedrenus: "Triballorum ac Serborum principatum".[4]
While in no imminent danger from that side, Mihailo found it favorable to further strengthen ties with Byzantium, and in 1050 he gained the title of protospatharos, also marriying a niece of Constantine IX Monomachos.[4] This might have implied titular recognition of Constantinople's authority, but no real concessions on his part. It corresponded to the then-current balance of forces, and bought some 20 years of peace and prosperity to his land.
Matters started to change after 1071, the year of Byzantium's key Asian debacle at the Battle of Manzikert, as well as of the loss of south Italy to the Normans.
In 1072, the Bulgarian noblemen in Skopje planned a revolt against Byzantine rule under the leadership of Georgi Voiteh, the exarchos of Skopje. The rebel chieftains (proechontes) asked Mihailo I for help in exchange to provide one of his sons, as descendant of the House of the Cometopuli, to assume the Bulgarian throne and end the oppression[5] made by the Byzantines.[6] In the fall of 1072, Michael I gladly sent Bodin with 300 troops, which arrived at Prizren and met with Voiteh and other magnates. At Prizren[7] they crowned Bodin "Emperor of the Bulgarians" and gave him the name 'Peter III', recalling the names of the Emperor-Saint Peter I (died in 970) and of Peter II Delyan (who had led the first major revolt against Byzantine rule in 1040–1041).[6] Despite initial success, Bodin was subsequently captured.[6] When Michael I had heard of his sons capture, he sent captured Byzantine general Langobardopoulos, whom he had married with one of his daughter, to rescue him. Langobardopoulos, however, defected to the Byzantines.[6]
The aid to Georgi Voiteh moved Mihailo away from the Byzantines.[8]
After the uprising, Mihailo began looking for support westward - to the Pope. This came as a result of his alienation from the Byzantines, but also from a desire to instate an independent archbishopric within his realm, and finally to obtain a royal title. In the aftermath of the Church schism of 1054, Pope Gregory VII had an interest in bestowing these on rulers in the rift area, and Mihailo was granted one in 1077. Thereafter, Duklja is referred to as a kingdom, until its reduction in the following century.
It is not known whether his brothers accepted him as supreme ruler, or if he had forced it upon them. Onwards, Mihailo was the ruler of All Duklja, and his brothers may at most have had only appanages.[3]
Having sealed ties with the Normans through marriage of his heir Bodin, Mihailo died in 1081, after a rule of 30 or so years. He left St. Michael's Church in Ston, north of Dubrovnik, a small church following mostly an early Byzantine style, which contains one of the oldest known fresco portraits of a South Slavic ruler.
Mihailo had seven sons, out of which four are known:
| Regnal titles | ||
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| Preceded by Stephen Dobroslav I Voislav |
Grand Prince of Duklja 1050 – 1081 |
Succeeded by Constantine Bodin |
| First Title transformed
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King of Duklja 1077 – 1081 |
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