- Mihailo Višević
Mihailo Višević was a medieval ruler of
Zachlumia . He reigned from 910 till 930/940.Family background
According to tradition, Mihailo Višević descended from a Slavic tribe (as such before moving to the Balkans) known as the "Litziki", generally from the upper strims of the modern-day river of Vistula (Visla) in
Poland . The Litziki became sort of "warlords" of Zachlumia. Mihailo's father, Viš, reigned over Zachlumia, till his death, passing over rulership to Mihailo.Expansion during the Serbo-Bulgarian conflicts
In 912, Mihailo kidnapped the Venetian Doge
Orso II Participazio 's son, Pietro Badoer, who was returning toVenice fromConstantinople and sent him to Symeon, Tsar (Emperor) of Bulgaria, as a sign of loyalty. Mihailo generally maintained a pro-Bulgarian foreign policy hoping that that will help him to restore power in his realm.In 917, there was a secret meeting between Prince Petar and Byzantine Dyrrachian strategos
Lion Rabduch , somewhere in a palace in the Narentine frontier (Pagania). Byzantium was trying to gather theMagyars andSerbs into a massive coalition against theBulgarians in order to destroy them. As a further attempt, Višević found out about this and informed Symeon about the meeting, who quickly acted to first subdue Serbia placing a friendly ruler, braking the potential alliance. Petar's cousinPavle Branović was put to the throne by the Bulgarians. In 923, he quickly changed from pro-Bulgarian to pro-Byzantine, so the Bulgars once again replaced the Serbian ruler, this time withZaharija Pribislavljević .During the reigns of the weak Pavle and Zaharije, it is believed that Mihailo not only factually strengthened as ruler of his own land, but also further expanded his realm throughout coastal Serbia. In 924,
Serbia wanted to loosen dependence fromBulgaria , so the Bulgarians ravaged wars onto Serbia. In the end, they finally succeeded in totally abolishing and annexing Serbia, rather than maintaining a form of vassal-state. This, giving full-scale independence to Prince Mihailo, also convinced him of the Bulgarian threat - Symeon simply continued to successfully conquer everything.Croatian alliance
In 924 and 925, Mihailo closed by to
Croatia , seeing a threat in Bulgarian expansion. He was recorded on the two Ecclesiastical Councils in Split as a representer of Serbs and as the master of the Bishopric of Ston. He went into an alliance withTomislav I of Croatia against Bulgaria; this also meant eligious subjection to Rome (to theArchbishopric of Split ). This led contemporary Croatian historians to consider that Zachlumia was a Croatian vassal-state.Growth in power
As the Bulgarians got weaker, he saw a great power in the
Balkans in Byzantium, so he began to return to it. In 926 he crossed the Adriatic with his navy and conducted the greatest success in his reign - on10 July 926 , he conquered the Italian City ofSiponte , greatly jeopardized by Arab and Langobard intruders. As a reward, he received numerous Byzantine titles including 'patrikios' and 'hypatos', under Byzantine sovereignty recognized as theViceroy of the region, becoming, after 927 and 928, the most powerful ruler in the Adriatic region.Aftermath of his death
After his death, Zachumlia collapsed and was never longer a powerful and distinct realm. The overpowering influence of Prince
Časlav Klonimirović , who from the hinterland of Zeta, slowly regained all of Serbia, including Zachlumia.
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