Knyaz

Early Slavic status

Knyaz (sovereign)

Boyar / Szlachta (noble)

Druzhinnik (retainer)

Smerd (free tenant)

Kholop (slave)

v t e

Knyaz, kniaz or knez (Old Church Slavonic: кънѧѕь, kŭnędzĭ) is a historical Slavic title, used both as a royal and noble title in different times of history and different ancient Slavic lands. It is usually translated into English as prince or duke, depending on specific historical context and the potentially known Latin equivalents of the title for each bearer of the name. These translations probably derive from the fact that the title tsar was often treated as equivalent to "king" by European monarchs. In Latin sources the title is usually translated as princeps, but the word was originally derived from the common Germanic *kuningaz (king).^[1]

The female form transliterated from Bulgarian and Russian is knyaginya (княгиня), kneginja in Slovene and Serbo-Croatian (Serbian Cyrillic: кнегиња), kniahinia (княгіня) in Belarusian and kniazioŭna (князёўна) is the daughter of the prince, kniahynia (княгиня) in Ukrainian and kniazivna (князівна) is the daughter of the prince. In Russian, the daughter of a knyaz is knyazhna (княжна). In Russian, the son of a knyaz is knyazhich (княжич in its old form).^[2]

The title is pronounced and written similarly in different

• Prior to Battenberg, the title knyaz was born by Simeon I during the First Bulgarian Empire (9th–10th century). At the height of his power, Simeon adopted the title of tsar ("emperor"), as did the Bulgarian rulers after the country became officially independent in 1908.
• As of Bulgaria's independence in 1908, Knyaz
  Ferdinand became Tsar Ferdinand, and the words knyaz and knyaginya began to be used instead for the tsar's children – the heir to the throne, for example, held the title Knyaz Tarnovski (Prince of Tarnovo
  ").

In early medieval Bosnia knez (knjaz, књаз) was a title used, along župan and duke titles, for Bosnian rulers.^[10] One of the first such ruler, recorded in historic documents and later historiography, was Stephen, Duke of Bosnia.

Later it was held by several of most powerful magnates (in Bosnia vlastelin) of the era, sometime along with an office title given to person through service to the monarch, such as Grand Duke of Bosnia, which was office of the supreme military commander of the realm. Other noble titles included the count, the duke and the prince. The title is equivalent to that of prince. Among most influential of Bosnian nobleman with the title knez was Pavle Radinović of Radinović-Pavlović noble family, while other include several noblemen from Radojević-Mirković family, such as Batić Mirković. Further families that bear this title are for example Šantić noble family and most members of Hrvatinić.

Croatia

• knez was the monarchial title used by the medieval rulers of the
  Duchy of Pannonian Croatia and the Duchy of Littoral Croatia from the 7th to the 10th century, who were mostly titled as dux^[11][12] and rarely as princeps^[13][14]
  in Latin sources and translated as Dukes in English ones.
• knez
  Counts of Krk) and knezovi Zrinski (Counts of Zrin)) and went by the title of comes
  in Latin and Count in English.

• knjaz (књаз) was the ruler title used by the Petrović-Njegoš dynasty in Principality of Montenegro from 1852 until the establishment of Kingdom of Montenegro in 1905, translated as "Prince".

Serbia

• knez (кнез) or knjaz (књаз) is a common term used in Serbian historiography for Serbian rulers in the Early Middle Ages, who were titled archon in Greek.
• knez (кнез) or knjaz (књаз) was a noble title used by medieval rulers of the Principality of Serbia, Duklja,^{[citation needed]} and Moravian Serbia.
• knez (кнез) was a title borne by local Serbian chiefs under the
  kodjabashi, held by local Christian chiefs.^[15]
• obor-knez (обор-кнез) was a title borne by elected local native Serbian chiefs of the nahiyah (district of a group of villages) in the Ottoman Sanjak of Smederevo (also known as the Belgrade Pashaluk). The obor-knez was senior chief and responsible for his district's people and was their spokesman (intermediary) in direct relations with the Pasha, though usually through the sipahi, and was in charge of the transfer of taxes levied on the villages.
• knez (кнез) or knjaz (књаз) was the monarchial title used by
  Miloš Obrenović in Principality of Serbia, translated as "Prince". Serbia known as Kneževina Srbija (Кнежевина Србија) was de facto independent since 1817, becoming de jure independent with the 1869 constitution. The successors of Miloš used the title until 1882 when Serbia was elevated into a kingdom
  .

• Voivode
• Boyar
• Hospodar
• Knyazev
• Knez (Vlach leader)

References