Duklja in the context of "Vassal"

Montenegro is a country in Southeast Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Its 25 municipalities have a total population of 633,158 people in an area of 13,883 km (5,360 sq mi). It is bordered by Serbia to the northeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Kosovo to the east, Albania to the southeast, and Croatia to the west, and has a coastline along the Adriatic Sea to the southwest. The capital and largest city is Podgorica, while Cetinje is the Old Royal Capital and cultural centre.

Before the arrival of the Slav peoples in the Balkans in the 6th and 7th centuries CE, the area now known as Montenegro was inhabited principally by people known as Illyrians.During the Early Medieval period, three principalities were located on the territory of modern-day Montenegro: Duklja, roughly corresponding to the southern half; Travunia, the west; and Rascia proper, the north. The Principality of Zeta emerged in the 14th and 15th centuries. From the late 14th century to the late 18th century, large parts of southern Montenegro were ruled by the Venetian Republic and incorporated into Venetian Albania. The name Montenegro was first used to refer to the country in the late 15th century. After falling under Ottoman Empire rule, Montenegro gained semi-autonomy in 1696 under the rule of the House of Petrović-Njegoš, first as a theocracy and later as a secular principality. Montenegro's independence was recognised by the Great Powers at the Congress of Berlin in 1878. In 1910, the country became a kingdom. After World War I, the kingdom became part of Yugoslavia. Following the breakup of Yugoslavia, the republics of Serbia and Montenegro together proclaimed a federation. In June 2006 Montenegro declared its independence following a referendum.

Travunia (Serbo-Croatian: Travunija / Травунија; Greek: Τερβουνία, romanized: Tervounía; Ancient Greek: Τερβουνία, romanized: Terbounía; Latin: Tribunia) was a South Slavic medieval principality that was part of Medieval Serbia (850–1371), and later the Medieval Bosnia (1373–1482). The principality became hereditary in a number of noble houses, often kin to the ruling dynasty. The region came under Ottoman rule in 1482. Its seat was in the city of Trebinje.

In the 9th and 10th centuries, the Župa of Travunia was held by the Belojević noble family, who were entitled the rule during the reign of Prince Vlastimir (r. 830–850), of the Vlastimirović dynasty. After the death of Časlav, the last dynastic member, the principality disintegrated, and the provinces were annexed by the Bulgars and Byzantines. In 1034, Stefan Vojislav (the founder of the Vojislavljević dynasty) incited a rebellion and renounced Byzantine rule, becoming the Prince of Serbs, ruling from the seat at Duklja. In the early 12th century, Desa of the Vukanović dynasty wrestled the region, and it continued under the rule of the Nemanjić dynasty (1166–1371), either held by dynastic members or close associates (most often military commanders), of which was the notable Vojinović noble family. After Nikola Altomanović, the holder of a large province during the fall of the Serbian Empire, was defeated in 1373, his estates were divided between Prince Lazar Hrebeljanović of Serbia, Đurađ I Balšić of Zeta, and Ban Tvrtko I Kotromanić of Bosnia. Trebinje continued under the Bosnian crown in the hands of the Pavlović family, and from 1435 under the Kosača family. It was finally annexed in 1481 by the Ottomans and organized into the Sanjak of Herzegovina.

Samuel (also Samoil or Samuil; Bulgarian: Самуил, pronounced [sɐmuˈiɫ]; Macedonian: Самоил/Самуил, pronounced [samɔˈiɫ/sɐmuˈiɫ]; Old Church Slavonic: Самоилъ; died 6 October 1014) was the Tsar (Emperor) of the First Bulgarian Empire from 997 to 6 October 1014. From 977 to 997, he was a general under Roman I of Bulgaria, the second surviving son of Emperor Peter I of Bulgaria, and co-ruled with him, as Roman bestowed upon him the command of the army and the effective royal authority. As Samuel struggled to preserve his country's independence from the Byzantine Empire, his rule was characterized by constant warfare against the Byzantines and their equally ambitious ruler Basil II.

In his early years, Samuel managed to inflict several major defeats on the Byzantines and to launch offensive campaigns into their territory. In the late 10th century, the Bulgarian armies conquered the Serb principality of Duklja and led campaigns against the Kingdoms of Croatia and Hungary. But from 1001, he was forced mainly to defend the Empire against the superior Byzantine armies. Samuel died of a heart attack on 6 October 1014, two months after the catastrophic battle of Kleidion. His successors failed to organize a resistance, and in 1018, four years after Samuel's death, the country capitulated, ending the five decades-long Byzantine–Bulgarian conflict.

Stefan Vojislav (Serbian Cyrillic: Стефан Војислав, Greek: Στέφανος Βοϊσθλάβος; fl. 1034–d. 1043) was the Prince of Duklja from 1018 to 1043. Beginning in the year 1018, he served as a Byzantine governor, until 1034 when he led an unsuccessful revolt that landed him in a prison at Constantinople. He managed to escape and returned home, this time successfully gaining the independence of his statelet and expanding his rule over southern Dalmatia and its hinterland. He is the eponymous founder of the Vojislavljević dynasty.

The House of Vojislavljević (Serbian Cyrillic: Војислављевић, pl. Vojislavljevići / Војислављевићи) was a Serbian medieval dynasty, named after the archon Stefan Vojislav, who wrested the polities of Duklja, Travunia, Zahumlje, inner Serbia and Bosnia from the Byzantines in the mid-11th century. His successors, kings Mihailo I Vojislavljević (d. 1081) and Constantine Bodin (d. 1101) expanded and consolidated the state. During the 12th century, the main line of the Vojislavljević family was ousted by their cadet branch, the Vukanović.(which became the Nemanjić dynasty), in the late 12th century.

Mihailo Vojislavljević (Serbian Cyrillic: Михаило Војислављевић) was a medieval Serbian king and the ruler of Dioclea (Duklja), from 1046 to 1081, initially as a Byzantine vassal holding the title of protospatharios, then after 1077 as nominally serving Pope Gregory VII, styled as "King of the Slavs". He had alienated himself from the Byzantines when he supported the Bulgarian Uprising of Georgi Voyteh, after which he then sought to gain support in the West. In 1077 he received royal insignia by Gregory VII in the aftermath of the Church schism of 1054.

Constantine Bodin (Bulgarian and Serbian: Константин Бодин, Konstantin Bodin; fl. 1072–1101) was a medieval king and the ruler of Duklja, the most powerful Serbian principality of the time, from 1081 to 1101, succeeding his father, Mihailo Vojislavljević (r.  1046–1081).

Born in peaceful times, when the South Slavs were subjects of the Byzantine Empire, his father was in 1072 approached by Bulgarian nobility, who sought aid in their revolt against the Byzantines. Mihailo sent them Bodin, who was crowned Bulgarian tsar under the name Peter (Bulgarian: Петър, Petŭr); he is therefore sometimes enumerated as Peter III (Петър ІІІ) as tsar. Bodin joined the short-lived revolt, being captured the following year after initial success. He was freed in 1078, and upon the death of his father in 1081 he succeeded to the throne of Dioclea. Having renewed his acknowledgement of Byzantine overlordship, he soon sided with their enemies, the Normans, which resulted in a Byzantine invasion and his capture. Although he quickly had himself freed, his reputation and influence waned. He was pushed aside by one of his governors, Vukan, who continued the struggle against the Byzantines.

Vukan I (Serbian: Вукан, Greek: Βολκάνος; c. 1050 – 1112) was the Grand Prince of Serbia from 1083 until he died in 1112. During their first years he ruled together with his brother Marko. With the death of his uncle, King Constantine Bodin of Duklja in 1101, he became the most powerful ruler among Serbian princes. He defeated the Byzantines several times, conquering parts of northern Macedonia. He is the eponymous founder of the Vukanović dynasty.

The Vukanović dynasty (Serbian Cyrillic: Вукановић, pl. Vukanovići / Вукановићи), was a medieval Serbian dynasty that ruled over inner Serbia, centered in the Raška region (Latin: Rascia), during the 11th and 12th century. Several members of the Vukanović dynasty also ruled in some other regions (Zachlumia, Travunia, Duklja, and also Croatia). The house may have descended from the Vojislavljević dynasty of Duklja. Vukanović dynasty was later succeeded in Serbia by the closely related Nemanjić dynasty, who represented their younger, cadet branch.

The Vukanović family was named by later historians, after its founder Vukan of Serbia. However, the family itself is also known as the Urošević dynasty (Serbian Cyrillic: Урошевић, pl. Uroševići / Урошевићи), after Vukan's nephew, Uroš I of Serbia.