Knez (title) in the context of "Unnamed 7th-century Serbian ruler"

Lazar Hrebeljanović (Serbian Cyrillic: Лазар Хребељановић; c. 1329 – 15 June 1389) was a medieval Serbian ruler who created the largest and most powerful state on the territory of the disintegrated Serbian Empire. Lazar's state, referred to by historians as Moravian Serbia, comprised the basins of the Great Morava, West Morava, and South Morava rivers. Lazar ruled Moravian Serbia from 1371 until his death in 1389. He sought to resurrect the Serbian Empire and place himself at its helm, claiming to be the direct successor of the Nemanjić dynasty, which went extinct in 1371 after ruling over Serbia for two centuries. Lazar's programme had the full support of the Serbian Orthodox Church, but the Serbian nobility did not recognize him as their supreme ruler. He is often referred to as Tsar Lazar Hrebeljanović (Serbian: Цар Лазар Хребељановић / Car Lazar Hrebeljanović); however, he only held the title of prince (Serbian: кнез / knez).

Lazar was killed at the Battle of Kosovo in June 1389 while leading a Christian army assembled to confront the invading Ottoman Empire, led by Sultan Murad I. The battle ended without a clear victor, with both sides enduring heavy losses. In order to protect the weakened Serbian state from the Hungarian invasion from the north, Lazar's widow, Milica, who ruled as regent for their adolescent son Stefan Lazarević, Lazar's successor, accepted Ottoman suzerainty in the summer of 1390 in exchange for a military alliance.

Stjepan Vukčić Kosača (1404–1466) was a powerful Bosnian nobleman who was politically active from 1435 to 1466; the last three decades of Bosnian medieval history. During this period, three kings acceded to the Bosnian throne: Tvrtko II, Thomas (Tomaš), Stephen Tomašević (Stjepan Tomašević) and anti-king Radivoj—the older brother of King Thomas—before the country was conquered by the Ottomans.

Stjepan, a son of the Knez of Drina, Vukac Hranić, and Katarina, whose ancestry is unknown, was probably born in 1404. Stjepan's father held hereditary lands in the Upper Drina region. Stjepan was a member of the Kosača noble family and became its chieftain in 1435 when he succeeded his uncle, Duke Sandalj, as Duke of Humska zemlja and the Grand Duke of Bosnia. Stjepan influenced the development of the late Bosnian medieval state more than any other person of his era.

Hrvoje Vukčić Hrvatinić (c. 1350–1416) was a medieval Bosnian nobleman and magnate, Grand Duke of Bosnia, Knez of Donji Kraji, and Duke of Split. He was the most prominent member of the Hrvatinić noble family, and one of the major feudal lords in Kingdom of Bosnia. He was Grand Duke of Bosnia under four Bosnian kings: King Tvrtko I, King Stephen Dabiša, King Stephen Ostoja and King Tvrtko II. In 1403, and after Tvrtko I's death, Ladislaus of Naples named him his deputy for Dalmatia, and bestowed him with a title Duke of Split, later Herzog of Split. He played a crucial role in the dynastic struggles between the Anjou and Luxembourg claimants to the Hungarian-Croatian throne at the end of the 14th century, as well as in the emergence of the Bosnian Kingdom as a regional power during the same period.

Stanak is the most common name used to refer to the assembly of nobility in medieval Bosnia. The assembly, in the original Bosančica: Сmɖɴɖк (Serbo-Croatian Cyrillic: Станак), was also known as the Rusag (from the Hungarian word orszag, meaning "state" or "nation"), Rusag bosanski, Zbor, Sva Bosna (meaning "Whole of Bosnia") or just Bosna, with the officials of the Republic of Ragusa employing several Latin terms as well. The term "stanak sve zemlje Bosne", is first attested in the charter of Tvrtko I in 1354. Its influence peaked between the 1390s and the 1420s. The Serbian historian Sima Ćirković and most other Yugoslav scholars believed that the existence of the stanak proved a unity and feeling of belonging to a Bosnian identity and integrity, but also illustrated weakness of the monarch and decentralization of the state, as argued by American colleague John Van Antwerp Fine, Jr.

The right to take part in the sessions of the stanak was enjoyed by every Bosnian knez, from magnates to petty lords, collectively known as vlastela, but the ultimate authority belonged to the highest nobility. The stanak was convoked when required, usually by the ruler, who presided over it and led its sessions. If male, his wife was allowed to attend, but his children were not. The Bosnian Church clergy, not belonging to the vlastela, were also barred, but influenced decision-making in the stanak through the great lords associated with them. The magnates of the country convoked the stanak themselves when the country experienced greater domestic issues, such as succession crisis or deposition of the ruler, domestic conflicts or wars. It normally took place wherever the monarch held court: in Mile, Milodraž, Bobovac, Kraljeva Sutjeska and Jajce.

Trpimir I (Croatian pronunciation: [tř̩pimiːr př̩ʋiː], Latin: Trepimerus/Trepimero) was a duke (Croatian: knez) in Croatia from around 845 until his death in 864. He is considered the founder of the Trpimirović dynasty that ruled in Croatia, with interruptions, from around 845 until 1091. Although he was formally vassal of the Frankish Emperor Lothair I, Trpimir used Frankish-Byzantine conflicts to rule on his own.

The Golubac Fortress (Serbian: Голубачки град or Golubački grad) was a medieval fortified town on the south side of the Danube River, 4 km (2.5 mi) downstream from the modern-day town of Golubac, Serbia. According to recent discoveries, the fortress, which was built during the 14th century by Medieval Serbian state, is split into three compounds which were built in stages. It has ten towers, most of which started square, and several of which received many-sided reinforcements with the advent of firearms. Towers were not connected for easier defense. Serbian Medieval frescos were recently found inside the fortress.

Golubac Fortress has had a tumultuous history. Prior to its construction it was the site of a Roman settlement. During the Middle Ages, it became the object of many battles, especially between the Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary. It changed hands repeatedly, passing between Turks, Bulgarians, Hungarians, Serbs, and Austrians, until 1867, when it was turned over to the Serbian Knez, Mihailo Obrenović III. In the 21st century it is a popular tourist attraction in the region and a sightseeing point on Danube boat tours.

Vladislav of Bosnia (Serbo-Croatian: Vladislav Kotromanić/Владислав Котроманић; died 1354) was a member of the House of Kotromanić who effectively ruled the Banate of Bosnia from September 1353 to his death.

Vladislav was a younger son of Stephen I, Ban of Bosnia, and Elizabeth of Serbia. Upon the death of Ban Stephen I in c. 1314, Vladislav's mother assumed regency in the name of his older brother, Ban Stephen II. Unclear circumstances soon forced her to flee Bosnia and seek refuge in the Republic of Ragusa. She took her children with her, and Ragusan documents show they spent several years there in exile. The 16th-century chronicler Mavro Orbini states that only Stephen followed Elizabeth, while Vladislav and his brother Ninoslav went to the Croatian town of Medvedgrad. By the summer of 1319, the Kotromanić family were back in Bosnia. Vladislav and Stephen took part in a great coalition of noblemen against their overlord Mladen II Šubić of Bribir, causing his downfall and bringing the House of Kotromanić directly under the suzerainty of King Charles I of Hungary. The brothers then proceeded to assist the Ban of Slavonia in conflicts with Croatian magnates. Vladislav, titled knez, appears as co-granter of Stephen II's charters to the Hrvatinić noble family between 1326 and 1331.