duchy · Balkans and Hungary
Duchy of Saint Sava
Origins
Stjepan Vukčić Kosača inherited the lands of Hum and the coast from his uncle Sandalj Hranić in 1435, becoming the mightiest noble of the Kingdom of Bosnia. In 1448 he styled himself Herceg of Saint Sava, after the relics of the Serbian saint kept at the monastery of Mileševa in his territory, asserting independence from the Bosnian king.
Rule and society
From his castle at Blagaj near Mostar, Stjepan controlled the caravan routes between the Adriatic and the interior, levying customs on trade with Ragusa and developing the port of Novi, today Herceg Novi. His lands mixed adherents of the Bosnian Church, Orthodox and Catholic Christians, and he quarrelled with Ragusa, Venice and his own son Vladislav.
Decline and legacy
The Ottomans conquered Bosnia in 1463 and most of Stjepan's lands by 1465; he died in 1466. His son Vlatko held a shrinking coastal remnant until Herceg Novi fell in 1482. Another son converted and became the Ottoman grand vizier Hersekzade Ahmed Pasha.
Lineage
On the connections map
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- Duchy of Saint Sava was conquered by Ottoman Empire1482 CE
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Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Duchy of Saint Sava. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/duchy-of-saint-sava
- MLA
- “Duchy of Saint Sava.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/duchy-of-saint-sava. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Duchy of Saint Sava.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/duchy-of-saint-sava.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Duchy of Saint Sava’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/duchy-of-saint-sava (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻