{{Short description|Serbian magnate}} {{Infobox military person | name = Preljub | image = Kesar Preljub.png | caption = Preljub | birth_date = c. 1312 | death_date = 1355/1356 | allegiance = [[Image:Nemanjić dynasty coat of arms, small, based on Palavestra.jpg|17px]] [[Kingdom of Serbia (medieval)|Kingdom of Serbia]]<br/>{{flagicon|Serbian Empire}} [[Serbian Empire]] | rank = ''[[Voivode]]''<br />''[[caesar (title)|Caesar]]'' | battles = | relations = [[Thomas II Preljubović]] }}

'''Preljub''' ({{lang-sr-Cyrl|Прељуб}};{{Cref2|a}} c. 1312–1356) was a Serbian magnate who served [[Serbian Empire|Emperor]] [[Stefan Dušan]] (r. 1331–55) as ''[[vojvoda]]'' (general). He participated in the southern conquests and held [[Thessaly]] with the rank of ''[[Caesar (title)|caesar]]'' (''kesar'') in 1348–56. His son [[Thomas Preljubović]] was [[Despot of Epirus]] in 1366–84.

==Biography== Preljub appears in sources in 1344, taking part in the Serbian conquest of [[Macedonia (region)|Macedonia]] during the [[Byzantine civil war of 1341–1347]]. According to contemporary chroniclers, Stefan Dušan considered him the best of all his magnates "in valor, courage and experience".{{sfn|Soulis|1984|p=24}}

In May 1344, he fought in the [[Battle of Stephaniana]] against the [[Emirate of Aydin]], allies of the [[Byzantine emperor]] [[John VI Kantakouzenos]]. The battle was a defeat, but it did not seriously affect the progress of the Serbian conquest.<ref>{{harvnb|Soulis|1984|p=24}}; {{harvnb|Fine|1994|p=304}}</ref>

In 1348, reinforced with numerous [[Albanians|Albanian]] auxiliary troops, Preljub invaded [[Thessaly]]. Aided by the depopulation brought about by the [[Black Death]], which, among others, had killed the local [[Byzantine]] governor, [[John Angelos (sebastokrator)|John Angelos]], he wrested most of the region from the [[Byzantine Greeks|Byzantines]] and the [[Catalan people|Catalans]] of the [[Duchy of Neopatria]] by November of the same year. Dušan named him governor of Thessaly, with [[Trikala]] as his seat, and gave him the title of ''[[Caesar (title)|caesar]]'' as a reward.<ref>{{harvnb|Fine|1994|pp=310, 320}}; {{harvnb|Soulis|1984|pp=35, 108, 110}}</ref> Several earlier scholars have stated that Preljub also controlled parts of [[Epirus]], including the city of [[Ioannina]], but recent research regards this as unlikely, and most likely the result of additions or mistakes in later sources.<ref>{{harvnb|Soulis|1984|pp=108–109}}</ref>

[[File:Serbian conquests.png|thumb|Conquests of Serbia under Stefan Dušan]]

In 1350, John VI Kantakouzenos took advantage of Dušan's absence in a campaign against [[Banate of Bosnia|Bosnia]], and attempted to recover his lost provinces in Macedonia and Thessaly. He landed at [[Thessalonica]] and succeeded in regaining several key fortresses in Macedonia, but his advance towards Thessaly was stopped by Preljub, who, with 500 men, held the strategically important fortress of [[Servia, Greece|Servia]] against him. Kantakouzenos, whose army was insufficient to overpower the town's defenses, withdrew, and Dušan was able to recover his lost fortresses with ease.<ref>{{harvnb|Fine|1994|p=324}}; {{harvnb|Soulis|1984|pp=44–47, 111}}</ref>

Preljub died in late 1355, or early 1356, shortly after Dušan himself, in a clash with local Albanian clans.<ref>{{harvnb|Fine|1994|p=346}}; {{harvnb|Soulis|1984|p=111}}</ref> His widow, Irina [[Nemanjić]], a daughter of Dušan, and their son [[Thomas II Preljubović|Thomas]], soon faced an invasion by [[Nikephoros II Orsini|Nikephoros Orsini]], the former [[Despot of Epirus]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://archive.org/stream/Zbornika-Radova-Vizantoloskog-Instituta/ZRVI%2034%20%281995%29_djvu.txt | title=Zbornika Radova Vizantoloskog Instituta }}</ref> Orsini managed to rally the Greek inhabitants of the province to his side, forcing Irina to return to Serbia. In 1357, she married [[Radoslav Hlapen]], the governor of much of western Macedonia, including [[Edessa, Greece|Vodena]] and [[Veria|Berrhoea]].<ref>{{harvnb|Fine|1994|pp=346–347}}; {{harvnb|Soulis|1984|pp=111–114, 237}}</ref> In 1366/67, Thomas became ruler of the [[Despotate of Epirus]] at Ioannina.<ref>{{harvnb|Fine|1994|p=351}}</ref>

==Annotations== {{Cnote2 Begin|liststyle=upper-alpha}} {{Cnote2|a|In [[Greek language|Greek]] sources he was known as ''Grēgorios Prealimbos'' ({{lang|el|Γρηγόριος Πρεάλιμπος}}) or ''Preloumbos'' ({{lang|el|Πρελούμπος}}) }} {{Cnote2 End}}

==References== {{reflist|2}}

==Sources== {{refbegin}} * {{cite book | last = Ferjančić | first = Božidar | authorlink = Božidar Ferjančić | title = Тесалија у XIII и XIV веку |trans-title=Thessaly in the 13th and 14th Centuries | language = Serbian | location = Belgrade | year = 1974 | publisher = Византолошког институт САНУ }} *{{The Late Medieval Balkans}} *{{cite book|last=Soulis|first=George Christos|title=The Serbs and Byzantium during the Reign of Tsar Stephen Dušan (1331–1355) and his Successors|location=Washington, District of Columbia|publisher=[[Dumbarton Oaks]]|year=1984|isbn=0-88402-137-8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NXFpAAAAMAAJ}} {{refend}}

==Further reading== {{refbegin}} *{{cite book|last=Nicol|first=Donald MacGillivray|authorlink=Donald Nicol|title=The Last Centuries of Byzantium, 1261–1453|location=Cambridge, United Kingdom|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1993|isbn=0-521-43991-4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y2d6OHLqwEsC}} {{refend}}

{{s-start}} {{succession box | before=[[John Angelos (sebastokrator)|John Angelos]]<br>{{small|as Byzantine governor}} | title=[[History of Thessaly|Ruler of Thessaly]]<br>{{small|as Serbian governor}} | years=1348–56| after=[[Nikephoros II Orsini|Nikephoros Orsini]]<br>{{small|as Byzantine governor}} }} {{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Preljub}} [[Category:1310s births]] [[Category:1350s deaths]] [[Category:Year of birth uncertain]] [[Category:Year of death uncertain]] [[Category:14th-century Serbian nobility]] [[Category:Generals of Stefan Dušan]] [[Category:People from the Serbian Empire]] [[Category:Medieval Serbian military leaders]] [[Category:Caesars (Byzantine nobles)]] [[Category:Medieval Serbian magnates]] [[Category:14th-century soldiers]] [[Category:Boyars of Stefan Dušan]]