Jovan Dragoslav

Dragoslav (Serbian Cyrillic: Драгослав) or Jovan Dragoslav (Јован Драгослав; fl. 1290–1315) was a Serbian nobleman with the titles of kaznac, and then veliki kaznac, serving King Stefan Milutin (r. 1282–1321). The kaznac was a financial-taxation office, translated into Latin camerarius (chamberlain).[2] In the hierarchy of the Serbian court, kaznac ranked higher than stavilac and čelnik, and lower than tepčija and vojvoda, the supreme title.[3] He was part of the generation of Serbian nobility that were empowered in the early 14th century.[4]

Jovan Dragoslav
veliki kaznac, (possibly) despot
The church he founded in Mušutište. It was destroyed in 1999.
Born	Kingdom of Serbia
Died	after 1315
Spouse	Jelena[1]
Issue	Staniša (son) and Ana (daughter)[1]

Dragoslav served as kaznac in the area of Skopje, mentioned in ca. 1300, then was elevated to veliki kaznac some time prior to 1315.[5] According to P. Grujić, he first served Milutin in ca. 1290 as sluga, became kaznac in ca. 1300, then veliki kaznac in ca. 1315.[6] P. Grujić stressed that his career started as sluga (a special court office, similar to stavilac[7]), mentioned in a confirmation of Ragusan privileges.[8] Ferjančić was unsure of this,[8] while the Serbian Institute of Byzantinology now agrees that Dragoslav began his rise on Milutin's court as sluga.[9] In 1300, he was mentioned along his wife kyra Jelena, and at that time held the region of Sušica which was around Žegligovo.[10] He donated a vineyard, called Mavrovo, to the Monastery of St. George near Skopje,[8] as part of Milutin's endowments.[11] He founded the Church of the Virgin Hodegetria in the village of Mušutište, near Prizren, together with his wife, son and daughter in 1315.[1] Dragoslav had acquired good master artists for his church.[12] In an inscription in the church, his elevated title of veliki kaznac is mentioned — this meant that he was the supreme court administrator of state assets.[13] According to Svetislav Mandić, he later had the title of despot.[14] It was possibly given to him by Byzantine Emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos (r. 1272–1328).[15] Mandić also believes that he received the name Jovan from the church (as did Jovan Oliver),[16] of a special honorable character, and was not born with it.[6] According to some, Dragoslav married Teodora, the mother of Stefan Dušan and former Queen consort, sometime between 1322 and 1326, and thence received the title of despot.[17]

His church was destroyed with explosives in 1999 by ethnic Albanians.[18]