Sermon (ruler)
Also see: Sermon (disambiguation)
Sermon was an 11th century duke (voivod) of Srem, vassal of Bulgarian emperor Samuil. His residence was probably in Sremska Mitrovica, where he produced his own golden coins.
After Bulgarians were defeated by the Byzantine Empire, Sermon was the only ruler which didn’t want to comply with new Byzantine authorities. Since Sermon didn’t want to recognize the supreme authority of Byzantine emperor, the emperor ordered to his regent in Belgrade, Constantin Diogenes, to subjugate Sermon with army.
However, the Diogenes invited Sermon to meeting at the estuary of the river Sava into Danube, and there he killed the duke of Srem in the boat. After this, the Diogenes ruled over Srem as a duke until 1028.
Three golden coins produced by Sermon are founded near Novi Sad, in one vineyard in Petrovaradin, which means that this area was also under Sermon's rule. These golden coins are today kept in the Paris City Museum, where they are labeled as "Monnaiss d' or d' uncher bulgare XI siecle Sermon, gouverneure de Sermium" (the golden coins of one Bulgarian ruler from the 11th century, Sermon, the governor of Srem). The inscription on the coins is in the Greek language, and the English translation of the inscription is: "Madona, please help to Sermon, the duke".
Literature
- Veljko Milković, Petrovaradin i Srem - misterija prošlosti, Novi Sad, 2003.
- Monografija Starih Ledinaca, Novi Sad, 1998.
