A , also , knjaz or (), is a historical Slavic title, used both as a royal and noble title in different times. It is usually translated into English as 'prince', 'king' or 'duke', depending on specific historical context and the potentially known Latin equivalents at the time; the word was originally derived from the common Germanic ('king').
Feminine forms of the word may be divided into two groups:
The title is pronounced and written similarly in different European languages. In Serbo-Croatian and some West Slavic languages, the word has later come to denote "lord", and in Czech, Polish and Slovak also came to mean "priest" (, , ) as well as "prince/duke" (, , , ). In Sorbian it means simply "Mister" (from "Master". Compare French from "my lord"), and the Catholic title "monsignor" for a priest. Today the term is still used as the most common translation of "prince" in Slovenian, Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian literature. is also found as a surname in former Yugoslavia.
The word is ultimately a cognate of the English King, the German König, and the Swedish Konung. The proto-Slavic form was *, kà ÂnÃÂdzÃÂ; , kà ÂnÃÂdzÃÂ; , knyaz; , knyazÃÂ; ; / ; ; ; etc. It is generally considered to be an early borrowing from Proto-Germanic ', a form also borrowed by Finnish and Estonian (').
The rulers of the Duchy of Poland bore the title of , which was rendered as dux or princeps in Latin, and later adopted krol (from Karl, the name of Charlemagne) and its equivalent rex following Bolesà Âaw I's coronation in 1025. Similarly, the ruler of the Duchy of Lithuania, called kunigaikà ¡tis (also derived from kuningaz) in Polish, was called magnus dux instead of the Polish word for "king", ' (also derived from Karl). Medieval German records, however, translated knyaz as koning (king) until at least the 15th century.
The meaning of the term changed over the course of history. Initially the term was used to denote the chieftain of a Slavic tribe. Later, with the development of feudal statehood, it became the title of a ruler of a state, and among East Slavs ( (knyazhestvo), ) traditionally translated as duchy or principality, for example, of Kievan Rus'.
In First Bulgarian Empire, Boris I of Bulgaria (852âÂÂ889) changed his title to knyaz after his conversion to Christianity in 864, abandoning the pagan title 'khan' of his predecessors. The new titles were applied to his sons Vladimir Rasate (889-893) and Simeon I (893âÂÂ927), however knyaz Simeon took the higher title of tsar soon in 913.
According to Florin Curta, the primary sources have a variety of names for the rulers of the Bulgars before christianisation - such as including âÂÂrexâÂÂ, âÂÂbasileusâ and âÂÂkhaganâÂÂ. Omurtag (814âÂÂ831) and his son Malamir (831âÂÂ836) are mentioned in inscriptions as 'kanasubigi'. However, secondary sources are almost always 'khan'.
In Kievan Rus', as the degree of centralization grew, the ruler acquired the title Velikii Knyaz (ÃÂõûøúøù ÃÂýÃÂ÷ÃÂ) (translated as Grand Prince or Grand Duke, see Russian Grand Dukes). He ruled a or (Grand Duchy), while a ruler of its vassal constituent (udel, udelnoe knyazivstvo or volost) was called udelny knyaz or simply knyaz.
When Kievan Rus' became fragmented in the 13th century, the title Knyaz continued to be used in East Slavic states, including Kiev's Principality, Chernigov's Principality, Novgorod Republic and its princes, Pereiaslavl Principality, Vladimir-Suzdal, Muscovy, Tver's Principality, Kingdom of Ruthenia, and in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
As the Tsardom of Russia gained dominion over much of former Kievan Rus', velikii kniaz (òõûøúøù úýÃÂ÷ÃÂ) (Great Kniaz) Ivan IV of Russia in 1547 was crowned as Tsar. From the mid-18th century onwards, the title Velikii Kniaz was revived to refer to (male-line) sons and grandsons of Russian Emperors. See titles for Tsar's family for details.
Kniaz (, ) continued as a hereditary title of Russian nobility patrilineally descended from Rurik (e.g., Belozersky, Belosselsky-Belozersky, Repnin, Gorchakov) or Gediminas (e.g., Galitzine, Troubetzkoy). Members of Rurikid or Gedyminid families were called princes when they ruled tiny quasi-sovereign medieval principalities. After their demesnes were absorbed by Muscovy, they settled at the Moscow court and were authorised to continue with their princely titles.
From the 18th century onwards, the title was occasionally granted by the Tsar, for the first time by Peter the Great to his associate Alexander Menshikov, and then by Catherine the Great to her lover Grigory Potemkin. After 1801, with the incorporation of Georgia into the Russian Empire, various titles of numerous local nobles were controversially rendered in Russian as "kniazes".
Finally, within the Russian Empire of 1809âÂÂ1917, Finland was officially called Grand Principality of Finland (, , ).
As noted above, the title knyaz or kniaz became a hereditary noble title in the Grand Duchy of Moscow and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Following the union of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, kniaà º became a recognised title in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. By the 1630s â apart from the title pan, which indicated membership of the large szlachta noble class â kniaà º was the only hereditary title that was officially recognised and officially used in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Notable holders of the title kniaà º include Jeremi Wià Âniowiecki.
In the 19th century, the Serbian term knez (úýõ÷) and the Bulgarian term knyaz (úýÃÂ÷) were revived to denote semi-independent rulers of those countries, such as Alexander KaraÃÂorÃÂeviàand Alexander of Battenberg. In parts of Serbia and western Bulgaria, knez was the informal title of the elder or mayor of a village or zadruga until around the 19th century. Those are officially called gradonaÃÂelnik (óÃÂðôþýðÃÂõûýøú) (Serbia) and gradonachalnik (óÃÂðôþýðÃÂðûýøú) or kmet (úüõÃÂ) (Bulgaria).
In early medieval Bosnia knez (knjaz, úÃÂð÷) was a title used, along à ¾upan and duke (vojvoda) titles, for Bosnian rulers. One of the first such ruler, recorded in historic documents and later historiography, was Stephen, Duke of Bosnia.
Later it was held by several of most powerful magnates (in Bosnia vlastelin) of the era, sometime along with an office title given to a person through service to the monarch, such as Grand Duke of Bosnia (Veliki vojvoda bosanski), which was office of the supreme military commander of the realm. Other noble titles included the knez, the duke (vojvoda) and the à ¾upan. The title knez is equivalent to that of prince. Among most influential of Bosnian nobleman with the title knez was Pavle Radinoviàof RadinoviÃÂ-Pavloviànoble family, while other include several noblemen from RadojeviÃÂ-Mirkoviàfamily, such as BatiàMirkoviÃÂ. Further families that bear this title are for example à  antiànoble family and most members of HrvatiniÃÂ.
The title used in Macedonian historiography for Medieval local leaders.