Hrelja

Hrelja also known as Protosebastos Hrelja (; ), also known as Stefan Dragovol (Стефан Драговол) or Hrelja Ohmućević was a 14th-century semi-independent feudal lord in the region of northeastern Macedonia and the Rila mountains who served medieval Serbian kings Stefan Milutin, Stefan Dečanski and Stefan Dušan. He became independent autocrat with vast political autonomy and capital at Strumica, formally recognizing Byzantine authority.

He is known for reconstructing the Rila Monastery of Saint Ivan of Rila, Bulgaria's largest and more important monastery, in 1334–1335.

Life and Reign

Hrelja was first mentioned in the 1320s as the commander of a Serbian military detachment involved in that time's Byzantine civil war. With his detachment, Hrelja assisted Byzantine Emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos. By that time, Hrelja was already the ruler of a large domain in the region of Štip (in today's North Macedonia) and east of the city; in the early 1330s, his domain expanded to include Strumica. In 1334–1335, Hrelja reconstructed the church of the Rila Monastery and built the so-called Hrelja's Tower, the monastery's defensive tower and its oldest structure surviving today.

The inscription on the tower testifies that by the time of its construction Hrelja still acknowledged Serbian suzerainty:

Hrelja donated real estate in the valley of Strumica to the Hilandar monastery, another fact testifying to his economic power; Hrelja also sponsored the construction of the Church of St Michael in Štip. In the late 1330s, Hrelja broke away from Serbia and became an autocrat with his capital at Strumica; he formally recognized Byzantine authority, but had vast political autonomy. Factors that contributed to Hrelja's decision to break away from the Serbian realm included his economic independence, his own armed forces and the frontier location of his estate, bordering the Second Bulgarian Empire and the Byzantine Empire to the northeast, south and southeast. Shortly prior to his death Hrelja had become a monk in the monastery under the name of Hariton. He was buried in the church he had reconstructed in the Rila Monastery. His epitaph testifies that he was awarded the title of caesar, most likely by John VI.

Serbian and Bulgarian rulers were emulated by their nobility. After the time of King Milutin, Hilandar's property was significantly enlarged by the additions of many metochia with their land and income such as Holy Archangels' at Štip, the donation of Hrelja.