Matej Ninoslav (; died 1250) was the Ban of Bosnia in the period of 1232–50. Most of Bosnia was under the Kingdom of Hungary from 1235 to 1241. Ninoslav was also a Prince of Split in 1242–1244 during the local civil war. Ninoslav established control of most of Bosnia after the Hungarian withdrawal. Ninoslav continually defended Bosnia during the Bosnian Crusade that persecuted its heretic population. He was succeeded by his cousin, Ban Prijezda, in 1254. Biography Early rule Before his rule, early in his life, Ninoslav was an opposer of the Bogumils, a faithful Hungarian supporter and a pious Catholic Christian. Entering his rule, Matej Ninoslav forcibly replaced his predecessor, Stjepan Kulinić with the help of the adherents of the Bogumil Bosnian Church, which caused good relations with Serbia to sour. During his rule, Ninoslav served as a faithful Hungarian vassal, but was greatly underestimated during his reign. The Prenestine Bishop James, serving as the Pope's legate, finished a business in Hungary and came to Bosnia to influence Matej Ninoslav to give a statement that he will remain a Catholic, even though his ancestors were Bogomil heretics. The Roman Pope wrote a letter to Matej Ninoslav thus on 10 October 1233, guaranteeing his integrity and putting him under his protectorate: Hugging you with true love, your person and your land of Bosnia. We accept under the protection of Saint Peter and Us with all the lands, that you rightfully hold, and We stand by you through the protection of this letter, as long as you remain in Catholic religion... The letter also bears a mention of his Bogumil cousin, Prijezda, who now returned to his old religion by converting to Catholicism. This was insufficient to the Pope's emissaries - so Prijezda had to give his son hostage as a guarantee. Ban Ninoslav himself had to beg to Rome itself for the release of Prijezda's son. In 1234, King Andrew II of Hungary gifted Ninoslav's title to Herzeg Coloman, who passed on the title on to Matej's cousin, Prijezda during the crusades between 1234 and 1239, weakening Matej's position as Ban. At the same time, the son of former Bosnia's Ban Stjepan, Prince Sibislav of Usora began to intrude on Ninoslav's territory with his forces, trying to return the title of Ban to the House of Kulinić. To make matters worse; the Pope was unsatisfied with the Bogumil sect in