List of Serbian monarchs

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Coat of arms of Serbia
Coat of arms of Serbia

This is a list of Serbian monarchs.

Notes:

  • Entries bounded within parentheses are for reference only; for instance, the Roman numerals keep counts of Stefans and Lazars. They are not part of the common nomenclature.
  • The house names that end with '-i' (together with the patronymic, with '-ići', '-ovići', or '-evići') are part of the transliteration from the Serbian words, but frequently omitted in western texts.

Contents

[edit] Rulers of medieval Serbian states

In the Middle Ages, the domain of the Serbs included five territories, roughly sorted by importance:

Different dynasties sometimes arose from different regions, and this list concentrates on those rulers whose families at some point controlled Raška as well as other aforementioned duchies.

[edit] Earliest rulers

  • Gobazes (The King of Lazica arrives with his troops in the Balkans from presentday North Poland .[citation needed]

After the Unknown Archont, two rulers who were possibly of a different dynasty ruled up to 680:

  • Svevlad, ruled up to 660 \ may not have existed
  • Selimir, ruled 679 - 680 \ may not have existed

At this point, the Unknown Archont's descendance is probably continued with:

  • Vladin, ruled until 700 \ may not have existed
  • Ratimir, ruled until 730 \ may not have existed
  • Knez Prosigoj (son of Radoslav) (822 - 836)

[edit] Vlastimirovići

The House of Vlastimirović controlled the Serbs between ca. 825-850 up to ca. 950.

  • Knez Vlastimir (son of Prosigoj) ruled around 850, or only up to 825 according to some; founder of Vlastimirović dynasty.
    • Vlastimir had three sons and one daughter. His daughter married knez Krajina, son of Beloje, župan of Travunija (Trabounia). Each son had his own domain, but Mutimir, the eldest, was the supreme ruler, his two brothers being subjugated (vassals) to him. The brothers successfully fought off a Bulgarian onslaught by khan Boris in 852. Later, the two youngest brothers rebelled against Mutimir, who, as a punishment, let Bulgar khan Boris subjugate them.
  • Knez Mutimir ruled from the second half of the 9th Century to his death in 891 or 892
  • Strojimir (vassal to elder brother Mutimir, later under Bulgar khan Boris)
  • Gojnik (vassal to brother Mutimir, later under khan Boris)
  • Knez Pribislav (son of Mutimir), born latest 867, ruled ca. 891 - 893
  • Bran (Boren) (younger brother of Pribislav, son of Mutimir), born by 867, pretender to the throne ca. 895
  • Stefan (youngest brother of Pribislav and Bran, son of Mutimir), born ca. 870
  • Knez Petar Gojniković (son of Gojnik, grandson of Vlastimir), born ca. 870, ruled ca. 892 - 918, captured by Bulgarians, died as their prisoner
  • Knez Pavle Branović (son of Bran/Boren, grandson of Mutimir), ruled ca. 917 - 921, brought to the throne by the Bulgars, brought down by Byzantines
  • Knez Zaharije Pribisavljević (son of Pribislav, grandson of Mutimir), ruled 921 - 924 (brought to the throne by the Byzantines, removed by the Bulgarians)
  • 924 - 927 Serb throne held by Bulgarians, period of Bulgarian rule (Simeon I of Bulgaria)
  • Knez/Župan Časlav Klonimirović (son of Klonimir, grandson of Strojimir), ruled 927 - ca. 950: Liberated the central Serbian tribes from Bulgarian empire.

950 - 1035 Byzantine rule

[edit] Vojislavljevići

The House of Vojislavljević ruled the Serb lands between the 1050s up to the 1120s.

  • Stefan Vojislav — founder of the House of Vojislavljević; in 1035 rebelled against the Byzantine Empire, but forced to sign an armistice; went to war again in 1040, which would be continued by his heir and son, Mihajlo. Next to Duklja, his realm included Travunija with Konavli and Zahumlje/Hum
  • Grand Župan Mihajlo (Michael) (1050/1055 - 1080)
    • Mihajlo possibly received the title of king (and crown) from Pope Gregory VII though it is still an issue of debate.
  • King Konstantin Bodin, son of Mihajlo, ruled 1080 - 1101
  • dynastic struggle between Dobroslav and Vladimir, younger brothers of Konstantin Bodin, between 1101 and 1114
  • King Đorđe, son of Konstantin, 1114 - 1118

Đorđe was overturned by Uroš I of Raška, and later returned to power in Duklja between 1125 and 1131, but the main line of the Vojislavljević ended with him.

[edit] Vojislavljevići/Uroševići

Between 1050 and 1165, the main Serbian state of Raška was ruled by descendants of the aforementioned House of Vojislavljević, but the Byzantine Empire often controlled it as well. In 1118, the main line of the Vojislavljević dynasty was mostly extinguished in Duklja, and Uroš of Raška took control of both Raška and Duklja, which is why he named the Uroševići.

  • Petrislav, instated by his father Mihajlo, ruled between 1050s and 1073
  • Vukan and Marko, probably sons of Petrislav, instated by Konstantin Bodin. Vukan was the Grand Župan between 1083 and 1115 while Marko headed administration of a part of the land. Under Byzantine sovereignty after 1094.
  • Uroš I., ruled Raška ca. 1115 - 1131
  • Uroš II replaced him around 1140 and ruled until 1155
  • Desa, replaced him and ruled for one year, 1155.
  • Uroš II replaced Desa for a second reign from 1155 - 1161.
  • Desa, under his second reign, ruled 1162 - 1166 under Byzantine sovereignty, raised an unsuccessful revolt

After Desa's revolt, in 1165 the Byzantium divided the Serb lands between the four sons of Zavida: Tihomir in Raška, Stracimir in Duklja, Miroslav in Zahumlje and Travunia, and Stefan Nemanja in Toplica (in today's central Serbia). Stefan Nemanja rebelled against his eldest brother Tihomir in 1166, who fled with his brothers Stracimir and Miroslav to Byzantium to seek help. But later on, Stefan Nemanja defeated his Greek army of mercenaries in the same year near the town of Pantino on Kosovo in which poor Tihomir drowned in the River of Sitnica. Nemanja captured his other brothers and made peace with them by giving them rule in their former parts of the land in order to recognise him as the only ruler of Rashka or Serbia. The Nemanjić dynasty was named after Stefan Nemanja and ruled over Serbia until 1371.

[edit] Nemanjići of Serbia/The Stefan Dynasty

The House of Nemanjić ruled the Serb lands between ca. 1166 up to 1371. All Serbian rulers after Stefan Prvovenčani ("the First-Crowned") added the name Stefan (Stephen) before their birth names after ascending the throne as a manner of honoring first rulers of their dynasty Stefan Nemanja and Stefan Prvovenčani. The name Stefan is derived from Greek Stephanos, meaning crowned with wreath. There is no absolutely consistent system for the enumeration of Medieval Serbian monarchs. Some rulers reigned with double names: Stefan Nemanja, Stefan Radoslav, Stefan Vladislav, and Stefan Uroš. While Prvovenčani and Dečanski are epithets, not names, the exact nature of Dragutin and Milutin—names or nicknames—is unclear. However, unlike the names Nemanja, Radoslav, Vladislav, Uroš, and even Dušan, they never appear in the official contemporary sources. Therefore Prvovenčani and Dragutin are most accurately to be numbered simply Stefan I and Stefan II, since those were their only official names. For the basic imperial title of the last Nemanjići, see article Tsar.

Stefan Prvovencani
Stefan Prvovencani

[edit] Nemanjići in Thessaly

Simeon (Siniša) Uroš, a son of Stefan Uroš III Dečanski by his second (Byzantine) wife, claimed the imperial title in 1355, but was defeated in Serbia. He retreated into Thessaly, from where he dominated much of northern Greece in alliance with various other Serbian noblemen. He and his son reigned as emperor of Serbians and Greeks. After the abdication of Jovan Uroš in 1373, Thessaly passed into the hands of the Angeloi, who recognized Byzantine suzerainty.

[edit] House of Mrnjavčević

Coat of Arms of House of Mrnjavčević
Coat of Arms of House of Mrnjavčević

The last Serbian emperor (tsar) Stefan Uroš V associated Vukašin Mrnjavčević as king in 1366. The Serbian royal title thus survived in this family, but in fact the authority of these kings was circumscribed by the local nobility and confined to parts of central and eastern Macedonia. The Serbian royal title was also claimed by Tvrtko I of Bosnia, a descendant of Stefan II Dragutin, from 1377. Tvrtko I used the titles King of Serbs, of Bosnia, and of the Coastlands from 1377 and King of Rascia, Bosnia, Dalmatia, Croatia, and the Coastlands from 1390, but died in 1391.

[edit] Lazarevići

Serbia proper came under the control of Lazar Hrebljanović, who had married Milica, a descendant of Stefan Nemanja's eldest son Vukan. The Lazarevići and their successors, the Brankovići, ruled as princes, but were frequently distinguished by the Byzantine court title of despotēs, granted by the last Byzantine Emperors to their allies.

[edit] Brankovići

Coat of Arms of House of Branković
Coat of Arms of House of Branković

Serbia proper was annexed by the Ottoman Empire in 1459. In 1471 a dependent Serbian state was established by the Hungarians mostly on the territory of Vojvodina and Syrmia.

  • Vuk Branković (1471 - 1485), grandson of Đurađ I
  • Đurađ II Branković also Đorđe Branković (1486 - 1496), son of Stefan Branković, abdicated
  • Jovan Branković (1496 - 1502), son of Stefan Branković

[edit] House of Crnojević

[edit] House of Balšić

Coat of Arms of House of Balsic
Coat of Arms of House of Balsic

[edit] Berislavići

  • Ivaniš Berislavić (1504 - 1514), married widow of Jovan
  • Stjepan Berislavić (1514 - 1521), deposed

In 1521 this Serbian jurisdiction was annexed by the Ottoman Empire.

[edit] Rulers of modern Serbian states (1804-Present)

[edit] Supreme Leader of the First Serbian Uprising (1804-1813)

Name Born-Died Reign start Reign end
Karađorđe Petrović 1762 - 1817 Chief from 15 February 1804, Supreme Chief from 26 December 1808, proclaimed hereditary ruler in 1811 21 September 1813 (exiled to Austrian Empire)

[edit] Principality of Serbia (1815-1882)

[edit] Obrenović Dynasty

Name Born-Died Reign start Reign end
Prince Miloš Obrenović I (first reign) 1780 - 1860 21 November 1815 13 June 1839 (abdicated)
Prince Milan Obrenović II 1819 - 1839 13 June 1839 8 July 1839
Prince Mihailo Obrenović III (first reign) 1823 - 1868 8 July 1839 (Provisional Regency until 17 March 1840) 14 September 1842 (deposed)

[edit] Karađorđević Dynasty

Name Born-Died Reign start Reign end
Prince Aleksandar Karađorđević 1806 - 1885 14 September 1842 23 December 1858 (deposed)

[edit] Obrenović Dynasty

Name Born-Died Reign start Reign end
Prince Miloš Obrenović I (second reign) 1780 - 1860 24 December 1858 26 September 1860
Prince Mihailo Obrenović III (second reign) 1823 - 1868 26 September 1860 10 June 1868 (assassinated)
Prince Milan Obrenović IV 1854 - 1901 10 June 1868 (Regency until 22 August 1872) 6 March 1882 (Proclaimed King of Serbia)

[edit] Kingdom of Serbia (1882-1918)

[edit] Obrenović Dynasty

Name Born-Died King from King until
King Milan I 1854 - 1901 6 March 1882 6 March 1889 (abdicated)
King Aleksandar I 1876 - 1903 6 March 1889 (Regency until 13 April 1893) 11 June 1903 (killed by the military in coup d'etat)

[edit] Karađorđević Dynasty

Name Born-Died King from King until
King Petar I 1844 - 1921 15 June 1903 (Crowned 15 February 1904) 1 December 1918 (Proclaimed King of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes)

[edit] Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (1918-1929)

[edit] Karađorđević Dynasty

Name Born-Died King from King until
King Petar I 1844 - 1921 1 December 1918 16 August 1921
King Aleksandar I the Unificator 1888 - 1934 16 August 1921 3 October 1929 (Proclaimed King of Yugoslavia)

[edit] Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1929-1945)

[edit] Karađorđević Dynasty

Name Born-Died King from King until
King Aleksandar I the Unificator 1888 - 1934 3 October 1929 9 October 1934 (assassinated)
King Petar II 1923 - 1970 9 October 1934 (Regency until 27 March 1941) 29 November 1945 (deposed, in exile since 14 April 1941)

[edit] Heads of the House of Karađorđević since 1945 (not ruling)

Name Born-Died From Until
King Petar II 1923 - 1970 29 November 1945 3 November 1970
Crown Prince Aleksandar II 1945 - 3 November 1970 Present

In 1918, Serbia became part of the newly formed Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. Later that state changed name in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (i.e. Kingdom of South Slavs). In that period (between World War I and World War II) the country was a parliamentary monarchy nominally ruled by the Karađorđević dynasty.

After World War II and the civil war Yugoslavia became a communist state, Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, ruled by the dictator Josip Broz Tito. After his death in 1980, the federation started a process of dissolution which finished in a series of civil wars in the early 1990s. Through the 1990s, Serbia and Montenegro comprised the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, which was restructured in 2003 into a confederation called Serbia and Montenegro. The state union ended with Montenegro's separation in 2006. Currently Serbia is a parliamentary democracy.

The present Head of the House of Karađorđević, who is heir to the Serbian throne, is HRH Crown Prince Aleksandar II of Serbia.

[edit] See also

[edit] Sources