Kingdom of Serbia (medieval)

The Kingdom of Serbia or Serbian Kingdom (Serbian: краљевина Србија, Српска краљевина) was a medieval Serb kingdom ruled by the Nemanjić dynasty, from 1217 to 1346. The Serbian Grand Principality was elevated with the coronation of Stefan Prvovenčani (The First-crowned) as "King of Serbia" by his brother, bishop Sava, after inheriting all territories unified by their father, Stefan Nemanja, who is regarded the most remarkable Serb according to the SANU (Academy).^[1] It was proclaimed an Empire on 16 April, 1346.

1 Background
- 1.1 Serbian Grand Principality
- 1.2 Stefan Nemanja
2 History
- 2.1 Serbian Empire
3 Monarchs
4 Administration
5 See also
6 References
- 6.1 Sources

Background

Serbian Grand Principality

Main articles: Serbian Grand Principality and Vukanović dynasty

The Serbian Grand Principality, also known in western sources as Rascia, was founded in 1091, when Vukan took the title of Grand Prince of Serbia. During the reign of Constantine Bodin, the King of Duklja, Vukan was appointed to rule Rascia as a vassal, and when Bodin was captured by the Byzantines, Vukan became independent. When Bodin had died, "Rascia" (in the hinterland) became the strongest entity, in which the Serbian realm would be seated, in hands of the Vukanović dynasty. Uroš I, the son of Vukan, ruled Serbia when the Byzantines invaded Duklja, and Rascia would be next in line, but with diplomatic ties with the Kingdom of Hungary, Serbia retained its indepence. Uroš II initially fought the Byzantines, but after a defeat soon gives oaths of servitude to the Emperor. Desa, the brother of Uroš II and an initial Byzantine ally, turned to Hungarian support, but was deposed in 1163, when Stefan Tihomir of a cadet line (which would become Nemanjić dynasty), was put on the throne by the Emperor.

Stefan Nemanja

History

Main article: Serbia in the Middle Ages

Stefan Nemanja was succeeded by his middle son Stefan, whilst his first-born son Vukan was given the rule of the Zeta region (present-day Montenegro). Stefan Nemanja's youngest son Rastko became a monk and took the name Sava, turning all his efforts to spread religion among his people. Since the Roman Catholic Church already had ambitions to spread its influence to the Balkans as well, Stefan used these propitious circumstances to obtain his crown from the Pope, thereby becoming the first Serbian king, in 1217. In Byzantium, his brother Sava managed to secure autocephaly (independence) for the Serbian Church and became the first Serbian archiepiscope in 1219. In the same year Sava published the first constitution in Serbia — St. Sava's Nomocanon (Serbian: Zakonopravilo).^[2]^[3]^[4] This legal act was well developed. St. Sava's Nomocanon was the compilation of Civil law, based on Roman Law^[5]^[6] and Canon law, based on Ecumenical Councils and its basic purpose was to organize functioning of the young Serbian kingdom and the Serbian church. Thus the Serbs acquired both forms of independence: political and religious.

The next generation of Serbian rulers — the sons of Stefan Prvovenčani — Radoslav, Vladislav and Uroš I, marked a period of stagnation of the state structure. All three kings were more or less dependent on some of the neighbouring states — Byzantium, Bulgaria or Hungary. The ties with the Hungarians played a decisive role in the fact that Uroš I was succeeded by his son Dragutin whose wife was a Hungarian princess. Later on, when Dragutin abdicated in favour of his younger brother Milutin (in 1282), the Hungarian king Ladislaus IV gave him lands in northeastern Bosnia, the region of Mačva, and the city of Belgrade, whilst he managed to conquer and annex lands in northeastern Serbia. Thus, some of these territories became part of the Serbian state for the first time. His new state was named Kingdom of Srem. In that time the name Srem was a designation for two territories: Upper Srem (present day Srem) and Lower Srem (present day Mačva). Kingdom of Srem under the rule of Stefan Dragutin was actually Lower Srem, but some historical sources mention that Stefan Dragutin also ruled over Upper Srem and Slavonia. After Dragutin died (in 1316), the new ruler of the Kingdom of Srem became his son, king Vladislav II, who ruled this state until 1325.

Under the rule of Dragutin's younger brother — King Milutin, Serbia grew stronger despite having to occasionally fight wars on three different fronts. King Milutin was an apt diplomat much inclined to the use of a customary medieval diplomatic and dynastic marriages. He was married five times, with Hungarian, Bulgarian and Byzantine princesses. He is also famous for building churches, some of which are the finest examples of Medieval Serbian architecture: the Gračanica monastery in Kosovo, the Cathedral in Hilandar monastery on Mount Athos, the St. Archangel Church in Jerusalem etc. Because of his endowments, King Milutin has been proclaimed a saint, in spite of his tumultuous life. He was succeeded on the throne by his son Stefan, later dubbed Stefan Dečanski. Spreading the kingdom to the east by winning the town of Nis and the surrounding counties, and to the south by acquiring territories on Macedonia, Stefan Dečanski was worthy of his father and built the Visoki Dečani monastery in Metohija — the most monumental example of Serbian Medieval architecture — that earned him his nickname. Stefan Dečanski defeated the Bulgarians in Battle of Velbužd in 1330.

Serbian Empire

Main article: Serbian Empire

Taking advantage of the Byzantine civil war of 1341–1347, Dušan doubled the size of his kingdom seizing territories to the south, southeast and east at the expense of Byzantium and conquered almost the entire territory of today's Greece, except the Peloponnese and the islands. After he conquered the city of Serres, he was crowned the Emperor of Serbs and Greeks in Skoplje by the Serbian Patriarch on April 16, 1346. His goal was to become the successor of the Byzantine Emperors. Before his sudden death, Dušan the Mighty tried to organize a Crusade with the Pope against the threatening Turks. He died in December 1355 at the age 47. The Imperial constitution, the Dušan's Code (Serbian: Dušanov zakonik)^[7] was enacted in 1349 and added in 1354. The Code was based on Roman-Byzantine law. The legal transplanting is notable with the articles 171 and 172 of Dušan's Code, which regulated the juridical independence. They were taken from the Byzantine code Basilika (book VII, 1, 16-17). Dušan opened new trade routes and strengthened the state's economy. Serbia flourished, becoming one of the most developed countries and cultures in Europe. Medieval Serbia had a high political, economic, and cultural reputation in Europe.

Monarchs

King	Reign	Notes
Stephen the First-crowned	1217-1228	second son of Stefan Nemanja. He inherited the title of Grand Prince in 1196 when his father retired as a monk. His reign began with a struggle against his brother Vukan II, who expelled Stefan to Bulgaria. Kaloyan gave him an army of Cumans in exchange for eastern territories. The crisis ended when Sava negotiated a peace between the brothers and Stefan's power was cemented. He was crowned King in 1217, and then Sava gains autocephaly, becoming the first Archbishop of Serbs in 1219, thus Serbia retained full independence.
Stephen Radoslav	1228–1233	son of Stefan II. He ruled Zahumlje during the reign of his father, and also held a governor status of Zeta. He was the co-founder of the Žiča monastery with his father, who would abdicate in 1227 due to illness, taking monastic vows. Radoslav was crowned by his uncle Sava, the Archbishop of Serbia. His marriage to Anna Doukaina Angelina would prove unpopular as she undermined his authority, he lost the loyalty of the people and in 1233 a revolt against them prompted the couple to flee to Dubrovnik.
Stephen Vladislav	1233–1243	son of Stefan II. He succeeded his brother Radoslav in 1233 and ruled for 10 years, before being overthrown by his younger brother Uroš. He continued to rule Zeta. The first known flag design of Serbia was found in his treasury.
Stephen Uroš I	1243–1276	son of Stefan II. He succeeded his brother Vladislav. He boosted trade with Dubrovnik and Kotor, marking a beginning of economic prosperity. In 1253 a war was fought against Dubrovnik, peace was signed in 1254, and in the 1260s a second war begun that ended in 1268. Uroš immediately turned towards Hungary, successfully taking Mačva, he was however captured and peace was ensured between the two Kings through marriage of Dragutin and Catherine, the daughter of Stephen V of Hungary. His oldest son Dragutin would have succeeded his rule, but Uroš favored Stefan Milutin, the younger son, as successor. He was overthrown by Dragutin in 1276.
Stephen Dragutin	1276-1282	son of Stefan Uroš I. He overthrew his father with help from the Hungarian royalty (through his marriage to Catherine of Hungary) after the Battle of Gacko. He was injured in 1282, and gave the supreme rule to his younger brother Milutin, but continued to rule what would later become the Kingdom of Srem with the capital at Belgrade. Milutin boosted relations with the Byzantine Emperor, and refused to give the rule to Vladislav II (Dragutin's son), causing a split of the Kingdom. Dragutin continued to rule the northern frontier in Hungarian alliance, but in the last years re-connected with Serbia, acting as a vassal.
Stephen Uroš II Milutin	1282–1321	son of Stefan Uroš I. He succeeded his brother Dragutin. Upon his accession, he immediately turned towards Macedonia, conquering the northern part with Skoplje, which became his capital. He continued deep into Byzantine lands, taking northern Albania and as far as Kavala. He also took Bulgarian Vidin, and later Durres. He was in a succession war with Dragutin after peace was signed with the Byzantines in 1299. Milutin aids the Byzantines against the Ottoman Turks at the Battle of Gallipoli (1312), which ended in a victory. When Dragutin died he put most of his lands with Belgrade under his rule, in the same year his son Stefan Uroš III tried to overthrow him, resulting in him being exiled to Constantinople. In 1319 the Hungarians took all of Dragutin's lands but Braničevo. Stefan Konstantin was to be King, but Uroš III returns to Serbia in 1321, being pardoned, retaining the rule.
Stephen Uroš III of Dečani	1321–1331	son of Stefan Uroš II Milutin
Stephen Uroš IV Dušan the Mighty	1331-1355	son of Uroš III. He was a very skilled military leader, and defeated Bosnia and Bulgaria at the age of 20. As his father was not an able conqueror, Dušan removed him from the throne. Dušan doubled the size of the realm, taking Byzantine lands as far as the Peloponnese. He was crowned Emperor in 1346. The Serbian Empire flourished, becoming one of the most developed countries and cultures in Europe. He enacted the constitution - Dušan's Code in 1349.

Administration

župas: Hvosno

References

^ „100 najznamenitijih Srba“, Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, 1993, ISBN 86-82273-08-X : He has the first place
^ http://www.alanwatson.org/sr/petarzoric.pdf Alan Watson Foundation
^ "Nomocanon". Search.com Reference. http://www.search.com/reference/Nomocanon. Retrieved 2010-07-25.
^ John V. A. Fine (1994). The Late Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman Conquest. ISBN 978-0-472-08260-5. http://books.google.com/books?id=QDFVUDmAIqIC&pg=PA118. Retrieved 2010-07-25.
^ S. P. Scott (1932). The Civil Law: Vol. I. Constitution.org. http://www.constitution.org/sps/sps.htm. Retrieved 2010-07-25.
^ Yves LASSARD, Alexandr KOPTEV. "The Roman Law Library". Web.upmf-grenoble.fr. http://web.upmf-grenoble.fr/Haiti/Cours/Ak/. Retrieved 2010-07-25.
^ "Serbian Culture of the 14th Century. Volume I". Dusanov Zakonik. http://www.dusanov-zakonik.com/indexe.html. Retrieved 2010-07-25.

Sources

John V.A. Fine. (1994). The Late Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman Conquest. The University of Michigan Press. ISBN 0-472-08260-4
John V.A. Fine. (1991). The early Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the 6th to the Late 12th Century. The University of Michigan Press. ISBN 0-472-08149-7
Alexander Soloviev, "Greek charters of Serbian rulers" (1936), Soloviev and Makin