Stefan Radoslav of Serbia

Stefan Radoslav (Serbian Cyrillic: Стефан Радослав, Greek: Στέφανος Δούκας) (~1192 – after 1235) was the King of Serbia from 1228 to 1233.

Family

Stefan was the only known son of Stefan Nemanjić by his first wife Eudokia Angelina.^[1] His maternal grandparents were Alexios III Angelos, Byzantine Emperor and Euphrosyne Doukaina Kamaterina.^[2] He reportedly had two sisters. His sister Komnena married first Albanian Prince Dhimitër Progoni and secondly Greco-Albanian lord Gregorios Kamonas. An otherwise unnamed sister reportedly married Alexander (Aleksandăr) Asen, sebastokrator.^[3] George Acropolites identifies Alexander as a son of Ivan Asen I of Bulgaria. Uncertain if his mother was Maria or Elena, respectively the first and second wife of Ivan Asen I. Alexander was the father of Kaliman II of Bulgaria.^[4]

According to "The Late Medieval Balkans" (1987) by John V.A. Fine, Jr., Eudokia was repudiated on grounds of adultery c. 1200-1201. She was chased away from Raška. Fine summarizes a passage of Niketas Choniates to state "She left on foot with only the clothes on her back". Eudokia sought refuge with her brother-in-law Vukan Nemanjić, Prince of Zeta. Vukan provided her with hospitality for a while. He then arranged for her transportation to Durrës, where she boarded a Byzantine ship heading for Constantinople and returned safely to her father.^[5] This indicates Stefan Radoslav was born either in the 1190s or the early 1200s.^[6]

Fine considers the treatment of Eudokia to be an indication of a decline in the prestige the Byzantine Empire held at the time. The senior Stefan was evidently unafraid of a military confrontation with his former father-in-law which could have occurred in retaliation for his actions. The alliance with the Empire had apparently outlived its use to the ruler of Raška (state). Stefan Nemanjić had ongoing border disputes with both Vukan Nemanjić and Emeric of Hungary, though outright war had not started yet. The Byzantines had failed to provide him with any military support and Stefan had apparently despaired of any help arriving from that direction. At the same time the senior Stefan was negotiating submitting himself and his subjects to the Roman Catholic Church in exchange for Pope Innocent III declaring him a King. He had reasons to distance himself from the Byzantines and the Eastern Orthodox Church associated with them.^[7]

His father was later remarried to Anna Dandolo.^[8] She was a daughter of Ranier Dandolo and granddaughter of Enrico Dandolo, Doge of Venice.^[9] Stefan Radoslav had three paternal half-brothers from this marriage. They were Saint Sava II, Metropolitan of Peć and Archbishop of Serbs, Stefan Vladislav I of Serbia and Stefan Uroš I of Serbia.^[10] His mother would proceed to marry secondly to Alexios V Doukas and thirdly to Leo Sgouros, ruler of Nafplion. However there were no known children by either marriage. Stefan Radoslav consequently had no maternal half-siblings.^[11]

Ruler of Zachlumia

According to "The Realm of the Slavs" (1601) by Mavro Orbin, Stefan Radoslav served as ruler of Zachlumia during the reign of his father. However the sources Orbin used for his history of Zachlumia are not identified by name. They are considered lost and Orbin remains our earliest extant source for several of the events mentioned. According to it Miroslav, the Great was succeeded by his son Andrew (Andrija), only ten-years-old. Missing from the text is Toljen, a son of Miroslav who was mentioned as heir apparent in other sources. With Andrew being underage, the local nobility proceeded to depose him. They offered the crown to Peter (Petar), whose relation to his predecessors is not mentioned by Orbin. Fine notes that later scholars tend to assume Peter was another son of Miroslav and brother or half-brother to Andrew. Some time later, the cause of the exiled Andrew was taken up by Stefan Nemanjić who invated Zachlumia. Peter was forced to retreat to the areas west and north of the river Neretva. The rest of Zachlumia fell into the control of Nemanjić. Fine points that the areas supposedly held by Peter would not be uncontested. They are known from other sources to have been claimed by Andrew, Duke of Croatia and Dalmatia since 1198. Orbin next claims that Nemanjić divided Zachlumia between his cousin Andrew, son of Miroslav and his own son, Radolslav. Andrew was given control of Popovo and coastal Hum. The mainland was granted to Radoslav. Orbin then claims that Radoslav died and Nemanjić granted his area to Andrew. Fine points that Radoslav could not have predeceased his father. We know from other sources that he went on to succeed him. Nemanjić could have simply removed him for his position of authority for reasons lost to us. Orbin continues his account but Radoslav is not mentioned again.^[12]

Fine points that the reliability of the above account is at times difficult to determine because the lack of further sources. There are some obvious inaccuracies at times but the basics of the story could be true. A succession crisis in Zachlumia with the existence of rival heirs would be quite plausible. Nemanjić would have reason to get involved. His ongoing rivalry with his brother in the late 1190s would require him to secure control over Zachlumia, in order to prevent Vukan from claiming control for himself. However his activities in the area are otherwise unrecorded. His motivation for backing Andrew against Peter is also unclear. Either of the two could serve as rulers of a puppet state. Installing Radoslav as ruler of eastern Zachlumia would be a way to secure tighter control of the region.^[13]

Orbin does not actually provide dates for the events of his account. Fine proceeds to estimate them, based on sources recording other events in the wider region. He estimates the death of Miroslav to 1198. Explaining why Andrew of Croatia and Dalmatia chose that year to attack. He acquired control over areas of Zachlumia northwest of the Neretva. By 1203, this Andrew was involved in conflict with his own brother, Emeric of Hungary. The ongoing conflict would allow Peter to claim the areas northwest of the Neretva for himself. He could have either taken advantage of Andrew's troops already withdrawing or using his own forces to drive them out. Either way, Andrew could probably not afford maintaining two fronts of war at the same time. Securing the area as his powerbase, Peter could then drive his brother from eastern Zachlumia. The amount of time between the time Andrew of Zachlumia went into exile and the decision of Nemanjić to intervene is left unclear in the account by Orbin. Fine suggests it could have been more than a decade. He suggests it could be as late as 1216, just a year before Nemanjić was declared a King by Pope Honorius III. Nemanjić could by then devote his forces to securing eastern Zachlumia for Andrew, his intended puppet ruler. He could then attempt to secure even tighter control by appointing Radoslav in the areas directly bordering Raška. The area could have stayed under his control for longer than Orbin indicates. Fine points that Andrew seems to have "disappeared from the scene" by 1218 when Peter is recorded to have taken over the coastal areas. There seems to be no indication of Peter extending his control to the areas supposedly ruled by Radoslav.^[14]

Reign

Fine elsewhere mentions Radoslav acting as governor of the Principality of Zeta for part the reign of his father. In a charter variously dated to 1222 or 1228, Radoslav appears as co-founder of the monastery of Žiča with his father.^[15] In 1227/1228, his father abdicated the throne due to illness. The former king retired to a monastery under the name "Simon".^[16] Radoslav succeeded to the throned and was crowned king by his paternal uncle Sava Nemanjić, Archbishop of Serbs.^[17]

The Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten (1978) by Detlev Schwennicke, reports Radoslav betrothed to Theodora Komnene c. 1217. She was a daughter of Michael I Komnenos Doukas, ruler of Epirus. Both of his wives were members of the Melissenos family. Uncertain which of the two was her mother. Fine indicates Radoslav would instead marry her first cousin Anna Doukaina Angelina in 1219/1220. She was a daughter of Theodore Komnenos Doukas and Maria Petraliphaina. Theodore had succeeded his brother in Epiros. The Europäische Stammtafeln reports the marriage resulting in the birth of a single child. The name is not listed and Charles Cawley, a modern genealogist, has been unable to find primary sources on the existence of the chid.^[18]

The influence of Anna would prove unpopular. According to Fine, it gradually undermined Radoslav and cost him the loyalty of his people. In Autumn, 1233, a rebellion against the royal couple started. By the beginning of 1234, they had fled to Dubrovnik. On 4 February 1234, Radoslav signed a charter promising privileges to the merchants of "Ragusa". He still signed as a King. Fine reports him using the family name Doukas in other charters of the time. It was one of the family names used by his wife.^[19] Meanwhile, his younger half-brother Stefan Vladislav I had mounted the throne.^[20]

According to Fine both Radoslav and Anna retired into monastic life following their deposition. His monastic name was Jovan. There is no mention of him following 1235. The time and circumstances of his death are unknown.^[21]

Ancestors

References

External links

• "Page from the Late Medieval Balkans" discussing the repudiation of his mother
• Page of "Byzantine Empresses: Women and Power in Byzantium, AD 527-1204" (1999) by Lynda Garland which covers the separation of his parents