| Stefan of Dečani Стефан Дечански |
|
|---|---|
| King of all the Serbian and Maritime Lands | |
| The fresco of king Stefan Dečanski with church model, Dečani monastery | |
|
|
|
| Reign | 1322–1331 |
| Coronation | January 6, 1322 |
| Predecessor | Stefan Konstantin |
| Successor | Stefan Uroš IV Dušan |
| Issue | |
| Stefan Uroš IV Dušan Simeon Uroš Elena |
|
| Posthumous name | |
| Holy King, Stefan of Dečani | |
| Dynasty | House of Nemanjić |
| Father | Stefan Uroš II Milutin |
| Mother | Anna of Bulgaria |
| Born | 1285 |
| Died | November 11, 1331 (aged 46) Castle of Zvečan |
| Burial | Dečani |
| Signature | |
| Religion | † Serbian Orthodox |
Stephen Uroš III of Dečani (Serbian: Стефан Урош III Дечански, Stefan Uroš III Dečanski, Serbian pronunciation: [stɛ̂faːn ûrɔʃ trɛ̂tɕiː dɛ̂tʃaːnskiː]; ca 1285 – 11 November 1331) was King of Serbia from January 6, 1322 to 8 September 1331. He defeated and killed several of his family members who wanted to take the throne from him. He took his epithet Dečanski from the great monastery he built at Dečani.
Contents |
He was the son of King Stefan Uroš II Milutin and Anna of Bulgaria. His maternal grandparents were George I of Bulgaria and his wife Maria, sister of Ivan Asen III of Bulgaria.
While still a youth, he was sent by his father as a hostage with his entourage to Nogai Khan of the Golden Horde, to maintain the peace between the Serbs and Tatars. He stayed at Nogai's court until the Khan's death in 1299.[1]
In 1314 he quarrels with his father, who ends up sending him to Constantinople, to have him blinded. Uroš III was never totally blinded. He was at the court of Andronicus,
After 1317, Uroš III writes a letter to Danilo, the Bishop of Hum, asking him to intervene with his father.[2] Danilo then wrote to Archbishop Nicodemus of Serbia, who spoke with Milutin and persuaded him to recall his son.[2]
In 1320 Uroš III was permitted to return to Serbia, and was given the appanage of Budimlje (modern Ivangrad).[2] His half-brother and crown heir, Stefan Konstantin had the title King of Zeta.[3] His father became ill and died on October 29, 1321, and Constantine is crowned King.[4]
Civil war erupts when Constantine refuses to submit to Uroš, who then invades Zeta, and in the ensuing battle, Constantine is killed.[4] After the victory, on January 6, 1322, the Archbishop of Serbia Nicodemus, crowns Uroš King and Dušan Young King.[3] Dušan holds Zeta, clearly stating his intended heir.[4] In the meantime, his cousin Stefan Vladislav II mobilized local support from Rudnik, Stefan Dragutin's former appanage.[4] Vladislav called himself King, and was supported by the Hungarians, consolidating control over his lands and preparing for battle with Dečanski.[4] As the case was with their fathers, Serbia was divided by two independent rulers, in 1322 and 1323 Ragusan merchants freely visited both lands.[4]
In 1323, war broke out between the cousins, in the fall Vladislav still held Rudnik, and by the end of 1323, the market of Rudnik is held by Uroš' officials, Vladislav seems to have fled north.[4] Some of Vladislav's supporters from Rudnik led by Ragusan merchant Menčet had taken refuge in the nearby Ostrovica fortress, where they resisted Uroš' troops.[4] Uroš sent envoys to Dubrovnik, protesting their support of Vladislav.[4] Dubrovnik rejected it, claiming Ostrovica was held by Serbs.[4] Uroš was not satisfied, and in 1324 he rounded up all Ragusan merchants he could find, confiscated their property and held them captive.[4] At the end of the year he had been restored Rudnik, and he released the merchant, returning their property.[4] Vladislav was defeated in battle in late 1324, and fled to Hungary.[5] Tensions between Dubrovnik and Uroš continued; in August 1325 Vojvoda Vojin plundered Dubrovnik, resulting in a brief trade ban.[4] On March 25, 1326, all the privilegies held under Milutin were reaffirmed.[4] Tensions began again, when Bosnia and Dubrovnik took actions against the Branivojevići.[4]
The claimants enjoyed foreign support, and the victorious king was faced by the alliance of Bulgaria and the Byzantine Empire. Michael Asen III of Bulgaria divorced Stefan Uroš III's sister Anna and married the Byzantine princess Theodora Palaiologina instead. The allies intended to join forces for a major invasion of Serbia in 1330. This led to the most significant event of Stefan Uroš III's reign, the Battle of Velbuzhd, in which he defeated the Bulgarians and killed Bulgarian emperor Michael Asen III.
Hearing of his ally's defeat, the Byzantine Emperor Andronikos III Palaiologos retreated, turning to easier prey. His conquests allowed him to push the Serbian borders to the south into Byzantine Macedonia. Some of his courtiers, however, were discontented with his policies and conspired to dethrone him in favour of his son Dušan. The latter imprisoned Stefan Uroš III in the castle of Zvečan, where he presently died a violent death by strangulation.[6]
By his first wife, Theodora of Bulgaria, Stefan Uroš III had two children:
By his second wife, Maria Palaiologina, Stefan Uroš III had:
Stefan is seen as a noble character in epic poetry, and the Serbian Orthodox Church had him canonized, his feast day is November 24th. His remains are venerated at the church of the Visoki Dečani monastery, in Kosovo, built by him.
His royal crown is kept at the Cetinje Monastery in Cetinje, Montenegro.[7]
|
Stephen Uroš III Dečanski of Serbia
Born: 1285 Died: 11 November 1331 |
||
| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Royal titles | ||
| Preceded by Stefan Konstantin |
King of Serbia 1322–1331 |
Succeeded by Stefan Uroš IV Dušan |
|
||||||||||||||||||||