Simeon Uroš

Siniša Simeon Uroš Nemanjić
Despot of Epirus, and Thessaly
Fresco from 1346, Visoki Dečani
Despot of Epirus
Reign	1359 - 1366
Predecessor	Nikephoros II Orsini
Successor	Thomas II Preljubović
Issue
John Uroš Stephen Uroš Maria
Dynasty	Nemanjić
Father	Stephen Uroš III of Serbia
Mother	Maria Palaiologina
Died	1369-1371
Religion	† Serbian Orthodox

Simeon Uroš Nemanjić, nicknamed Siniša (Serbian Cyrillic: Симеон Урош Синиша Немањић), also known in Greek as Symeōn Ouresēs Palaiologos (Συμεών Ούρεσης Παλαιολόγος), was the Despot of Epirus from 1359 to 1366, and of Thessaly from 1359 until his death in 1370. He governed Epirus and Acarnania under his half-brother Emperor Dušan the Mighty (r. 1331-1355) from 1348, and in the years following the Emperor's death, he asserted himself as an independent ruler of these southern regions of the Serbian Empire, being self-proclaimed Emperor of Serbs and Greeks in rivalry with his nephew Stephen Uroš V.

Contents 1 Background 2 Life 3 Aftermath 4 Family 5 Ancestry 6 References

Background

Life

Simeon Uroš, nicknamed Siniša, was the son of King Stephen Uroš III Dečanski of Serbia by his second wife, Maria Palaiologina, the daughter of the despotes John Palaiologos, a grandson of Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos.

When his half-brother Emperor Stefan Uroš IV Dušan conquered Epirus and Acarnania in 1348, he appointed as governor of these regions Simeon Uroš, whom he had granted the title of despotes traditionally reserved for emperors' brothers and younger sons. Simeon Uroš consolidated his position in relation to the local aristocracy by marrying Thomais, the daughter of the former ruler of Epirus, John Orsini.

Simeon Uroš's relatively uneventful governorship was interrupted when, shortly after Dušan's death in 1355, his brother-in-law Nikephoros II Orsini, the deposed ruler of Epirus, reappeared in Greece and gained the support of the nobility in Thessaly and Epirus. In 1356 Nikephoros entered Epirus and forced Simeon Uroš to flee to Kastoria, where he attempted to proclaim himself "Emperor of Serbs and Greeks" in the place of his nephew Stefan Uroš V. Although he gained the support of some important magnates like John Komnenos Asen (the brother of Dušan's widow), Simeon Uroš was unable to assert himself against the wishes of the nobility of Serbia proper and Macedonia.

After he was forced to retreat from his attempt to invade Zeta (modern Montenegro) in 1358, Simeon Uroš gave up hope of asserting himself in Serbia. The next year, however, Nikephoros II Orsini was killed in a skirmish against the Albanians, and opened up a welcome opportunity for Simeon Uroš. Consequently, he rapidly swept into Thessaly and was acknowledged as its ruler in 1359. He then invaded Epirus, where the towns, harried by the Albanian clansmen who had taken over the countryside, also recognized his authority.

While Simeon Uroš was in Epirus, Radoslav Hlapen of Vodena attempted to seize Thessaly on behalf of his stepson Thomas Preljubović. Simeon Uroš was forced to cut his losses by recognizing Radoslav Hlapen's conquests, turning over Kastoria to him, and marrying his daughter Maria to Thomas. Hlapen recognized Simeon Uroš's suzerainty in at least some of these lands and provided a buffer between him and the Serbian nobles to the north. Simeon Uroš established himself in Trikala in Thessaly, and spent the remaining decade of his reign in relative peace. He soon recognized two of the Albanian leaders in Epirus, Gjin Bua Shpata and Peter Losha, as despotes of Arta and Angelokastron.^[1] In 1366 he turned over Ioannina, his last major possession in Epirus, to his son-in-law Thomas, who reigned there as vassal despotes.

In Trikala Simeon Uroš presided over a court including Byzantine, Serbian, and Albanian nobles, but he showed preference for the Byzantine relatives of his wife. He also founded and generously endowed the monasteries of Meteora. He died sometime between 1369 and 1371.

Aftermath

Family

By his marriage to Thomais Orsini, Simeon Uroš had three children:

• John Uroš, who succeeded as ruler of Thessaly.
• Stephen Uroš, governor of Pharsalos.
• Maria, who married Thomas II Preljubović, who succeeded as ruler of Epirus.

Ancestry

Ancestors of Simeon Uroš

16. Stefan Nemanjić               8. Stephen Uroš I of Serbia                       17. Anna Dandolo               4. Stephen Uroš II Milutin of Serbia                             9. Helena of Anjou                       2. Stephen Uroš III Dečanski of Serbia                                   10. George I Terter of Bulgaria                       5. Anna Terter of Bulgaria                             22. Mitso Asen of Bulgaria               11. Kira Maria Asenina of Bulgaria                       23. Maria Asenina of Bulgaria               1. Simeon Uroš                                         24. Michael VIII Palaiologos               12. Constantine Palaiologos, porphyrogénnētos                       25. Theodora Doukaina Vatatzaina               6. John Palaiologos, despotes in Macedonia                             26. John Raoul Petraliphas, protovestiarios               13. Irene Raoulaina                       27. Theodora Palaiologina Kantakouzene               3. Maria Palaiologina                                   14. Theodore Metochites, megas logothetis                       7. Irene Metochitissa

References

• Fine, John Van Antwerp (1994), The Late Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman Conquest, University of Michigan Press, ISBN 978-0472082605, http://books.google.gr/books?id=Hh0Bu8C66TsC 
• Kazhdan, Alexander, ed. (1991), Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-504652-6 
• Miller, William (1908), The Latins in the Levant, a History of Frankish Greece (1204–1566), New York: E.P. Dutton and Company 
• Nicol, Donald MacGillivray (2010), The Despotate of Epiros 1267–1479: A Contribution to the History of Greece in the Middle Ages, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0-521130899, http://books.google.com/books?id=XIj0FfKto9AC 
• Soulis, George Christos (1984), The Serbs and Byzantium during the reign of Tsar Stephen Dušan (1331–1355) and his successors, Dumbarton Oaks, ISBN 0-88402-137-8 
• Politikin Zabavnik

Regnal titles
Preceded by Nikephoros II	Despot of Epirus 1359–1366	Succeeded by Thomas II
Preceded by Nikephoros II	Despot of Thessaly 1359–1370	Succeeded by John Uroš
Political offices
Preceded by Nikephoros II	Governor (Despot) of Epirus Under Stephen Uroš V of Serbia 1348–1356	Succeeded by Nikephoros II

Despots of Epirus Komnenos-Doukas dynasty Michael I Komnenos Doukas‡ · Theodore Komnenos Doukas‡ · Michael II Komnenos Doukas‡ · Nikephoros I Komnenos Doukas · Thomas I Komnenos Doukas Orsini dynasty Nicholas Orsini† · John II Orsini† · Nikephoros II Orsini Nemanjić dynasty Simeon Uroš Palaiologos‡ · Thomas (II) Preljubović · Maria Angelina Doukaina Palaiologina Buondelmonti dynasty Esau de' Buondelmonti · Giorgio de' Buondelmonti Tocco dynasty Carlo I Tocco† · Carlo II Tocco† · Leonardo Tocco† ‡Also rulers of Thessaly †Also counts palatine of Cephalonia and Zakynthos

Members of the Nemanjić dynasty Main ruling members see family tree · Stefan Nemanja · Stefan Prvovenčani · Vukan Nemanjić · Stefan Radoslav · Stefan Vladislav I · Stefan Uroš I · Stefan Dragutin · Stefan (Uroš II) Milutin · Stefan Vladislav II · Stefan (Uroš III) Dečanski · Stefan (Uroš IV) Dušan · Stefan Uroš V Other ruling members Jovan Uroš · Simeon Uroš · Stefan Konstantin · Đorđe Nemanjić · Archbishops St. Sava · St. Sava II Minor members Vratislav Nemanjić · Vratko Nemanjić · Urošica · Dmitar Nemanjić · Stefan Vukanović · Stephen Uroš · Radoslav Hlapenx · Vojihnax · Balša Ix Female members Jefimija · Komnena · Jelena Šubić · Jelisaveta · Anna Neda Shishman · Theodora · Milica · St. Jelena of Dečani · Maria Angelina Consorts St. Anastasija · Eudokia Angelina · Anna Dandolo · Anna Doukaina · Beloslava · Helen of Anjou · Catherine · Helena Doukaina Angelina · Elisabeth · Anna Terter · Simonida · Theodora Smilets · Maria Palaiologina · Helena · Anna Basaraba