Mrnjavčević family

Mrnjavčević
Country  Serbian Empire
Estates Prilep
Founded 1365
Founder Vukašin Mrnjavčević
Dissolution 1395
Ethnicity Serb

The Mrnjavčević family (Serbian: Мрњавчевићи, pronounced [mr̩̂ɲaːʋt͡ʃeʋit͡ɕ]) was a medieval Serbian noble house that existed during the Serbian Empire, its fall, and the subsequent years when it held a region of present-day Macedonia region. The house ruled a province from its base at Prilep (in modern Republic of Macedonia) from 1366 to 1395.

Vukašin Mrnjavčević was a military commander in the army of Emperor Dušan the Mighty (r. 1331-1355) and co-ruler of Serbia as King, alongside Emperor Uroš the Weak (r. 1355-1371). After Uroš' death, the Serbian Empire crumbled, as the nobility couldn't agree on its rightful successor. Vukašin's son, Marko Kraljević, ruled his hereditary lands as titular King of Serbs and Greeks.

History

Origin

The family's progenitor, after whom historiography names it, was Mrnjava, a financial chancellor (kaznac, chamberlain) that served King Stefan Uroš I and his wife, Queen Helen of Anjou at the court at Trebinje (in Travunia).[1] According to Ragusan historian Mavro Orbin (1563–1610) wrote that the family hailed from Hum, and that the poor Mrnjava and his two sons, who later lived in Blagaj,[2] quickly rose to prominence under King Stefan Dušan. Possibly, the family had left Hum, which previously was part of the Serbian Kingdom, after the Bosnian conquest of Hum (1326), and settled in Livno (where Vukašin was allegedly born).[1] The family most likely supported Dušan's Bosnian campaign (1350), in which he saw to reconquer Hum.[1]

Family tree

  • Vukašin (1320–1371), King and Lord of the Serbian and Greek Lands, and of the Western Provinces (1366–71)
  • Marko (1335–1395), Young King, titular King of Serbs (1371–95)
  • Andrijaš (fl. 1371–95)
  • Ivaniš
  • Dmitar (fl. 1365–d. 1410)
  • Olivera
  • Jovan Uglješa (1320s–1371), Despot of Serres (1356–71)
  • Tvrtko
  • Uglješa
  • Eupraxia

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Fine 1994, pp. 362-363
  2. ↑ Soulis 1984, p. 92

Sources