The Serbian State of the Nemanjic dynasty 1199-1321

Introduction

Serbia's grand zupan Stefan Nemanja, founder of the Nemanjic dynasty, died in 1199. He left behind the foundations of the Serbian state and three sons -- Vukan, Stevan, and Rastko -- to preserve and consolidate his ruler's work.

Nemanja's heritage was neither easy nor simple. Power struggles between the two elder brothers escalated into a conflict. The dispute smoldered until the early years of the 13th century, sometimes breaking out into an open intolerance. First Vukan managed to maintain rule in Serbia for a while, governing from his safe refuge in Zeta, which he had inherited from his father. The youngest son, Rastko, better known by his monastic name Sava, arbitrated from the very beginning who between the elder brothers should rule Serbia.

Even though Nemanja had chosen Stevan as his successor, Vukan grew predominant in Serbia and banished Stevan in 1202. Thus he became the grand zupan. A few years later, in 1204 or 1205, Stevan succeeded, by gradually conquering Serbian lands, to take over rule in Serbia. Nemanja had fulfilled his wish at last: that Stevan rule the lands and Vukan be the "grand prince" of one region. The transfer of Stefan Nemanja's relics from Chilandar to the Studenica monastery brought reconciliation between the two brothers. Sava played the key role in their reconciliation.

Stevan's final inauguration as head of the Serbian state marked the beginning of a new era not only in the Serbian history, but in the history of the entire Balkan peninsula. The destruction of the Byzantium by the Crusades (the Fourth Crusade) and the creation of several new states on the soil of the old empire changed the balance of power in southeastern Europe. The Balkans divided into two worlds with states that belonged to the Byzantine spirit (Serbia, Bulgaria, and others) standing on the one side of the divide and new states of the Latin crusades or small Greek states, on the other. Therefrom Stevan's pro-western policy developed. The most important step Stevan took as part of this commitment was marrying, for the second time, the Venetian princess Ana Dandolo in 1207 or 1208. His first wife was the Byzantine princess Evdokia. Both his marriages were of political convenience. The second one indicated clearly which path Stevan intended to take.

Stevan's first attempt at obtaining the regal crown from Pope Innocent III failed, but his persistence paid off in 1217. That year Sava sent to Rome his disciple Methodius, who won Pope Honorius' blessing for the coronation. At an assembly in the monastery of Zica, Sava crowned his brother Stevan with the crown he had brought from Rome. In 1217 Stevan became the first king of Serbia -- therefrom his name Stevan the First Crowned -- and Serbia became the kingdom.

An event even more crucial than the inauguration of Serbia as a kingdom was the creation of the Serbian autocephalus (independent) Orthodox Church. Sava Nemanjic played the key role in this, perhaps most far-reaching decision in the Serbian history. In 1219, Sava traveled to Nicaea. He succeeded to obtain the act on the independence of the Serbian church from Emperor Theodore I Lascaris and Patriarch Manuel Saranten Haritopul. This meant that Serbian arch priests achieved the right to elect their own archbishops themselves. Sava became the first Serbian archbishop in 1219. Immediately after that, he undertook the onerous task of consolidating the internal and external organization of the Serbian church. He was the one to lay the foundations of the Serbian Orthodoxy -- the one we know and recognize today -- both in the spiritual and organizational senses. After the death of the first Serbian king, Stevan the First Crowned, in 1228, his elder son Radoslav succeeded to the throne according to the explicit wish of his father. His short reign (1228-1233) was full of internal misunderstandings and struggles. Radoslav married the daughter of John I Angelus, the governor of Epirus. An unexpected shift in Serbia's foreign policy under the new king -- from the West to the East -- probably disturbed the stability of Stevan's former state.

The Serbian feudal landlords could not accept King Radoslav's probyzantine policy. Their discontent culminated in toppling Radoslav and replacing him with Stevan's younger son Vladislav. Radoslav subsequently became a monk, and Sava had him buried in the monastery of Studenica.

The change on Serbia's throne shifted its external policy once again. Vladislav sought -- and found -- support in Bulgaria. He married Bulgarian princess Beloslava, the daughter of John Asen II. Soon Sava withdrew from the position of Serbian archbishop. He retired at an assembly in Zica, leaving the vacancy to his disciple Arsenije. Then he left Serbia and set out to the East again, visiting Palestine, Alexandria and Nicaea. He died in Trnovo on January 14, 1236. Despite many difficulties and the opposition from his father-in-law, Vladislav managed to bring Sava's relics back to Serbia and had them buried in the royal monastery of Mileseva in 1237.

The reign of King Vladislav lasted ten years precisely. Relying on Bulgaria, Vladislav lasted as long as his main ally. With the penetration of the Mongols into Hungary and Serbia, his power grew weak. Once again the Serbian feudal landlords decided the destiny of the throne. Rising against Vladislav, they toppled him and brought the third son of Stevan the First Crowned, Uros I, to the throne. All this took place in 1243.

Uros remained at the helm of the Serbian kingdom for more than thirty years. Throughout his reign he witnessed the fundamental change in the situation in the Balkans. Byzantium was restored in 1261, while Hungary rapidly grew into a first-rate power. Despite being under pressures from both north and south, Serbia was large enough a state to feel imminently threatened. Uros I conducted ostensibly a reconciliatory policy with his neighbors, but actually a calculated one.

In the first period of his rule he secured the borders of the Serbian state. His relations with Dubrovnik were particularly important. They deteriorated repeatedly only to be restored again. Twice did he mount attacks on the city, thus forcing the residents of Dubrovnik to respect their ancient duties towards the Serbian ruler. Uros was adroit enough to maintain friendly relations with the Nicaean Empire, though the Nicaean Emperor was never quite sure of his true intentions.

In the mid-13th century, the greatest threat to Serbia came from Bulgaria, but it did not escalate into an open conflict. Pressures came from the north and southwest, but eased gradually after the death of Tsar Michael Asen of Bulgaria.

However, Uros was not successful in all his efforts. His biggest failure was the attack on Macva in 1267-68, when the lord of Macva, with the help of King Bela IV of Hungary, defeated him and took him as a prisoner. The Serbian king had to pay ransom to return to his land. After this, as a sign of reconciliation, Uros's son Dragutin married the Hungarian Princess Catalina around 1270.

In 1275, Uros entered yet another war with Dubrovnik. Even though he won, peace was only restored on the insistence of the Venetian doge.

Uros was dethroned by his son Dragutin, who was deeply dissatisfied with his father's distrust. Dragutin persistently demanded that he rule one of the Serbian regions. As his demands went unanswered, Dragutin warred against his father and defeated him. Pardoned by his mother, he became the king of Serbia in 1276. His ousted father became a monk and died one year later.

Dragutin, however, did not hold the power for long. He was unfortunate to fall off a horse in Jelaca in 1282 and the accident left him crippled. Discouraged both physically and morally, he soon left the throne to his younger brother Milutin. The change on the Serbian throne took place at an assembly in Dezevo.

The longest reigning ruler in Serbia's medieval history was Milutin. He remained in power for almost forty years (1282-1321).

Milutin early on came into conflict with his brother Dragutin. It lasted throughout the 13th century and continued into the 14th. The precise date of their reconciliation is unclear though we know that they acted together in 1313. However, Dragutin died not long after that, leaving his lands to his son Vladislav. Milutin took advantage of it, mounted an attack on his nephew, defeated him, threw him in captivity and conquered Rudnik, the mining village of Lipnik, the city of Macva and, probably, Belgrade. This caused the deterioration of relations between Milutin and King Charles Robert of Hungary. First the Hungarian army penetrated into Serbia in 1319, occupying all Dragutin's former lands and advancing through the Kolubara River valley. However, the success of the Hungarian campaign was short-lived. In a counterattack, Milutin won back some of the conquered lands. By 1320, however, Charles Robert still held Macva under his control.

Milutin too had trouble with Dubrovnik. He warred against the city in 1317, but the provisions of the subsequent peace agreement remained unclear. One thing is certain, though: Milutin owed about 4,000 perpers to the Dubrovnik merchants and extended his debt payments until 1318, when Dubrovnik obtained permission for free trade in Serbia.

The Serbian King also had to withstand onslaughts from Albanian catholic landlords, who obeyed the Pope's order to overthrow him in 1319. The outcome of that action, however, remains unclear, though it is highly unlikely that the putsch ended successfully. Once again Milutin managed to save his life, this time with the help of Despot Thomas of Epirus.

The most important legacy of King Milutin's long reign is the large number of endowments and churches he erected. No other king of the Nemanjic dynasty did leave such an opulent architectural and artistic legacy as Milutin.

However, the Serbian state Milutin left behind after forty years of rule had neither the internal glitter nor the eternity of the buildings he erected. The Serbian state under the rule of Nemanjic dynasty would see its true rise in the mid-14th century.

The Reign of Stefan the First Crowned

Crowning is the old name for the act of coronation, hence the name First Crowned. The first Serbian king, Stevan Nemanjic, ruled for little more than two decades (1205-1228).

His rule was adorned by two -- mutually conflicting -- traits. First and foremost, Stevan brought the crown to the Serbian state. Under his rule the Serbian autocephalus church was established. However, the other side of Stevan's policy was not so bright and sublime. He warred with his own brother and thus established an unfortunate habit in the Serbian medieval history. Similar conflicts between siblings of the Nemanjic dynasty later became a frequent norm. At the same time, he turned Serbia towards the catholic West. As much as that decision had practical and political reasons, it distanced Serbia from its true Orthodox roots. That is why Stevan came into conflict even with his brother Sava.

Power brings about misunderstandings and splits. It turns love into rivalry, closeness into a source of danger. Serbia's first crowned ruler did not avoid that fate. History is unjust because it remembers only victories. Victories and victims.

Throughout the conflicts between Vukan and Stevan, the former one enjoyed the support of the catholic landlords in Zeta. He relied on support from Hungary and the Curia. When Vukan defeated Stevan for a while, he recognized the priority of the Catholic Church and the supreme rule of the Hungarian king.

After finally defeating Vukan, Stevan himself turned to the West, the Venetian Republic and Rome. The disintegration of the thousand-year-old Byzantine Empire compelled Stevan to seek allies elsewhere. Needs must when the devil drives. Politics is ignorant of the holy vows.

Apart from all this, Stevan was a successful ruler both in wars and diplomatic negotiations. The young state prospered thanks to cooperation between the two brothers, Stevan and Sava, at least until each of them went his own way. Power has another poor trait -- success means loneliness. The Serbian ruler was left alone -- without allies among neighbors or friends at courts. He was abandoned even by Sava, his major diplomat and ally. The Serbian king, Stevan the First Crowned, died suddenly in September 1228.

Sava Nemanjić

If there is a figure in the history of Serbia who leaves us speechless and eclipsed by his greatness, then it is St. Sava. That is why writing about the greatest of all Serbs is an onerous and responsible task.

Rastko (Sava) Nemanjic was the third and youngest son of Stefan Nemanja. The exact date of his birth is unknown, though it is believed that he was born around 1174. His father gave him the region of Hum to rule. Young Rastko, however, wanted something else. He left Hum as early as in 1191 for Mt. Athos to join a monastic order there, where he got a monastic name Sava. He stayed in the monastery of Stari Rusik, then moved to Vatoped. That was where he greeted Stefan Nemanja in 1197, when his father became a monk named Simeon. Together they restored the monastery of Chilandar and founded the Serbian monastic family on Mt. Athos.

Sava's statesmanship began with reconciling his elder brothers. Then he had Simeon's relics transferred and buried to the monastery of Studenica, which was Simeon's endowment.

Sava was far from enthusiastic about Stevan's links with Catholic Rome. In 1217, he returned to Mt. Athos, firmly determined to resolve the Serbian ecclesiastical question. He succeeded in it in 1219: the Serbian Church gained independence, while Sava became the first Serbian archbishop. He divided the entire state territory into episcopacies, protopopiates and parishes, appointing his most devoted friends as bishops. He supplied all the episcopacies with spiritual books and had them transcribed. He set up the center of the Church in the monastery of Zica. Sava liberated the Church from any ruler, making it the first institution of the Serbian people.

The foundations of the Serbian ecclesiastical organization laid by Sava Nemanjic outlived not only the fall of the Serbian state, but remained a permanent pillar of support under the long infidels' rule, which followed.

Sava was also Serbia's first great man of letters, both prolific and heterogeneous. As expected and logical, his writings were spiritual and permeated with a sense of Orthodoxy. Early on, Sava wrote works of ecclesiastical content: the Karej and Chilandar typica. He wrote a code of ecclesiastical law known as Krmcija. However, works that exhibit his true literary talent were written later on. The first of them was the Biography of Saint Simeon (Stefan Nemanja). Sava's Service to Saint Simeon, a profound spiritual writing in the tradition od Byzantine Christian poetics, is exceptionally important.

St. Sava's trail is present not only in the history of the Serbian people and enormous number of pages of recorded past. His thought and spirit have remained alive among all Serbs, whose souls and minds are not filled with absurdity and whose conscience refuses to be the slave to the delusions of today.

Serbian Kings Radoslav and Vladislav

After the death of Stevan the First Crowned, the question of his successor was not raised. It was only natural that his crown be passed to his eldest son Radoslav, by his first wife Evdokia. Radoslav was made co-ruler during Stevan's life.

Information about the reign of King Radoslav is scarce. What we do know are only facts about the political situation in Serbia and the Balkans as a whole. Under the influence of his father-in-law, Theodore I Angelus, the ruler of Greece, the new Serbian king made a U-turn in Serbia's foreign policy, shifting the course from the West to the East. Radoslav was educated in the spirit of the Byzantine tradition. Naturally, his sudden and tactless change in the political course disturbed the internal situation in Serbia.

At one point, Radoslav turned to the Archbishopric of Ohrid, the then Greek seat in the West. His aim was to get closer to the Byzantine side and strengthen its influence. He went as far as to engage in direct negotiations with Ohrid, skirting Archbishop Sava, head of the Serbian Church. Sava saw the negotiations with Ohrid a grave danger for the independence of the Serbian Church. He feared they would lead to the recognition of the supreme rule of the Ohrid Archbishopric. That would reestablish relations that existed before 1219. Angry and disappointed, Sava set out on a journey again. He stayed in Nicaea, Palestine and returned to Serbia via Salonika. However, his attitude towards Radoslav remained unchanged.

The change on the Serbian throne in 1233 was the work of internal putsch. The feudal lords toppled Radoslav and brought Stevan's younger son Vladislav in his place. Radoslav took refuge in Dubrovnik. The following year, in 1234, he issued the famous Charter to the people of Dubrovnik, promising them many concessions and broad rights if he returned to the Serbian throne. However, Serbia's former king did not stay in Dubrovnik for long. Soon he was forced to return to Serbia after failing to find refuge in Duress.

King Vladislav then turned to Bulgaria. Again thanks to his family connections there, Serbia's external policy took another course. Due to the hospitality Dubrovnik showed to Radoslav, relations between the Republic of Dubrovnik and Serbia became tense. Negotiations ended in 1235 with the new peace agreement. However, relations between the two states never became too friendly.

From 1237, Vladislav had to protect his western borders. Defending the region of Hum from Herzog Koloman of Croatia, Vladislav reached the city of Split. He signed the treaty on friendship and concerted activities against common enemies with Split the same year.

King Vladislav did not stay in power long after the death of his father-in-law and protector, the Bulgarian King, in 1241. Two years later, he had to abdicate and turn over rule to Uros, his youngest brother and the third son of Stevan the First Crowned.

The Reign of Uroš I

All of Stevan's three descendants replaced one another on the Serbian throne. While the reigns of his first two sons were considerably short-lived, Uros remained on the throne for more than thirty years (1243-1276).

A most interesting event in that period of Serbian history was the arrival of German miners, the Saxons. They arrived in Serbia in the 1230s, bringing with them new techniques of prospecting and processing precious metals, namely silver, copper and lead. Their knowledge and skill revived the production of metals and opened wide the door of the Mediterranean markets for the Serbian economy. The Saxons developed the mines of Breskovo, Trepca, Rudnik, Rogozna, Novo Brdo, and other mining centers. The growth of mining in Serbia opened a series of economic and trade links with the Adriatic coastal region and southern Italy.

If we dare take a general view of Uros's long-lasting rule, however complex and dangerous it may be, we can conclude that this period was marked by the bloodless balance of power. Uros was fortunate enough to enjoy favorable external conditions. His conflicts and reconciliations with Dubrovnik have already been mentioned. His ties with the Hungarian king and his rapprochement with King Charles Anjou of Sicily turned him against Byzantium. Uros's wife Jelena, Charles' cousin, came from the Anjou dynasty. Uros's grand plans for the coalition and action against Constantinople did not quite materialize, though he devoted much time and attention to that effort. Preparations for an attack on Byzantium lasted a decade though Uros did not dare take such a decisive move during his rule. Thus his long-lasting rule in Serbia remained somehow unfinished and understated.

Serbian Kings Dragutin and Milutin

History teaches us that a long reign of one ruler is usually followed by a short reign of his successor as an unwritten rule. Uros's son Dragutin had the might to defeat his father and overthrow him, but not the strength to hold power for himself.

The defeat of the new Serbian king by the Byzantine army in 1281 was crucial for Dragutin. His younger and belligerent brother had no trouble in overwhelming Dragutin and seizing the Serbian throne. The toppled king withdrew to a region surrounding Mt. Rudnik, Macva and Srem. He ruled these lands until his death in 1316.

Earlier historians had a rare ability of passing correct judgments. It may be impossible to find a better description of King Milutin than the one penned by Stanoje Stanojevic at the dawn od the 20th century.

"Milutin was not a ruler of outstanding ability, but he did possess the will and ambition to strengthen his state. He worked on that task determinedly and steadily. He was bold enough to set new, big aims for the state of Raska and steer the state policy onto a course that would give the Serbs the might that provided them with the dominant position in the Balkan peninsula."

The unwritten rule of history has another part, too. According to it, the short rule of a monarch is followed by a long rule of the next one. Milutin continued the policy of his predecessors, preparing to mount an attack on Byzantium. Unlike them, however, he carried it out. He warred with Constantinople several times, conquering Porec and the surrounding regions in the second half of the eighth decade of the 13th century.

Milutin advanced on Byzantium before the end of the century. The victory was so convincing that the Serbian king regained all the territories he had earlier conquered and even married the Byzantine princess Simonida. All this took place in 1299.

Milutin had a lot of trouble with his successors. He gave the region of Zeta to his son Stefan. The dissatisfied prince attacked his father but was defeated, blinded and expelled to Constantinople. The reason for Stefan's discontent was the same as the one causing discord in earlier generations of Serbian rulers -- the question of succession. This time, however, there were also disagreements in principle. Milutin's reconciliatory attitude towards Byzantium, certainly under his wife Simonida's influence, led Stefan to rebel against his father.

The results of Milutin's reign in Serbia were clearly visible. When he came to power, the borders of the Serbian state stretched to the town of Lipljan. In 1321, when he died, the borders expanded far up north and down south. Those were real foundations for the rise of medieval Serbia in the 14th century.

Endowments, churches, cities

The Serbs were not lucky people. Almost nothing remained of their former great Serbian state. What did remain are monuments. Poor is the people who are left with their monuments only -- monuments destroyed and desecrated by enemies, foreign lords and inexorable ravages of time. Each Serbian ruler of the royal Nemanjic dynasty left behind endowments -- churches and monasteries -- to redeem their souls and display their greatness.

St. Sava and his brother, Grand Zupan Stefan, began erecting the church of Holy Salvation in Zica. Its construction lasted twenty years to be completed in the 1220s.

Church of Our Lady in Studenica, the endowment of Stefan Nemanja, was not completed during the lifetime of its founder. The interior of the church was painted in 1208-1209.

King Vladislav built his endowment, the monastery of Mileseva, around 1225. It was decorated with the most valuable frescoes of Serbia's rulers of the time. King Radoslav enriched the endowment of his grandfather Stefan Nemanja -- the monastery of Studenica. He also expanded the monastery's Church of Our Lady.

While Sava was still alive, the construction of the shrine of the Holy Apostles in Pec began. It was completed in the mid-13th century only.

The monastery of Moraca, whose patron and founder was Vukan's son Stefan, is also of an invaluable importance. It was built in 1251-1252.

The endowment of King Uros I was the monastery of Sopocani, with one of the most beautiful shrines in Serbia -- the Church of the Holy Trinity, dating back from 1260.

King Dragutin was a founder of St. Achillius church in the town of Arilje that was built around 1290.

However, by far the greatest undertakings were those of King Milutin. Under his rule, several churches and monasteries of tremendous historical and artistic value were built or completed. We will mention only the most important ones. Milutin's endowment was the church of St. John in Svac, dating back from 1300. In 1303, he built the church in Chilandar that was named after him. His main endowment was the monastery of Gracanica, one of the most beautiful monuments of the Serbian medieval architecture. Also among them are Milutin's mausoleum and the church of St. Stefan in Banjska, which was completed incredibly quickly (1312-1317). In the last twenty years of his rule, Milutin erected or restored the church of Our Lady in Prizren (1313-1314), the King's Church in Studenica, the church of St. George in Staro Nagoricino, and the monastery of Gracanica.

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