Stefan Uroš III Decanski of Serbia
Encyclopedia
Stephen Uroš III of Dečani ' onMouseout='HidePop("34069")' href="/topics/Circa">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
.
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.
, to have him blinded. Uroš III was never totally blinded. He was at the court of Andronicus,
In 1320 Uroš III was permitted to return to Serbia, and was given the appanage of Budimlje (modern Ivangrad). His half-brother and crown heir, Stefan Konstantin
had the title King of Zeta. His father became ill and died on October 29, 1321, and Constantine is crowned King.
, Stefan Dragutin's former appanage. Vladislav called himself King, and was supported by the Hungarians, consolidating control over his lands and preparing for battle with Dečanski. As the case was with their fathers, Serbia was divided by two independent rulers, in 1322 and 1323 Ragusan merchants freely visited both lands.
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. 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. Uroš sent envoys to Dubrovnik, protesting their support of Vladislav. Dubrovnik rejected it, claiming Ostrovica was held by Serbs. Uroš was not satisfied, and in 1324 he rounded up all Ragusan merchants he could find, confiscated their property and held them captive. At the end of the year he had been restored Rudnik, and he released the merchant, returning their property. Vladislav was defeated in battle in late 1324, and fled to Hungary. Tensions between Dubrovnik and Uroš continued; in August 1325 Vojvoda Vojin
plundered Dubrovnik, resulting in a brief trade ban. On March 25, 1326, all the privilegies held under Milutin were reaffirmed. Tensions began again, when Bosnia and Dubrovnik took actions against the Branivojevići.
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.
, Stefan Uroš III had two children:
By his second wife, Maria Palaiologina, Stefan Uroš III had:
, 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
.
Circa
Circa , usually abbreviated c. or ca. , means "approximately" in the English language, usually referring to a date...
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
Visoki Decani monastery
Visoki Dečani is a major Serbian Orthodox Christian monastery located in Kosovo, south of the town of Peć. The monastic katholikon is the largest medieval church in the Balkans containing the most extensive preserved fresco decoration.- History :The monastery was established in a chestnut grove...
.
Early
He was the son of King Stefan Uroš II MilutinStefan Uroš II Milutin of Serbia
Stefan Uroš II Milutin was a king of Serbia , and member of the House of Nemanjić.-Early:...
and Anna of Bulgaria
Anna Terter of Bulgaria
Anna Terter was a Bulgarian princess and Queen consort of Serbia . She was the third wife of King Stefan Uroš II Milutin of Serbia....
. His maternal grandparents were George I of Bulgaria
George I of Bulgaria
George Terter I ruled as emperor of Bulgaria 1280-1292. The date of his birth is unknown, and he died in 1308/1309.The reign of George Terter I represents a continuation of Bulgaria's precipitous decline during the second half of the 13th century...
and his wife Maria, sister of Ivan Asen III of Bulgaria
Ivan Asen III of Bulgaria
Ivan Asen III , ruled as emperor of Bulgaria 1279–1280. Ivan Asen III was the son of Mitso Asen of Bulgaria and Maria of Bulgaria, a daughter of Ivan Asen II of Bulgaria and Irene of Thessalonica...
.
While still a youth, he was sent by his father as a hostage with his entourage to Nogai Khan
Nogai Khan
Nogai , also called Isa Nogai, was a general and de facto ruler of the Golden Horde and a great-great-grandson of Genghis Khan. His grandfather was Baul/Teval Khan, the 7th son of Jochi...
of the Golden Horde
Golden Horde
The Golden Horde was a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate that formed the north-western sector of the Mongol Empire...
, to maintain the peace between the Serbs and Tatars. He stayed at Nogai's court until the Khan's death in 1299.
Exile in Constantinople
In 1314 he quarrels with his father, who ends up sending him to ConstantinopleConstantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
, to have him blinded. Uroš III was never totally blinded. He was at the court of Andronicus,
Return to Serbia and death of his father
After 1317, Uroš III writes a letter to Danilo, the Bishop of Hum, asking him to intervene with his father. Danilo then wrote to Archbishop Nicodemus of Serbia, who spoke with Milutin and persuaded him to recall his son.In 1320 Uroš III was permitted to return to Serbia, and was given the appanage of Budimlje (modern Ivangrad). His half-brother and crown heir, Stefan Konstantin
Stefan Konstantin
Stephen Constantine was the King of Serbia briefly for a year 1321–1322. He initially held the appanage of Zeta . He was the only pretender to the Serbian thone, after his father had exiled his younger brother and initial heir Stefan Uroš III...
had the title King of Zeta. His father became ill and died on October 29, 1321, and Constantine is crowned King.
Civil Wars and coronation
Civil war erupts when Constantine refuses to submit to Uroš, who then invades Zeta, and in the ensuing battle, Constantine is killed. After the victory, on January 6, 1322, the Archbishop of Serbia Nicodemus, crowns Uroš King and Dušan Young King. Dušan holds Zeta, clearly stating his intended heir. In the meantime, his cousin Stefan Vladislav II mobilized local support from RudnikRudnik
Rudnik is a mountain in central Serbia, near the town of Gornji Milanovac. Its highest peak Cvijićev vrh, named after geologist and biologist Jovan Cvijić, has an altitude of 1132 meters above sea level...
, Stefan Dragutin's former appanage. Vladislav called himself King, and was supported by the Hungarians, consolidating control over his lands and preparing for battle with Dečanski. As the case was with their fathers, Serbia was divided by two independent rulers, in 1322 and 1323 Ragusan merchants freely visited both lands.
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. 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. Uroš sent envoys to Dubrovnik, protesting their support of Vladislav. Dubrovnik rejected it, claiming Ostrovica was held by Serbs. Uroš was not satisfied, and in 1324 he rounded up all Ragusan merchants he could find, confiscated their property and held them captive. At the end of the year he had been restored Rudnik, and he released the merchant, returning their property. Vladislav was defeated in battle in late 1324, and fled to Hungary. Tensions between Dubrovnik and Uroš continued; in August 1325 Vojvoda Vojin
Vojvoda Vojin
Vojin of Gacko or Vojvoda Vojin was a Serb voivode and magnate that held the province of Gacko, also known as Hum , in ca.1322-1347, serving King Stephen Uroš III Dečanski and Emperor Stephen Dušan the Mighty...
plundered Dubrovnik, resulting in a brief trade ban. On March 25, 1326, all the privilegies held under Milutin were reaffirmed. Tensions began again, when Bosnia and Dubrovnik took actions against the Branivojevići.
Byzantine and Bulgarian threats
The claimants enjoyed foreign support, and the victorious king was faced by the alliance of BulgariaSecond Bulgarian Empire
The Second Bulgarian Empire was a medieval Bulgarian state which existed between 1185 and 1396 . A successor of the First Bulgarian Empire, it reached the peak of its power under Kaloyan and Ivan Asen II before gradually being conquered by the Ottomans in the late 14th-early 15th century...
and the Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
. 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
Andronikos III Palaiologos
Andronikos III Palaiologos, Latinized as Andronicus III Palaeologus was Byzantine emperor from 1328 to 1341, after being rival emperor since 1321. Andronikos III was the son of Michael IX Palaiologos and Rita of Armenia...
retreated, turning to easier prey. His conquests allowed him to push the Serbian borders to the south into Byzantine Macedonia
Macedonia (region)
Macedonia is a geographical and historical region of the Balkan peninsula in southeastern Europe. Its boundaries have changed considerably over time, but nowadays the region is considered to include parts of five Balkan countries: Greece, the Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria, Albania, Serbia, as...
. 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.
Ancestors
Family
By his first wife, Theodora of BulgariaTheodora Smilets of Bulgaria
Theodora Smilets was a Bulgarian princess and queen consort of Serbia, the first wife of king Stefan Uroš III Dečanski of Serbia....
, Stefan Uroš III had two children:
- Stefan Uroš IV Dušan, who succeeded as king
- Dusica
By his second wife, Maria Palaiologina, Stefan Uroš III had:
- Simeon UrošSimeon UrošSimeon Uroš Nemanjić, nicknamed Siniša , also known in Greek as Symeōn Ouresēs Palaiologos , 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 Simeon Uroš Nemanjić,...
Palaiologos - Jelena Nemanjić Šubić, who married Mladen III Šubić from CroatianCroatsCroats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...
ŠubićŠubicThe Šubić were one of the twelve tribes which constituted Croatian statehood in the Middle Ages; they held the county of Bribir in inland Dalmatia.-Origins:...
noble family - Theodora NemanjićTheodora NemanjićTheodora Nemanjić was the despotess of Kumanovo as the wife of Despot Dejan . She was the daughter of King Stephen Uroš III Dečanski of Serbia and her eldest half-brother was Serbian emperor, Stephen Uroš IV Dušan. She was the mother of two sons and one daughter...
, who married sebastokratorSebastokratorSebastokratōr was a senior court title in the late Byzantine Empire. It was also used by other rulers whose states bordered the Empire or were within its sphere of influence. The word is a compound of "sebastos" Sebastokratōr was a senior court title in the late Byzantine Empire. It was also used...
Dejan DragašDejan DragašDejan Dragaš was a 14th-century Serbian nobleman and the Despot of Kumanovo holding the title of Sebastokrator given to him by his brother-in-law Emperor of Serbia Dušan the Mighty...
, mother of Constantine DragasConstantine DragasConstantine Dragaš Dejanović was a Serbian magnate that ruled the area around Kyustendil from 1378, during the fall of the Serbian Empire, until his death on May 17, 1395 at the battle of Rovine...
Legacy
Stefan is seen as a noble character in epic poetrySerbian epic poetry
Serb epic poetry is a form of epic poetry written by Serbs originating in today's Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia and Montenegro. The main cycles were composed by unknown Serb authors between the 14th and 19th centuries...
, and the Serbian Orthodox Church
Serbian Orthodox Church
The Serbian Orthodox Church is one of the autocephalous Orthodox Christian churches, ranking sixth in order of seniority after Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Russia...
had him canonized, his feast day is November 24th. His remains are venerated at the church of the Visoki Dečani monastery, in Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
, built by him.
His royal crown is kept at the Cetinje Monastery
Cetinje Monastery
The Cetinje Monastery is the most famous Serb Orthodox monastery in Montenegro. It is located in Cetinje and is the seat of the Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral and its name derives from Saint Peter of Cetinje...
in Cetinje
Cetinje
Cetinje , Цетиње / Cetinje , Italian: Cettigne, Greek: Κετίγνη, Ketígni) is a town and Old Royal Capital of Montenegro. It is also a historical and the secondary capital of Montenegro , with the official residence of the President of Montenegro...
, Montenegro
Montenegro
Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
.
Sources
- Jean W. Sedlar, East Central Europe in the Middle Ages, 1000-1500, University of Washington Press, 1996.
- John V.A. Fine, Jr., The Late Medieval Balkans, Ann Arbor, 1987.