Stephen II of Serbia
Encyclopedia
Stefan II Nemanjić or Stephen the First-Crowned (Стефан Првовенчани, Stefan Prvovenčani, stɛ̂faːn prʋɔʋɛ̌ntʃaːniː; 1165 – September 24, 1228) was Grand Prince of Serbia from 1196, and the King of Serbia from 1217 until his death in 1228. He was the first official Serb King (see Mihailo I), and through his promotion of the Serbian Grand Principality
into a kingdom and helping his brother Saint Sava
in establishing the Serbian Church, he is regarded one of the most important of the long lasting Nemanjić Dynasty.
Stefan Nemanja
and Anastasija
. His older brother and heir apparent, Vukan, ruled over Zeta and the neighbouring provinces (the highest appanage) while his younger brother Rastko (later known as Saint Sava) ruled over Hum
.
The Byzantines attacked Serbia in 1191, raiding the banks of South Morava. Nemanja had a tactival advantage, and began to raid the Byzantine armies. Isaac II Angelus summoned a peace treaty, and Stefan II's marriage to Eudokia Angelina
, the niece of Isaac II, was confirmed. Stefan II received the title of sebastokrator
.
In an inscription dated 1195 in the church of St. Luke in Kotor
, Vukan is titled as King of Duklja
, Dalmatia
, Travunia
, Toplica and Hvosno
.
Although Vukan was Nemanja's eldest son, Nemanja preferred to see Stefan II on the Serbian throne mostly because Stefan was married to Byzantine princess Eudokia. It seems that Vukan reacted on this change in succession by declaring himself King of Duklja. Although he assumed a "sovereign" royal title, Vukan remained under his father's authority. On March 25, 1196, Stefan Nemanja summoned a Council in Ras, where he officially abdicated in favour of his second son, Stefan, to whom he bequeathed all his earthly possessions. This decision was not in accordance with the traditional right of primogeniture
, according to which Vukan should inherited the throne. This was not accepted lightly by Vukan. Nemanja took monastic vows in the Church of Saints Peter and Paul and adopted the monastic name of Simeon. Simeon subsequently retired to his Studenica monastery
and Anastasia retired to the Monastery of the Mother of Christ in Kuršumlija
. After numerous pleas by Sava (originally Rastko), Simeon left to the Mount Athos
, and joined Sava in 1197 in the Vatopedi monastery. In 1199, the two together rebuilt the ruined Eastern Orthodox Monastery of Hilandar
given to the Serbian people by the Byzantine Emperor, which became the heart of Serbian spiritual culture. Simeon died on 13 February 1199.
While Nemanja was alive Vukan didn't oppose Stefan's rule but as soon as Nemanja died, he started to plot against him in order to become Grand Prince. He found aid in Hungarian king Emeric
(1196–1204) who at the time fought against the Second Bulgarian Empire
and wanted assistance. With the help of Hungarian troops in 1202, Vukan managed to overthrow Stefan, who fled into Bulgaria. Vukan was left to rule Serbia. In an inscription dating to 1202-1203, Vukan is titled as Grand Župan Vukan, Ruler of all Serbian land, Zeta
, maritime towns and land of Nišava
.
In return for Hungarian help, Vukan became a Hungarian vassal and promised that he would convert to Catholicism if the Pope would give him the title of King. However, as a Hungarian vassal, Vukan soon got involved in the conflict with Bulgaria. In 1203 the Bulgarian army attacked Vukan, annexing Niš
. In the chaos that followed, and using Vukans's sympaties for Catholicism against him, Stefan managed to return to Serbia and overthrow Vukan in 1204 becoming ruler again. Vukan was pushed into his holdings of Zeta.
In the meantime, Bishop Sava
(the youngest brother), had success on Mount Athos
, founding the cradle of Serbian Christianity. Sava returns to Serbia in the winter of 1205-06 or 1206-07, and intervenes and reconciles his two brothers, taking the remains of his father with him, which he relocates to the Studenica monastery
. Stefan II asks him to remain in Serbia with his clerics, which he does, starting a widespread pastoral and educational duty to the people of Serbia. He and Sava founds several churches and monasteries, among them the Žiča monastery.
Vukan continues to rule as titular King in Zeta, and abdicated in ca 1208, when his son Đorđe is mentioned as titular King of Zeta, although in edicts from Studenica dated 1209, he is mentioned only as Great Prince. Vukan seems to have died in 1209 or shortly thereafter.
After the death of Kaloyan, there was a succession war in Bulgaria. Tsar Boril, the most ambitious of the nobles, took the throne and exiled Alexius Slav, Ivan Asen II and Strez
(of the Asen family). Strez, the first cousin or brother of Boril, took refuge in Serbia, and was warmly welcomed at the court of Stefan II. Even though Boril requested the extradition of Strez to Bulgaria with gifts and bribes, Stefan II refused. Kaloyan had conquered Belgrade
, Braničevo
, Niš and Prizren
, all of which were claimed by Serbia. At the same time, Boril was unable to take military action against Strez and his Serbian patron, as he had suffered a major defeat at the hands of the Latins at Plovdiv. Stefan went as far as to become a blood brother
with Strez, in order to assure him of his continued favor.
Andrija Mirosavljević was entitled the governance of Hum, as the heir of Miroslav of Hum
, the uncle of Stefan II, but the Hum nobles chose his brother Petar as Prince of Hum. Petar exiled Andrija and Miroslav's widow (the sister of Ban Kulin
of Bosnia), Andrija fled to Rascia, to the court of Stefan II. In the meantime, Petar fought successfully with neighbouring Bosnia and Croatia. Stefan II sided with Andrija and went to war and secured Hum and Popovo field for Andrija sometime after his accession. Petar was defeated and crossed the Neretva, continuing to rule the west and north of the Neretva, which had in 1203 been briefly occupied by Andrew II of Hungary
. Stefan II gave the titular and supreme rule of Hum to his son Radoslav, Andrija held the district of Popovo with the coastal lands of Hum, including Ston
. By agreement, when Radoslav died, the lands were bound to Andrija.
Đorđe of Zeta, in order to secure his lands from Stefan, accepted Venetian suzerainty, possibly in 1208. Đorđe may have done this due to tensions between the two, although this must not be the case. Venice, after the Fourth Crusade
, tried to exert control of the Dalmatian ports, and managed in 1205 to submit Ragusa - Đorđe submitted to prevent that Venice claimed his ports of southern Dalmatia.
Đorđe promised Venice military aid in case of a revolt by another theoretical Venetian vassal, Dimitri, an Albanian Lord of Kruja. This was likely related to the Rascia-Zeta conflict. Stefan II married off his daughter, Komnena, to Dimitri in 1208. The marriage resulted in close ties and an alliance between Stefan and Dimitri amidst these conflicts. Kruja is conquered by Epirote Despot
Michael I Komnenos Doukas
, and Dimitri is not heard of in any surviving sources. After Dimitri's death, the lands are left to Komnena, who soon married Greek-Albanian Gregorios Kamonas, who took power of Kruja, strengthening relations with Serbia, which had after a Serbian assault on Scutari
been weakened. Đorđe disappears from sources, and Stefan II controls Zeta by 1216, probably through military action. Stefan either put Zeta under his personal rule, or assigned it to his son Stefan Radoslav. Zeta would from now on have no special status, and would be given to the heir apparent.
Despot Michael I of Epirus conquered Skadar, and tried to press beyond, but was stopped by the Serbs and his murder by one of his servants in 1214 or 1215. He was succeeded by his half-brother Theodore Komnenos Doukas
. Theodore took on a policy of aggressive expansion, and allied himself with Stefan II. Stefan Radoslav married Anna Doukaina Angelina, the daughter of Theodore.
, owing to skillful diplomacy.
Sava returns to the Holy Mountain in 1217/18, marking the beginning of the real formation of the Serbian Church. He is consecrated in 1219 as the first Archbishop of the Serbian church, given autocephaly by Patriarch Manuel I of Constantinople
, who was then in exile at Nicaea. In the same year Sava published Zakonopravilo (St. Sava's Nomocanon). Thus the Serbs acquired both forms of independence: political and religious.
In 1219, Sava published the first constitution
in Serbia
– St. Sava's Nomocanon (Zakonopravilo in Serbian). It was a compilation of civil law
based on Roman law
, and canon law
based on Ecumenical Councils. Its purpose was to establish a codified legal system in the young Serbian Kingdom, and to regulate the government of the Serbian Church.
Sava stays in Serbia, and continues his education of faith to the Serbian people, later he calls for a council outlawing the Bogomils, who were regarded heretics. Sava appoints protobishops, sending them over all of Serbia to baptize the unbaptized, marry the unmarried etc. To maintain his duty as the religious and social leader, he continued to travel among the monasteries and lands to educate the people.
, the youngest daughter of Alexius Angelus and Euphrosyne Doukaina Kamaterina. Eudokia was the niece of the current Byzantine Emperor Isaac II Angelus. Isaac II arranged the marriage. According to the Greek
historian Nicetas Choniates
, Stefan and Eudocia quarrelled and separated, accusing one another of adultery, after June 1198. They had three sons and two daughters:
Stefan remarried in 1207/1208, his second wife was Anna Dandolo
, granddaughter of Venetian doge Enrico Dandolo
. They had one son and one daughter:
He built many fortresses including Maglič
. At the end of his life Stefan took the monastic vow under the name Symeon, and died soon after. He was canonised as his father was.
Serbian Grand Principality
The Serbian Grand Principality or Rascia was a medieval state that was founded in 1090, and ended with the elevation to Kingdom in 1217. During the reign of Constantine Bodin, the King of Duklja, Vukan was appointed to rule Rascia as a vassal, and when Bodin was captured by the Byzantines, Vukan...
into a kingdom and helping his brother Saint Sava
Saint Sava
Saint Sava was a Serbian Prince and Orthodox monk, the first Archbishop of the autocephalous Serbian Church, the founder of Serbian law and literature, and a diplomat. Sava was born Rastko Nemanjić , the youngest son of Serbian Grand Župan Stefan Nemanja , and ruled the appanage of Hum briefly in...
in establishing the Serbian Church, he is regarded one of the most important of the long lasting Nemanjić Dynasty.
Early
Stefan II Nemanjić was the second eldest son of Grand PrinceGrand Prince
The title grand prince or great prince ranked in honour below emperor and tsar and above a sovereign prince .Grand duke is the usual and established, though not literal, translation of these terms in English and Romance languages, which do not normally use separate words for a "prince" who reigns...
Stefan Nemanja
Stefan Nemanja
Stefan Nemanja was the Grand Prince of the Grand Principality of Serbia from 1166 to 1196, a heir of the Vukanović dynasty that marked the beginning of a greater Serbian realm .He is remembered for his contributions to Serbian culture and...
and Anastasija
Saint Anastasija
Ana Nemanjić, also known as Saint Anastasija was the princess consort of the Serbian Principality as the wife of Stefan Nemanja . She was of noble descent. Ana took monastic vows in 1196 and was baptized Anastasia, after Anastasia of Sirmium. Her feast day is June 22 .Her origins have never been...
. His older brother and heir apparent, Vukan, ruled over Zeta and the neighbouring provinces (the highest appanage) while his younger brother Rastko (later known as Saint Sava) ruled over Hum
Zahumlje
Zachlumia or Zahumlje was a medieval principality located in modern-day regions of Herzegovina and southern Dalmatia...
.
The Byzantines attacked Serbia in 1191, raiding the banks of South Morava. Nemanja had a tactival advantage, and began to raid the Byzantine armies. Isaac II Angelus summoned a peace treaty, and Stefan II's marriage to Eudokia Angelina
Eudokia Angelina
Eudokia Angelina was the queen consort of Stephen II Nemanjić of Serbia from 1196 to 1198. She later became the mistress of Alexios V Doukas, the future Emperor...
, the niece of Isaac II, was confirmed. Stefan II received the title of sebastokrator
Sebastokrator
Sebastokratōr 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...
.
Heir apparent conflict
Kotor
Kotor is a coastal city in Montenegro. It is located in a secluded part of the Gulf of Kotor. The city has a population of 13,510 and is the administrative center of the municipality....
, Vukan is titled as King of Duklja
Duklja
Doclea or Duklja was a medieval state with hereditary lands roughly encompassing the territories of present-day southeastern Montenegro, from Kotor on the west to the river Bojana on the east and to the sources of Zeta and Morača rivers on the north....
, Dalmatia
Dalmatia
Dalmatia is a historical region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It stretches from the island of Rab in the northwest to the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. The hinterland, the Dalmatian Zagora, ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north to just a few kilometers in the south....
, Travunia
Travunia
Travunia was a medieval region, administrative unit and principality, which was part of Medieval Serbia , and in its last years, the Bosnian Kingdom . The county became hereditary in a number of noble houses, often kin to the ruling dynasty. The region came under Ottoman rule in 1482...
, Toplica and Hvosno
Hvosno
Hvosno was a medieval Serbian župa located in the northern part of the Metohija region, in Kosovo. It roughly encompassed the areas of the modern Istok and Peć municipalities...
.
Although Vukan was Nemanja's eldest son, Nemanja preferred to see Stefan II on the Serbian throne mostly because Stefan was married to Byzantine princess Eudokia. It seems that Vukan reacted on this change in succession by declaring himself King of Duklja. Although he assumed a "sovereign" royal title, Vukan remained under his father's authority. On March 25, 1196, Stefan Nemanja summoned a Council in Ras, where he officially abdicated in favour of his second son, Stefan, to whom he bequeathed all his earthly possessions. This decision was not in accordance with the traditional right of primogeniture
Primogeniture
Primogeniture is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn to inherit the entire estate, to the exclusion of younger siblings . Historically, the term implied male primogeniture, to the exclusion of females...
, according to which Vukan should inherited the throne. This was not accepted lightly by Vukan. Nemanja took monastic vows in the Church of Saints Peter and Paul and adopted the monastic name of Simeon. Simeon subsequently retired to his Studenica monastery
Studenica monastery
The Studenica monastery is a 12th-century Serbian Orthodox monastery situated 39 km southwest of Kraljevo, in central Serbia. It is one of the largest and richest Serb Orthodox monasteries....
and Anastasia retired to the Monastery of the Mother of Christ in Kuršumlija
Kuršumlija
Kuršumlija is a town and municipality located in the south of Serbia, nearby the rivers Toplica, Kosanica and Banjska, on the southeast of mountain Kopaonik, and northwest of Radan Mountain...
. After numerous pleas by Sava (originally Rastko), Simeon left to the Mount Athos
Mount Athos
Mount Athos is a mountain and peninsula in Macedonia, Greece. A World Heritage Site, it is home to 20 Eastern Orthodox monasteries and forms a self-governed monastic state within the sovereignty of the Hellenic Republic. Spiritually, Mount Athos comes under the direct jurisdiction of the...
, and joined Sava in 1197 in the Vatopedi monastery. In 1199, the two together rebuilt the ruined Eastern Orthodox Monastery of Hilandar
Hilandar
Hilandar Monastery is a Serbian Orthodox monastery on Mount Athos in Greece. It was founded in 1198 by the first Serbian Archbishop Saint Sava and his father, Grand Prince Stefan Nemanja of the medieval Serbian principality of Raška...
given to the Serbian people by the Byzantine Emperor, which became the heart of Serbian spiritual culture. Simeon died on 13 February 1199.
While Nemanja was alive Vukan didn't oppose Stefan's rule but as soon as Nemanja died, he started to plot against him in order to become Grand Prince. He found aid in Hungarian king Emeric
Emeric of Hungary
Emeric I , , King of Hungary and Croatia . He was crowned during his father's lifetime, but after his father's death he had to fight against his brother, Andrew, who forced Emeric to assign the government of Croatia and Dalmatia to him...
(1196–1204) who at the time fought against the Second Bulgarian Empire
Second 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 wanted assistance. With the help of Hungarian troops in 1202, Vukan managed to overthrow Stefan, who fled into Bulgaria. Vukan was left to rule Serbia. In an inscription dating to 1202-1203, Vukan is titled as Grand Župan Vukan, Ruler of all Serbian land, Zeta
Zeta
-Science:* Zeta functions, in mathematics** Riemann zeta function* Zeta potential, the electrokinetic potential of a colloidal system* Tropical Storm Zeta , formed in December 2005 and lasting through January 2006* Z-pinch, in fusion power...
, maritime towns and land of Nišava
Nišava
The Nišava or Nishava is a river in Bulgaria and Serbia, a right tributary, and with a length of 218 km also the longest one, of the Južna Morava.- Bulgaria :...
.
In return for Hungarian help, Vukan became a Hungarian vassal and promised that he would convert to Catholicism if the Pope would give him the title of King. However, as a Hungarian vassal, Vukan soon got involved in the conflict with Bulgaria. In 1203 the Bulgarian army attacked Vukan, annexing Niš
Niš
Niš is the largest city of southern Serbia and third-largest city in Serbia . According to the data from 2011, the city of Niš has a population of 177,972 inhabitants, while the city municipality has a population of 257,867. The city covers an area of about 597 km2, including the urban area,...
. In the chaos that followed, and using Vukans's sympaties for Catholicism against him, Stefan managed to return to Serbia and overthrow Vukan in 1204 becoming ruler again. Vukan was pushed into his holdings of Zeta.
In the meantime, Bishop Sava
Saint Sava
Saint Sava was a Serbian Prince and Orthodox monk, the first Archbishop of the autocephalous Serbian Church, the founder of Serbian law and literature, and a diplomat. Sava was born Rastko Nemanjić , the youngest son of Serbian Grand Župan Stefan Nemanja , and ruled the appanage of Hum briefly in...
(the youngest brother), had success on Mount Athos
Mount Athos
Mount Athos is a mountain and peninsula in Macedonia, Greece. A World Heritage Site, it is home to 20 Eastern Orthodox monasteries and forms a self-governed monastic state within the sovereignty of the Hellenic Republic. Spiritually, Mount Athos comes under the direct jurisdiction of the...
, founding the cradle of Serbian Christianity. Sava returns to Serbia in the winter of 1205-06 or 1206-07, and intervenes and reconciles his two brothers, taking the remains of his father with him, which he relocates to the Studenica monastery
Studenica monastery
The Studenica monastery is a 12th-century Serbian Orthodox monastery situated 39 km southwest of Kraljevo, in central Serbia. It is one of the largest and richest Serb Orthodox monasteries....
. Stefan II asks him to remain in Serbia with his clerics, which he does, starting a widespread pastoral and educational duty to the people of Serbia. He and Sava founds several churches and monasteries, among them the Žiča monastery.
Vukan continues to rule as titular King in Zeta, and abdicated in ca 1208, when his son Đorđe is mentioned as titular King of Zeta, although in edicts from Studenica dated 1209, he is mentioned only as Great Prince. Vukan seems to have died in 1209 or shortly thereafter.
Later rule
Strez
Strez was a Bulgarian sebastokrator and a member of the Asen dynasty. A major contender for the Bulgarian throne, Strez initially opposed the ascension of his close relative Tsar Boril...
(of the Asen family). Strez, the first cousin or brother of Boril, took refuge in Serbia, and was warmly welcomed at the court of Stefan II. Even though Boril requested the extradition of Strez to Bulgaria with gifts and bribes, Stefan II refused. Kaloyan had conquered Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
, Braničevo
Branicevo (region)
Braničevo is a geographical region in east-central Serbia. It is mostly situated in the Braničevo District.-History:...
, Niš and Prizren
Prizren
Prizren is a historical city located in southern Kosovo. It is the administrative center of the eponymous municipality and district.The city has a population of around 131,247 , mostly Albanians...
, all of which were claimed by Serbia. At the same time, Boril was unable to take military action against Strez and his Serbian patron, as he had suffered a major defeat at the hands of the Latins at Plovdiv. Stefan went as far as to become a blood brother
Blood brother
Blood brother can refer to one of two things: two males related by birth, or two or more men not related by birth who have sworn loyalty to each other. This is usually done in a ceremony, known as a blood oath, where the blood of each man is mingled together...
with Strez, in order to assure him of his continued favor.
Andrija Mirosavljević was entitled the governance of Hum, as the heir of Miroslav of Hum
Miroslav of Hum
Miroslav Zavidović or Miroslav of Hum was a 12th-century Great Prince of Zachlumia from 1162 to 1190, an administrative division of the medieval Serbian Principality covering Herzegovina and southern Dalmatia....
, the uncle of Stefan II, but the Hum nobles chose his brother Petar as Prince of Hum. Petar exiled Andrija and Miroslav's widow (the sister of Ban Kulin
Ban Kulin
Ban Kulin was a notable Ban of Bosnia who ruled from 1180 to 1204 first as a vassal of the Byzantine Empire and then of the Kingdom of Hungary. He was brought to the power by Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Comnenus. He had a son, Stjepan Kulinić who succeeded him as Bosnian Ban...
of Bosnia), Andrija fled to Rascia, to the court of Stefan II. In the meantime, Petar fought successfully with neighbouring Bosnia and Croatia. Stefan II sided with Andrija and went to war and secured Hum and Popovo field for Andrija sometime after his accession. Petar was defeated and crossed the Neretva, continuing to rule the west and north of the Neretva, which had in 1203 been briefly occupied by Andrew II of Hungary
Andrew II of Hungary
Andrew II the Jerosolimitan was King of Hungary and Croatia . He was the younger son of King Béla III of Hungary, who invested him with the government of the Principality of Halych...
. Stefan II gave the titular and supreme rule of Hum to his son Radoslav, Andrija held the district of Popovo with the coastal lands of Hum, including Ston
Ston
Ston is a village and municipality in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County of Croatia, located at the south of isthmus of the Pelješac peninsula. The town of Ston is the center of the Ston municipality.- Demographics :...
. By agreement, when Radoslav died, the lands were bound to Andrija.
Đorđe of Zeta, in order to secure his lands from Stefan, accepted Venetian suzerainty, possibly in 1208. Đorđe may have done this due to tensions between the two, although this must not be the case. Venice, after the Fourth Crusade
Fourth Crusade
The Fourth Crusade was originally intended to conquer Muslim-controlled Jerusalem by means of an invasion through Egypt. Instead, in April 1204, the Crusaders of Western Europe invaded and conquered the Christian city of Constantinople, capital of the Eastern Roman Empire...
, tried to exert control of the Dalmatian ports, and managed in 1205 to submit Ragusa - Đorđe submitted to prevent that Venice claimed his ports of southern Dalmatia.
Đorđe promised Venice military aid in case of a revolt by another theoretical Venetian vassal, Dimitri, an Albanian Lord of Kruja. This was likely related to the Rascia-Zeta conflict. Stefan II married off his daughter, Komnena, to Dimitri in 1208. The marriage resulted in close ties and an alliance between Stefan and Dimitri amidst these conflicts. Kruja is conquered by Epirote Despot
Despotate of Epirus
The Despotate or Principality of Epirus was one of the Byzantine Greek successor states of the Byzantine Empire that emerged in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade in 1204. It claimed to be the legitimate successor of the Byzantine Empire, along with the Empire of Nicaea, and the Empire of Trebizond...
Michael I Komnenos Doukas
Michael I Komnenos Doukas
Michael I Komnenos Doukas or Comnenus Ducas , often inaccurately called Michael Angelos , was the founder and first ruler of the principality of Epirus from 1205 until his death in 1215.-Life:...
, and Dimitri is not heard of in any surviving sources. After Dimitri's death, the lands are left to Komnena, who soon married Greek-Albanian Gregorios Kamonas, who took power of Kruja, strengthening relations with Serbia, which had after a Serbian assault on Scutari
Scutari
Scutari may refer to:*Üsküdar , in Anatolia, Turkey*Scutari Barracks in Üsküdar; former hospital where Florence Nightingale worked*Shkodër, in Albania; also known as Scutari in antiquity...
been weakened. Đorđe disappears from sources, and Stefan II controls Zeta by 1216, probably through military action. Stefan either put Zeta under his personal rule, or assigned it to his son Stefan Radoslav. Zeta would from now on have no special status, and would be given to the heir apparent.
Despot Michael I of Epirus conquered Skadar, and tried to press beyond, but was stopped by the Serbs and his murder by one of his servants in 1214 or 1215. He was succeeded by his half-brother Theodore Komnenos Doukas
Theodore Komnenos Doukas
Theodore Komnenos Doukas was ruler of Epirus from 1215 to 1230 and of Thessalonica from 1224 to 1230.-Life:...
. Theodore took on a policy of aggressive expansion, and allied himself with Stefan II. Stefan Radoslav married Anna Doukaina Angelina, the daughter of Theodore.
Coronation and Autocephaly
Sava brings the regal crown from Rome, crowning his older brother "King of All Serbia" in the Žiča monastery in 1217, during the rule of Pope Honorius IIIPope Honorius III
Pope Honorius III , previously known as Cencio Savelli, was Pope from 1216 to 1227.-Early work:He was born in Rome as son of Aimerico...
, owing to skillful diplomacy.
Sava returns to the Holy Mountain in 1217/18, marking the beginning of the real formation of the Serbian Church. He is consecrated in 1219 as the first Archbishop of the Serbian church, given autocephaly by Patriarch Manuel I of Constantinople
Patriarch Manuel I of Constantinople
Manuel I, surnamed Sarantenos or Charitopoulos , was Patriarch of Constantinople from December 1216 or January [1217] to [1222. He seems to have been called "the Philosopher": George Akropolites says he was "a philosopher, it seems, in deed, and so named by the people." Manuel was...
, who was then in exile at Nicaea. In the same year Sava published Zakonopravilo (St. Sava's Nomocanon). Thus the Serbs acquired both forms of independence: political and religious.
In 1219, Sava published the first constitution
Constitution
A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...
in Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
– St. Sava's Nomocanon (Zakonopravilo in Serbian). It was a compilation of civil law
Civil law (legal system)
Civil law is a legal system inspired by Roman law and whose primary feature is that laws are codified into collections, as compared to common law systems that gives great precedential weight to common law on the principle that it is unfair to treat similar facts differently on different...
based on Roman law
Roman law
Roman law is the legal system of ancient Rome, and the legal developments which occurred before the 7th century AD — when the Roman–Byzantine state adopted Greek as the language of government. The development of Roman law comprises more than a thousand years of jurisprudence — from the Twelve...
, and canon law
Canon law
Canon law is the body of laws & regulations made or adopted by ecclesiastical authority, for the government of the Christian organization and its members. It is the internal ecclesiastical law governing the Catholic Church , the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches, and the Anglican Communion of...
based on Ecumenical Councils. Its purpose was to establish a codified legal system in the young Serbian Kingdom, and to regulate the government of the Serbian Church.
Sava stays in Serbia, and continues his education of faith to the Serbian people, later he calls for a council outlawing the Bogomils, who were regarded heretics. Sava appoints protobishops, sending them over all of Serbia to baptize the unbaptized, marry the unmarried etc. To maintain his duty as the religious and social leader, he continued to travel among the monasteries and lands to educate the people.
Marriage, monastic vows and death
Stefan was married, around 1186, to Eudokia AngelinaEudokia Angelina
Eudokia Angelina was the queen consort of Stephen II Nemanjić of Serbia from 1196 to 1198. She later became the mistress of Alexios V Doukas, the future Emperor...
, the youngest daughter of Alexius Angelus and Euphrosyne Doukaina Kamaterina. Eudokia was the niece of the current Byzantine Emperor Isaac II Angelus. Isaac II arranged the marriage. According to the Greek
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
historian Nicetas Choniates
Nicetas Choniates
Nicetas or Niketas Choniates , sometimes called Acominatos, was a Greek historian – like his brother Michael Acominatus, whom he accompanied from their birthplace Chonae to Constantinople...
, Stefan and Eudocia quarrelled and separated, accusing one another of adultery, after June 1198. They had three sons and two daughters:
- King Stefan Radoslav, ruled 1228–1233
- King Stefan Vladislav I, ruled 1233–1243
- Archbishop Sava II (born Predislav, proclaimed SaintSerbian SaintsOver the history of the Serbian Orthodox Church, the church has had many people who were venerated to sainthood. The list below is made up of Holy Serbs and their feast days - according to the Gregorian calendar.-Serbian Saints:...
) - Countess Komnena Nemanjić of Kruja
Stefan remarried in 1207/1208, his second wife was Anna Dandolo
Anna Dandolo
Anna Dandolo was a Venetian noblewoman who became Queen consort of Serbia as the second wife of King Stephen Nemanjić, founder of the Serbian kingdom. She was crowned Serbia's first Queen consort at Stefan's coronation in 1217, and held this title until his death on 24 September 1228. She was the...
, granddaughter of Venetian doge Enrico Dandolo
Enrico Dandolo
Enrico Dandolo — anglicised as Henry Dandolo and Latinized as Henricus Dandulus — was the 41st Doge of Venice from 1195 until his death...
. They had one son and one daughter:
- King Stefan Uroš I, ruled 1243–1276
He built many fortresses including Maglič
Maglic
Maglič is a medieval fortress in Ibar gorge 20 km south from Kraljevo in Serbia. It is placed atop a hill around which the Ibar River makes a curve, about 100 m above river level. The fortress protected the only caravan road that connected the Morava Valley and Kosovo polje...
. At the end of his life Stefan took the monastic vow under the name Symeon, and died soon after. He was canonised as his father was.
See also
- List of Serbian monarchs
- History of SerbiaHistory of SerbiaThe history of Serbia, as a country, begins with the Slavic settlements in the Balkans, established in the 6th century in territories governed by the Byzantine Empire. Through centuries, the Serbian realm evolved into a Kingdom , then an Empire , before the Ottomans annexed it in 1540...
- Nemanjić family treeNemanjic family treeNemanjić family tree*Vukan / Stefan Vukan / Uroš I**Zavida, Prince of Zachumlia before 1145***Tihomir, Grand Prince of Serbia 1163-1166***Stracimir, Prince of West Morava 1163-after 1180s***Miroslav, Prince of Hum 1163–1190...
Sources
- The Catholic EncyclopediaCatholic EncyclopediaThe Catholic Encyclopedia, also referred to as the Old Catholic Encyclopedia and the Original Catholic Encyclopedia, is an English-language encyclopedia published in the United States. The first volume appeared in March 1907 and the last three volumes appeared in 1912, followed by a master index...
(1907) article at http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13732a.htm - A Concise Historical Atlas of Eastern Europe
- Ćorović, VladimirVladimir CorovicVladimir Ćorović was a 20th-century Serbian historian, member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts . He is best known for his many acclaimed works on the history of Serbs and Yugoslavia.-Early:...
(2005). ИЛУСТРОВАНА ИСТОРИЈА СРБА, Book II, Politika. - The Serbian Unity Congress - Serbian Medieval History.
- Fajfrić, Željko. Sveta loza Stefana Nemanje.
- CD Chilandar by Studio A, Aetos, Library of Serb Patriarchate and Chilandar monastery, Belgrade, 1998
- Intervju - ДИНАСТИЈЕ и владари јужнословенских народа. Special Edition 12, 16 June 1989.
- Markuš, Jovan. Родослови династија из Зете и Црне Горе
External links
- Serb Land of Montenegro - The Sacronist Nemanjic Dynasty
- Serbian Unity Congress - Serbian Medieval History - Rulers of the Land
- History of the Serb People - the Latin Empire and the creation of the Serb Kingdom by Vladimir ĆorovićVladimir CorovicVladimir Ćorović was a 20th-century Serbian historian, member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts . He is best known for his many acclaimed works on the history of Serbs and Yugoslavia.-Early:...
(in SerbianSerbian languageSerbian is a form of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language, spoken by Serbs in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and neighbouring countries....
) - The Holy bloodline of Stephen Nemanya by Željko Fajfrić (in SerbianSerbian languageSerbian is a form of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language, spoken by Serbs in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and neighbouring countries....
)