Serbian Empire

Serbian Empire of Stefan Dušan, 1350 C.E.

The Serbian Empire (Serbian: Српско Царство, Srpsko Carstvo) was a medieval empire in the Balkans that emerged from the medieval Serbian kingdom in the 14th century. The Serbian Empire existed from 1346 to 1371 and was one of the larger states in Europe. By 1389 following the Battle of Kosovo Serbia was a province of the Ottoman Empire. Serbia was not to enjoy an independent existence until 1878, although following the Serbian revolution of 1804-1817 it was an autonomous principality but officially recognized Ottoman suzerainty. Despite the brevity of the Serbian Empire, many Serbians remembered this period with pride and as a Serbian national consciousness re-awoke in the early nineteenth century, so did the dream of recreating a Greater Serbia. The Serbian Empire has included areas of Croatia, Bosnia and Slovenia. What later became Yugoslavia was created in 1918 as a union of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (and of Bosnians but they were not named in the official title, which was the Kingdom of Serbs Croats and Slovens). Following the collapse of Yugoslavia in 1992, the dream of Greater Serbia led to war in the Balkans as some Serbs attempted to unite all Serbs within a Greater Serbia regardless of where they lived within the Balkan space.

Early History

Serbia's strategic location between two continents has subjected it to invasions by many peoples. Belgrade is believed to have been leveled to the ground by 40 different armies in recorded history. Contemporary Serbia comprises the classical regions of Moesia, Pannonia, parts of Dalmatia, Dacia and Macedonia. Under nominal Serbian rule since the 7th century (having been allowed to settle in Byzantium by its emperor Heraclius after their victory over the Avars), through early history various parts of the territory of modern Serbia have been colonized, claimed or ruled by: the Greeks and Romans (conquered the indigenous Celts and Illyrians); the Western- and the Eastern Roman Empires (challenged by the incursions of the Huns, the Ostrogoths, the Gepidae, the Sarmatians, the Avars, the Serbs, the Frankish Kingdom, the Great Moravia, the Bulgarians). No less than 17 Roman Emperors were born in the land that is now Serbia.

The Imperial Period

Serbs formed their first unified state under the Vlastimirovic dynasty by 812, at times disrupted by the wars with the the Bulgarians, Ostrogoths and Franks, among others. By the beginning of the 14th century Serbs lived in four distinctly independent kingdoms- Dioclea, Rascia, Bosnia and Syrmia.

At first heavily dependent on the Byzantine Empire as its tributary, in time the most powerful of the Serb states - Raška (Rascia) achieved full independence, overtaking the Kingdom of Duklja, which had previously dominated the Serbian lands between 11-12th centuries. The centre of the Serb world (Raska, Duklja, Travunia, Zahumlje, Pagania and Bosnia) moved northwards, further from the Adriatic coast. Although fully converted already by 865 C.E., this relocation to the north and east also meant the shift towards the Eastern Orthodox rather than Catholic faith (initially predominant in the south following the East-West Schism).

The Serbian apogee in economy, law, military, and religion took place during the rule of the House of Nemanjić between 1166 and 1371; the Serbian Kingdom was proclaimed in 1217, joined later by the Kingdom of Syrmia, Banovina of Mačva and Bosnia; finally, the Serbian Empire of Stefan Dušan was formed in 1346. Under Dušan's rule, Serbia reached its territorial peak, becoming one of the larger states in Europe. The renowned Dušan's Code, a universal system of laws, was enforced.

As a result of internal struggle between rival noble families, and heavy losses inflicted by the Ottomans in the epic Battle of Kosovo, the Serbian Empire had dissolved into many statelets by the beginning of the 15th century. Throughout the 15th and 16th centuries, constant struggles between various Serbian kingdoms on one side, and the Ottoman Empire on the other side, took place. The Serbian Despotate fell in 1459 following the siege of the "temporary" capital Smederevo, followed by Bosnia a few years later, and Herzegovina in 1482. Montenegro was overtaken by 1499. Belgrade was the last major Balkan city to endure Ottoman onslaughts, as it joined the Catholic Kingdom of Hungary. Serbs, Hungarians and European crusaders heavily defeated the Turkish in Siege of Belgrade of 1456. Several Serbian despots ruled in parts of Vojvodina as vassals of the Hungarian kings with the title of Hungarian barons. After repelling Ottoman attacks for over 70 years, Belgrade finally fell in 1521, alongside the greater part of the Kingdom of Hungary. Conversion to Islam was increased, especially in the southwest (Raška, Kosovo and Bosnia).

Emperors

• Stefan Uroš IV Dušan of Serbia (1346-1355)
• Stefan Uroš V of Serbia (1355-1371)

References

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