Stefan Dečanski
Serbian Orthodox Christian | |
---|---|
Signature |
Stefan Uroš III (
Early life
Stefan Uroš III was the son of King
Exile and return
In 1314, Dečanski quarreled with his father, who sent him to Constantinople to be blinded. Dečanski was never totally blinded and was likely not blinded at all.[8] In Constantinople, Dečanski was at the court of Andronikos II Palaiologos, indicating good relations between the states.[9] Dečanski wrote a letter to Danilo, Bishop of Hum, asking him to intervene with his father.[10] Danilo wrote to Archbishop Nicodemus of Serbia, who spoke with Milutin and persuaded him to recall his son. In 1320, Dečanski was permitted to return to Serbia and was given the appanage of Budimlje,[10] while his half-brother Stefan Konstantin, held Zeta.[11]
Reign
Milutin became ill and died on 29 October 1321, leaving no formal instruction regarding his inheritance.[10] Konstantin was crowned King in Zeta, but civil war broke out immediately as both Dečanski and his cousin, Stefan Vladislav II, claimed the throne.[12] Dečanski revealed that his eyesight was still intact, claiming a miracle, and the populace rallied behind him believing the restoration of his sight to be a sign from God.[11] On 6 January 1322, the archbishop of Serbia, Nicodemus, crowned Dečanski King and his son, Stefan Dušan, the young king.[11] Dečanski later granted Zeta to Dušan as a fief, indicating his intention for Dušan to be his heir.[13] According to one account, Dečanski offered to split the realm with Konstantin, who refused.[14] Dečanski then invaded Zeta, and Konstantin was defeated and killed.[13]
In the meantime, Vladislav II had been released from prison upon Milutin's death and recovered the throne of
In 1323, war broke out between Dečanski and Vladislav. In autumn, Vladislav still held Rudnik, but by the end of 1323, the market of Rudnik was held by officials of Dečanski, and Vladislav seems to have fled further north.
Dečanski generally maintained an alliance with Andronikos II, aside from occasional disruptions.
Hearing of Michael's defeat, Andronikos III retreated. Dečanski's subsequent conquests pushed the Serbian border south into
Family
With his first wife, whose name is not known, Dečanski had no issue.[25]
By his second wife,
- Stefan Uroš IV Dušan,[25] who overthrew him and took royal title, and
- Dušica (or Dušman), who died before 1318.
By his third wife, Maria Palaiologina,[25] daughter of John Palaiologos, Dečanski had:
- Simeon,[25] later tried to usurp imperial title from his nephew, and ruled as independent ruler in Thessaly,
- Mladen III Šubić, and
- Dejan.
Legacy
Dečanski is seen as a noble character in epic poetry, and the Serbian Orthodox Church had him canonized. his feast day is 11 November (old style), thus being 24 November (new style).[26] His remains are venerated at the church of the Visoki Dečani monastery, which he built, in the region of Metohija.[27][28]
See also
References
- ^ Dvornik 1962, p. 111.
- ^ Fine 1994, pp. 221, 252, 264–270.
- ^ Ćirković 2004, pp. 61–63.
- ^ Curta 2019, p. 670.
- ^ Fine 1994, p. 221.
- ^ Jireček 1911, pp. 336, 348.
- ^ Fine 1994, pp. 221, 259.
- ^ Fine 1994, pp. 260, 263.
- ^ Fine 1994, p. 260.
- ^ a b c Fine 1994, p. 262.
- ^ a b c Fine 1994, p. 263.
- ^ a b Krstić 2016, pp. 33–51.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Fine 1994, p. 264.
- ^ Fine 1994, pp. 263–264.
- ^ Fine 1994, p. 265.
- ^ Kalić 2014, p. 78.
- ^ Ivanović & Isailović 2015, p. 377.
- ^ Fine 1994, p. 270.
- ^ Fine 1994, p. 271.
- ^ Fine 1994, pp. 271–272.
- ^ Ćirković 2004, pp. 62–63.
- ^ Bataković 2005, p. 36.
- ^ Fine 1994, p. 273.
- ^ Sedlar 1994, p. 53.
- ^ a b c d e Nicol 1984, p. 254.
- ^ Thomson 1993, p. 129.
- ^ Mileusnić 1998, p. 60.
- ^ Todić & Čanak-Medić 2013.
Sources
- ISBN 9782825119587.
- ISBN 9781405142915.
- ISBN 9789004395190.
- ISBN 9780813507996.
- ISBN 0472082604.
- Isailović, Neven (2016). "Living by the Border: South Slavic Marcher Lords in the Late Medieval Balkans (13th–15th Centuries)". Banatica. 26 (2): 105–117.
- Ivanović, Miloš; Isailović, Neven (2015). "The Danube in Serbian-Hungarian Relations in the 14th and 15th Centuries". Tibiscvm: Istorie–Arheologie. 5: 377–393.
- Ivanović, Miloš (2019). "Serbian Hagiographies on the Warfare and Political Struggles of the Nemanjić Dynasty (from the Twelfth to Fourteenth Century)". Reform and Renewal in Medieval East and Central Europe: Politics, Law and Society. Cluj-Napoca: Romanian Academy, Center for Transylvanian Studies. pp. 103–129.
- Jireček, Constantin (1911). Geschichte der Serben. Vol. 1. Gotha: Perthes.
- Jireček, Constantin (1918). Geschichte der Serben. Vol. 2. Gotha: Perthes.
- .
- Krstić, Aleksandar R. (2016). "The Rival and the Vassal of Charles Robert of Anjou: King Vladislav II Nemanjić". Banatica. 26 (2): 33–51.
- Mileusnić, Slobodan (1998). Medieval Monasteries of Serbia (4th ed.). Novi Sad: Prometej. ISBN 9788676393701.
- ISBN 9780521261906.
- ISBN 9780521439916.
- Ostrogorsky, George (1956). History of the Byzantine State. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
- Sedlar, Jean W. (1994). East Central Europe in the Middle Ages, 1000–1500. Seattle: University of Washington Press. ISBN 9780295800646.
- Thomson, Francis J. (1993). "Archbishop Daniel II of Serbia: Hierarch, Hagiographer, Saint: With Some Comments on the Vitae regum et archiepiscoporum Serbiae and the Cults of Mediaeval Serbian Saints". Analecta Bollandiana. 111 (1–2): 103–134. .
- Todić, Branislav; Čanak-Medić, Milka (2013). The Dečani Monastery. Belgrade: Museum in Priština. ISBN 9788651916536.
External links
- Media related to Stefan Dečanski at Wikimedia Commons