Stefan Uroš V

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Serbian Orthodox

Saint Stefan Uroš V (Serbian Cyrillic: Стефан Урош V, pronounced [stêfaːn ûroʃ peːti] ⓘ; 1336 – 2/4 December 1371), known in historiography and folk tradition as Uroš the Weak (Serbian: Урош Нејаки, romanized: Uroš Nejaki), was the second Emperor (Tsar) of the Serbian Empire (1355–1371), and before that he was Serbian King and co-ruler (since 1346) with his father, Emperor Stefan Dušan.[1]

Early life

Stefan Uroš V was the only son of Stefan Uroš IV Dušan by Helena of Bulgaria, the sister of Ivan Alexander of Bulgaria. He had been crowned as king (second highest title) in the capacity of heir and co-ruler after Dušan was crowned emperor in 1346.[2] Although by the time of his succession as sole ruler and emperor in 1355 Stefan Uroš V was no longer a minor, he remained heavily dependent on his mother and various members of the court.

Reign

Serbian Orthodox Monastery of Visoki Dečani, Serbia

The account of the contemporary John VI Kantakouzenos describes a descent of the Serbian Empire into disintegration soon after death of Uroš' father and his accession.[3][4] However, Kantakouzenos mainly focused on the Greek lands rather than the Serbian core lands. Further the general disorder long with the powerlessness of the center represents the situation that arose much later in Uroš's reign.[5] According to Mihaljčić, during the initial years of his rule the threats to the territorial integrity of Uroš's empire in the south came mainly from external attacks.[6]

The death of Uroš's father was quickly followed by the death of

Skadar region, trying to capture the old Serbia region of Zeta, but was defeated.[11] Defeated in the north, Simeon again turned to south, retaking Epirus and Thessaly in 1359, where he continued to rule with the title "emperor of Serbs and Greeks".[12]

There is one account, early in his reign, that is in contrast to his general record of incompetence. In 1356, Matthew Kantakouzenos, a pretender to the

Byzantine Emperor John V Palaiologos
.

In following years, the

Vukašin Mrnjavčević who became co-ruler with Emperor Uroš and was granted the title of Serbian King.[13] By 1369, as Uroš was childless, Vukašin designated his eldest son Prince Marko as heir to the throne, with the title of "young king".[14]

Serbian Empire and it's internal divisions in 1371

Stefan Uroš V died childless in December 1371, after much of the

Branković successors until the fall of Smederevo
in 1459.

Following the great conquests of his father, Uroš became a victim of new nobles in a Serbia enriched by recent war and pillaging. The maintaining of order and state instruments was impossible because of weak or nonexistent infrastructure between the old and new territories. The exceptional modesty and tolerance of this ruler was the main reason he was called "the weak", and also the reason he was canonized 211 years after his death.

Stefan Uroš V was canonized by the

Jazak monastery on Fruška Gora
mountain.

Legacy

Jazak monastery
.

Today, Stefan Uroš V is viewed mostly in contrast to his able and strong-willed father, as a lacking and indecisive ruler, unable to keep the Serbian nobility under his control, whose weak and unassertive personality greatly contributed to the fall of the Empire and the eventual destruction of the Serbian state by the Ottomans. In Serbian folklore and epic poems he is often described as a just, well-intentioned ruler of pleasant appearance but weak character. While this view is popular among historians as well, some argue that he was not especially incompetent in his role as Emperor of Serbia, and that the decline of the empire was much less spectacular and started much later into his rule than popular opinion suggests. For a long time, it was considered a historical fact that he was murdered by his co-ruler, Vukašin Mrnjavčević, but eventually Vukašin was proven to have died before the Emperor.

In 1825 Stefan Stefanović, a Serbian writer living in the Austrian Empire wrote a tragic play called The Death of Uroš V, which drew inspiration from both facts and folk tradition about Uroš, including the aforementioned belief that he was killed by King Vukašin.

See also

References

  1. ^ Ćirković 2004, pp. 64–65, 75–80.
  2. ^ Ćirković 2004, pp. 64–65.
  3. ^ Mihaljčić 1975, pp. 11–12
  4. ^ Kantakouzenos III, 314
  5. ^ Mihaljčić 1975, pp. 11–12
  6. ^ Mihaljčić 1975, p. 13
  7. ^ Mihaljčić 1975, p. 13
  8. ^ Mihaljčić 1975, p. 14
  9. ^ Mihaljčić 1975, p. 17
  10. ^ Mihaljčić 1975, p. 17
  11. ^ Mihaljčić 1975, pp. 18–19
  12. ^ Ćirković 2004, pp. 75–76.
  13. ^ Ćirković 2004, pp. 77–79.
  14. ^ Sedlar 1994, pp. 31.
  15. ^ Ostrogorsky 1956, pp. 481, 485.
  16. ^ Ćirković 2004, pp. 79–80.

Sources

Regnal titles
Preceded by Emperor of the Serbs
1355–1371 		John Uroš
King of Serbia

1346–1355 		Vacant
Title next held by
Vukašin
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