Srbija
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Serbian Empire
The Serbian Empire of Stefan Uroš IV Nemanjić, better known by the name Dušan the Mighty, is to this day the largest Serbian country that ever risen. From the span of 1346. to year 1371. it was one of Europe's most powerful states. It also represents a new era for Serbian literature and written accomplishments with the Dušan's Code, which was basically the unofficial constitution of the empire itself. It is in fact the most valuable piece of text ever to be written in Serbian language if we base our criteria in the historical significance for that specific time, it's highly developed and justly general law as well as complexity of the work itself. To put it in a perspective, what is Napoleon's Code de Civil for the French, that is Dušan's Code for the Serbs. A notable article from it remained to this day to be frequently quoted and witness the present autocratical times:"The judges shall not judge affected by the fear of my Tsardom, but in accordance to the letter of the law". In that respect, the Empire was more free than today's state.
How did Dušan rise so high in the hierarchy of the Serbian state, and later on Europe as a whole? Stefan Dušan was the son of the first Serbian king from his dynasty - Stefan Dečanski. After his father's accession to the throne, Dušan was awarded with the title of "young king". Although this title bore significant power in medieval Serbia, Stefan wanted his younger son, Simeon Uroš, to inherit him instead of Dušan. However, Dušan had significant support from the major part of the Serbian nobility, including the Serbian archbishop Danilo, and some of the king's most trusted generals. Tensions slowly rose between the king and his son, especially after the battle of Velbužd, where Dušan showed his significant military capabilities, and they seem to have culminated when king Stefan raided Zeta, a province in Serbia where Dušan ruled autonomously, being a tradition of Serbian heirs to rule this southern province. Advised by the nobility, Dušan later marched from Zeta to Nerodimlje, where he besieged his father and forced him to surrender the throne. Stefan was later imprisoned in the fortress of Zvečan, where he died. Yes, there were major conflicts inside a family that were actually common for this dynasty.
Skopje fortress; the place of the Tsar's coronation.
Tsar Dušan doubled the size of Serbian state, seizing Serb-populated territories in all directions, especially south and southeast. During his reign Serbia held large parts of Herzegovina and East Bosnia, Central Serbia and Kosovo and Metohija, Zeta(Montenegro), modern North Macedonia, modern Albania, and as much as half of modern Greece. He did not fight a single field battle, instead winning his empire by besieging cities. Dušan undertook a campaign against the Byzantine Empire, which was attempting to avert a deteriorating situation after the destruction caused by the Fourth Crusade. Dušan swiftly seized Thessaly, Albania, Epirus, and most of Macedonia.
After besieging the emperor at Salonica in 1340, he imposed a treaty assuring Serbia sovereignty over regions extending from the Danube to the Gulf of Corinth, from the Adriatic Sea to the Maritsa river, and including all of Bulgaria up to the environs of Adrianople. Bulgaria had never recovered since its defeat by the Serbs at the Battle of Velbužd, and the Bulgarian tsar, whose sister Dušan later married, became his vassal, the Second Bulgarian Empire being a Serbian vassal state between 1331 and 1365. Dušan thus ruled over the almost the entire Balkan peninsula, with only southern Greece, Salonica, and Thrace escaping his authority.
In 1349 and 1354, he enacted the forementioned Dušan's code. The Code was based on Roman-Byzantine law and the first Serbian constitution, Saint Sava's nomocanon (1219). It was a Civil and Canon law system, based on the Ecumenical Councils, for the functioning of the state and the Serbian Orthodox Church.
In 1355, Dušan began military preparations, assembling an army of 80,000 men, an enormous number at that time. He marched towards Constantinople, capturing Adrianople in a fierce battle. The Serbian army was proceeding to Constantinople, located 40 miles to the east, when Dušan suddenly died of an unknown illness at 46. His expedition ended as well, and the army retreated carrying his body. It was close, but Serbia never managed to capture Constantinople in the end. Today, Dušan's remains are located in the Church of Saint Mark in Belgrade. He's the only member of the Nemanjić ruling dynasty proclaimed a monach instead of a saint.
Who succeeded the sudennly deceased successful Tsar? Dušan was succeeded by his son, Stefan Uroš V, called the Weak, a term that described him personally and the empire as it slowly slid into feudal anarchy. The failure to consolidate its holdings after a sudden conquest led to the fragmentation of the empire. The period was marked by the rise of a new threat: the Ottoman Turkish sultanate. Too incompetent to sustain the empire created by his father, Uroš the Weak could neither repel attacks of foreign enemies nor combat the independence of his nobility. The Serbian Empire of Stefan V fragmented into a conglomeration of principalities, some of which did not even nominally acknowledge his rule. He died childless on 4 December 1371; the Empire collapsed the same day.
Other interesting facts:
- The Empire's capital was the city of Prizren in today's far-south Serbia(Kosovo and Metohija). It was also the place of one of the most notable Tsar's fortresses as well as plenty of churches that he built.
- The currency was called "Serbian perper". Some of the coins are saved and kept in museums accross Serbia.
- During the reign of Dušan the Mighty there was a large settling of Germanic tribe known as the Sachs in central Serbia. They came as workers to Serbian mines and were given many benefits as foreigners without the ability to gain citizenship(just as any other non-Serbian peoples). As time passed, they fully integrated into Serbian society, never came back from their working trip and eventually assimilated into the Serbian (ethnic) nation.
- Much like the Sachs, there was also a small number of Vlachs with the status of foreigners("guests" in official terms). Although unlike Sachs this group was given no benefits, in fact they were opressed to certain amount. They were collectively classified in the "Sebri" category of guests, of which none had any civil rights nor benefits. Nonetheless, most of them assimilated into the Serbian nation while the rest kept their identity and live in Eastern Serbia to this day.
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Originally Posted by PAGANE
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