| Serbian conflict with the Nogai Horde | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) Serbian kingMilutin after a victory over the Mongols (19th-century lithograph) | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Kingdom of Serbia Kingdom of Syrmia Kingdom of Hungary | Nogai Horde Golden Horde | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Stefan Milutin Stefan Dragutin | Darman † Kudelin † Shishman of Vidin  Blackhead (POW)  | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| Unknown | Unknown, larger | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| Unknown | Heavy | ||||||||
TheMongol (Tatar) clique ofNogai Khan, a part of the largerGolden Horde, was heavily involved in theKingdom of Serbia in the 1280s and 1290s. A serious invasion was threatened in 1292 but was averted when Serbia accepted Mongol lordship. The Balkan push of Nogai's clique was broader than just Serbia. In 1292, it resulted in the deposition and exile of KingGeorge I of Bulgaria.
The sporadic conflict with the Golden Horde was the second major confrontation of the Serbs with the Mongols after theMongol invasion of Serbia in 1242.
In 1282, the Serbian kingStefan Milutin invaded northern Macedonia, then a part of theByzantine Empire.[1] The EmperorMichael VIII was distracted at the time by his conflict with the DespotJohn I of Thessaly, however, and called upon Nogai Khan to provide him with troops to attack Thessaly. Nogai sent 4,000 cavalrymen, who arrived in Thrace in October. On 11 December, however, Michael VIII died. His son,Andronikos II, did not wish to pursue the attack on Thessaly, so instead sent the Mongols across the Danube to, in the words ofNicephoros Gregoras, "weaken [the Serbs] and then to return with plunder over the Danube". The army, which included Byzantine auxiliaries, was placed under the command ofMichael Tarchaneiotes.[2]
In early 1283, the Byzantine-Mongol force crossed the Danube and plundered as far asLipljan andPrizren. A Mongol detachment attempted to cross theriver Drim and was defeated by the Serbs. Their leader, named Blackhead according to the Serbian archbishopDanilo II, was captured and beheaded. A majority of the Mongols must have returned, however, since Gregoras calls the entire mission a success.[2][1]
The Serbs were not weakened or deterred by Andronikos' operation. In the fall of 1283, Milutin invaded Macedonia again, penetrating all the way toKavala on the Aegean coast.[2]
According to the Danilo, in the early 1280s the Bulgarian princesDarman and Kudelin were harassing the Hungarianbanate of Macsó (Mačva) with the help of their Tatar (Mongol) andCuman allies.[3] In late 1284, KingLadislaus IV of Hungary gave Macsó, includingBelgrade and some territory in northernBosnia, to the deposed Serbian kingDragutin, who in 1282 had set up his ownKingdom of Syrmia.[4] In 1285, Dragutin allied withHungary and attacked Darman and Kudelin. This attack was repulsed and the Bulgarians with their Cuman and Tatar mercenaries ravaged Dragutin's lands.[3] They occupied Macsó and Dragutin himself was forced to flee to the court of Milutin.[5]
According to a letter from KingAndrew III of Hungary, in the winter of 1291–92 the region of Macsó (which was under Dragutin) was attacked by Mongols and he sent an army there to defend it. This attack on Macsó could have come from Bulgarian or Serbian territory,[6] most likely that of Darman and Kudelin. Later in 1292, Dragutin allied with Milutin and together they defeated Darman and Kudelin. Dragutin annexed the regions ofBraničevo andKučevo from them and they fled across the Danube to Mongol territory. From there, they unsuccessfully urged Nogai to attack Serbia. Instead, the latter favoured an indirect approach through his subject, the semi-independent warlordShishman of Vidin.[3][7]
Following the annexation of Braničevo, the borders of Dragutin's Serbia were brought up to the territory of Shishman. He may have been an erstwhile ally or even vassal of Darman and Kudelin; he was certainly a vassal of the Golden Horde, which may have even installed him inVidin.[8] In 1292, he "gathered thrice-cursed Tatar heretics and his own soldiers", in the words of Danilo, and invaded Milutin's Serbia. Possibly Milutin's forces had been the decisive factor in the Serbian victory over Darman and Kudelin.[7]
Shishman's army contained a large number of Mongols and, unlike in the armies of Darman and Kudelin, these were not mercenaries. His invasion was no more than a plundering raid, but it plundered deep into Serbian territory and caused major devastation, including the burning of themonastery of Žiča.[9] He was defeated nearŽdrelo and then retreated.[7] In response, Milutin invaded Shishman's territory and took Vidin, forcing Shishman to flee across the Danube to the territory of the Golden Horde. Soon after, Shishman was re-installed in Vidin under Serbian suzerainty, probably at the insistence of the Mongols. This probably happened in 1292.[10] To seal the alliance, Shishman married the daughter of a Serbianžupan namedDragoš, and his sonMichael III married Milutin's daughterAna-Neda.[7]
Despite their obvious diplomatic victory, since Shishman was back on the throne in Vidin, the Mongols of the Golden Horde clearly regarded Milutin's successes as at their expense. According to Danilo, he "began preparations to strike [Milutin] with heathen forces, wanting to seize his lands".[7][8] Warned in advance of Nogai's preparations, Milutin sent an embassy to the khan's court, where evidently he offered to accept Mongol overlordship. Danilo records that afterwards, he sent his sonStefan Dečanski, the future king of Serbia, and "the high nobles of Serbian lands" to Nogai's court. These could only have been hostages and possibly a small military contingent. In any case, they were symbols of Serbian submission.[7][11][12] This must have taken place between 1293 and 1294. Dečanski remained a hostage until 1297.[13]
One casualty of Milutin's new relationship with Nogai was probably his marriage toElizabeth of Hungary. She was no longer acting as queen by 1296, probably owing to the continued anti-Mongol policy of Hungary.[7]