| Stefan Dušan Стефан Душан | |
|---|---|
 Detail of fresco in theLesnovo Monastery, 1350 | |
| King of all Serbian and Maritime Lands | |
| Reign | 8 September 1331 – 16 April 1346 |
| Predecessor | Stefan Uroš III |
| Successor | Stefan Uroš V |
| Emperor of the Serbs and Greeks[1] | |
| Reign | 16 April 1346 – 20 December 1355 |
| Coronation | 16 April 1346,Skopje |
| Successor | Stefan Uroš V |
| Born | c. 1308 |
| Died | 20 December 1355(1355-12-20) (aged 46–47) Prizren,Serbian Empire[2] |
| Burial | Monastery of the Holy Archangels; after 1927:St. Mark's Church |
| Spouse | Helena of Bulgaria |
| Issue | Stefan Uroš V Theodora Uroš Irina Uroš (disputed) |
| Dynasty | Nemanjić |
| Father | Stefan Uroš III |
| Mother | Theodora Smilets of Bulgaria |
| Religion | Serbian Orthodox Christian |
Stefan Uroš IV Dušan (Serbian Cyrillic:Стефан Урош IV Душан), also known asDušan the Mighty (Serbian Cyrillic:Душан Силни;c. 1308 – 20 December 1355), was theKing of Serbia from 8 September 1331 andEmperor of the Serbs, Greeks, Bulgarians and Albanians from 16 April 1346 until his death in 1355.[3][4][5] Dušan is considered one of the greatest medieval Balkan conquerors.[6]
Dušan conquered a large part of southeast Europe, becoming one of the most powerful monarchs of the era. Under Dušan's rule, Serbia was the most powerful state inSoutheast Europe and one of the most powerful European states. At the time, Serbia was anEastern Orthodox, multi-ethnic, and multilingual empire that stretched from theDanube in the north to theGulf of Corinth in the south, with its capital inSkopje.[7] He enacted the constitution of theSerbian Empire, known asDušan Code, perhaps the most importantliterary work ofmedieval Serbia. Dušan promoted theSerbian Church from an archbishopric to apatriarchate, completed his father's mausoleumVisoki Dečani Monastery (now aUNESCO site), and founded themonastery of the Holy Archangels, among others. Under his rule, Serbia reached its territorial, political, economic, and cultural peak.[8]
Stefan Dušan worked to forge a coalition withVenice to address the advancing threat of theOttoman Turks into Europe. However, his efforts were interrupted by his sudden death in December 1355 at his court inPrizren. After his death, the Serbian Empire began to weaken significantly. With the death of Dušan's successor, EmperorStefan Uroš V, the empire was definitively divided into numerous independent Serbian states, marking what is historically referred to as theFall of the Serbian Empire. He was originally buried in his foundation near Prizren, but his remains were later relocated to theChurch of Saint Mark inBelgrade, where they rest to this day.
In 1314, Serbian KingStefan Milutin quarreled with his son,Stefan Dečanski. Milutin sent Dečanski toConstantinople to have him blinded, though he was never totally blinded.[9] Dečanski wrote to Danilo, the bishop of Hum, asking him to intervene with his father.[10] Danilo wrote toArchbishop Nicodemus of Serbia, who spoke with Milutin and persuaded him to recall his son.[10] In 1320 Dečanski was permitted to return to Serbia and was given theappanage of 'Budimlje' (modernBerane),[10] while his half-brother,Stefan Konstantin, held the province ofZeta.[11]
Milutin became ill and died on 29 October 1321, and Konstantin was crowned king.[12] Civil war erupted immediately, as Dečanski and his cousin,Stefan Vladislav II, claimed the throne. Konstantin refused to submit to Dečanski, who then invaded Zeta, defeating and killing Konstantin.[12] Dečanski was crowned king on 6 January 1322 by Nicodemus, and his son, Stefan Dušan, was crowned "young king".[11] Dečanski later granted Zeta to Dušan, indicating him as the intended heir.[12] Since April 1326 Dušan appears in written sources as the "young king" and ruler in Zeta andZahumlje.[13] From that fact and the"Old Serbian genealogies and annals", in recent works, some Serbian historians write that Dušan was 14 years old probably in March, or April 1326, and that he was born in 1312, not around 1308.[14]
In the meantime, Vladislav II mobilized local support fromRudnik, the former appanage of his father,Stefan Dragutin.[12] Vladislav proclaimed himself king, and he was supported by the Hungarians, consolidating control over his lands and preparing for battle with Dečanski.[12] As was the case with their fathers, Serbia was divided by the two independent rulers; in 1322 and 1323 Ragusan merchants freely visited both lands.[12]
In 1323, war broke out between Dečanski and Vladislav. Rudnik had fallen to Dečanski by the end of 1323, and Vladislav appeared to have fled north.[12] Vladislav was defeated in battle in late 1324 and fled to Hungary,[15] leaving the Serbian throne to Dečanski as undisputed "king of All Serbian andMaritime lands".
Dušan was the eldest son of KingStefan Dečanski andTheodora Smilets, the daughter of emperorSmilets of Bulgaria. He was bornc. 1308, or in 1312, in Serbia.[14] In 1314 Dušan's father was exiled, and the family lived inConstantinople until his recall in 1320. Dušan became acquainted with theByzantine Empire during his stay in its capital, learning cultural customs and theGreek language. He was interested in the arts of war; in his youth he fought exceptionally in two battles, defeating Bosnian forces in 1329 during theWar of Hum, and the Bulgarian emperorMichael III Shishman in the 1330Battle of Velbužd. Dečanski appointed his nephewIvan Stephen (throughAnna Neda) to the throne of Bulgaria in August 1330.
Dečanski's decision not to attack the Byzantines after the victory at Velbazhd, when he had an opportunity, resulted in the alienation of many nobles,[16] who sought to expand to the south.[17] By January or February 1331, Dušan was quarreling with his father, perhaps pressured by the nobility.[17] According to contemporary pro-Dušan sources, advisors turned Dečanski against his son, and he decided to seize and exclude Dušan from his inheritance. Dečanski sent an army into Zeta against his son; the army ravagedSkadar, but Dušan had crossed theBojana river. A brief period of anarchy took place in parts of Serbia before father and son concluded peace in April 1331.[16] Three months later, Dečanski ordered Dušan to meet him. Dušan feared for his life and his advisors persuaded him to resist, so Dušan marched from Skadar toNerodimlje, where he besieged his father.[16] Dečanski fled, and Dušan captured the treasury and family. He then pursued his father, catching up with him atPetrich. On 21 August 1331 Dečanski surrendered, and on the advice or insistence of Dušan's advisors, he was imprisoned.[16] Dušan was crownedKing of All Serbian and Maritime lands in the first week of September.[17]
Contemporary writers described Dušan as unusually tall and strong, "the tallest man of his time", very handsome, and a rare leader full of dynamism, quick intelligence, and strength,[18][19] bearing "a kingly presence".[20] According to contemporary depictions, he had dark hair and brown eyes; in adult age he grew a beard and longer hair.
Serbia made some raids into the Macedonia region in late 1331, but a planned major attack on Byzantium was delayed as Dušan had to suppress revolts in Zeta in 1332.[21] Dušan's ingratitude toward those who had aided his rise – the Zetan nobility may have been neglected their promised reward and greater influence – may have been the cause of the rebellion, which was suppressed in the course of the same year.[21]
The struggle between Dušan and Stefan Dečanski prevented Serbian intervention in Bulgaria on behalf of Anna and Ivan Stephen and they were overthrown byIvan Alexander in March 1331, however Ivan Alexander of Bulgaria was aware of future danger from Serbia and immediately sought peace with Dušan. The two rulers concluded peace and formed an alliance, sealed with Dušan's marriage to Ivan Alexander's sisterHelen of Bulgaria. Good relations with Bulgaria continued during Dušan's reign and though Bulgaria was weaker then Serbia, it did not suffer any legal dependence.[17]
In 1333 after negotiations withRagusa, Dušan soldSton and its envisions, including thePelješac peninsula and the coastland between Ston andDubrovnik for eight thousand perpers and an annual tribute of five hundred perpers, the so-calledtribute of Ston. Ragusa also had to guarantee freedom of worship for Orthodox believers in this territory.[22]
Dušan began campaigning against the Byzantine Empire in late 1333, whenSyrgiannes, a leading Byzantine general, requested Serbian assistance in his revolt againstAndronikos III.[22] The Serbs attacked Byzantine Macedonia in the spring of 1334; Syrgiannes contributed his strategic abilities and knowledge of Byzantine positions, and his allies surrendered fortresses to the invaders.[22] Peace was concluded on 26 August 1334, with the Byzantines recognizing Serbian gains inOhrid,Prilep,Strumitsa, Siderokastron, Chermen and Prosek.[23] MeanwhileCharles I of Hungary, supported byStephen II of Bosnia, mobilized to attack Serbia from the north. Knowing of Dušan's involvement in the south and not expecting any serious resistance, they penetrated deep into Serbia, reaching the neighborhood ofŽiča monastery. Dušan marched north to face the invaders, who quickly withdrew.[24] Charles I was wounded by an arrow but survived. As a result, the Hungarians temporarily lostMačva andBelgrade in 1335.[25][26]
Dušan exploited thecivil war in the Byzantine Empire between the regent of the minor EmperorJohn V Palaiologos,Anna of Savoy, and his father's generalJohn Kantakouzenos. Dušan and Ivan Alexander picked opposite sides in the conflict but remained at peace with each other, taking advantage of the Byzantine civil war to secure gains for themselves.
Dušan's systematic offensive began in 1342, and in the end he conquered all Byzantine territories in the westernBalkans as far asKavala, except for thePeloponnesus andThessaloniki, which he could not besiege due to his small fleet. There has been speculation that Dušan's ultimate goal was no less than to conquer Constantinople and replace the declining Byzantine Empire with a united Orthodox Greco-Serbian Empire under his control.[27][28] In May 1344, his commander Preljub was stopped atStephaniana by a Turkic force of 3,100.[29] The Turks won the battle, but the victory was not enough to thwart the Serbian conquest of Macedonia.[30][31] Faced with Dušan's aggression, the Byzantines sought allies in theOttoman Turks, whom they brought into Europe for the first time.[32]
In 1343, Dušan added "of Romans" to his self-styled title "King of Serbia, Albania and the coast" ("Romans" is equivalent to "Greeks" in Serbian documents).[1] In another instance, in a charter issued to the fortified city ofKrujë, Dušan referred to himself as "King of the Bulgarians".[33] In 1345 he began calling himselftsar, equivalent of Emperor, as attested in charters to two athonite monasteries, one from November 1345 and the other from January 1346, and around Christmas 1345 at a council meeting inSerres, which had been conquered on 25 September 1345, he proclaimed himself "Tsar of the Serbs and Romans".[1]
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On 16 April 1346 (Easter), Dušan convoked a huge assembly atSkopje, attended by the Serbian ArchbishopJoanikije II, theArchbishop of OchridNikolas I, theBulgarian Patriarch Simeon, and various religious leaders ofMount Athos. The assembly and clerics agreed upon, and then ceremonially performed, the raising of the autocephalousSerbian Archbishopric to the status ofSerbian Patriarchate.[1][34] The Archbishop from then on was titledSerbian Patriarch, although some documents called himPatriarch of Serbs and Romans, with the seat at theMonastery of Peć.[1] The firstSerbian Patriarch Joanikije II solemnlycrowned Dušan as "Emperor andautocrat ofSerbs andRomans" (GreekBασιλεὺς καὶ αὐτoκράτωρ Σερβίας καὶ Pωμανίας).[1] Dušan had his sonUroš crownedKing of Serbs and Greeks, giving him nominal rule over theSerbian lands, and although Dušan was governing the whole state, he had special responsibility for the EasternRoman lands.[35][1]A further increase in the Byzantinization of the Serbian court followed, particularly in court ceremonial and titles.[1] As Emperor, Dušan could grant titles only possible as an Emperor.[36] In the years that followed, Dušan's half-brotherSymeon Uroš and brother-in-lawJovan Asen becamedespotes.Jovan Oliver already had the despot title, granted to him by Andronikos III. His brother-in-lawDejan Dragaš andBranko Mladenović were granted the title ofsebastocrator. The military commanders (voivodes)Preljub andVojihna received the title ofcaesar.[36] The raising of the Serbian Patriarch resulted in the same spirit as bishoprics became metropolitans, as for example theMetropolitanate of Skopje.[36]
The Serbian Patriarchate took over sovereignty on Mt. Athos and the Greek eparchies under the jurisdiction of theEcumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, while theArchbishopric of Ohrid remained autocephalous. For those acts he was excommunicated by theEcumenical Patriarch of Constantinople in 1350.[36]
In 1347, Dušan conqueredEpirus,Aetolia andAcarnania, appointing his half-brother, despotSimeon Uroš, as governor of those provinces. In 1348, Dušan also conqueredThessaly, appointingPreljub as governor. In eastern regions ofMacedonia, he appointedVojihna as governor ofDrama. Once Dušan conquered Byzantine possessions in western regions, he sought to obtain Constantinople.[37] To acquire the city, he needed a fleet.[38] Knowing that fleets of southern Serbian Dalmatian towns were not strong enough to overcome Constantinople, he opened negotiations with Venice, with which he maintained fairly good relations.[37] Venice feared a reduction of privileges in the Empire if Serbs became the masters of Constantinople over the weakened Byzantines. But had the Venetians allied with Serbia, Dušan would have examined existing privileges. Once he became master of all Byzantine lands (especially Thessalonika and Constantinople) the Venetians would have gained privileges. But Venice chose to avoid a military alliance.[37] While Dušan sought Venetian aid against Byzantium, the Venetians sought Serbian support in the struggle against the Hungarians over Dalmatia. Sensing that Serbian aid would result in a Venetian obligation to Serbia, Venice politely turned down Dušan's offers of help.[37]
While Dušan launched the Bosnian campaign (with the troops previously based in Macedonia and Thessaly), Kantakouzenos tried to regain lands Byzantium had lost.[39] In his support, the Constantinopolitan patriarch Kallistos excommunicated Dušan to discourage the Greek population in Dušan's Greek provinces from supporting the Serbian administration and thereby assist the Kantakouzenos campaign.[39] The excommunication did not stop Dušan's relations with Mount Athos, which still addressed him as Emperor, though rather asEmperor of Serbs thanEmperor of Serbs and Greeks.[40]
Kantakouzenos raised a small army and took theChalcidic peninsula, thenVeria andVoden.[41] Veria was the richest town in the Bottiaea region. Dušan had earlier replaced many Greeks with Serbs, including a Serb garrison.[40] However, the remaining locals were able to open the gates for Kantakouzenos in 1350.[41] Voden resisted Kantakouzenos but was taken by assault.[41] Kantakouzenos then marched toward Thessaly, but was stopped atServia byCaesar Preljub and his army of 500 men.[41] The Byzantine force retired to Veria, and the aiding Turk contingent went off plundering, reaching Skopje.[40] Once the news of the Byzantine campaign reached Dušan in Hum, he quickly reassembled his forces from Bosnia and Hum and marched for Thessaly.[40]
When Stefan Dušan reached Macedonia, the Byzantine forces withdrew to Thrace. Dušan retook Voden after a short siege, soon retaking Veria and other territories that Kantakouzenos had taken.[40]
Dušan evidently wanted to expand his rule over the provinces that had earlier been in the hands of Serbia, such asHum, which was annexed by Bosnian BanStephen II Kotromanić in 1326.[37] In 1329, the Ban launched an attack on Lord Vitomir, who heldTravunia andKonavle. The Bosnian army was defeated at Pribojska Banja by Dušan, stillYoung King. The Ban soon took overNevesinje and the rest of Bosnia. Petar Toljenović, the Lord of "seaside Hum" and a distant relative of Dušan, sparked a rebellion against the new ruler, but he was soon captured and died in prison.
In 1350, Dušan attacked Bosnia, seeking to regain the previously lost land of Hum and stop raids on his tributaries at Konavle.[37] Venice sought a settlement between the two, but failed.[37] In October, he invaded Hum, with an army said to be of 80,000 men, and successfully occupied part of the disputed territory.[37] According toOrbini, Dušan had secretly been in contact with various Bosnian nobles, offering them bribes for support, and many nobles, chiefly of Hum, were ready to betray the Ban, such as theNikolić family which was kin to the Nemanjić.[42] The Ban avoided any major confrontation and did not meet Dušan in battle; he instead retired to the mountains and made small hit-and-run actions.[42] Most of Bosnia's fortresses held out, but some nobles submitted to Dušan.[42] The Serbs ravaged much of the countryside. With one army they reachedDuvno andCetina; a second army reachedKrka, on which layKnin (modernCroatia); and a third army tookImotski andNovi, where they left garrisons and entered Hum.[42] From this position of strength, Dušan tried to negotiate peace with the Ban, sealing it by the marriage of Dušan's son Uroš with Stephen's daughterElizabeth, who would receive Hum as her dowry – restoring it to Serbia but the Ban was not willing to consider this proposal.[42]
Dušan may have also launched the campaign to aid his sister, Jelena, who marriedMladen III Šubić ofKlis,Omiš andSkradin, in 1347.[42] Mladen died fromBlack Death (bubonic plague) in 1348, and Jelena sought to maintain the rule of the cities for herself and her son.[42] She was challenged by Hungary and Venice, so the dispatch of Serbian troops to western Hum and Croatia may have been for her aid, as operations in this region were unlikely to help Dušan conquer Hum.[42] If Dušan had intended to aid Jelena, rising trouble in the East precluded this.[42] In 1335,Pope Clement VI demanded that Dušan stop the persecution of Catholics and return monasteries, churches, islands and villages taken by his predecessors to the bishop ofKotor, responsible for theRoman Catholic Diocese of Trebinje.[43]
In 1354, Dušan was attacked by the Hungarians who managed to occupy part of northern Serbia. At this point, Dušan began corresponding with the pope, stating that he was ready to recognize papal supremacy.[44] Since there is no other evidence that Dušan was seriously attracted to Catholicism, this was most likely a diplomatic action to improve relations with papacy while Serbia was endangered by Hungary.[44] Dušan successfully repelled the Hungarian invasion, preserving or even extending his original borders in the north.[44] When the Hungarians retreated from Serbia, he did not continue the correspondence with the pope. Peace withLouis I of Hungary was concluded in May of 1355.[44] Dušan had grand intentions to capture Constantinople, and to place himself at the head of a grand crusading army to drive the Muslim Turks from Europe. His premature death created a large power vacuum in the Balkans, that ultimately enabled Turkish invasion and their dominance over the Balkansuntil the early 20th century. While mounting a crusade against the Turks, he suddenly died on 20 December 1355. He was buried in hisfoundation, theMonastery of the Holy Archangels nearPrizren.
His empire slowly crumbled. His son and successorStefan Uroš V could not keep the integrity of the Empire intact for long, as several feudal families immensely increased their power, though nominally acknowledging Uroš V as Emperor.Simeon Uroš, Dušan's half-brother, had proclaimed himself Emperor after the death of Dušan, ruling a large area of Thessaly and Epirus, which he had received from Dušan.
Today Dušan's remains are located in theChurch of Saint Mark in Belgrade.[45] Dušan is the only monarch of the Nemanjić dynasty who has not beencanonised as asaint.
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Much like his ancestors, Dušan was very active in renovating churches and monasteries, and also in founding new ones. First, he cared for the monasteries in which his parents were buried. Both theBanjska monastery, built by King Milutin, where his mother was buried, and the monastery ofVisoki Dečani, an endowment of his father, were generously looked after. The monastery was built for eight years and it is certain that Dušan's role in the building process was huge. Between 1337 and 1339, Dušan became ill, and he gave his word that if he survived, he would build a church and monastery in Jerusalem. At the time, there was one Serbian monastery in Jerusalem, dedicated to Archangel Michael (believed to be founded by King Milutin), and a number of Serbian monks at theSinai Peninsula.
His greatest endowment was theSaint Archangels Monastery, located near the town ofPrizren, in which he was originally buried. Dušan gave many possessions to this monastery, including the forest of Prizren which was supposed to be a special property of the monastery where all precious goods and relics were to be stored.
His son, Stefan Uroš V, did not make peace with the Constantinopolitan Patriarch. The first initiative was made bydespotUglješa Mrnjavčević in 1368, which resulted in the areas under his rule being restored to Constantinople. The final initiative for reconciliation between the two churches came fromPrince Lazar in 1375. There is no evidence of an existing cult of Emperor Dušan in the decades after his death. His charter to Ragusa (Dubrovnik) served as a statute in the future trade between Serbia and Ragusa, and its regulations were deemed inviolable. His legacy was esteemed in Ragusa. Later folk tradition in Serbia included various attitudes toward Dušan, mostly negative, made under the influence of the church.
With the raising of the Serbian Archbishopric to a Patriarchate, serious changes in the organization of the church followed.Joanikije II became Patriarch. Bishoprics (Eparchies) were raised to Metropolitanates, and new territories of the Ochrid Archbishopric and Ecumenical Constantinople were added to the jurisdiction of the Serbian church. TheEcumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople had Dušan excommunicated in 1350, although this did not affect the religious organization.[citation needed] Dušan rejected Constantinople's claims to authority over the Serbian Church and contemplated a religious union with theLatin Church.[46] In 1354, Dušan reached out to thePapal States, offering to recognisePope Innocent VI as the "father of all Christians" and to solidify a union between the Catholic and Serbian Church, in exchange for supporting Dušan in his plans for a military crusade against the Turks. Dušan's plans were welcomed, however such plans never materialized due to his death in 1355.[47][48]
Under Serbian jurisdiction came one of the foremost centers of spirituality –Mount Athos.[49] As of November 1345, Athonite monks accepted his supreme rule, and Dušan guaranteed autonomy, also giving a row of economic privileges, with tremendous gifts and endowments. The monks ofChilandar (the cradle of the Serbian church, founded bySaint Sava, Dušan's ancestor) came at the front of the ecclesiastical community.[citation needed]
In his codex, Dušan accentuates his role as a protector of Christianity and points out the independence of the church. From the codex we can also see care that the parishes are equally arranged both in cities and villages. He also took care of the few churches and monasteries fromBari in the west toJerusalem in the east.[citation needed]
Besides Orthodox Christians, there were many Catholics in the Empire, mostly in the coastal cities ofCattaro,Alessio (modern Lezhë) etc. Catholics were also present on his court (servants fromCattaro andRagusa, mercenaries, guests etc.). In the central parts, Saxons were present in areas active in mining and trading. Serbia under Dušan claimed its identity through Orthodoxy and opposition to Catholicism.[50] Catholics were persecuted, especially Catholic Albanians.[50][51][52]
Some historians consider that the goal of Emperor Dušan was to establish a new, Serbian-Greek Empire, replacing the Byzantine Empire.[36]Ćirković considered his initial ideology as that of the previousBulgarian emperors, who had envisioned co-rulership. However, starting in 1347, relations withJohn VI Kantakouzenos worsened, Dušan allied himself with rivalJohn V Palaiologos.
Dušan was the first Serbian monarch who wrote most of his letters inGreek, also signing with the Imperial red ink. He was the first to publishprostagma, a kind of Byzantine document, characteristic for Byzantine rulers. In his royal title,Emperor of the Serbs and Greeks, his claim as Eastern Roman (Byzantine) successor is clear. He also gave Byzantine court titles to his nobility,[1] something that would continue into the 16th century.
Dušan's empire was multinational, with the three most important groups being Serbs, Greeks and Albanians. Different laws applied in the Serbian and Greek territories under Dušan's control, but the Albanians were largely left to manage their lands under the leadership of their chiefs.[53][54] His policies soon changed, and the laws against the Albanians became harsher with Albanian Catholics being forcibly converted into Orthodoxy and their churches were converted as well, while some of them migrated towardsGreece, leaving empty villages behind, which were then taken by Slavic settlers.[51][55][56] By allowing the Greeks to retain much of the landed property they held under the existing laws prior to Dušan's conquest, Dušan was able to maintain order in the Greek territories and gain the loyalty of its inhabitants. In conquered Greek towns, local Greeks were given official administrative positions to better manage the settlement without upsetting the local populace, but a Serb governor would preside over the administration and command over a Serb garrison to ensure that the locals could not resist Dušan's orders. As such, existing Byzantine laws continued to exist in the Greek territories, supplemented by specific edicts or charters issued by Dušan himself. Similarly, Dušan did not transform the Serbian and Albanian territories under his control by introducing a Byzantine administrative system.[57]
In Serbia itself, Dušan had initially retained the existing tax system and legal structure. Prior to Dušan's reign, the Serbian state had functioned under its customary law. This customary law was supplemented bySaint Sava in the early 13th century, in which he added a Church canon law code that covered many matters of civil and family law. Aside from these standard laws, Serbian rulers could also issue edicts for a specific region or the nation as a whole, or grant charters and privileges to monasteries, noblemen, or merchant and miner communities. Dušan eventually decided to introduce a more general code, culminating in the introduction ofDušan Code in 1349.[57]
For the purposes of Dušan Code, a wealth of charters were published, and some great foreign works of law were translated to Serbian; however, the third section of the Code was new and distinctively Serbian, albeit with Byzantine influence and attention to a long legal tradition in Serbia. Dušan explained the purpose of his Code in one of his charters; he intimated that its aims were spiritual and that the code would help his people to save themselves for the afterlife. The Code was proclaimed on 21 May 1349 inSkopje, and contained 155 clauses, while 66 further clauses were added atSerres in 1353 or 1354. The authors of the code are not known, but they were probably court officials who specialised in law.[58]
The Code proclaims on subjects both secular and ecclesiastic, the more so because Serbia had recently achieved full ecclesiastic autonomy as an independent Orthodox Church under a Patriarchate.[59] The first 38 clauses relate to the church and they deal with issues that the Medieval Serbian Church faced, while the next 25 clauses relate to the nobility. Civil law is largely excluded, since it was covered in earlier documents, namelySaint Sava's Nomokamon and inCorpus Juris Civilis. The Code originally dealt with criminal law, with heavy emphasis on the concept of lawfulness, which was mostly taken directly from Byzantine law.[60]
The original manuscript of the Code has not survived. The Code remained a de facto constitution under the rule of Dušan's son, Stefan Uroš V, and after thefall of the Serbian Empire in 1371, it was used in all the successor provinces. It was officially used in the successor state,Serbian Despotate,[61] until its annexation by the Ottoman Empire in 1459. It was used as a reference for Serbian communities under Turkish rule, which exercised considerable legal autonomy in civil cases.[61] It was also used in the Serbian autonomical areas under the Republic of Venice, likeGrbalj andPaštrovići.[62] It is the first recorded code of Serbian public law, and Dušan hoped that its introduction would bring uniformity in Serbian territories, which were the only portions of his empire where the code actually applied.[57]
Dušan appointed Serbs to the highest military and civil positions within the empire for a number of reasons; not only did it allow him to maintain order by having loyal subjects hold positions of power, but it also appeased the Serb nobility, which demanded rewards such as land and positions of authority. This extended to the Church, in which Serbs were appointed to the highest episcopal positions, thereby replacing the Greeks.[57]
Serbian tactics favored wedge shaped heavy cavalry attacks with horse archers on the flanks. Many foreign mercenaries were in the Serbian army in the 14th century, mostly German knights andCatalan halberdiers. The Serbian army that defeated the Bulgarians at theBattle of Velbazhd in 1330 was composed of 15,000 Serbs, 2,000 Italians from the Kingdom of Naples, and 1,000 German mercenaries,.[63] Dušan had his personal mercenary guard on his disposal, consisting of Germanknights led byPalman, commander of the Serbian "Alemannic Guard", who upon crossingSerbia toJerusalem in 1331, became the leader of all mercenaries in the Serbian army. The main strength of the Serbian army were their heavy cavalry, feared for their ferocious charge and staying power. The imperial army of Stefan Dušan was built on existing military administration of Byzantium. Although the Vlach cavalry ofThessaly was disbanded, his army included Serbian feudal forces,Albanians andGreeks. Dušan recruited a light cavalry composed of 15,000 Albanians, armed with spears and swords.[64]
The Serbian expansion in the former territory of the Byzantine Empire proceeded without a major field battles, as it was based on besieging Byzantine fortifications.[65] The army Dušan used to conquer Byzantine territories consisted primarily of Serbs and Albanians, also including German and other western mercenaries.[66][67]
He was crownedYoung King asheir apparent on 6 January 1322 but he was too young to really rule with his father 1322. and later in April 1326 Dušan appears as theco-ruler in Zeta and Zahumlje.[13] He was entitled the rule ofZeta; thus he ruled as "King of Zeta". In 1331 he succeeded his father as "King of all Serbian and Maritime Lands". In 1343 his title was "King of Serbia, Greeks, Albania and the coast". In 1345 he began calling himselftsar, Emperor, and in 1345 he proclaimed himself "Emperor of Serbs and Eastern Romans". On 16 April 1346 he was crownedEmperor of Serbs and Greeks. This title was soon enlarged into "Emperor and Autocrat of the Serbs and Greeks, the Bulgarians and Albanians".[68][69]
His epithetSilni (Силни) is translated intothe Mighty,[70] but alsothe Great,[71]the Powerful[72] orthe Strong.[73]
Stefan Dušan was the most powerful Serbian ruler in the Middle Ages and remains afolk hero to Serbs. Dušan, a contemporary of England's Edward III, is regarded with the same reverence as the Bulgarians feel forTsar Simeon I, the Poles forSigismund I the Old, and the Czechs forCharles IV. According to Steven Runciman, he was "perhaps the most powerful ruler in Europe" during the 14th century.[74] His state was a rival to the regional powers of Byzantium and Hungary, and it encompassed a large territory, which would also be his empire's greatest weakness. By nature a soldier and a conqueror, Dušan also proved to be very able but nonetheless feared ruler. His empire however, slowly crumbled at the hands of his son, as regional aristocrats distanced from the central rule.[citation needed]
The aim of restoring Serbia as an Empire it once was, was one of the greatest ideals of Serbs, living both in the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian lands. In 1526,Jovan Nenad, in the style of Dušan, proclaimed himselfEmperor, when ruling a short-lived state of Serbian provinces under the crown of Hungary.[citation needed]
The Realm of the Slavs, written by Ragusian historianMavro Orbin (l. ca. 1550–1614), saw Emperor Dušan's actions and works positively. The book served as the primary source about early history ofSouth Slavs at the time and most of the western historians drew their information on the Slavs from it. Early Serbian historians, even though they wrote according to the sources, were influenced by the ideas of the time they lived in. They made efforts to harmonize with two different traditions: one from brevets[clarification needed] and public documents and other from genealogies and narrative writings. Of early historians, most information came fromJovan Rajić (1726–1801), who wrote fifty pages about Dušan's life. Rajić's work had great influence on Serbian culture of that time, and for decades it was the main source of information about Serbian history.[citation needed]
During theFirst Serbian Uprising, the rebels adopted the Nemanjić dynasty coat of arms and the Governing Council held sessions in 1805 in Smederevo, "the capital of our despots and emperors", below Emperor Stefan Dušan's portrait.[75]Karađorđe's Serbia's political ambitions were based on romantic ideals in restoring the medieval Serbian state broken by theBattle of Kosovo (1389) and lost to the Ottoman Empire.[76] Editor ofAlmanac Georgije Mihailović included a portrait of Karađorđe in a 1808 issue.[77] A baroque portrait of Emperor Stefan Dušan was distributed in the Military Frontier and Serbia.[78]
After the restoration of Serbia in the 19th century, continuity with the Serbian Middle Ages was accentuated, particularly of its greatest moment – during Emperor Dušan. A political agenda, as with a restoration of his Empire, would find its place in the political programmes of thePrincipality of Serbia, notably theNačertanije byIlija Garašanin.[citation needed]
By his wife,Helena of Bulgaria, Emperor Dušan had at least a son,Stefan Uroš V, who succeeded his father as Emperor, r. 1355–1371. Dušan and Helena also had a daughter, Theodora, who in 1351, at twelve, married the Ottoman SultanOrhan. Theodora most likely died between 1352 and 1354.[79]
According toNicephorus Gregoras, Dušan was negotiating a potential alliance with Orhan, which would have involved marrying off his daughter to Orhan himself or one of Orhan's sons in 1351 with the aim of signing a truce between their kingdoms. However, after the Serbian emissaries were attacked byNikephoros Orsini Serbia and the Ottoman Empire resumed hostilities.[80]
Some historians speculate that the couple had another child, a daughter.J. Fine suggested that it might be "Irina" or "Irene", the wife ofcaesarPreljub (governor ofThessaly, d. 1355–1356), mother ofThomas Preljubović (Ruler of Epirus, 1367–1384). In one theory, she marriedRadoslav Hlapen, Governor ofVoden andVeria and Lord ofKastoria, after her first husband's death in 1360. This hypothesis is not widely accepted.[81]
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Reconstructions:
In 1343, King Stephen Dušan issued a charter to the fortified city of Krujë. The original charter was written in Greek. It has been preserved in Latin translation in an attestation of the King of Aragon Alphonse V (1457). Dušan here calls himself "crales Bugarorum" [King of the Bulgarians].
His empire was multinational, above all Serbian, Greek and Albanian; different laws applied in his Serbian and Greek lands while the Albanians were largely left under their chiefs to manage their lands according to their customs.
Stefan Dušan Born: 1308 Died: 20 December 1355 | ||
| Regnal titles | ||
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| New title | Emperor of Serbia 16 April 1346 – 20 December 1355 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | King of Serbia 8 September 1331 – 16 April 1346 | |
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| Archbishops | ||
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