Српско Царство Srpsko Carstvo Serbian Empire ← 1346–1371 → Flag Serbian Empire of Stefan Dušan, 1350 AD Capital Skopje Language(s) Serbian Religion Serbian Orthodox Church Government Monarchy Tsar  - 1346–1355 Stefan Uroš IV Dušan  - 1355–1371 Stefan Uroš V History  - Established 1346  - Disestablished 1371 Currency Serbian perper

The Serbian Empire (Serbian: Српско Царство, Srpsko Carstvo) was a medieval empire in the Balkans that emerged from the medieval Serbian kingdom in the 14th century. The Serbian Empire existed from 1346 to 1371.

Contents 1 History 2 Emperors 3 References 4 See also

[edit] History

Stefan Dušan, before he came to throne as king of Serbia, proved himself as a very talented battle leader, who proved himself in the battle of Velbazhd, where Serbia heavily defeated the Bulgarian Empire. As his father wasn't really an able conqueror, Dusan, with the help of Serbian nobility, removed his father from the throne, ordering his people to strangle him. The medieval Serbian state reached its apex in the mid-14th century, during the rule of Stefan Dušan, who proclaimed himself in 1345 emperor (tsar) in Serres and was solemnly crowned in Skopje on April 16, 1346 as "Tsar of Serbs and Romans" by the newly created Serbian Patriach Joanikie II with the help of the Bulgarian Patriarch Simeon and the Archbishop of Ohrid, Nicholas.

Stefan Dušan also introduced Dušanov Zakonik (Dušan's Code, 1349), a juridical achievement unique among the European states of the time. Emperor Dušan opened up new trade routes and strengthened the state's economy. The Serbian Empire flourished, featuring one of the most evolved countries and cultures in Europe. Some of Serbia's greatest Medieval arts were created during this period, most notably St. Sava's Nomocanon.

Emperor Stefan Dušan doubled the size of his former kingdom, seizing territories to the south, southeast and east at the expense of Byzantium. He did not fight a single army in the field, instead winning his empire by besieging cities. He was succeeded by his son Stefan Uroš V, called the Weak, a term that might also apply to the state of the empire, as it slowly slid into feudal anarchy. The combination of sudden conquest, backwards administration, and failure to consolidate his holdings led to the fragmenting of the empire. This is a period marked by the rise of a new threat: the Ottoman Turkish sultanate gradually spreading from Asia to Europe and conquering Byzantium first, and then the other Balkans states. Too incompetent to sustain the great empire created by his father, Uroš could neither repel attacks of foreign enemies, nor combat the independence of his nobility. The Serbian Empire of Stefan Uroš fragmented into a conglomeration of principalities, some of which did not even nominally acknowledge his rule. Stefan Uroš V died childless in December 1371, after much of the Serbian nobility had been destroyed by the Turks in the Battle of Maritsa earlier that year.

[edit] Emperors

Part of a series on History of Serbia
Prehistoric Serbia
Starčevo culture · Vinča culture Moesia · Origin of the Serbs
Medieval Serbia
Rascia · Doclea / Zeta · Zachlumia Travunia · Serbian Empire Moravian Serbia · Battle of Kosovo Serbian Despotate
Ottoman / Habsburg Serbia
First Habsburg Serbia Second Habsburg Serbia Revolutionary Serbia
Modern Serbia
Serbian Principality · Serbian Kingdom Serbian Campaign (World War I) Kingdom of Yugoslavia Serbia (1941–1944) Republic of Užice SR Serbia · FR Yugoslavia Serbia and Montenegro Serbia
Serbia Portal  v • d • e

• Stefan Uroš IV Dušan of Serbia (1346–1355)
• Stefan Uroš V of Serbia (1355–1371)

[edit] References

• John V.A. Fine, Jr., The Late Medieval Balkans, Ann Arbor, 1987.
• George C. Soulis, The Serbs and Byzantium during the reign of Emperor Stephen Dusan (1331–1355) and his successors, Athens, 1995. ISBN 0-88402-137-8

[edit] See also

• Serbian Empire(Official Site)
• History of Serbia
• Simeon Uroš
• John Uroš