The Battle of Pantina was fought between the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

and the

Grand Principality of Serbia Grand Principality of Serbia ( sr, Великожупанска Србија, Velikožupanska Srbija), or Rascia ( sr, Рашка, Raška), was a medieval Serbian state that existed from the second half of the 11th century up until 1217, when it ...

in 1167. It was part of a

war of succession A war of succession is a war prompted by a succession crisis in which two or more individuals claim the right of successor to a deceased or deposed monarch. The rivals are typically supported by factions within the royal court. Foreign pow ...

within Serbia, in which the Byzantines intervened on behalf of the deposed Grand Prince

Tihomir of Serbia Tihomir of Serbia ( sr-cyr, Тихомир Завидовић, ''Tikhomir Zavidović''; велики жупан Тихомир, ''veliki župan Tikhomir'', "Great Župan Tikhomir"; before 1113 – 1171) was the Grand Prince ( sr-cyr, велики ...

against his rebellious younger brother, Prince Nemanja, who emerged victorious and was crowned afterwards.

Background

Prince Nemanja of Ibar, Toplica, Rasina and Reke was the inferior of his lord and older brother, Grand Prince Tihomir of Serbia. When Nemanja had built monasteries without consulting Tihomir, the latter had Nemanja captured and chained, and his lands seized as well. But Nemanja's supporters within the clergy, who had welcomed his construction of churches and thus granted him their respect, conspired to have him released. Nemanja was later freed, and regained rule in some of his previous lands. Next, he successfully overthrew Tihomir, who fled to the Byzantines with his brothers.

Battle

A Byzantine army was assembled for the Byzantine ally Tihomir, who came in from

Skopje Skopje ( , , ; mk, Скопје ; sq, Shkup) is the capital and List of cities in North Macedonia by population, largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre. The territory of Sk ...

. Although it is unknown whether they served as mercenaries or auxiliary troops, many foreigners including Greeks, Franks and Turks formed part of the forces loyal to Tihomir. The two armies collided at Pantina near

Zvečan Zvečan ( sr-Cyrl, Звечан) or Zveçan ( sq-definite, Zveçani) is a town and municipality located in the Mitrovica District in Kosovo. As of 2015, it has a population of 16,650 inhabitants. It covers an area of , and consists of a town and ...

, present-day

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

. After a decisive battle, the Byzantine force was crushed and quickly began retreating. Tihomir drowned in the

Sitnica The Sitnica ( sq, Sitnicë; sr-Cyrl, Ситница) is a river in Kosovo. It flows into the Ibar at Mitrovica, and it is the longest river that flows completely within Kosovo. History In the 14th century, during the reign of king Milutin ...

river and Nemanja's remaining brothers were pardoned, recognising Stefan Nemanja as the supreme ruler of

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

, crowned as "Ruler of All Serbia".

Aftermath

The battle was decisive in the fact that it ensured the unity of all Serbian princes and their ultimate loyalty to Stefan Nemanja. This later paved the way for the consolidation of Serbia and its eventual formation into a

kingdom Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...

Notes

References

* Fine, John Van Antwerp, ''The Late Medieval Balkans'', (University of Michigan Press, 1987) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Pantino Pantino Pantino Pantino 12th century in Serbia Conflicts in 1166 1166 in Europe 1160s in the Byzantine Empire Wars of succession involving the states and peoples of Europe Grand Principality of Serbia