The Realm of Stefan Dragutin ( sr, Област Стефана Драгутина / ''Oblast Stefana Dragutina'') was a medieval
Serb
The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language.
The majority of Serbs live in their na ...
kingdom. Initially, it was a vassal kingdom of the
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...
, but subsequently became an independent kingdom, after the collapse of the central power in the Kingdom of Hungary. It was ruled by the Serbian kings
Stefan Dragutin
Stefan Dragutin ( sr-cyr, Стефан Драгутин, hu, Dragutin István; 1244 – 12 March 1316) was King of Serbia from 1276 to 1282. From 1282, he ruled a separate kingdom which included northern Serbia, and (from 1284) the neigh ...
(1282–1316) and his son
Stefan Vladislav II
Vladislav ( sr-cyr, Владислав; 1280–1326) was the King of Syrmia from 1316 to 1325, and claimant to the Serbian Kingdom.
He was the son of Stefan Dragutin, who had ruled Serbia until 1282, when he became ill and abdicated, giving the ...
(1316–1325). The kingdom was centered in the region of ''
Lower Syrmia'' (today known as
Mačva
Mačva ( sr-Cyrl, Мачва, ; hu, Macsó) is a geographical and historical region in the northwest of Central Serbia, on a fertile plain between the Sava and Drina rivers. The chief town is Šabac. The modern Mačva District of Serbia is nam ...
) and its first capital was
Debrc (between
Belgrade and
Šabac
Šabac (Serbian Cyrillic: Шабац, ) is a city and the administrative centre of the Mačva District in western Serbia. The traditional centre of the fertile Mačva region, Šabac is located on the right banks of the river Sava. , the city ...
), while residence of the king was later moved to
Belgrade.
Territory
In the Middle Ages, "
Syrmia" was the name for a larger area around the river
Sava
The Sava (; , ; sr-cyr, Сава, hu, Száva) is a river in Central and Southeast Europe, a right-bank and the longest tributary of the Danube. It flows through Slovenia, Croatia and along its border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and finally t ...
. The part in the north of Sava was known as ''Upper Syrmia'' (present-day Syrmia), while the area south of the river was known as ''Lower Syrmia'' (present-day Mačva). The kingdom was centered in
Mačva
Mačva ( sr-Cyrl, Мачва, ; hu, Macsó) is a geographical and historical region in the northwest of Central Serbia, on a fertile plain between the Sava and Drina rivers. The chief town is Šabac. The modern Mačva District of Serbia is nam ...
, but also included
Belgrade, part of
Šumadija
Šumadija (, sr-Cyrl, Шумадија) is a geographical region in the central part of Serbia. The area used to be heavily covered with forests, hence the name (from ''šuma'' 'forest'). The city of Kragujevac is the administrative center of th ...
with
Rudnik, and the counties (''
župe'') of
Podrinje
Podrinje ( Serbian Cyrillic: Подриње) is the Slavic name of the Drina river basin, known in English as the Drina Valley. The Drina basin is shared between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, with majority of its territory being located in ...
,
Usora,
Soli,
Braničevo and
Kučevo
Kučevo ( sr-cyr, Кучево, ; ro, Cuciovă) is a town and municipality located in the Braničevo District of the eastern Serbia. In 2011, the population of the town was 3,944, while the population of the municipality was 15,516.
History
In ...
. According to several Serbian historians (Dejan Mikavica, Stanoje Stanojević, Aleksa Ivić, Milojko Brusin, etc.), the kingdom also included Upper Syrmia (modern Syrmia).
History
Stefan Dragutin
Stefan Dragutin ( sr-cyr, Стефан Драгутин, hu, Dragutin István; 1244 – 12 March 1316) was King of Serbia from 1276 to 1282. From 1282, he ruled a separate kingdom which included northern Serbia, and (from 1284) the neigh ...
was initially the
king of Serbia from 1276 to 1282. In 1282 he broke his leg while hunting and became ill; he passed the throne to his younger brother
Stefan Milutin at the council at
Deževo in 1282, while keeping for himself some northern parts of the country (Rudnik and parts of Župa of Podrinje). Since his son
Vladislav
Vladislav ( be, Уладзіслаў (', '); pl, Władysław, ; Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, sh-Cyrl, Владислав) is a male given name of Slavic origin. Variations include ''Volodislav'', ''Vlastislav'' and ''Vlaslav' ...
married a relative of the Hungarian king, Dragutin in 1284 gained from
Ladislaus IV the
Banates of
Só (Soli),
Ózora (Usora) and
Macsó (Mačva) with Belgrade, which he initially ruled as a Hungarian vassal, until the collapse of the central power in the Kingdom of Hungary. The first capital of his state was Debrc (between Belgrade and Šabac), and later he moved his residence to Belgrade. Dragutin was the first
Serb ruler who ruled from Belgrade as the capital.
In roughly 1291 and with the help of Milutin, Dragutin expanded his territory by annexing regions of
Braničevo and
Kučevo
Kučevo ( sr-cyr, Кучево, ; ro, Cuciovă) is a town and municipality located in the Braničevo District of the eastern Serbia. In 2011, the population of the town was 3,944, while the population of the municipality was 15,516.
History
In ...
, whose Bulgarian rulers
Darman and Kudelin recently became independent from the Kingdom of Hungary. For the first time, that region became part of the Serbian state. This action probably caused the war between the Bulgarian despot
Shishman of
Vidin
Vidin ( bg, Видин, ; Old Romanian: Diiu) is a port city on the southern bank of the Danube in north-western Bulgaria. It is close to the borders with Romania and Serbia, and is also the administrative centre of Vidin Province, as well as ...
and Milutin.
Near the end of his life Stefan Dragutin separated from his Hungarian friends and strengthened his connections in Serbia. He later took monastic vows, and died 1316, buried at the
Đurđevi stupovi monastery near
Novi Pazar
Novi Pazar ( sr-cyr, Нови Пазар, lit. "New Bazaar"; ) is a city located in the Raška District of southwestern Serbia. As of the 2011 census, the urban area has 66,527 inhabitants, while the city administrative area has 100,410 inhabit ...
.
After king Dragutin died, his son
Vladislav
Vladislav ( be, Уладзіслаў (', '); pl, Władysław, ; Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, sh-Cyrl, Владислав) is a male given name of Slavic origin. Variations include ''Volodislav'', ''Vlastislav'' and ''Vlaslav' ...
assumed his father's appanage. However, in 1319, Serbian king Milutin, Vladislav's uncle, invaded, defeated and imprisoned Vladislav. When Milutin died in 1321, the newly freed Vladislav recovered his father's lands, with the help of the Hungarians and
Stephen II, Ban of Bosnia.
After having been beaten again by supporters of
Stefan Dečanski
Stefan Uroš III ( sr-Cyrl, Стефан Урош III, ), known as Stefan Dečanski ( sr-Cyrl, Стефан Дечански, ; 1276 – 11 November 1331), was the King of Serbia from 6 January 1322 to 8 September 1331. Dečanski was the son of ...
(successor of Milutin), Vladislav retreated to the Kingdom of Hungary in 1324. Vladislav's nephew, Ban Stephen II, reincorporated Soli and Usora into Bosnia. Belgrade and the northern part of Banate of Macsó along the river Sava remained under the rule of the Kingdom of Hungary, while Braničevo and the southern part of Mačva remained Serbian. The kingdoms 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 ...
and
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...
would contest Mačva for the next century.
Rulers
Annotations
/ ''Sremska zemlja'') or "Syrmian Lands" (Serbian: Сремске земље / ''Sremske zemlje''). Serbian Archbishop
Danilo II (s. 1324–37) called it the "state in the Syrmian land".
Ragusan chronicler
Mavro Orbini
Mavro Orbini (1563–1614) was a Ragusan chronicler, notable for his work ''The Realm of the Slavs'' (1601) which influenced Slavic ideology and historiography in the later centuries.
Life
Orbini was born in Ragusa (now Dubrovnik), the capital o ...
(1563–1614) called it the "Land of King Stefan" ( it, terra del Rè Stefano, sr, Земља краља Стефана / ''Zemlja kralja Stefana''). Scarcer historiographical names include "Dragutin's State" (Serbian: Драгутинова држава / ''Dragutinova država'').
References
Sources
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External links
Map of Dragutin's and Milutin's state at the
Serbian Government
The Government of Serbia ( sr, Влада Србије, Vlada Srbije), formally the Government of the Republic of Serbia ( sr, Влада Републике Србије, Vlada Republike Srbije), commonly abbreviated to Serbian Government ( sr, ...
archive web site
Map of the realm of Stephan Dragutin on a map of ''the crown of Aragon and the house of Anjou in the Middle Ages (up to ca. 1380)"
Map of the realm of Dragutin Istvan on a map of "Hungarian oligarchs" 1301-1310
Map of "Tulso Szeremseg" on a map of the Kingdom of Hungary in the 13th century
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{{coord missing, Europe
Former countries in the Balkans
Medieval Serbia
Mačva
History of Syrmia
Medieval history of Vojvodina
History of Belgrade
Banate of Bosnia
13th century in Serbia
14th century in Serbia
Kingdom of Serbia (medieval)
Nemanjić dynasty
Former kingdoms