Realm Of Stefan Dragutin

The Realm of Stefan Dragutin ( sr, Област Стефана Драгутина / ''Oblast Stefana Dragutina'') was a medieval Serb kingdom. Initially, it was a vassal kingdom of the Kingdom of Hungary, 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 (1282–1316) and his son Stefan Vladislav II (1316–1325). The kingdom was centered in the region of '' Lower Syrmia'' (today known as Mačva) and its first capital was Debrc (between Belgrade and Šabac), 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 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, but also included Belgrade, part of Šumadija with Rudnik, and the counties ('' župe'') of Podrinje, Usora, Soli, Braničevo and Kučevo. 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 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 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, 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 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.

After king Dragutin died, his son Vladislav 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 (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 and Hungary 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 (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 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