Uroš I, Grand Prince of Serbia
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Uroš I ( sr-cyr, Урош I, gr, Ούρεσις) was the Grand Prince ('' Veliki Župan'') of the Grand Principality of Serbia from about 1112 to 1145.


Biography


Origin

Uroš I was the son of Marko, who was a son of
Petrislav Vojislavljević Petrislav ( sr-Cyrl, Петрислав; fl. 1060–1083) was the Prince of Raška ( la, Rascia), a province under the Grand Principality of Doclea, from 1060 to 1083. He was appointed to govern Raška by his father, Grand Prince Mihailo I, who ...
and brother of Grand Prince Vukan, who had sworn an oath of loyalty to
Constantine Bodin Constantine Bodin (Bulgarian and sr, italic=no, Константин Бодин, ''Konstantin Bodin'';  1072–1101) was a medieval king and the ruler of Duklja, the most powerful Serbian principality of the time, from 1081 to 1101, succeed ...
, the Grand Prince of Duklja, becoming his vassals.''The early medieval Balkans'', p. 223 Marko, as the subordinate ruler, would have had his appanage in lands north of Raška, bordering 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 ...
. The name ''Uroš'' itself, is most likely derived from the Hungarian word ''úr'' meaning " dominus" or " princeps", which is translated into the Slavic name 'Prvoslav', or 'Primislav', as seen in the case of Uroš II in Slavic sources.Živković, ''hipoteza'', p. 13 It is a possibility that Marko married a Hungarian wife.


War with Byzantium

In 1092, the Serb Army defeated the Byzantine Army led by the governor of Durazzo, sent by Alexius Comnenus. In 1093, Alexius himself led a larger Byzantine Army and marched towards Raška, but Vukan heard of this and immediately sought peace, which Alexius quickly accepted as new problems arose in the east where the Cumans penetrated as far as Adrianople. As soon as the Emperor had departed, Vukan broke the treaty, conquering the Vardar and taking the cities of
Vranje Vranje ( sr-Cyrl, Врање, ) is a city in Southern Serbia and the administrative center of the Pčinja District. The municipality of Vranje has a population of 83,524 and its urban area has 60,485 inhabitants. Vranje is the economical, polit ...
, Skoplje and
Tetovo Tetovo ( mk, Тетово, , sq, Tetovë/Tetova) is a city in the northwestern part of North Macedonia, built on the foothills of Šar Mountain and divided by the Pena River. The municipality of Tetovo covers an area of at above sea level, w ...
. In 1094 or 1095, the Emperor once again marched to the Serbs, capturing Lipljan. This time Vukan met with him in his tent and gave him some twenty hostages, including Uroš I and
Stefan Vukan Stefan may refer to: * Stefan (given name) * Stefan (surname) * Ștefan, a Romanian given name and a surname * Štefan, a Slavic given name and surname * Stefan (footballer) (born 1988), Brazilian footballer * Stefan Heym, pseudonym of German writ ...
, as an oath of peace.''The early medieval Balkans'', p. 226 Uroš was first mentioned in the contemporary ''
Alexiad The ''Alexiad'' ( el, Ἀλεξιάς, Alexias) is a medieval historical and biographical text written around the year 1148, by the Byzantine princess Anna Komnene, daughter of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos. It was written in a form of artificial ...
'' of Anna Komnene, a written account of the reign of her father Byzantine emperor
Alexios I Komnenos Alexios I Komnenos ( grc-gre, Ἀλέξιος Κομνηνός, 1057 – 15 August 1118; Latinized Alexius I Comnenus) was Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118. Although he was not the first emperor of the Komnenian dynasty, it was during ...
. Following the death of Vukan in 1112, Uroš succeeded as Grand Prince.Zivkovic, ''hipoteza'', p. 15


Civil War in Duklja

In 1113 or 1114, the Byzantine Army based in Durazzo invaded Duklja and captured the capital of Scutari. Duklja at the time was ruled by ''Prince'' Đorđe of Duklja (r. 1118), the son of
Constantine Bodin Constantine Bodin (Bulgarian and sr, italic=no, Константин Бодин, ''Konstantin Bodin'';  1072–1101) was a medieval king and the ruler of Duklja, the most powerful Serbian principality of the time, from 1081 to 1101, succeed ...
. The Byzantines installed Grubeša Branislavljević after 1118, banishing Đorđe to Raška. Đorđe claimed protection of Uroš, and in the 1125 the two led an army against Grubeša, meeting in the Battle of Antivari. Grubeša was killed and Đorđe retained his realm, although not all of it. Small parts were ruled by cousins, among them the three brothers of Grubeša, who would soon quarrel with Đorđe. The Byzantines again invaded the coastlands of Duklja, giving nominal rule to
Gradinja Gradinja ( sr-cyr, Градиња) or Gradihna (; 1125–46) was the ruler of Duklja, from either 1131 to 1142 or 1135 to 1146. Gradinja is one of many persons (alongside Branislav, Gojislav, Georgije and Grubeša among others) mentioned only in ...
, resulting in a guerilla war in the woods. The second expedition captured Đorđe. He was taken to Constantinople where he died. Gradinja strengthened the ties with Serbia.


Diplomacy

In around 1130, he married his daughter, Jelena, to King Béla II of Hungary. Bela II, being blind, relied entirely on Jelena who acted as a co-ruler. Jelena is sourced as having decided to massacre 68 aristocrats at the Arad assembly, who had persuaded
Coloman Coloman, es, Colomán (german: Koloman (also Slovak, Czech, Croatian), it, Colomanno, ca, Colomà; hu, Kálmán) The Germanic origin name Coloman used by Germans since the 9th century. * Coloman, King of Hungary * Coloman of Galicia-Lodomeria ...
to blind her husband. In 1137, Ladislaus II, the son of Béla II and Jelena, became the titular ''Ban of Bosnia''. When Bela II died on 13 February 1141, the eldest son
Géza II Géza is a Hungarian given name and may refer to any of the following: * Benjamin Géza Affleck * Géza, Grand Prince of the Hungarians * Géza I of Hungary, King of Hungary * Géza II of Hungary, King of Hungary * Géza, son of Géza II of Hungar ...
ascended the throne, still a child. Therefore, Helena and her brother Beloš Vukanović, whom she had invited to the court, governed the Kingdom of Hungary until September 1146 when he came of age. Beloš was the Ban of Croatia 1142-1158, under the Hungarian crown, and held the ''
comes palatinus A count palatine (Latin ''comes palatinus''), also count of the palace or palsgrave (from German ''Pfalzgraf''), was originally an official attached to a royal or imperial palace or household and later a nobleman of a rank above that of an ord ...
'' (Count palatine), the highest court title of the Kingdom.


Family

Uroš was married to a Byzantine noblewoman named
Anna Diogene Anna Diogenissa ( gr, Ἄννα Διογένισσα; ca. 1074–1145) was a Byzantine noblewoman of the Diogenes house who became the Grand Princess consort of Serbia as wife of Uroš I Vukanović (r. 1112–1145). She had five children with Ur ...
, who through her father Constantine was a granddaughter of
Romanos IV Diogenes Romanos IV Diogenes (Greek: Ρωμανός Διογένης), Latinized as Romanus IV Diogenes, was a member of the Byzantine military aristocracy who, after his marriage to the widowed empress Eudokia Makrembolitissa, was crowned Byzantine Em ...
. They had the following issue: *
Uroš II Uroš II may refer to: * Uroš II, Grand Prince of Serbia, Grand Prince of Serbia (1145-1162) * Stefan Uroš II, King of Serbia (1282-1321) See also * Uroš I (disambiguation) * Stefan Uroš (disambiguation) * Uroš Nemanjić (disambiguation) ...
- Uroš' successor * Desa - Duke of Serbian Primorje, co-ruled Serbia with Uroš II *
Beloš Beloš ( sr-cyr, Белош; hu, Belos or ''Belus''; el, Βελούσης fl. 1141–1163), was a Serbian prince and Hungarian palatine who served as the regent of Hungary from 1141 until 1146, alongside his sister Helena, mother of the infan ...
- Ban of Croatia and briefly Prince of Serbia *
Jelena Jelena, also written Yelena and Elena, is a Slavic given name. It is a Slavicized form of the Greek name Helen, which is of uncertain origin. Diminutives of the name include Jelica, Jelka, Jele, Jela, Lena, Lenotschka, Jeca, Lenka, and Alena. Not ...
- married Béla II the Blind, King of Hungary *
Marija Marija is a feminine given name, a variation of the name Maria, which was in turn a Latin form of the Greek names Μαριαμ, or Mariam, and Μαρια, or Maria, found in the New Testament. Depending on phonological rules concerning consecutiv ...
, married
Conrad II of Znojmo Conrad II of Znojmo ( cz, Konrád II. Znojemský; d. 1161), a member of the Přemyslid dynasty, was a Bohemian prince who ruled in the Moravian principality of Znojmo from 1123 to 1128 and again from 1134 until his death. Life Conrad II was the s ...
. They had five children. and possibly *
Zavida Zavida (Serbian Cyrillic: Завида) or Beli Uroš (Бели Урош, "White Uroš") was a 12th-century Serbian royal who briefly ruled as ''Župan of Zachumlia'' and later held the title ''Lord of Ribnica''. He was a close kinsman, or even a ...
- Duke of Zahumlje. In a
Zadar Zadar ( , ; historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian: ); see also other names), is the oldest continuously inhabited Croatian city. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar serv ...
act, Beloš's brother is named "Stefan"; that name is found in the sons of Zavida.


See also

* List of Serbian monarchs


References


Sources

* * * Anna Comnena,
The Alexiad
', translated by Elizabeth A. Dawes in 1928 * John Kinnamos, ''The Deeds of John and Manuel Comnenus'', trans. C.M. Brand (New York, 1976). * ''Imperii Graeci Historia'', ed. Hieronymus Wolf, 1557, in Greek with parallel Latin translation.
PDF of 1593 reprint
* Андрија Веселиновић, Радош Љушић - ''Српске династије'', Нови Сад - Београд 2001, 32. * *Živković Tibor, 2005, br. 52, str. 9-22
''Jedna hipoteza o poreklu velikog župana Uroša I''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Uros I Of Serbia 12th-century Serbian monarchs Vukanović dynasty Eastern Orthodox monarchs People of the Grand Principality of Serbia 11th-century births 12th-century deaths Alexios I Komnenos 12th-century Eastern Orthodox Christians Christian monarchs