Đorđe Nemanjić
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Đorđe Nemanjić or George of Zeta ( sr-Cyrl, Ђорђе Немањић; fl. 1208–1243) was the Grand Prince of
Zeta Zeta (, ; uppercase Ζ, lowercase ζ; , , classical or ''zē̂ta''; ''zíta'') is the sixth letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 7. It was derived from the Phoenician alphabet, Phoenician letter zay ...
, from at least 1208 until at least 1243. For some time, he also was a self-styled King of
Duklja Duklja ( sr-Cyrl, Дукља; ; ) was a medieval South Slavs, South Slavic state which roughly encompassed the territories of modern-day southeastern Montenegro, from the Bay of Kotor in the west to the Bojana river in the east, and to the sou ...
. He was the son of rival Serbian Grand Prince and titular King
Vukan Nemanjić Vukan Nemanjić ( sr-Cyrl, Вукан Немањић, ; before 1165 – after 1207) was the Grand Prince of the Grand Principality of Serbia from 1202 to 1204. He was the Grand Prince of Pomorje (titular King) from 1195 until his death. He was t ...
(r. Serbia 1202–1204, Duklja (Zeta) 1190–1208), hence George too was a titular King, for a few years after his father's death. He continued the struggle between his father and uncle, and accepted the suzerainty of the
Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...
.


Background

Stefan Nemanja Stefan Nemanja (Serbian Cyrillic alphabet, Serbian Cyrillic: , ; – 13 February 1199) was the Grand Prince (Grand Župan#Serbia, Veliki Župan) of the Grand Principality of Serbia, Serbian Grand Principality (also known as Raška (region), Raš ...
had managed to secure the independence from the
Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...
after the death of emperor Manuel I (1180), and then conquered the traditional fiefs of Duklja,
Travunia Travunia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Travunija, Травунија; ; ; ) was a South Slavic medieval principality that was part of Medieval Serbia (850–1371), and later the Medieval Bosnia (1373–1482). The principality became hereditar ...
and Hum on the Adriatic coast. Nemanja gives Vukan, as heir presumptive,
appanage An appanage, or apanage (; ), is the grant of an estate, title, office or other thing of value to a younger child of a monarch, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture (where only the eldest inherits). It was ...
s of the conquered lands, including Hvosno and Toplica around 1190 as Grand Prince. Although Vukan was the eldest son of
Stefan Nemanja Stefan Nemanja (Serbian Cyrillic alphabet, Serbian Cyrillic: , ; – 13 February 1199) was the Grand Prince (Grand Župan#Serbia, Veliki Župan) of the Grand Principality of Serbia, Serbian Grand Principality (also known as Raška (region), Raš ...
, Nemanja had instead chosen his younger son Stefan Ias heir. This was done as Nemanja preferred to see Stefan Nemanjić on the Serbian throne as he was married to Eudokia, the daughter of Byzantine Emperor
Alexios III Angelos Alexios III Angelos (; 1211), Latinized as Alexius III Angelus, was Byzantine Emperor from March 1195 to 17/18 July 1203. He reigned under the name Alexios Komnenos (; Aléxios Komnēnós) associating himself with the Komnenos dynasty (from whi ...
. It seems that Vukan reacted on this change in succession by adopting a royal title; in an inscription dated 1195 in the church of St. Luke in
Kotor Kotor (Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Котор, ), historically known as Cattaro (from Italian language, Italian: ), is a town in Coastal Montenegro, Coastal region of Montenegro. It is located in a secluded part of the Bay of Kotor. The city has ...
, Vukan is titled as ''King of
Duklja Duklja ( sr-Cyrl, Дукља; ; ) was a medieval South Slavs, South Slavic state which roughly encompassed the territories of modern-day southeastern Montenegro, from the Bay of Kotor in the west to the Bojana river in the east, and to the sou ...
,
Dalmatia Dalmatia (; ; ) is a historical region located in modern-day Croatia and Montenegro, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. Through time it formed part of several historical states, most notably the Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Croatia (925 ...
,
Travunia Travunia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Travunija, Травунија; ; ; ) was a South Slavic medieval principality that was part of Medieval Serbia (850–1371), and later the Medieval Bosnia (1373–1482). The principality became hereditar ...
, Toplica and Hvosno''. Although Vukan assumed a royal title, he remained under his father's authority. In 1196, at a State Council, Nemanja
abdicated Abdication is the act of formally relinquishing monarchical authority. Abdications have played various roles in the succession procedures of monarchies. While some cultures have viewed abdication as an extreme abandonment of duty, in other soci ...
in favour of Stefan; Vukan had to recognize his brother as the new ruler of Serbia. Nemanja took monastic vows and was given the name Simeon, and retreated to
Hilandar The Hilandar Monastery (, , , ) is one of the twenty Eastern Orthodox monasteries in Mount Athos in Greece and the only Serbian Orthodox monastery there. It was founded in 1198 by two Serbs from the Grand Principality of Serbia, Stefan Neman ...
at
Mount Athos Mount Athos (; ) is a mountain on the Athos peninsula in northeastern Greece directly on the Aegean Sea. It is an important center of Eastern Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodox monasticism. The mountain and most of the Athos peninsula are governed ...
. While Nemanja was alive Vukan didn't oppose Stefan's rule but as soon as Nemanja died in 1200 he started to plot against Stefan in order to become Grand Prince. He found aid in Hungarian King Emeric (1196–1204) who at the time fought against the
Second Bulgarian Empire The Second Bulgarian Empire (; ) was a medieval Bulgarians, Bulgarian state that existed between 1185 and 1422. A successor to the First Bulgarian Empire, it reached the peak of its power under Tsars Kaloyan of Bulgaria, Kaloyan and Ivan Asen II ...
and wanted Serbian assistance. With the help of Hungarian troops in 1202, Vukan managed to overthrow Stefan, who fled to Bulgaria, and Vukan was left to rule. In an inscription dating to 1202–1203, Vukan is titled as ''Grand Župan Vukan, Ruler of all Serbian land,
Zeta Zeta (, ; uppercase Ζ, lowercase ζ; , , classical or ''zē̂ta''; ''zíta'') is the sixth letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 7. It was derived from the Phoenician alphabet, Phoenician letter zay ...
, maritime towns and land of
Nišava The Nišava or Nishava ( Bulgarian and sr-Cyrl, Нишава, ) is a river in Bulgaria and Serbia, a right tributary, and with a length of also the longest one, of the South Morava. Course Bulgaria The Nišava originates in western Bul ...
''. In return for Hungarian help, Vukan became a Hungarian vassal and promised that he would convert to Catholicism if the Pope would give him royal title. However, as a Hungarian vassal, Vukan soon got involved in the Hungarian conflict with Bulgaria. In 1203 Bulgarians attacked Serbia and conquered the eastern part of country with the city of
Niš Niš (; sr-Cyrl, Ниш, ; names of European cities in different languages (M–P)#N, names in other languages), less often spelled in English as Nish, is the list of cities in Serbia, third largest city in Serbia and the administrative cente ...
. In the chaos that followed the Bulgarian attack, and using Vukan's talks with the pope against him, Stefan managed to return to Serbia and overthrow Vukan in 1204, becoming Grand Prince again.


Life


Early life and accession

George was the eldest son of Vukan Nemanjić. He had three brothers: Stefan, who founded Morača monastery in 1252, Dmitar (better known by his monastic name David) who founded the Davidovica monastery and was still alive in 1286, and Mladen (Bladinus). After Vukan's coup, Stefan managed to return to Serbia and overthrow him in 1204, regaining the rule of Serbia as Grand Prince. On intervention of the third brother, archbishop Sava, Stefan spared Vukan and returned him his appanage in Zeta. Vukan abdicated for his son George, who is mentioned as "King" in 1208. Vukan is mentioned as "Great Prince" in an inscription in Studenica, dated 1209. Possibly Vukan abdicated in favour for George in his lifetime in order to secure his succession; Stefan might have had taken Zeta during an interregnum. Vukan seems to have died in 1209 or shortly thereafter.


Reign

The struggle between the two Nemanjić branches continued under George. George accepted the suzerainty of the
Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...
, probably in 1208. He could have at least two motives for his entering this arrangement: not only could the Venetian alliance help prevent Stefan from obtaining control of his lands, but it also would Venice from asserting full control over his ports in southern Dalmatia. (After the
Fourth Crusade The Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) was a Latin Christian armed expedition called by Pope Innocent III. The stated intent of the expedition was to recapture the Muslim-controlled city of Jerusalem, by first defeating the powerful Egyptian Ayyubid S ...
Venice had been working to obtain control over Balkan ports, and had in 1205 established an arrangement with
Dubrovnik Dubrovnik, historically known as Ragusa, is a city in southern Dalmatia, Croatia, by the Adriatic Sea. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, a Port, seaport and the centre of the Dubrovni ...
under which the city was required to support Venice militarily in exchange for retaining its autonomy in other respects.) George soon also entered a military alliance with Venice against the Albanian
Dimitri Dimitri, Dimitry, Demetri or variations thereof may refer to: __NOTOC__ People Given name * Dimitri (clown), Swiss clown and mime Dimitri Jakob Muller (1935–2016) * Dimitri Atanasescu (1836–1907), Ottoman-born Aromanian teacher * Dimitri Ayo ...
of the Progon family, who controlled a part of Albania from a mountain stronghold at Kroja ( Arbanon). Dimitri was theoretically also a vassal of Venice, but in a treaty signed on 3 July 1208, George promised to provide military support to Venice if Dimitri attacked Venetian territory. The Gëziq inscription mention the Progon family as '' judices'', and notes their dependence to Mladen and George. The alliance against Dimitri may have been related to the struggle between the two Nemanjić branches, as Dimitri had was married to Komnena Nemanjić, a daughter of Stefan. By 1212, the Venetians had left Arbanon, abandoning it to Michael Angelos, in circumstances that remain uncertain. Arbanon remained to its traditional fidelities, Byzantine and Serbian, Orthodox; when Dimitri died, Gregory Kamonas succeeded in ruling Arbanon, and took Komnena as his second wife; ties were strengthened with Serbia, with which ties had been weakened by a Serbian attack on Scutari following the collapse of the Venetian duchy of Durazzo. There are no historical accounts of George activities from the time of July 1208 treaty through 1216. By 1216, Stefan had obtained Zeta, probably through military action, and put an end to Zetan independence. Stefan eventually assigned Zeta to his own son Stefan Radoslav, though recently scholars believe that he retained the province for himself. Zeta remained part of Serbia without any special legal position, and it was frequently held by the heir of the Serbian throne, who bore a title not connected to Zeta but his position in the Serbian court.


See also

*
Nemanjić family tree Following is the family tree of the Nemanjić dynasty, which was a cadet branch of the Vukanović dynasty that ruled Serbia in the Middle Ages. Monarchs Full list * Vukan / Uroš I ** Zavida, Prince of Zachumlia before 1145 ...


References


Sources

* * * * * * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Nemanjic, Djordje 13th-century Serbian royalty Grand princes of Zeta People from the Grand Principality of Serbia Republic of Venice people