with the title of King

A relatively important but shadowy figure from the twilight of the Serbian empire, Vukasin's (pr. voo-KAH-sheen) traditional reputation is tarnished, both in ecclesiastic and oral sources. However, more recent scholarship has shed some positive light on the life and careers of both him and his younger brother, despot Jovan Ugljesa (pr. OO-glye-sha). Their origins are obscure, though by some accounts they came from a modest family in the Hum-Trebinje region, and were forced to emigrate to central Serbia following border altercations with Bosnian nobles. From about 1350 we can witness Vukasin's rise through several imperial offices (ranks), until the well-known 1365 promotion of him to the king, and Ugljesa to a despot. Though not an act of usurpation - apparently having been initiated by the still childless czar Uros himself - this elevation is often taken as the turning point which eliminated the tenets of the old Nemanjic state. But serious problems had existed already before that, and more were to come. To be sure, evidence indicates the new king took upon himself prerogatives surpassing those appropriate for the emperor's "junior colleague" - for example, minting money and issuing international charters with no reference to Uros - but there were ample precedents for this in Byzantine court history, and ultimately it might have been motivated by the noble goal of filling a power vacuum at a point of looming anarchy.

In fact, there is evidence that Vukasin acted with some responsibility in external affairs, as well as attempting to check wayward noblemen and administer his immediate realm, centered in Macedonia (with the capital of Prilep). Likewise, despot Ugljesa is found to have been an able governor and diplomat in his Serres (Ser) region - the easternmost reach of the Serbian state - which he actually expanded and firmly administered its mixed Greek and Slavic populations, while nominally remaining loyal to the crown.

The pious king, a coin from Vukasin's period

But the main credit that can be assigned to the Mrnjavcevic brothers was their clear awareness of the Ottoman Turkish danger, and their willingness to take decisive action to confront it. Help was limited, as the Serbian nobles further to the west were either too weak, far or preoccupied with internal squabbles to participate, and the Constantinopolitan court too hopeful about Western help that never materialized. Vukasin and Ugljesa still assembled what appears to have been a respectable force, and offensively moved towards the newly established Ottoman European capital at Adrianople (Edirne), meeting a Turkish force near Cernomen on the Marica river. There, on September 26 1371, under cloudy circumstances but with a clear outcome, the Mrnjavcevics' army was annihilated and they perished; the battle's location is still called "Srb sindigi" - the Serbian disaster. The agony of the aftermath on the population was vividly described in a preserved passage by the event's contemporary, monk Isaiah, who states that "then the living envied the dead". Although less famous and analyzed than the legendary battle of Kosovo, the Marica showdown was actually more significant and had profound consequences for the future of Serbia, Orthodox Christendom of southeastern Europe, as well as the continent as a whole. The gates of Europe were open to Turkish invaders, the tide, and initiative definitively having passed to their side.

In an ironic twist, the unrecognized brave deeds of the Mrnjavcevic brothers may have been compensated by the treatment epic tradition gave to Vukasin's elder son and heir, Marko. Though his exploits appear historically vague and marginal, over time, known as Kraljevic Marko, he became Serbia's supreme epic hero - brave and folksy, yet fair and pious - one that was honored, like many other Serbian cults, among all south Slavic and other neighboring cultures as well.

"In Christ our God, the Pious King Vukasin". The neat calligraphy of Vukasin's silver dinar mimics the Greek formulas used by earlier Byzantine basileuses, and revived by the Nemanjic monarchs of the Empire.

with the title of King

A relatively important but shadowy figure from the twilight of the Serbian empire, Vukasin's (pr. voo-KAH-sheen) traditional reputation is tarnished, both in ecclesiastic and oral sources. However, more recent scholarship has shed some positive light on the life and careers of both him and his younger brother, despot Jovan Ugljesa (pr. OO-glye-sha). Their origins are obscure, though by some accounts they came from a modest family in the Hum-Trebinje region, and were forced to emigrate to central Serbia following border altercations with Bosnian nobles. From about 1350 we can witness Vukasin's rise through several imperial offices (ranks), until the well-known 1365 promotion of him to the king, and Ugljesa to a despot. Though not an act of usurpation - apparently having been initiated by the still childless czar Uros himself - this elevation is often taken as the turning point which eliminated the tenets of the old Nemanjic state. But serious problems had existed already before that, and more were to come. To be sure, evidence indicates the new king took upon himself prerogatives surpassing those appropriate for the emperor's "junior colleague" - for example, minting money and issuing international charters with no reference to Uros - but there were ample precedents for this in Byzantine court history, and ultimately it might have been motivated by the noble goal of filling a power vacuum at a point of looming anarchy.

In fact, there is evidence that Vukasin acted with some responsibility in external affairs, as well as attempting to check wayward noblemen and administer his immediate realm, centered in Macedonia (with the capital of Prilep). Likewise, despot Ugljesa is found to have been an able governor and diplomat in his Serres (Ser) region - the easternmost reach of the Serbian state - which he actually expanded and firmly administered its mixed Greek and Slavic populations, while nominally remaining loyal to the crown.

The pious king, a coin from Vukasin's period

But the main credit that can be assigned to the Mrnjavcevic brothers was their clear awareness of the Ottoman Turkish danger, and their willingness to take decisive action to confront it. Help was limited, as the Serbian nobles further to the west were either too weak, far or preoccupied with internal squabbles to participate, and the Constantinopolitan court too hopeful about Western help that never materialized. Vukasin and Ugljesa still assembled what appears to have been a respectable force, and offensively moved towards the newly established Ottoman European capital at Adrianople (Edirne), meeting a Turkish force near Cernomen on the Marica river. There, on September 26 1371, under cloudy circumstances but with a clear outcome, the Mrnjavcevics' army was annihilated and they perished; the battle's location is still called "Srb sindigi" - the Serbian disaster. The agony of the aftermath on the population was vividly described in a preserved passage by the event's contemporary, monk Isaiah, who states that "then the living envied the dead". Although less famous and analyzed than the legendary battle of Kosovo, the Marica showdown was actually more significant and had profound consequences for the future of Serbia, Orthodox Christendom of southeastern Europe, as well as the continent as a whole. The gates of Europe were open to Turkish invaders, the tide, and initiative definitively having passed to their side.

In an ironic twist, the unrecognized brave deeds of the Mrnjavcevic brothers may have been compensated by the treatment epic tradition gave to Vukasin's elder son and heir, Marko. Though his exploits appear historically vague and marginal, over time, known as Kraljevic Marko, he became Serbia's supreme epic hero - brave and folksy, yet fair and pious - one that was honored, like many other Serbian cults, among all south Slavic and other neighboring cultures as well.

"In Christ our God, the Pious King Vukasin". The neat calligraphy of Vukasin's silver dinar mimics the Greek formulas used by earlier Byzantine basileuses, and revived by the Nemanjic monarchs of the Empire.

Serbian Medieval History Home Timeline Rulers Monasteries Vukasin Mrnjavcevic (1366 - 1371) The first Serbian dynasts are legendary and known purely by name - Viseslav, succeeded by Radoslav, then Prosigoj, and finally, his great-grandson Vlastimir, whom we have more facts on. Until the times of Vlastimir, who ruled in the central part of "Baptized Serbia" with the title of "grand Zupan" (ZHOO-pan) - a hereditary prince recognized as chief among other zupans - Serbs lived under the nominal suzerainty of the Byzantine state, and generally in good terms with their Bulgarian neighbors to the east. But during khan Presiam (836-852), Bulgars start aggressively pushing both south towards Byzantium, and east into the Morava basin. This apparently forced Vlastimir to forge more unity among the neighboring tribes, thus creating an embryonic state under his command. Few details are known, but after several years of warfare in the Morava and Kosovo regions, in the 840-850 time frame, the invasion was repulsed and the Serbs victorious. Vlastimir's influence grew as a result of this and is evidenced by the fact he married a daughter to the prince of Travunija, bestowing various privileges on him in the process. Vlastimir died shortly after that - around the same time as his opponent Presiam - and his realm was divided, as was customary, among his three sons Mutimir, Strojimir, and Gojnik. In turn, the Bulgar throne was now replaced by Boris - known also as Michael following his acceptance of Christianity for himself and his subjects in 864. Boris' opportunistic expedition into Serbia was ambushed by Mutimir's forces, with leading Bulgars taken prisoner; their release allowed for the signing of a favorable peace. This is also a time of systematic Christian conversion of the Serbs. While less is known about this process in Serbia compared to Bulgaria, and despite claims of baptismal efforts as early as the 7th c., it is probable that during the reigns of Vlastimir's immediate successors the effects of the missionary and literary endeavors of Cyril and Methodius and their disciples finally bore more fruit.