Beginnings of Serbia
According to the chronicles of the Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII from the 10th century, the Serbs first lived in the regions of Bohemia and southeastern Germany and were called the “White Serbs.” Under the leadership of one of their princes, whose name remains unknown, they migrated to the regions of western Serbia and Montenegro with the consent of Emperor Heraclius in the 7th century. At the same time, the Croats also migrated to Croatia from “White Croatia” and settled on the shores of the Adriatic Sea. Today, there is a dispute among scholars about whether this migration actually took place.
In any case, the Serbs initially settled in the coastal areas, and from there they spread through the river valleys to the hinterland of western Morava. They established three states: Zeta, also called Duklja, which covered the territory of Montenegro; Hum, also called Zahumilje, which covered the territory of present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina; and Raška, which was located in southwestern Serbia. The Serbs converted to Christianity as early as the 7th century, but they apparently maintained their pagan traditions until the 9th–10th centuries, as reflected in the place names in Serbia and Montenegro.
The political division of the Serbs was based on geographical considerations: Raška was located in the river valleys of southwestern Serbia, Hum in the river valleys of Bosnia, and Duklja around the Bay of Kotor, Podgorica Valley, and Lake Shkodra in Montenegro. Geographical separation led to the creation of separate social and political entities, a characteristic feature of the Balkans, which consists of fertile valleys separated by mountains that are difficult to cross. However, whenever a strong leader with political and military power rose to power, they managed to unite the different entities into one powerful state.
The first Serbian king known by name is Višeslav, who ruled parts of Duklja and Raška in the 8th century. He united the Serbs against the threat of Bulgarian conquest and founded a dynasty called the Vlastimirović Dynasty, named after its great king Vlastimir, who ruled in the early 9th century and finally drove the Bulgarians out of Serbia. His son Mutimir founded the Bishopric of Rus, which was recognized by Constantinople. Their capital was the city of Rus, which had a fortress and one of the most ancient and important churches in this part of the Balkans.
In other words, in the 9th century AD, Serbia probably had a strong and organized kingdom that managed to repel Bulgarian invasions and effectively gained independence from the Byzantines. At the end of that century, the apostles Cyril and Methodius worked to bring a new type of Slavic Christianity to the people, reflected in the establishment of the Bishopric of Rus and its recognition by Constantinople. Apparently, a significant part of the mission of Cyril, Methodius, and their disciples took place among the Serbs. However, the 9th century is an obscure chapter in the history of Serbia.
At the end of the 10th century and the beginning of the 11th century, the Byzantines regained strength and reasserted control over the Balkans. The next glorious chapter in the history of Serbia begins with the rise to power of King Mihajlo Vojisavljević (1050–1081), who united all Serbs under his rule. His son Bodin ruled the united kingdoms until 1100, but then the country disintegrated into competing principalities. Finally, at the end of the 12th century, Stefan Nemanja was appointed Grand Župan (supreme ruler) of Raška, unified the kingdom, and established the glorious Nemanjić dynasty.
Stefan Nemanja
Stefan Nemanja, as Grand Župan, was the ruler (not king) of Raška and Duklja. He united the Serb-populated regions that had until then been independent and separate, creating a strong Serbian state at the end of the 12th century—a great Slavic kingdom that lasted for 200 years, led by 12 legendary kings from his dynasty, the last of whom was Stefan Dušan.
Stefan Nemanja built the Studenica Monastery in the Serbian Valley of the Kings, where his tomb is located. He built the Monastery of St. George pillars near the capital city of Raška and several other churches throughout the country. He promoted the Christian faith, spread the Gospels in Slavic, and fought and expelled the Bogomils from Serbia (a heretical Christian sect that had established itself in Bosnia).
At the end of his life, he became a monk named Simeon, and joined his son in mount Athos. After he died, a miracle occurred, as myrrh began to flow from his body, indicating that he was a saint. Thus, he became the protector of Serbia. He is known throughout Serbia as Saint Simeon, and after him, all Serbian kings adopted the prefix “Stefan.”
Stefan Nemanja had three sons, one of whom (Stefan Nemanja II) became the first Serbian king in 1217. The youngest son, Rastko, became a monk and received the name Sava. He became the spiritual leader of the Serbs, established the Serbian Church as an independent institution, and became its first archbishop. Thus, Serbia gained both political and religious independence. Saint Sava is considered the “father” of the Serbs.
The Father of the Serbs
Saint Sava (1174–1236) was the youngest son of the great Serbian ruler Stefan Nemanja I, and as such, ruled over the areas of present-day Herzegovina for two years (1190–1192). However, an unknown event occurred that led him to leave the pleasures of the court and become a monk. At the age of 18, Saint Sava abandoned his high position and moved to the Christian spiritual monastic center on Mount Athos, which was beginning to develop at that time.
On the Holy Mountain, Sava immersed himself in the depths of Christian mysticism and adopted the name Sabas (or Sava, as it appears in this book), after one of the Desert Fathers of the 5th century who founded several monasteries in the Judean Desert in Israel, the most famous of which is Mar Saba near Bethlehem. The original Sabas wrote on theological matters and provided a mystical interpretation of the New Testament. His teachings were preserved in the monasteries of Mount Athos, and later some of Its spirit was incorporated into the major book of Orthodox Christian mysticism called Philokalia. Additionally, he wrote regulations for monasteries throughout the Byzantine world, which were adopted by the young Sava.
The young Serbian Sava joined the Russian monastery of St. Panteleimon on Mount Athos, where he was instructed by a Russian monk in the way of Hesychasm (Christian meditation and a method of achieving enlightenment). He later moved to the Orthodox monastery of Vatopedi (both monasteries still exist today).
When his father tried to persuade him to return to Serbia, he replied: “You have accomplished everything a Christian ruler can do; come join me now to live a true Christian life.” And so it was; Stefan Nemanja I joined his son, and together they spent three years on the mountain. They received the Monastery of Hilandar from the Byzantine emperor and renovated it. It was reconsecrated in 1199 and served as the first Serbian monastic academy. Not long after, the father died on Mount Athos and was buried there.
Like the saint after whom he was named, the young Sava wrote a rule for monastic life, and in 1204, twelve years after his arrival on Mount Athos, he received the title of archimandrite—head of monasteries. That same year, Constantinople was conquered by the Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade. In 1205, Boniface of Montferrat (from Piedmont in Italy) established a kingdom with Thessaloniki as its capital and ruled over the monasteries on Mount Athos (the Bulgarian King Kaloyan defeated and killed him in 1207). Sava did not agree with these strange changes of power. In addition, things were not going well in his own country. His two brothers began fighting between themselves, with one supporting the Hungarians and the other the Bulgarians. His father’s legacy in danger of being abandoned and forgotten.
Sava decided to act. Fourteen years after arriving on Mount Athos, in 1206, he returned to Serbia with his father’s bones and buried them in the magnificent Studenica Monastery. Through this act, he reconciled his brothers, reminding them of who they were and what they stood for.
Sava brought peace and unity to the land. He was appointed to oversee the Studenica Monastery and began an educational program focused on Christian wisdom, knowledge, love, and morality. He wrote a typicon (a set of regulations) for the Studenica Monastery, which was recognized as an independent authority, separate from the Archbishopric in Ohrid. He also canonized his father, Stefan Nemanja the first, who became Saint Simeon, effectively taking the first steps toward political and religious independence.
In 1217, Sava returned to Mount Athos. That same year, Stefan Nemanja II was crowned as the first all-Serbian king in the cathedral in Žiča, but independence at that time was not complete without religious autonomy. As long as the Christians in the country remained subordinate to the Orthodox Church, whose head was the Byzantine emperor, the crown was not secure. Apparently, Saint Sava’s return to Mount Athos was part of a larger plan aimed at achieving Serbian religious independence.
And so, in 1219, Sava was proclaimed by the Byzantine Patriarch of Constantinople as the head of the independent Serbian Church, no longer subject to or accountable to anyone, but in unity with the other Orthodox Churches. This took place on August 15, the day of the Assumption of Mary, in the city of Nicaea in Turkey, by Patriarch Manuel.
Saint Sava spent a few more months in Thessaloniki and Mount Athos before returning to Serbia, where he reorganized the church. As an independent archbishop, he could appoint bishops without needing approval from anyone. Using his new authority, he recruited a young, faithful, and talented generation of original Serbian clergy who would spread the teachings of Serbian Christianity throughout the kingdom. He founded Serbian monasteries and bishoprics, following a division into districts subordinate to the archbishopric, first in Žiča and then in Peć. He wrote the first Serbian constitution, called the Nomocanon, which included both religious and civil law for the new state. He established schools for translating books from Greek and Latin into Old Slavonic and wrote books such as The Life of Saint Simeon, about his father Stefan Nemanja I, which created a mythology and national epic that united the people.
Sava’s efforts stopped the spread of Catholicism and Bogomilism (a type of mystical Christian heresy that was prevalent in Bosnia) in Serbia and strengthened national and religious identity. He managed to win the hearts of the Serbian people, creating a new national consciousness among the Serbs, centered around the idea of a just Christian kingdom led by the holy Nemanjić dynasty.
In 1229, Sava embarked on a journey to Jerusalem. His brother, Stefan Nemanja II, was no longer in power and had been succeeded by his son Radoslav. At this time, Jerusalem was controlled by the Crusaders after the Fifth Crusade of Frederick II. Sava purchased premises for the Serbian Church in Jerusalem (the Church of Michael in the Christian Quarter, and another Church on Mount Zion), visited the Monastery of Mar Saba in the Judean Desert, and received as a gift the original staff of Sabas and a holy icon of the Three-Handed Mother of God, painted by John of Damascus after his miraculous recovery (his hand had been cut off and grew back). Another gift was a holy icon of the Breastfeeding Virgin Mary, which reflected his connection to the developing Marian worship of the time.
Sava then journeyed from Israel to visit Thessaloniki, Mount Athos, and Byzantium. He then returned to Serbia, where he travelled intensively for four years throughout the land, teaching the precepts of religion, theology, and monastic life. He built churches throughout Serbia and neighbouring countries and began construction of a marvellous cathedral on the site of the new archbishopric (and later patriarchate) in Peć, Kosovo. The plan was to express, through the sacred architecture of the place, the structure of the universe and the laws that govern the world, the mystical Christian cosmology, and the spiritual design of man. Parts of the original design exist to this day.
In 1234, King Radoslav was replaced by his brother Vladislav, and Sava embarked on another journey to Israel, Egypt and Sinai, but not before appointing an heir to the archbishopric seat in Serbia. He passed through Brindisi, bought monasteries in Acre and Jerusalem (Sava was a friend of the local Patriarch Athanasius), visited Alexandria and holy monastic sites in Egypt.
Sava visited Saint Catherine’s Monastery on Mount Sinai, where he had a vision of Jesus, establishing ties with this spiritual center. He then returned to Jerusalem, travelled to Armenia and Antioch, and continued to Constantinople. From there, he journeyed to the Bulgarian capital of Veliko Tarnovo (where his friend, King Ivan Asen, ruled), where he fell ill and died in 1236. King Vladislav himself came to request his remains, which were transferred to the Mileševa Monastery in Serbia.
Sava is considered the father of the Serbian nation, the one who paved the way for the Serbian presence on Mount Athos, Jerusalem, and Sinai, establishing an independent, recognized, and respected Serbian Church, consolidating the country, and creating a national ethos and identity. He is the Serbian Moses who led the Serbs from obscurity to a central place on the world stage of history. Many legends have been written about him.
In an effort to break the spirit of the nation and as punishment for Serbian rebellions, the Ottomans decided at the end of the 16th century to remove Savas remains from the Mileševa Monastery and burn them on a hill near Belgrade. However, this act only strengthened his position in the minds of the people. A church named after him was later built at the site of the burning, which is now considered the largest Orthodox church in the world and adorns Belgrade’s city skyline.
The Serbian flag features the double-headed eagle symbol appearing four times, along with four double “S” letters, which spell out the words Samo Sloga Srbina Spasava, meaning “Only unity will save the Serbs.” This is the slogan preached by the father of the Serbs, Sveti Sava, to his children, and they repeat it to this day.
Nemanjic Dynasty
The first official king of the dynasty was Stefan the First-Crowned, who reigned for nearly 30 years (1196–1228). During his reign, great changes occurred in the region—Constantinople was conquered by the participants of the Fourth Crusade, who established a Latin kingdom in its place. Consequently, Serbia and Bulgaria gained political and religious independence and expanded their kingdoms, with Serbia beginning to emerge as the leading power in the Balkans.
In Serbia itself, Stefan Nemanjić II built the royal cathedral of Žiča, where he was crowned as the first king of Serbia in 1217, as well as the nearby fortress of Maglič. He worked to strengthen ties with the West, among other things by marrying the granddaughter of the Doge of Venice.
After Stefan’s death, his son Stefan Radoslav ascended to power but reigned for only five years. He opposed the Serbs’ desire to move closer to the West and rejected the independent religious policy of Saint Sava, instead attempting to re-subordinate the Serbian Church to the Orthodox Archbishopric of Ohrid, which led to his dethronement. He was succeeded by his brother Vladislav, who ruled for ten years (1233–1243).
Vladislav formed an alliance with the Second Bulgarian Empire by marrying the daughter of the Bulgarian king Ivan Asen. His influential uncle, Saint Sava, participated in this alliance, but Sava died during a visit to Veliko Tarnovo, the capital of Bulgaria, in 1236. With the death of Ivan Asen in 1243, Vladislav was weakened and eventually deposed by the Serbian nobles. These were the Middle Ages, and local nobles sometimes had more power than kings, which weakened the Serbian kingdom and would have tragic consequences later on. Vladislav built the Mileševa Monastery in the Lim River Valley, the second most important and sacred monastery in Serbia after Studenica.
After the reigns of Radoslav and Vladislav, both of whom were deposed at different points, came King Stefan Uroš I, who ruled for 33 years (1243–1276). During his time, Constantinople returned to Byzantine control, and Hungary became a regional power. Uroš was a talented diplomat, skilled at manoeuvring between different powers. He focused on the economic development of Serbia, expanding the silver and gold mines in Kosovo with the help of Saxon miners from Germany, which became a major source of wealth for the new kingdom. He developed trade with Dubrovnik and Kotor and signed peace treaties with them. His wife was from the French royal house, his mother from the Venetian Doge’s house, and his son’s wife was Hungarian. Uroš built the monastery in Sopoćani, while Queen Helena of Anjou, his French wife, built the monastery in Gradac. In both places, the influence of Western architectural styles, Romanesque and Gothic, is evident.
After Uroš, King Stefan Dragutin came to power for a short period of six years. He formed an alliance with the Hungarians by marrying the king’s daughter and gained control of territories in the northeast, including Belgrade for the first time. After him, his brother Milutin took power, but Dragutin continued to rule the northern regions of Serbia until 1316, collaborating with his brother. He built a large religious center and church in Arilje at the foot of the Zlatibor Plateau and briefly made Belgrade his capital.
King Stefan Milutin ruled for nearly 40 years (1282–1321) and is considered one of the greatest kings of Serbia. He took advantage of the weakness of the Byzantines and Bulgarians and expanded the kingdom’s territory to the south and east, conquering lands in present-day Albania and Macedonia. He was one of the richest rulers in Europe—his wealth came from silver and gold mines, trade, and the country’s agricultural produce. As in other parts of Europe, medieval civilization reached its zenith just before the Black Death plague.
Milutin encouraged architecture and art, which continued to develop their own unique style. He built many monasteries and churches throughout the country, and the political-religious center moved from the relatively remote Valley of the Kings in the Serbian mountains to the fertile plains of Kosovo, which was at the heart of the expanding empire. Milutin built a small church with important frescoes in the historic Studenica Monastery and a monastery called Banjska in northern Kosovo, where he and his wife were also buried. However, his most impressive architectural achievement was the construction of the Gračanica Monastery in Kosovo, not far from Prishtina, where Serbian painting and architecture reached their peak. He built many churches, such as the Church of Our Lady of Ljeviša in the city of Prizren, Kosovo, the Church of St. George in the Macedonian city of Kumanovo, a church in Skopje, and more.
Milutin was the first to build churches and monasteries in the Balkan Mountains in eastern Serbia and in Macedonia. In addition, he rebuilt the Hilandar Monastery on Mount Athos and the Archangel Monastery in the Christian Quarter of Jerusalem, among others.
After Milutin, his son from his Bulgarian wife, Stefan Dečanski, ascended to power, and he also married a Bulgarian woman. On the one hand, there was cooperation between these two Slavic kingdoms; on the other, there was rivalry over who would control Macedonia. Dečanski rebelled against his father, was blinded, but miraculously healed and returned to court after a short exile in Constantinople. In 1321, he came to power and ruled for ten years until he was deposed by his son Stefan Dušan. Apparently, his family relationships were not particularly good. His greatest undertaking was the construction of the Dečani Monastery in Kosovo, the most impressive Serbian architectural monument from the Middle Ages. Territorially, he annexed to the expanding Serbian Empire areas in Macedonia and the Niš region in present-day southern Serbia.
The greatest and last king of the dynasty was Stefan Dušan, the eldest son of Stefan Dečanski by his Bulgarian wife. He spent part of his childhood in exile in Constantinople and for a time at the Hilandar Monastery on Mount Athos. In Constantinople, he was exposed to the Byzantine way of life and learned Greek. He came to power in 1331, and in 1346, after a successful campaign of conquest, he was crowned as Tsar of the Serbs, Greeks, and Albanians in Byzantine style, bringing the Serbian Empire to its peak. This golden period lasted ten years until his death in 1356.
Dušan made Prizren in Kosovo his capital and later moved it to Skopje in Macedonia. He doubled the size of the kingdom and controlled large areas in the Balkans, from the Sava and Danube rivers to the Isthmus of Corinth in Greece. Dušan’s dream was to conquer Constantinople and restore the great days of the Byzantine Empire, with Serbia replacing the weakened Byzantium. However, he died at a relatively young age and failed to fulfill his dream. If, for a brief moment, it seemed that Serbia would be the next great power in Europe, this hope faded with the rise to power of his son Uroš V, called “the Weak.” Under his rule, the kingdom slowly disintegrated due to disunity among the nobles.
Nevertheless, during his 25-year reign, Stefan Dušan oversaw a flourishing of the art and architecture. He built many churches and monasteries, including the Archangels Monastery near Prizren. Among his other achievements was the creation of a civil code of laws for the empire, called the Dušan Code, which was based on Roman law.
Stefan Uroš V was the last ruler of the Nemanjić dynasty. He ruled for 15 unhappy years from the Serbian point of view (1356–1371). During his reign, the kingdom split into feudal estates due to conflicts between the nobles and members of the royal family. It is possible that the Black Death also contributed to this decline. In any case, after his death, the Ottomans defeated the Serbs at the Battle of Maritsa and invaded the Balkans. In one part of the former kingdom, Prince Lazar came to power. He was ultimately the one who had to face the advancing Ottomans.
