Nemanja, Grand Zupan. Stefan b. 1132 d. February 12, 1200 Serbian royalty and Saint. Founder of Nemanjic dynasty. He was the Grand Duke of Raska, located in the central west region of the Balkans from 1166 or 1168 to 1196. He established control over the teritories of neighbouring Serb tribes except those in Bosnia and unified them into an independent state (medieval Serbia). He maintained good relations with the Byzantine emperor Manuel I Comnenus and his heirs. In 1186. Nemanja signed first Serbian trade agreement with city of Ragusa (modern...[Read More] (Bio by: Jelena) Monastery Studenica, Kraljevo, Serbia
Nemanjic, Stefan Prvovencani d. September 24, 1228 Serbian king from 1217 to 1228 and Saint. He was the ruler of the Serbian state of Raska and managed to promote it to the status of kingdom and to establish a long lasting ruling dynasty of Nemanjic. Stefan Prvovencani (the First-Crowned) was the second eldest son of the Grand Duke Stefan Nemanja, younger brother of Vukan and older brother of Rastko Nemanjic (Saint Sava). He inherited the title of Grand Duke in 1196 when his father retired as a monk. The Byzantine emperor granted him the title...[Read More] (Bio by: Jelena) Monastery Studenica, Kraljevo, Serbia
Nemanjic, Stefan Radoslav b. 1192 d. 1235 Serbian king from 1228 to 1233 and Saint. Radoslav was the oldest son and heir of Stefan the First-Crowned. As ruler he was blind and relied on his father-in-law Theodore Angelus, despot of Epirus. When his father-in-law was beaten by the Bulgarians, Radoslav could no longer remain in power: The nobility dethroned him and placed on the throne his younger brother Vladislav. Disappointed in his family as well, Radoslav ended his life as a monk Jovan (John). (Bio by: Jelena) Monastery Studenica, Kraljevo, Serbia
Nemanjic I., Stefan Uros d. May 1, 1280 Serbian king from 1243 to 1276 and Saint. The third son of Stefan First-Crowned. His rule was longer more stable and more prosperous than those of his elder brothers Radoslav and Vladislav combined. He led a more independent foreign policy. The regional and international situation had objectively changed as well, as Uros I acceded to the throne in the wake the Tatar invasions; their devastation affected all of southeastern Europe, but was more pronounced in Hungary and Bulgaria. Economic growth...[Read More] (Bio by: Jelena) Monastery Sopocani, Novi Pazar, Serbia
Nemanjic I., Stefan Vladislav d. 1264 Serbian king from 1233 to 1242 and Saint. Second son of Stefan First-Crowned and son-in-law of Bulgarian tzar Ivan Asen II. He overthrew his older brother, king Radoslav and succeeded with help from his father-in-law. After death of his father-in-law, during Tatar invasion in Middle Europe he was overthrown by his younger brother Uros, who gave him to rule Zeta. (Bio by: Jelena) Monastery Mileseva, Prijepolje, Serbia
Nemanjic III., Stefan Uros b. 1275 d. November 11, 1331 Serbian king from 1321 to 1331 and Saint. Son of King Stefan Uros Milutin II. A tragic but significant figure of the Nemanjic dynasty. Sent at an early age by his father as a hostage ensuring Tatar neutrality, he managed an escape much later and was granted a traditional appanage in Zeta. Despite his father Milutin's long reign, succession issues were left murky for a long time, exacerbated by the fact that Milutin himself was technically perhaps just a regent for his elder brother, and had at...[Read More] (Bio by: Jelena) Monastery Visoki Decani, Pec, Serbia
Nemanjic V., Stefan Uros b. September 1, 1336 d. December 4, 1371 Serbian King from 1346 to 1355 and co-ruler of his father tzar Dusan Silni from 1355 to 1371. Known in the epic tradition as Uros "the Weak" he was not capable of keeping his father's empire intact. The powerful landlords and magnates, enjoying their growing independence, were unwilling or unable to find guidance and cohesion in Dusan's heir. This situation was exploited by the Byzantine Empire, which took from him Serbian Greece and Hungary, which took hold of Macva and Belgrade. In his own...[Read More] (Bio by: Jelena) Cathedral Church (Saborna Crkva), Belgrade, Serbia
Nemanjic II., Stefan Uros b. 1253 d. October 29, 1321 Serbian king from 1282 to 1321 and Saint. The "Holy King Uros" marked the elevation of Serbia to a dominant Balkan position, and saw cultural and economic prosperity and advances along many lines. The first 17 years or so of the new king's rule witnessed considerable international activity - through much warfare and some diplomacy most of it south and east against the ailing Byzantine state, some against decentralized Bulgarian interests in the northeast. Much of that was brought to a close...[Read More] (Bio by: Jelena) Cathedral of Saint Nedela, Sofia, Grad Sofiya (City of Sofia), Bulgaria
Nemanjic, Stefan Dragutin d. March 12, 1316 Serbian King from 1276 to 1282 and Saint. Dragutin was the eldest son of King Stefan Uros I. He married Katarina, daughter of Hungarian king Stefan V. He was the leading hungarophile in Serbian politics, and because of this he came in conflict with his father, from whom he then usurped the throne in 1276 with help of the Hungarians. He began to attack the Byzantine Empire but had no success. In 1282 he broke his leg while hunting and became ill. He gave the throne to his younger brother Milutin...[Read More] (Bio by: Jelena) Monastery Djurdjevi Stupovi, Novi Pazar, Serbia
Nemanjic, Stefan Uros IV Dusan b. 1308 d. December 20, 1355 Serbian Monarch. He created and was the only ruler of the Serbian Empire. Under his rule Serbia reached its territorial peak and was one of the larger states in Europe. Apart from territorial gains, in 1349 and 1354 he made and enforced Dušan's Code. He is also the only ruler from the house of Nemanjić not canonized as a saint. Dušan was the greatest Serb medieval ruler, under whom incredible impulse and strength of Serbs have expressed. He was buried in his monastery of Holy Archangels in...[Read More] (Bio by: Vizantinac) Church of St. Marco, Belgrade, Serbia
b. 1132 d. February 12, 1200
