Tsar Stefan Uroš IV Dušan Silni ('the mighty') (Serbian: Цар Стефан Душан Силни) (circa 1308 – December 20, 1355) was a Serb king (September 8, 1331 – 1346) and tsar (1346 – December 5, 1355). Look up Tsar in Wiktionary, the free dictionary For the US community of Czar, see Czar, West Virginia. ... The Serbian language is one of the standard versions of the Å tokavian dialect (former standard was known as Serbo-Croatian language). ... Events Henry VII is elected as king of the Holy Roman Empire. ... December 20 is the 354th day of the year (355th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events January 7 - Portuguese king Afonso IV sends three men to kill Ines de Castro, beloved of his son prince Pedro - Pedro revolts and incites a civil war April - Philip of Anjou marries Mary of Naples, daughter of Charles of Valois, duke of Calabria, and Mary of Valois Scots defeat... Serbs (in the Serbian language Срби, Srbi) are a south Slavic people living chiefly in Serbia and Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina. ... Look up monarch in Wiktionary, the free dictionary A monarch (see sovereign) is a type of ruler or head of state. ... September 8 is the 251st day of the year (252nd in leap years). ... Events September 8 - Stefan Dusan declares himself king of Serbia Start of the reign of Emperor Kogon of Japan, first of the Northern Ashikaga Pretenders Births Coluccio Salutati, Florentine political leader (died 1406) Deaths January 14 - Odoric, Italian explorer October 27 - Abulfeda, Arab historian and geographer (born 1273) Categories: 1331... // Events Serbian Empire was proclaimed in Skopje by Dusan Silni, occupying much of the South-Eastern Europe Foundation of the University of Valladolid Foundation of Pembroke College, University of Cambridge August 26 Battle of Crecy after which Edward the Black Prince honored the bravery of John I, Count of Luxemburg... // Events Serbian Empire was proclaimed in Skopje by Dusan Silni, occupying much of the South-Eastern Europe Foundation of the University of Valladolid Foundation of Pembroke College, University of Cambridge August 26 Battle of Crecy after which Edward the Black Prince honored the bravery of John I, Count of Luxemburg... December 5 is the 339th day (340th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events January 7 - Portuguese king Afonso IV sends three men to kill Ines de Castro, beloved of his son prince Pedro - Pedro revolts and incites a civil war April - Philip of Anjou marries Mary of Naples, daughter of Charles of Valois, duke of Calabria, and Mary of Valois Scots defeat...

Dušan Silni

Dušan was the only true tsar of Serbia; 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 canonised as a saint. He was also a man of gigantic proportions, and according to Papal ambassadors he was the tallest man of his time, probably being close to 7 ft. tall. Frescoe of tzar Stefan Dusan silni. ... The Republic of Serbia (Serbian: Република Србија) is a republic in southeastern and central Europe, which is united with Montenegro in a loose commonwealth known as the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro. ... Serbia was formerly a principality (1817-1882), kingdom (1882-1918) and part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1918-1945, until 1929 the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes). ... The Republic of Serbia (Serbian: Република Србија) is a republic in southeastern and central Europe, which is united with Montenegro in a loose commonwealth known as the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro. ... A territory is a defined area (including land and waters), usually considered to be a possession of an animal, person, organization, or institution. ... World map showing Europe Europe is conventionally considered one of the seven continents which, in this case, is more a cultural and political distinction than a physiogeographic one. ... // Events August 24 - Black Death outbreak in Elbing (modern-day Elblag in Poland) October 20 - Pope Clement VI publishes a papal bull that condemns the Flagellants The bubonic plague is spread to Norway when an English ship with everyone dead on board floats to Bergen Births September 9 - Duke Albert... Events End of reign of John VI Cantacuzenus, as Byzantine emperor. ... Dušans Code is a legal code, one of two the most significant cultural-historical monuments of medieval Serbia, accompanying St. ... Nemanjić (Serbian Немањић; also Nemanjid) was a medieval Serb ruling dynasty. ... Canonization is the process of declaring someone a saint and involves proving that a candidate has lived in such a way that he or she is worthy of sainthood. ... In general, the term Saint refers to someone who is exceptionally virtuous and holy. ... Pope John Paul II has reigned since 22 Oct 1978. ...

Biography

He was the oldest son of Stefan of Decani and Theodora, daughter of Bulgarian tsar Smilets. Early in his life he visited Constantinople, in which as a child he spent around seven years (1314–1320). There he learned Greek, gained an understanding of Greek life and culture, and got a clear sense of the Greek empire. He himself was more a soldier than a diplomat: as a youngster he excelled in two battles: in 1329 he beat Bosnian ban Stjepan Kotromanić, and in 1330 Bulgarian tsar Michael III Shishman on Velbužd. Stefan Decanski was son of King Stefan Uros II Milutin. ... Map of Constantinople. ... Events June 24 - Battle of Bannockburn. ... Events January 20 - Dante - Quaestio de Aqua et Terra January 20 - Duke Wladyslaw Lokietek becomes king of Poland April 6 - The Scots reaffirm their independence by signing the Declaration of Arbroath. ... Byzantine Empire (Greek: Βασιλεία Ῥωμαίων) is the term conventionally used since the 19th century to describe the Greek-speaking Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered at its capital in Constantinople. ... Events Antipope Nicholas V is excommunicated by Pope John XXII. Aimone of Savoy becomes Count of Savoy. ... Ban is a title of either Avar or Illyrian origin, the title was used in some states in central and south-eastern Europe between the 7th century and the 20th century. ... Stephen Kotromanić (died 1353), sometimes referred to as Stephen II, was a Ban (ruler) of Bosnia. ... Events The Bulgars under Michael III are beaten by the Serbs at Velbuzhd, and large parts of Bulgaria fall to Serbia. ...

Tsar Dušan’s Serbia
~ 1350 AD

Because his father didn't expand the Serbian Empire after the Battle of Velbužd he rebelled and overthrew him, then crowning himself king on September 8, 1331. In 1332 he married Jelena, sister of Bulgarian tsar Ivan Alexander, a woman of strong will, who had a large influence on him and bore him a son Uroš and one daughter. Download high resolution version (992x1073, 845 KB). ... Download high resolution version (992x1073, 845 KB). ... September 8 is the 251st day of the year (252nd in leap years). ... Events September 8 - Stefan Dusan declares himself king of Serbia Start of the reign of Emperor Kogon of Japan, first of the Northern Ashikaga Pretenders Births Coluccio Salutati, Florentine political leader (died 1406) Deaths January 14 - Odoric, Italian explorer October 27 - Abulfeda, Arab historian and geographer (born 1273) Categories: 1331... Events November 7 - Lucerne joins the Swiss Confederation with Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden. ... Tsar Ivan Alexander of Bulgaria was married twice. ... Stefan UroÅ¡ V nejaki (The Weak) (Стефан Урош V нејаки) (1336-1371) was Serb king (1346-1355) as co-ruler of his father DuÅ¡an and tzar (1355-1371). ...

In the first years of his rule, Dušan started to fight against the Greeks (1334), and battles continued with smaller and larger interruptions until his death in 1355. Twice he had larger conflicts with the Hungarians, but these battles were mostly defensive. He was at peace with the Bulgarians, who even helped him two or three times. He exploited the civil war in Greece between the minor emperor John V Palaeologus and his regent John Cantacuzenus; his systematic offensive began in 1342 and in the end he conquered the Byzantine territories from the Balkan to Kavala except the Peloponnesus and Thessaloniki, which he could not conquer because he had no fleet. Events Births January 4 - Amadeus VI of Savoy, Count of Savoy (died 1383) January 13 - King Henry II of Castile (died 1379) May 25 - Emperor Suko of Japan, third of the Northern Ashikaga Pretenders (died 1398) August 30 - King Peter I of Castile (died 1369) James I of Cyprus (died... Events January 7 - Portuguese king Afonso IV sends three men to kill Ines de Castro, beloved of his son prince Pedro - Pedro revolts and incites a civil war April - Philip of Anjou marries Mary of Naples, daughter of Charles of Valois, duke of Calabria, and Mary of Valois Scots defeat... An emperor is a (male) monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. ... John V Palaeologus (1332 – February 16, 1391) was the son of Andronicus III, whom he succeeded as Byzantine emperor in 1341, at age nine. ... John VI Cantacuzenus (c. ... Events May - Pope Clement VI elected John III Comnenus becomes emperor of Trebizond Louis becomes king of Sicily and duke of Athens Constantine IV becomes king of Armenia Patriarch of Antioch transferred to Damascus under Ignatius II Kitzbühel becomes part of Tyrol Louis I becomes king of Hungary Births... The Balkans is the historic and geographic name used to describe southeastern Europe (see the Definitions and boundaries section below). ... Kavala (also seen as Kavála, Kavalla, Cavalla, and Cavalle (Greek: Καβάλα), (2001 pop. ... Peloponnesos (Greek: Πελοπόννησος, sometime Latinized as Peloponnesus or Anglicized as The Peloponnese) is a large peninsula in Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Isthmus of Corinth. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

A coin minted by Dušan in 1346 on the occasion of his coronation. (Photo courtesy of the National Bank of Serbia [1])

After these successes he proclaimed himself in 1345 as tsar in Serres and was solemnly crowned in Skopje on April 16, 1346 as "Tsar and autocrat of Serbs, Greeks, Bulgarians and Albanians" by Serbian Patriach Janichie II with the help of the Bulgarian Patriarch Simeon and the Archbishop of Ohrid, Nikolas. At the same time he raised the rank of the Serbian Orthodox Church from archbishopric to patriarchate, took over sovereignty on Mt. Athos and the Greek archbishoprics under the rule of the Constantinople Patriarchate (The Ohrid Archbishopric remain independent). For those acts he was cursed by the Greek Orthodox Church. A coin minted by Tsar Dusan. ... // Events Serbian Empire was proclaimed in Skopje by Dusan Silni, occupying much of the South-Eastern Europe Foundation of the University of Valladolid Foundation of Pembroke College, University of Cambridge August 26 Battle of Crecy after which Edward the Black Prince honored the bravery of John I, Count of Luxemburg... National bank of Serbia (NBS) was founded in 1884. ... Events Miracle of the Host Births October 31 - King Fernando I of Portugal (died 1383) Agnès of Valois, daughter of John II of France (died 1349) Eleanor Maltravers, English noblewoman (died 1405) Deaths April 14 - Richard Aungerville, English writer and bishop (born 1287) September 16 - John IV, Duke of... External links Information about Serres (Greek and English) Serres is the name of several communes in France: Serres in the Aude département Serres in the Hautes-Alpes département Serres in the Meurthe-et-Moselle département Categories: Greece geography stubs | Cities and towns in Greece ... Skopje (Macedonian: Скопје, Serbo-Croatian: Skoplje, Albanian: Shkup, Ottoman Turkish: Ãœsküb, Ancient Greek: Scupi (see History), see also different names) is the capital city of the Republic of Macedonia. ... April 16 is the 106th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (107th in leap years). ... // Events Serbian Empire was proclaimed in Skopje by Dusan Silni, occupying much of the South-Eastern Europe Foundation of the University of Valladolid Foundation of Pembroke College, University of Cambridge August 26 Battle of Crecy after which Edward the Black Prince honored the bravery of John I, Count of Luxemburg... Serbs (in the Serbian language Срби, Srbi) are a south Slavic people living chiefly in Serbia and Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina. ... The Serbian Orthodox Church (Serbian Cyrillic: Српска православна црква; SPC, SOC) or the Church of Serbia is one of the autocephalous Orthodox Christian churches, ranking sixth after Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Russia. ... The Bulgarian Orthodox Church is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church with some 6. ... The Serbian Orthodox Church (Serbian Cyrillic: Српска православна црква; SPC, SOC) or the Church of Serbia is one of the autocephalous Orthodox Christian churches, ranking sixth after Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Russia. ... In Christianity, an archbishop is an elevated bishop heading a diocese of particular importance due to either its size, history, or both, called an archdiocese. ... A patriarchate is the office or jurisdiction of a patriarch. ... Mount Athos (Greek: Όρος Άθως) is a mountain and a peninsula in Macedonia, northern Greece, called Άγιο Όρος (Ayio Oros or Ayion Oros or Holy Mountain) in Modern Greek, or Ἅγιον Ὄρος (Hagion Oros) in Classical Greek. ... The Patriarch of Constantinople is the Ecumenical Patriarch, ranking as the first among equals in the Eastern Orthodox communion. ... The Archbishopric of Ohrid (Ohrid Archbishopric, Archbishopric of First Justiniana) was an autonomous Orthodox Church under the tutelage of the Patriarch of Constantinople between 1019 and 1767, seated in Ohrid. ... Greek Orthodox Church can refer to any of several hierarchical churches within the larger group of mutually recognizing Eastern Orthodox churches: Orthodox Church of Constantinople, headed by the Patriarch of Constantinople, who is also the first among equals of the Eastern Orthodox Communion Church of Greece, which has been autocephalous...

Faced with him, the Greeks sought allies in the Turks whom they brought into Europe for the first time. The first conflict between the Serbs and the Turks on Balkan soil, at Stefaniana in 1345, ended unfavourably for the Serbs. In 1348 Dušan conquered Thessaly and Epirus. Dušan saw a danger in the Turkish presence in the Balkans and searched for ways to push them back but he was interrupted by Hungarians with their attacks on Serbia. Because of them he fought with Hungarian protegee ban Stefan II in 1350, wishing to regain formerly lost Zahumlje. World map showing Europe Europe is conventionally considered one of the seven continents which, in this case, is more a cultural and political distinction than a physiogeographic one. ... Events Miracle of the Host Births October 31 - King Fernando I of Portugal (died 1383) Agnès of Valois, daughter of John II of France (died 1349) Eleanor Maltravers, English noblewoman (died 1405) Deaths April 14 - Richard Aungerville, English writer and bishop (born 1287) September 16 - John IV, Duke of... Events April 7 - Charles University is founded in Prague. ... Map showing Thessaly periphery in Greece Thessaly (Θεσσαλια; modern Greek Thessalía; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is one of the 13 peripheries of Greece, and is further sub-divided into 4 prefectures. ... Epirus (Greek Ήπειρος, Ípeiros; see also List of traditional Greek place names), is a province or periphery in northwestern Greece, bounded by West Macedonia and Thessaly to the east, by the province of Sterea Ellada (Central Greece) to the south, the Ionian Sea and the Ionian Islands to the west and... Events 29 August - An English fleet personally commanded by King Edward III defeats a Spanish fleet in the battle of Les Espagnols sur Mer. ... Zahumlje Travunia in the 9th century, according to [[De administrando imperio]] Greek map of Serb lands in the 9th century, according to [[De administrando imperio]] The Zahumljani (Zachlumoi) that now live there are en:Serbs, originating from the time of the prince (archont) who fled to emperor en:Heraclius [...] The...

Dušan had grand intentions but they were all cut short by his premature death on December 5, 1355, possibly from poisoning. He was buried in his foundation, the Monastery of the Holy Archangels near Prizren. Today his remains are in the Church of Saint Mark in Belgrade. December 5 is the 339th day (340th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events January 7 - Portuguese king Afonso IV sends three men to kill Ines de Castro, beloved of his son prince Pedro - Pedro revolts and incites a civil war April - Philip of Anjou marries Mary of Naples, daughter of Charles of Valois, duke of Calabria, and Mary of Valois Scots defeat... A foundation is a structure that transmits loads from a building or road to the underlying ground. ... View of Prizren Prizren (Serbian Cyrillic Призрен; Albanian Prizreni) is an historic city located in Kosovo at 42. ... Mayor Nenad Bogdanović Area 359. ...

Dušan was the greatest Serb medieval ruler, under whom incredible impulse and strength of Serbs have expressed. His state was really a great force, but in that greatness there was a weakness: Serbia was enlarged too quickly for gains to be joined to old Serb reign. Besides, Dušan conquered a lot of purely Greek lands and their inhabitants, who expressed national awareness, higher culture than the Serbs at the time, and so were constantly hostile. By nature a soldier and a conqueror, Dušan did not intend to stabilise his work systematically. That is why the dissolution started right after disappearance of his strong personality. The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times. ... Serbs (in the Serbian language Срби, Srbi) are a south Slavic people living chiefly in Serbia and Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina. ... One of the most influential doctrines in history is that all humans are divided into groups called nations. ...

See also

• List of Serbian monarchs
• History of Serbia

Coat of Arms of Serbia This is a list of Serbian monarchs. ... Serbia was formerly an autonomous principality (1817–1878), independent principality (1878–1882), independent kingdom (1882–1918), part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (1918–1941) (since 1929 the Kingdom of Yugoslavia), nazi occupied puppet state (1941–1944), socialist republic within Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1945–1992) and...

Reference

• Revision of Ph.D. thesis Harvard University, 1958: George Christos Soulis (d. 1966), The Serbs and Byzantium during the reign of Tsar Stephen Dusan (1331-1355) and his successors. Washington, D.C. : Dumbarton Oaks Library and Collection, c1984. ISBN 0884021378

Further reading

Alexander Soloviev

• "Selected Monuments of Serbian Law from the 12th to 15th centuries" (1926)
• "Legislation of Stefan Dušan, emperor of Serbs and Greeks" (1928)
• "Dušan's Code in 1349 and 1354" (1929)

Alexander Soloviev (in Serbian Александар Соловјев, in Russian Александр Соловьёв) (1890-1971) was a Slavist, researcher of the Bogumils, Serbian heraldry, philately, archeology, translator from Russian and French, professor of history of Slavonic and Byzantine law at the Faculty of Law in Belgrade and Sarajevo. ... link to natinal parliament - page contains lates past laws: http://www. ... (11th century - 12th century - 13th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 12th century was that century which lasted from 1101 to 1200. ... (14th century - 15th century - 16th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 15th century was that century which lasted from 1401 to 1500. ... 1926 (MCMXXVI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1928 (MCMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Dušans Code is a legal code, one of two the most significant cultural-historical monuments of medieval Serbia, accompanying St. ... // Events August 24 - Black Death outbreak in Elbing (modern-day Elblag in Poland) October 20 - Pope Clement VI publishes a papal bull that condemns the Flagellants The bubonic plague is spread to Norway when an English ship with everyone dead on board floats to Bergen Births September 9 - Duke Albert... Events End of reign of John VI Cantacuzenus, as Byzantine emperor. ... 1929 (MCMXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Sources

• Translated with small changes from small encyclopedia Sveznanje published by Narodno delo, Belgrade, in 1937, which is now in the public domain. This article is therefore written from the point of view of that place and time and may not reflect modern opinions or recent discoveries.