1.
Flag of Serbia
–
The flag of Serbia is a tricolor consisting of three equal horizontal bands, red on the top, blue in the middle and white on the bottom. The same tricolor, in altering variations, has used since the 19th century as the flag of the state of Serbia. The current form of the flag was adopted on 11 November 2010. The state flag bears the coat of arms, centered vertically. The flag ratio is 2 to 3, with three horizontal bands of red, blue and white, each taking one third of the height. Recommended colors are, ^α Only used on the greater arms ermine mantling and it is described as vexillum unum de zendato rubeo et blavo—a flag of fabric red and blue, zendato being a type of light, silky fabric. This is the oldest known attestation of colours of a Serbian flag, in 1326, Dečanski sent a delegate to the Mamluk Sultanate in Alexandria and sought a flag in yellow colour, to be used as a war flag. The Byzantines mention that there were several war flags hoisted by the Serbs at the Battle of Velbuzhd, Stefan Dušan was crowned Emperor in 1346, Dušan also adopted the Byzantine tetragramme with four fire-steels, which afterwards became an element of the Serbian flag until today. A flag in Hilandar, seen by Dimitrije Avramović, was alleged by the brotherhood to have been a flag of Emperor Dušan, it was a triband of red at the top and bottom and white in the centre. Emperor Dušan also adopted the Imperial divelion, which was purple and had a cross in the centre. Another of Dušans flags was the Imperial cavalry flag, kept at the Hilandar monastery on Mount Athos, during the First Serbian Uprising, various flags were used. Among the early flags, the one described by Mateja Nenadović could be connected with todays flag, regular armies of the uprising usually had light yellow flags with various symbols, while voivode flags were often red-white, and with a superimposed black two-headed eagle. There were also flags of other colors, including red-yellow, red-white-blue and red-blue and this variety of colors was followed by variety of symbols on the flags, most often taken from Hristofor Zhefarovichs book Stemmatographia of 1741. The most common symbol on the flags were the Serbian cross, followed by coat of arms of Tribalia, most of the flags were made in Sremski Karlovci, designed by Serbian painters Stefan Gavrilović, Ilija Gavrilović and Nikola Apostolović. The 1835 Sretenje Constitution described the colors of the Serbian flag as bright red, white, the constitution was criticized, especially by Russia, and the flag was specifically singled out as being similar to the revolutionary flag of France. The colors are the reverse of those on the flag of Russia, an example, Serbia used the red, blue and white tricolor continuously from 1835 until 1918 when Serbia joined the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, later known as Yugoslavia. After World War II, Yugoslavia was reformed into a socialist federal republic, composed of six republics, each republic was entitled to its own flag on the condition that it contained the socialist red star. 1992 Serbian constitutional referendum asked the voters to choose between the flag with and without the star, with red star gaining the majority of votes, however not the absolute majority of voters
Flag of Serbia
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Flag of Serbia on the map of Angelino Dulcert (1339).
Flag of Serbia
–
Serbia
2.
Prizren
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Prizren is a historic city located in Kosovo. It is the center of the eponymous municipality and district. The city has a population of around 178,000, making it the second largest city in Kosovo, the residents of Prizren are mostly ethnic Albanians. Prizren is located on the banks of a river, the Prizren Bistrica, the municipality has a border with Albania and the Republic of Macedonia. By road the city is 99 kilometres northwest of Skopje,85 kilometres south of Pristina and 175 kilometres northeast of Tirana, the Roman town of Theranda in Ptolemys Geography is mentioned in the 2nd century AD. In the 5th century, it is mentioned as being restored in Dardania with the name of Petrizên by Procopius of Caesarea in De aedificiis, sometimes it is mentioned even in relation to the Justiniana Prima. It is thought that its name comes from old Serbian Призрѣнь, from при-зрѣти, indicating fortress which could be seen from afar. Konstantin Jireček concluded, from the correspondence of bishop Demetrios Chomatenos of Ohrid, Bulgarian rulers controlled the Prizren area from the 850s, and Slav migrants arriving in the area were subsequently influenced by the Bulgarian-organized Archbishopric of Ohrid. Bulgarian rule was replaced by Byzantine rule in the eleventh century. The revolt was suppressed by 1073, the area was raided by Serbian ruler Vukan in the 1090s. In 1180–90, the Serbian Grand Prince Stefan Nemanja conquered the district of Prizren this may refer to the Prizren diocese rather than the city itself, Stefan Nemanja regained control of Prizren some time between 1208 and 1216. In 1220, the Byzantine Greek Orthodox bishop of the city was expelled as the Serbian rulers imposed their own ecclesiastical jurisdiction, Stefan Dušan used Prizren as capital of Serbian Empire. In the next centuries before the Ottoman conquest the city would pass to the Mrnjavčević and Balsić families, the Catholic church retained some influence in the area, 14th-century documents refer to a catholic church in Prizren, which was the seat of a bishopric between the 1330s and 1380s. Catholic parishes served Ragusan merchants and Saxon miners, after several years of attack and counterattack, the Ottomans made a major invasion of Kosovo in 1454, Đurađ Branković retreated to the north and asked for help from John Hunyadi. On 21 June 1455, Prizren surrendered to the Ottoman army, Prizren was the capital of the Sanjak of Prizren, and under new administrative organization of Ottoman Empire it became capital of the Vilayet. This included the city of Tetovo, later it became a part of the Ottoman province of Rumelia. It was a trade city, benefiting from its position on the north-south. Prizren became one of the cities of the Ottomans Kosovo Province
Prizren
–
From top (left to right): Prizren old town, the fortress,
Old Stone Bridge, Prizren,
Sinan Pasha Mosque,
Prizren League Building,
Shadervan Square,
Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour,
Gazi Mehmet Pasha Hammam,
Our Lady of Ljeviš and a panoramic view of the city seen from the fortress during the evening.
Prizren
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Albanian League of Prizren Museum
Prizren
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Prizren Fortress in 1905.
Prizren
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Ballist forces enter Prizren, 1944
3.
Skopje
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Skopje is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Macedonia. It is the political, cultural, economic, and academic center. It was known in the Roman period under the name Scupi, the territory of Skopje has been inhabited since at least 4000 BC, remains of Neolithic settlements have been found within the old Kale Fortress that overlooks the modern city centre. On the eve of the 1st century AD, the settlement was seized by the Romans, when the Roman Empire was divided into eastern and western halves in 395 AD, Scupi came under Byzantine rule from Constantinople. During much of the medieval period, the town was contested between the Byzantines and the Bulgarian Empire, whose capital it was between 972 and 992. From 1282, the town was part of the Serbian Empire, in 1392, the city was conquered by the Ottoman Turks who called the town Üsküp. The town stayed under Turkish control for over 500 years, serving as the capital of pashasanjak of Üsküb, at that time the city was famous for its oriental architecture. In 1912, it was annexed by the Kingdom of Serbia during the Balkan Wars and after the First World War the city part of the newly formed Kingdom of Serbs, Croats. In the Second World War the city was conquered by the Bulgarian Army, in 1944, it became the capital city of Democratic Macedonia, which was a federal state, part of Democratic Federal Yugoslavia. The city developed rapidly after World War II, but this trend was interrupted in 1963 when it was hit by a disastrous earthquake, in 1991, it became the capital city of an independent Macedonia. Skopje is located on the course of the Vardar River. It is a center for metal-processing, chemical, timber, textile, leather, industrial development of the city has been accompanied by development of the trade, logistics, and banking sectors, as well as an emphasis on the fields of transportation, culture and sport. Skopje is located in the north of the Republic of Macedonia, in the center of the Balkan peninsula, the city is built in the Skopje valley, oriented on a west-east axis, along the course of the Vardar river, which flows into the Aegean Sea in Greece. The valley is approximately 20 kilometres wide and it is limited by several mountain ranges to the North and South and these ranges limit the urban expansion of Skopje, which spreads along the Vardar and the Serava, a small river which comes from the North. In its administrative boundaries, the City of Skopje stretches for more than 33 kilometres, Skopje is approximately 245m above sea level and covers 571.46 km2. The urbanised area only covers 337 km2, with a density of 65 inhabitants per hectare, Skopje, in its administrative limits, encompasses many villages and other settlements, including Dračevo, Gorno Nerezi and Bardovci. According to the 2002 census, the City of Skopje comprised 506,926 inhabitants, the City of Skopje reaches the Kosovo border to the North-East. Clockwise, it is bordered by the Macedonian municipalities of Čučer-Sandevo, Lipkovo, Aračinovo, Ilinden, Studeničani, Sopište, Želino
Skopje
–
From top to bottom, left to right:
Stone Bridge Macedonian National Theatre •
Suli An in the
Old Bazaar MRT Center •
Porta Macedonia •
Warrior on a Horse statue
Skopje Fortress
Skopje
–
Landscape of the Skopje valley, near Bardovci.
Skopje
–
The
Vardar and the
Stone Bridge, symbol of the city.
Skopje
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The
Matka Canyon and the
Treska, on the western edge of the City of Skopje.
4.
Serbian language
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Serbian is the standardized variety of the Serbo-Croatian language mainly used by Serbs. It is the language of Serbia and one of the three official languages of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In addition, it is a minority language in Montenegro, Croatia, Macedonia, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia. Standard Serbian is based on the most widespread dialect of Serbo-Croatian, Shtokavian, which is also the basis of Standard Croatian, Bosnian, the other dialect spoken by Serbs is Torlakian in southeastern Serbia, which is transitional to Macedonian and Bulgarian. Serbian is practically the only European standard language with complete synchronic digraphia, the Serbian Cyrillic alphabet was devised in 1814 by Serbian linguist Vuk Karadžić, who created the alphabet on phonemic principles. The Latin alphabet was designed by Croatian linguist Ljudevit Gaj in 1830, Serbian is a standardized variety of Serbo-Croatian, a Slavic language, of the South Slavic subgroup. Other standardized forms of Serbo-Croatian are Bosnian, Croatian, and Montenegrin and it has lower intelligibility with the Eastern South Slavic languages Bulgarian and Macedonian, than with Slovene. The 2011 census show that 42. 88% still declare Serbian to be their native language, Standard Serbian language uses both Cyrillic and Latin script. Even in official government documents this constitutional requirement is rarely enforced, Serbian is a rare example of synchronic digraphia, a situation where all literate members of a society have two interchangeable writing systems available to them. Media and publishers typically select one alphabet or another, for example, the public broadcaster, Radio Television of Serbia, predominantly uses the Cyrillic script whereas the privately run broadcasters, like RTV Pink, predominantly use the Latin script. A survey from 2014 showed that 47% of the Serbian population favors the Latin alphabet whereas 36% favors the Cyrillic one and these are the tenses of the indicative mood. Apart from the mood, there is also the imperative mood. The conditional mood has two more tenses, the first conditional and the second conditional, Serbian has active and passive voice. As for the verb forms, Serbian has one infinitive. Most Serbian words are of native Slavic lexical stock, tracing back to the Proto-Slavic language, there are many loanwords from different languages, reflecting cultural interaction throughout history. Notable loanwords were borrowed from Greek, Latin, Italian, Turkish, Hungarian, Russian, Serbian literature emerged in the Middle Ages, and included such works as Miroslavljevo jevanđelje in 1192 and Dušanov zakonik in 1349. In the mid-15th century, Serbia was conquered by the Ottoman Empire, however, some of the greatest literary works in Serbian come from this time, in the form of oral literature, the most notable form being Serbian epic poetry. The epic poems were written down in the 19th century, and preserved in oral tradition up to the 1950s
Serbian language
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Serbian language as co-official minority language in municipalities in Croatia
Serbian language
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Countries where Serbian is an official language.
5.
Orthodox Church
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The Eastern Orthodox Church teaches that it is the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church established by Jesus Christ in his Great Commission to the apostles. It practices what it understands to be the original Christian faith, the Eastern Orthodox Church is a communion of autocephalous churches, each typically governed by a Holy Synod. It teaches that all bishops are equal by virtue of their ordination, prior to the Council of Chalcedon in AD451, the Eastern Orthodox had also shared communion with the Oriental Orthodox churches, separating primarily over differences in Christology. Eastern Orthodoxy spread throughout the Roman and later Eastern Roman Empires and beyond, playing a prominent role in European, Near Eastern, Slavic, and some African cultures. As a result, the term Greek Orthodox has sometimes used to describe all of Eastern Orthodoxy in general. However, the appellation Greek was never in use and was gradually abandoned by the non-Greek-speaking Eastern Orthodox churches. Its most prominent episcopal see is Constantinople, there are also many in other parts of the world, formed through immigration, conversion and missionary activity. The official name of the Eastern Orthodox Church is the Orthodox Catholic Church and it is the name by which the church refers to itself in its liturgical or canonical texts, in official publications, and in official contexts or administrative documents. Orthodox teachers refer to the Church as Catholic and this name and longer variants containing Catholic are also recognized and referenced in other books and publications by secular or non-Orthodox writers. The common name of the Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, is a shortened practicality that helps to avoid confusions in casual use, for this reason, the eastern churches were sometimes identified as Greek, even before the great schism. After 1054, Greek Orthodox or Greek Catholic marked a church as being in communion with Constantinople and this identification with Greek, however, became increasingly confusing with time. Missionaries brought Orthodoxy to many regions without ethnic Greeks, where the Greek language was not spoken. Today, many of those same Roman churches remain, while a large number of Orthodox are not of Greek national origin. Eastern, then, indicates the element in the Churchs origin and development, while Orthodox indicates the faith. While the Church continues officially to call itself Catholic, for reasons of universality, the first known use of the phrase the catholic church occurred in a letter written about 110 AD from one Greek church to another. Quote of St Ignatius to the Smyrnaeans, Wheresoever the bishop shall appear, there let the people be, even as where Jesus may be, thus, almost from the very beginning, Christians referred to the Church as the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. The Orthodox Church claims that it is today the continuation and preservation of that same Church, a number of other Christian churches also make a similar claim, the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, the Assyrian Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches. The Church of England separated from the Roman Catholic Church, not directly from the Orthodox Church, the depth of this meaning in the Orthodox Church is registered first in its use of the word Orthodox itself, a union of Greek orthos and doxa
Orthodox Church
–
Orthodox liturgy
Orthodox Church
–
An
icon of
John the Baptist, 14th century, Macedonia
6.
Serbian Orthodox Church
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The Serbian Orthodox Church is one of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Christian churches. It is the second oldest Slavic Orthodox Church in the world, the Serbian Orthodox Church comprises the majority of population in Serbia, Montenegro, and the Republika Srpska entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is organized into metropolises and eparchies located primarily in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Croatia, the Serbian Orthodox Church is an autocephalous, or ecclesiastically independent, member of the Orthodox communion. Serbian Patriarch serves as first among equals in his church, the current patriarch is Irinej, the Church achieved autocephalous status in 1219 under the leadership of St. Sava, becoming independent Archbishopric of Žiča. Its status was elevated to that of a patriarchate in 1346 and this patriarchate was abolished by the Ottoman Turks in 1766. The modern Serbian Orthodox Church was re-established in 1920 after the unification of the Patriarchate of Karlovci, the Metropolitanate of Belgrade, Christianity spread to the Balkans beginning in the 1st century. Florus and Laurus are venerated as Christian martyrs of the 2nd century, Constantine the Great, born in Niš, was the first Christian Roman Emperor. Several bishops seated in what is today Serbia participated in the First Council of Nicaea, in 380, Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius decreed that his subjects would be Christians according to the Council of Nicea formula. Greek was used in the Byzantine church, while the Roman church used Latin, with the definite split in 395, the line in Europe ran south along the Drina river. Tim Judah says that the Roman split resulted in that Serbs are Orthodox, among old Christian heritage is the Archbishopric of Justiniana Prima, established in 535, which had jurisdiction over the whole of present-day Serbia. However, the Archbishopric did not last, as the Slavs and Avars destroyed the region sometime after 602, in 731 Leo III attached Illyricum and Southern Italy to Patriarch Anastasius of Constantinople, transferring the papal authority to the Eastern Church. Slavs invaded and settled the Balkans in the 6th and 7th centuries, the history of the early medieval Serbian Principality is recorded in the work De Administrando Imperio, compiled by the Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus. The DAI drew information on the Serbs from, among others, the Serbs were said to have received the protection of Emperor Heraclius, and Porphyrogenitus stressed that the Serbs had always been under Imperial rule. The Christianization was due partly to Byzantine and subsequent Bulgarian influence, at least during the rule of Kocel in Pannonia, communications between Serbia and Great Moravia, where Methodius was active, must have been possible. This fact, the pope was presumably aware of, when planning Methodius diocese as well as that of the Dalmatian coast, there is a possibility that some Cyrillomethodian pupils reached Serbia in the 870s, perhaps even sent by Methodius himself. Serbia was accounted Christian as of about 870, the first Serbian bishopric was founded at Ras, near modern Novi Pazar on the Ibar river. According to Vlasto, the affiliation is uncertain, it may have been under the subordination of either Split or Durazzo. The early Ras church can be dated to the 9th–10th century, the names of Serbian rulers through Mutimir are Slavic dithematic names, per the Old Slavic tradition
Serbian Orthodox Church
–
Serbian delegation with
Basil I
Serbian Orthodox Church
–
Serbian Orthodox Church Српска православна црква Srpska pravoslavna crkva
Serbian Orthodox Church
–
Statue of Cyril and Methodius, in
Belgrade
Serbian Orthodox Church
–
Saint Sava, first Serbian archbishop
7.
Emperor of Serbia
–
Between 1345 and 1371, the Serbian monarch was titled emperor, the full title being Emperor of the Serbs and Greeks in Serbian and basileus and autokrator of Serbia and Romania in Greek. The Serbian Empire was ruled by two monarchs, Stefan Dušan and Stefan Uroš V. Two other claimants of the ruled in Thessaly, Central Greece. Following his conquest of Serres, which crowned his conquest of Macedonia, in November or December 1345 Stefan Dušan proclaimed himself emperor, laying claim on the Byzantine imperial inheritance. On 16 April 1346 hewas crowned emperor at Skopje in an assembly attended by the elevated Serbian Patriarch, and also the Bulgarian Patriarch and his imperial title was recognised by Bulgaria and various other neighbors and trading partners but not by the Byzantine Empire. Mount Athos addressed him as Emperor, though rather as Emperor of Serbs than Emperor of Serbs, in Serbian charters, ethnic terms are used – Emperor of the Serbs and Greeks. In Greek, the title was basileus and autokratōr of Serbia, notably, when the Byzantines came around to recognizing Dušans imperial title, it was only for Serbia proper, much as they had done with the Bulgarian Tsar Simeon 400 years earlier. After his coronation, the title of king was dropped, when Stefan Dušan died in 1355, his son Stefan Uroš V succeeded him. Uroš Vs uncle Simeon Uroš in Thessaly claimed the title in rivalry, with the extinction of the main line of the Nemanjić dynasty with the death of heirless Stefan Uroš V in 1371, the imperial title became obsolete. The fall of the Serbian Empire saw the state fragmenting into provinces ruled by magnates, holding various titles, in 1527, a renegade Hungarian-Serbian commander, Jovan Nenad, styled himself Emperor. Stefan Dušan Emperor of Serbs and Greeks, in 1349. in 1349, Emperor of Serbs and Greeks and the Western Provinces, in 1349. Emperor of Serbs, Greeks and Bulgarians, Emperor of Serbs, Greeks, Bulgarians and Albanians. Emperor of the Serbs, by the Athonite community, Emperor and Autocrat of Serbia and Romania, from a chrysobull to Iveron Monastery. Emperor of all Serb and Greek lands, the Maritime Region, Arbania, Emperor of Greece and King of All Serb Lands and the Maritime, between 1347–56. Emperor of Serbia and the Maritime Region, between 1347–56, Emperor of Rascia and Romania, Despot of Arta and Count of Vlachia in 1348, after the Serb conquest of Epirus and Thessaly. Stefan Uroš V Emperor of Serbs and Greeks, in 1357. in 1358. in 1357,1360, twice in 1357,1362,1365, and between 1356–67. Dušans Code List of Serbian monarchs Fine, John Van Antwerp, the Late Medieval Balkans, A Critical Survey from the Late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman Conquest. Ann Arbor, University of Michigan Press, — La Serbie, pouvoir et administration sociale
Emperor of Serbia
–
Stefan Uroš V
Emperor of Serbia
–
Empire flag
Emperor of Serbia
–
Coronation of Stefan Uroš IV Dušan.
Emperor of Serbia
–
Stefan Uroš IV Dušan the Mighty
8.
Middle Ages
–
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or Medieval Period lasted from the 5th to the 15th century. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and merged into the Renaissance, the Middle Ages is the middle period of the three traditional divisions of Western history, classical antiquity, the medieval period, and the modern period. The medieval period is subdivided into the Early, High. Population decline, counterurbanisation, invasion, and movement of peoples, the large-scale movements of the Migration Period, including various Germanic peoples, formed new kingdoms in what remained of the Western Roman Empire. In the seventh century, North Africa and the Middle East—once part of the Byzantine Empire—came under the rule of the Umayyad Caliphate, although there were substantial changes in society and political structures, the break with classical antiquity was not complete. The still-sizeable Byzantine Empire survived in the east and remained a major power, the empires law code, the Corpus Juris Civilis or Code of Justinian, was rediscovered in Northern Italy in 1070 and became widely admired later in the Middle Ages. In the West, most kingdoms incorporated the few extant Roman institutions, monasteries were founded as campaigns to Christianise pagan Europe continued. The Franks, under the Carolingian dynasty, briefly established the Carolingian Empire during the later 8th, the Crusades, first preached in 1095, were military attempts by Western European Christians to regain control of the Holy Land from Muslims. Kings became the heads of centralised nation states, reducing crime and violence, intellectual life was marked by scholasticism, a philosophy that emphasised joining faith to reason, and by the founding of universities. Controversy, heresy, and the Western Schism within the Catholic Church paralleled the conflict, civil strife. Cultural and technological developments transformed European society, concluding the Late Middle Ages, the Middle Ages is one of the three major periods in the most enduring scheme for analysing European history, classical civilisation, or Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and the Modern Period. Medieval writers divided history into periods such as the Six Ages or the Four Empires, when referring to their own times, they spoke of them as being modern. In the 1330s, the humanist and poet Petrarch referred to pre-Christian times as antiqua, leonardo Bruni was the first historian to use tripartite periodisation in his History of the Florentine People. Bruni and later argued that Italy had recovered since Petrarchs time. The Middle Ages first appears in Latin in 1469 as media tempestas or middle season, in early usage, there were many variants, including medium aevum, or middle age, first recorded in 1604, and media saecula, or middle ages, first recorded in 1625. The alternative term medieval derives from medium aevum, tripartite periodisation became standard after the German 17th-century historian Christoph Cellarius divided history into three periods, Ancient, Medieval, and Modern. The most commonly given starting point for the Middle Ages is 476, for Europe as a whole,1500 is often considered to be the end of the Middle Ages, but there is no universally agreed upon end date. English historians often use the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485 to mark the end of the period
Middle Ages
–
The
Cross of Mathilde, a
crux gemmata made for
Mathilde, Abbess of Essen (973–1011), who is shown kneeling before the Virgin and Child in the
enamel plaque. The body of Christ is slightly later. Probably made in
Cologne or
Essen, the cross demonstrates several medieval techniques:
cast figurative sculpture,
filigree, enamelling, gem polishing and setting, and the reuse of Classical
cameos and
engraved gems.
Middle Ages
–
A late Roman statue
depicting the four Tetrarchs, now in
Venice
Middle Ages
–
Coin of
Theodoric
Middle Ages
–
Mosaic showing
Justinian with
the bishop of
Ravenna, bodyguards, and courtiers
9.
Fall of the Serbian Empire
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The fall of the Serbian Empire was a decades-long period in the late 14th century that marked the end of the once-powerful Serbian Empire. This period is known as the dissolution or the beginning of the fall of the Serbian Empire, between 1366 and 1371 King Vukašin was the co-ruler of Emperor Uroš, ruling the southern half, thus the Empire may be viewed as a de facto diarchy. Before 1371, the nobility were either directly subordinate to Emperor Uroš or to Vukašin, Vukašin died in the Battle of Maritsa against the invading Ottoman Empire, and southern Serbian provinces became nominal Ottoman vassals. The lords could not agree on the ruler, they dismissed Prince Marko, the son of Vukašin. The period after the death of Uroš and Vukašin was marked with the rise and fall of Prince Lazar, Lazar ruled the most powerful Serbian principality – Moravian Serbia. The rule of Lazar ended with his death in the Battle of Kosovo in 1389, when Serbia stood up against invading Ottomans, an event that is deeply rooted in Serbdom. After the battle, and by 1395, most of the provinces were conquered and annexed by the Ottomans. Dušans half brother Simeon Uroš was expelled from Epirus and sought to obtain Serbia and he marched on Serbia in 1357 after he had himself proclaimed Tsar of the Greeks, Serbs, and Albanians at Kastoria in 1356. The forces of Stephen Uroš met the forces of Simeon near Scutari in Zeta, the ransom was paid by the Emperor John V Palaiologos and Matthew was allowed to retire to Morea. Now the lands that remained loyal to Uroš were most of Macedonia, the lands that remained Serbian could be divided into three main parts, the western territories, including Zeta, the central Serbian lands of Uroš and the southern lands. One of the strongest western nobles was Vojislav Vojinović and he quarreled with the Republic of Ragusa in the fall of 1358, when the Serbs, the Hungarians penetrated deep into Serbian territory and the Serbian army retreated to avoid battle with the attackers. Vojislav waited until the Hungarians withdrew in 1359 then he attacked Ragusa, in 1363 the Hungarians and Wallachians were joined by Bosnian and Serbian forces committed to expel the Ottoman Turks from Europe. Caught by surprise near Adrianople, these forces were defeated by the Turks in 1364 on the banks of the Maritsa river, in 1365 Vukašin was proclaimed King of Serbia and co-ruler with Uroš, and Jovan Uglješa was made Despot in the Serbian principality of Serres. There was a far more serious problem for Serbia — and the whole Balkans — than the internal squabbling of the Serbian nobles, followed by their penetration into Thrace, in 1354 they acquired Gallipoli on the European side of the Dardanelles. From there, they expanded into Thrace taking Demotika from the Byzantines in 1361 and Philippopolis from the Bulgarians in 1363, by 1370 Turks had occupied most of Thrace to the Rhodopes and to the Balkan Mountains. As they reached the Rhodopes they collided with Jovan Uglješa who had extended his realm beyond the Mesta into this territory, the offensive against the Turks was originally scheduled for early 1371, but was delayed perhaps because Uglješa had hoped that Bulgaria might also join the coalition. Furthermore, they did not keep their horses or their weapons in readiness, the Ottomans won the battle, as they attacked the Serbian army while they rested. The bodies of the commanders were not found, Prince Marko inherited the royal title of his father, and became the co-ruler of Emperor Uroš
Fall of the Serbian Empire
–
States in the Central Balkans that emerged after the dissolution of the Serbian Empire in the 14th century (1373–1395)
10.
Serbian perper
–
The first mention of a Serbian dinar dates back to the reign of Stefan Nemanjić in 1214. Until the fall of the Serbian Despotate in 1459, most of the Serbian rulers minted silver dinar coins, the first Serbian dinars, like many other Southern European coins, replicated Venetian grosso, including characters in Latin. For many years it was one of the main articles of medieval Serbia. Serbian dinar Medieval Bulgarian coinage Vesna Radić, eight Centuries of the Serbian Dinar, Medieval Coins
Serbian perper
–
Coin minted during Tsar Dusan reign
11.
Kingdom of Serbia (medieval)
–
The Kingdom of Serbia, or Serbian Kingdom, was a medieval Serbian state that existed from 1217 to 1346, ruled by the Nemanjić dynasty. The Grand Principality of Serbia was elevated with the coronation of Stefan Nemanjić as king by his brother, bishop Sava, after inheriting all territories unified by their father, the kingdom was proclaimed an empire on 16 April 1346. Each province had its own nobility and institutions, and each acquired a member of the Vojislavljevići to head as Župan, the Byzantine Empire launched a campaign on Duklja between 1089 and 1091 and possibly captured Bodin. A civil war broke out in the realm among Bodins relatives, Vukan took the opportunity to assert himself and broke away, claiming the title of Grand Prince of Serbia. Rascia, Bosnia, and Zahumlje all became independent in 1091, up to this point, Duklja had been the center of the Serbian realm, as well as the main resistance to Byzantium in the Balkans. After 1091 Rascia became the most powerful of the Serbian states, under the rule of the Vukanović dynasty, Rascia also replaced Duklja as the main opponent of Byzantine rule in the 12th century. Bodins heirs were forced to recognize Byzantine overlordship, and now only the small territories of Duklja. During the reign of Vukans son Uroš I, the Byzantines invaded Duklja and sought to conquer Rascia as well, Uroš II initially fought the Byzantines, but he gave oaths of servitude to the Emperor after he was defeated in war. Stefan Nemanja was succeeded by his middle son Stefan, whilst his first-born son Vukan was given the rule of the Zeta region, Stefan Nemanjas youngest son Rastko became a monk and took the name Sava, turning all his efforts to spreading religion among his people. In Byzantium, Sava managed to secure autocephaly for the Serbian Church, in the same year Sava published the first constitution in Serbia — St. Savas Nomocanon. The Nomocanon was a compilation of Civil law, based on Roman Law and its basic purpose was to organize the functions of the young Serbian kingdom and the Serbian church. Thus the Serbs acquired both political and religious independence, the next generation of Serbian rulers — the sons of Stefan Prvovenčani, Radoslav, Vladislav, and Uroš I — marked a period of stagnation of the state structure. All three kings were more or less dependent on some of the neighbouring states — Byzantium, Bulgaria, the ties with the Hungarians played a decisive role as Uroš I was succeeded by his son Dragutin, whose wife was a Hungarian princess. Thus, some of these became part of the Serbian state for the first time. His new state was named Kingdom of Srem, in that time the name Srem was a designation for two territories, Upper Srem and Lower Srem. The Kingdom of Srem under the rule of Stefan Dragutin was actually Lower Srem, after Dragutin died in 1316, his son, king Vladislav II, became king and ruled until 1325. Under Dragutins younger brother, King Milutin, Serbia grew stronger despite having to fight wars on three different fronts. King Milutin was an apt diplomat much inclined to the use of a customary medieval diplomatic and dynastic marriages and he was married five times, with Hungarian, Bulgarian, and Byzantine princesses
Kingdom of Serbia (medieval)
–
Serbia, 1265, during the rule of
Stephen Uroš I
Kingdom of Serbia (medieval)
–
Flag
Kingdom of Serbia (medieval)
–
Corronation of
Tsar Dušan
Kingdom of Serbia (medieval)
–
Serbian Empire, 1355
12.
Moravian Serbia
–
Moravian Serbia is the name used in historiography for the largest and most powerful state to emerge from the ruins of the Serbian Empire. In 1403 it was raised to the Serbian Despotate, which would exist until 1459, Moravian Serbia was established in 1373 and attained its largest extent in 1379 through the military and political activities of its first ruler, Prince Lazar Hrebeljanović. The name Moravian Serbia should not imply that the state was affiliated in any way with the region of Moravia in the present-day Czech Republic. The adjective Moravian in this sense refers to the fact that the state comprised the basins of the Great Morava, West Morava, and South Morava rivers. Lazar Hrebeljanović was born in around 1329 in the fortress of Prilepac, near the town of Novo Brdo in the region of Kosovo, powerful Serbian nobles became practically independent in the regions they controlled. Lazar left the court Tsar Uroš in 1363 or 1365, and he held the title of prince since at least 1371. His territory initially developed in the shadow of stronger regional lords, the strongest were the Mrnjavčević brothers, Vukašin and Jovan Uglješa. They were defeated and killed by the Ottoman Turks in the Battle of Mariča in 1371, Lazar and Tvrtko Kotromanić, the Ban of Bosnia, jointly defeated in 1373 another strong noble, Nikola Altomanović. Most of Altomanovićs territory was acquired by Lazar, about that time, Lazar accepted the suzerainty of King Louis I of Hungary, who granted him the region of Mačva, or at least a part of it. With all these gains, Lazar emerged as the most powerful Serbian lord. The state he created is known in historiography as Moravian Serbia. Moravian Serbia attained its full extent in 1379, when Lazar took Braničevo and Kučevo, Lazars state was larger than the domains of the other lords on the territory of the former Serbian Empire. It also had an organized government and army. The state comprised the basins of the Great Morava, West Morava and its north-western border ran along the Drina River. Besides the capital Kruševac, the state included important towns of Niš and Užice, as well as Novo Brdo and Rudnik, of all the Serbian lands, Lazars state lay furthest from Ottoman centres, and was least exposed to the ravages of Turkish raiding parties. This circumstance attracted immigrants from Turkish-threatened areas, who built new villages, there were also spiritual persons among the immigrants, which stimulated the revival of old ecclesiastical centres and the foundation of new ones in Lazars state. A Turkish raiding party, passing unobstructed through territories of Ottoman vassals and it was routed by Lazars nobles Crep Vukoslavić and Vitomir in the Battle of Dubravica, fought near the town of Paraćin. In 1386, the Ottoman Sultan Murad I himself led much larger forces that took Niš from Lazar and it is unclear whether the encounter between the armies of Lazar and Murad at Pločnik, a site southwest of Niš, happened shortly before or after the capture of Niš
Moravian Serbia
–
Moravian Serbia
13.
Byzantine Empire
–
It survived the fragmentation and fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD and continued to exist for an additional thousand years until it fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453. During most of its existence, the empire was the most powerful economic, cultural, several signal events from the 4th to 6th centuries mark the period of transition during which the Roman Empires Greek East and Latin West divided. Constantine I reorganised the empire, made Constantinople the new capital, under Theodosius I, Christianity became the Empires official state religion and other religious practices were proscribed. Finally, under the reign of Heraclius, the Empires military, the borders of the Empire evolved significantly over its existence, as it went through several cycles of decline and recovery. During the reign of Maurice, the Empires eastern frontier was expanded, in a matter of years the Empire lost its richest provinces, Egypt and Syria, to the Arabs. This battle opened the way for the Turks to settle in Anatolia, the Empire recovered again during the Komnenian restoration, such that by the 12th century Constantinople was the largest and wealthiest European city. Despite the eventual recovery of Constantinople in 1261, the Byzantine Empire remained only one of several small states in the area for the final two centuries of its existence. Its remaining territories were annexed by the Ottomans over the 15th century. The Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 finally ended the Byzantine Empire, the term comes from Byzantium, the name of the city of Constantinople before it became Constantines capital. This older name of the city would rarely be used from this point onward except in historical or poetic contexts. The publication in 1648 of the Byzantine du Louvre, and in 1680 of Du Canges Historia Byzantina further popularised the use of Byzantine among French authors, however, it was not until the mid-19th century that the term came into general use in the Western world. The Byzantine Empire was known to its inhabitants as the Roman Empire, the Empire of the Romans, Romania, the Roman Republic, Graikia, and also as Rhōmais. The inhabitants called themselves Romaioi and Graikoi, and even as late as the 19th century Greeks typically referred to modern Greek as Romaika and Graikika. The authority of the Byzantine emperor as the legitimate Roman emperor was challenged by the coronation of Charlemagne as Imperator Augustus by Pope Leo III in the year 800. No such distinction existed in the Islamic and Slavic worlds, where the Empire was more seen as the continuation of the Roman Empire. In the Islamic world, the Roman Empire was known primarily as Rûm, the Roman army succeeded in conquering many territories covering the entire Mediterranean region and coastal regions in southwestern Europe and north Africa. These territories were home to different cultural groups, both urban populations and rural populations. The West also suffered heavily from the instability of the 3rd century AD
Byzantine Empire
–
Tremissis with the image of
Justinian the Great (r. 527–565) (see
Byzantine insignia)
Byzantine Empire
–
Byzantine
lamellar armour klivanium (Κλιβάνιον) - a predecessor of Ottoman krug
mirror armour
Byzantine Empire
–
The Baptism of Constantine painted by
Raphael 's pupils (1520–1524,
fresco, Vatican City,
Apostolic Palace);
Eusebius of Caesarea records that (as
was common among converts of early Christianity) Constantine delayed receiving
baptism until shortly before his death
Byzantine Empire
–
Restored section of the Theodosian Walls.
14.
Historiographical
–
Historiography is the study of the methods of historians in developing history as an academic discipline, and by extension is any body of historical work on a particular subject. The historiography of a specific topic covers how historians have studied that topic using particular sources, techniques, beginning in the nineteenth century, with the ascent of academic history, there developed a body of historiographic literature. The extent to which historians are influenced by their own groups, in 2007, of 5,723 faculty in the departments of history at British universities,1,644 identified themselves with social history and 1,425 identified themselves with political history. In the early period, the term historiography meant the writing of history. In that sense certain official historians were given the title Historiographer Royal in Sweden, England, the Scottish post is still in existence. Understanding the past appears to be a human need. What constitutes history is a philosophical question, the earliest chronologies date back to Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt, though no historical writers in these early civilizations were known by name. For the purposes of article, history is taken to mean written history recorded in a narrative format for the purpose of informing future generations about events. Before writing, there was only oral history or oral tradition, in China, the earliest history was recorded in oracle bone script which was deciphered and may date back to around late 2nd millennium BCE. The Zuo Zhuan, attributed to Zuo Qiuming in the 5th century BCE, is the earliest written of narrative history in the world, the Classic of History is one of the Five Classics of Chinese classic texts and one of the earliest narratives of China. It is traditionally attributed to Confucius, zhan Guo Ce was a renowned ancient Chinese historical compilation of sporadic materials on the Warring States period compiled between the 3rd and 1st centuries BCE. Sima Qian was the first in China to lay the groundwork for professional historical writing and his written work was the Shiji, a monumental lifelong achievement in literature. His work influenced every subsequent author of history in China, including the prestigious Ban family of the Eastern Han Dynasty era, traditional Chinese historiography describes history in terms of dynastic cycles. In this view, each new dynasty is founded by a morally righteous founder, over time, the dynasty becomes morally corrupt and dissolute. Eventually, the dynasty becomes so weak as to allow its replacement by a new dynasty, the tradition of Korean historiography was established with the Samguk Sagi, a history of Korea from its allegedly earliest times. It was compiled by Goryeo court historian Kim Busik after its commission by King Injong of Goryeo. It was completed in 1145 and relied not only on earlier Chinese histories for source material, the latter work is now lost. The earliest works of history produced in Japan were the Rikkokushi, the first of these works were the Nihon Shoki, compiled by Prince Toneri in 720
Historiographical
–
Allegory on writing history by
Jacob de Wit (1754). An almost naked Truth keeps an eye on the writer of history.
Pallas Athena (Wisdom) on left gives advice.
Historiographical
–
First page of the
Shiji.
Historiographical
–
Reproduction of part of a tenth-century copy of
Thucydides 's
History of the Peloponnesian War.
Historiographical
–
A page of
Bede 's Ecclesiastical History of the English People
15.
Balkan peninsula
–
The Balkan Peninsula, or the Balkans, is a peninsula and a cultural area in Eastern and Southeastern Europe with various and disputed borders. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch from the Serbia-Bulgaria border to the Black Sea, the highest point of the Balkans is Mount Musala 2,925 metres in the Rila mountain range. In Turkish, Balkan means a chain of wooded mountains, the name is still preserved in Central Asia with the Balkan Daglary and the Balkan Province of Turkmenistan. A less popular hypothesis regarding its etymology is that it derived from the Persian Balā-Khāna, from Antiquity through the Middle Ages, the Balkan Mountains had been called by the local Thracian name Haemus. According to Greek mythology, the Thracian king Haemus was turned into a mountain by Zeus as a punishment, a reverse name scheme has also been suggested. D. Dechev considers that Haemus is derived from a Thracian word *saimon, a third possibility is that Haemus derives from the Greek word haema meaning blood. The myth relates to a fight between Zeus and the monster/titan Typhon, Zeus injured Typhon with a thunder bolt and Typhons blood fell on the mountains, from which they got their name. The earliest mention of the name appears in an early 14th-century Arab map, the Ottomans first mention it in a document dated from 1565. There has been no other documented usage of the word to refer to the region before that, there is also a claim about an earlier Bulgar Turkic origin of the word popular in Bulgaria, however it is only an unscholarly assertion. The word was used by the Ottomans in Rumelia in its meaning of mountain, as in Kod̲j̲a-Balkan, Čatal-Balkan, and Ungurus-Balkani̊. The concept of the Balkans was created by the German geographer August Zeune in 1808, during the 1820s, Balkan became the preferred although not yet exclusive term alongside Haemus among British travelers. Among Russian travelers not so burdened by classical toponymy, Balkan was the preferred term, zeunes goal was to have a geographical parallel term to the Italic and Iberian Peninsula, and seemingly nothing more. The gradually acquired political connotations are newer and, to a large extent, after the dissolution of Yugoslavia beginning in June 1991, the term Balkans again received a negative meaning, especially in Croatia and Slovenia, even in casual usage. A European Union initiative of 1999 is called the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe, and its northern boundary is often given as the Danube, Sava and Kupa Rivers. The Balkan Peninsula has an area of about 470,000 km2. It is more or less identical to the known as Southeastern Europe. As of 1920 until World War II, Italy included Istria, the current territory of Italy includes only the small area around Trieste inside the Balkan Peninsula. However, the regions of Trieste and Istria are not usually considered part of the Balkans by Italian geographers, the Western Balkans is a neologism coined to describe the countries of ex-Yugoslavia and Albania
Balkan peninsula
–
The Balkan Peninsula, as defined by the
Danube -
Sava -
Kupa line
Balkan peninsula
–
The Balkan states according to
Oxford University Profesor R. J. Crampton
Balkan peninsula
–
The Peninsula's most extensive definition, bordered by water on three sides and connected with a line on the fourth
Balkan peninsula
–
Panorama of
Stara Planina. Its highest peak is
Botev at a height of 2,376 m.
16.
Serbian Kingdom (medieval)
–
The Kingdom of Serbia, or Serbian Kingdom, was a medieval Serbian state that existed from 1217 to 1346, ruled by the Nemanjić dynasty. The Grand Principality of Serbia was elevated with the coronation of Stefan Nemanjić as king by his brother, bishop Sava, after inheriting all territories unified by their father, the kingdom was proclaimed an empire on 16 April 1346. Each province had its own nobility and institutions, and each acquired a member of the Vojislavljevići to head as Župan, the Byzantine Empire launched a campaign on Duklja between 1089 and 1091 and possibly captured Bodin. A civil war broke out in the realm among Bodins relatives, Vukan took the opportunity to assert himself and broke away, claiming the title of Grand Prince of Serbia. Rascia, Bosnia, and Zahumlje all became independent in 1091, up to this point, Duklja had been the center of the Serbian realm, as well as the main resistance to Byzantium in the Balkans. After 1091 Rascia became the most powerful of the Serbian states, under the rule of the Vukanović dynasty, Rascia also replaced Duklja as the main opponent of Byzantine rule in the 12th century. Bodins heirs were forced to recognize Byzantine overlordship, and now only the small territories of Duklja. During the reign of Vukans son Uroš I, the Byzantines invaded Duklja and sought to conquer Rascia as well, Uroš II initially fought the Byzantines, but he gave oaths of servitude to the Emperor after he was defeated in war. Stefan Nemanja was succeeded by his middle son Stefan, whilst his first-born son Vukan was given the rule of the Zeta region, Stefan Nemanjas youngest son Rastko became a monk and took the name Sava, turning all his efforts to spreading religion among his people. In Byzantium, Sava managed to secure autocephaly for the Serbian Church, in the same year Sava published the first constitution in Serbia — St. Savas Nomocanon. The Nomocanon was a compilation of Civil law, based on Roman Law and its basic purpose was to organize the functions of the young Serbian kingdom and the Serbian church. Thus the Serbs acquired both political and religious independence, the next generation of Serbian rulers — the sons of Stefan Prvovenčani, Radoslav, Vladislav, and Uroš I — marked a period of stagnation of the state structure. All three kings were more or less dependent on some of the neighbouring states — Byzantium, Bulgaria, the ties with the Hungarians played a decisive role as Uroš I was succeeded by his son Dragutin, whose wife was a Hungarian princess. Thus, some of these became part of the Serbian state for the first time. His new state was named Kingdom of Srem, in that time the name Srem was a designation for two territories, Upper Srem and Lower Srem. The Kingdom of Srem under the rule of Stefan Dragutin was actually Lower Srem, after Dragutin died in 1316, his son, king Vladislav II, became king and ruled until 1325. Under Dragutins younger brother, King Milutin, Serbia grew stronger despite having to fight wars on three different fronts. King Milutin was an apt diplomat much inclined to the use of a customary medieval diplomatic and dynastic marriages and he was married five times, with Hungarian, Bulgarian, and Byzantine princesses
Serbian Kingdom (medieval)
–
Serbia, 1265, during the rule of
Stephen Uroš I
Serbian Kingdom (medieval)
–
Flag
Serbian Kingdom (medieval)
–
Corronation of
Tsar Dušan
Serbian Kingdom (medieval)
–
Serbian Empire, 1355
17.
Serbian Emperor
–
Between 1345 and 1371, the Serbian monarch was titled emperor, the full title being Emperor of the Serbs and Greeks in Serbian and basileus and autokrator of Serbia and Romania in Greek. The Serbian Empire was ruled by two monarchs, Stefan Dušan and Stefan Uroš V. Two other claimants of the ruled in Thessaly, Central Greece. Following his conquest of Serres, which crowned his conquest of Macedonia, in November or December 1345 Stefan Dušan proclaimed himself emperor, laying claim on the Byzantine imperial inheritance. On 16 April 1346 hewas crowned emperor at Skopje in an assembly attended by the elevated Serbian Patriarch, and also the Bulgarian Patriarch and his imperial title was recognised by Bulgaria and various other neighbors and trading partners but not by the Byzantine Empire. Mount Athos addressed him as Emperor, though rather as Emperor of Serbs than Emperor of Serbs, in Serbian charters, ethnic terms are used – Emperor of the Serbs and Greeks. In Greek, the title was basileus and autokratōr of Serbia, notably, when the Byzantines came around to recognizing Dušans imperial title, it was only for Serbia proper, much as they had done with the Bulgarian Tsar Simeon 400 years earlier. After his coronation, the title of king was dropped, when Stefan Dušan died in 1355, his son Stefan Uroš V succeeded him. Uroš Vs uncle Simeon Uroš in Thessaly claimed the title in rivalry, with the extinction of the main line of the Nemanjić dynasty with the death of heirless Stefan Uroš V in 1371, the imperial title became obsolete. The fall of the Serbian Empire saw the state fragmenting into provinces ruled by magnates, holding various titles, in 1527, a renegade Hungarian-Serbian commander, Jovan Nenad, styled himself Emperor. Stefan Dušan Emperor of Serbs and Greeks, in 1349. in 1349, Emperor of Serbs and Greeks and the Western Provinces, in 1349. Emperor of Serbs, Greeks and Bulgarians, Emperor of Serbs, Greeks, Bulgarians and Albanians. Emperor of the Serbs, by the Athonite community, Emperor and Autocrat of Serbia and Romania, from a chrysobull to Iveron Monastery. Emperor of all Serb and Greek lands, the Maritime Region, Arbania, Emperor of Greece and King of All Serb Lands and the Maritime, between 1347–56. Emperor of Serbia and the Maritime Region, between 1347–56, Emperor of Rascia and Romania, Despot of Arta and Count of Vlachia in 1348, after the Serb conquest of Epirus and Thessaly. Stefan Uroš V Emperor of Serbs and Greeks, in 1357. in 1358. in 1357,1360, twice in 1357,1362,1365, and between 1356–67. Dušans Code List of Serbian monarchs Fine, John Van Antwerp, the Late Medieval Balkans, A Critical Survey from the Late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman Conquest. Ann Arbor, University of Michigan Press, — La Serbie, pouvoir et administration sociale
Serbian Emperor
–
Stefan Uroš V
Serbian Emperor
–
Empire flag
Serbian Emperor
–
Coronation of Stefan Uroš IV Dušan.
Serbian Emperor
–
Stefan Uroš IV Dušan the Mighty
18.
Second Bulgarian Empire
–
The Second Bulgarian Empire was a medieval Bulgarian state that existed between 1185 and 1396. It was succeeded by the Principality and later Kingdom of Bulgaria in 1878, until 1256, the Second Bulgarian Empire was the dominant power in the Balkans, defeating the Byzantine Empire in several major battles. In 1205 Emperor Kaloyan defeated the newly established Latin Empire in the Battle of Adrianople and his nephew Ivan Asen II defeated the Despotate of Epiros and made Bulgaria a regional power again. During his reign, Bulgaria spread from the Adriatic to the Black Sea, in the late 13th century, however, the Empire declined under constant invasions by Mongols, Byzantines, Hungarians, and Serbs, as well as internal unrest and revolts. The 14th century saw a recovery and stability, but also the peak of Balkan feudalism as central authorities gradually lost power in many regions. Bulgaria was divided into three parts on the eve of the Ottoman invasion, despite strong Byzantine influence, Bulgarian artists and architects created their own distinctive style. In the 14th century, during the known as the Second Golden Age of Bulgarian culture, literature. The capital city Tarnovo, which was considered a New Constantinople, became the main cultural hub. The name most frequently used for the empire by contemporaries was Bulgaria, during Kaloyans reign, the state was sometimes known as being of both Bulgarians and Vlachs. Pope Innocent III and other such as the Latin Emperor Henry mentioned the state as Bulgaria. In modern historiography, the state is called the Second Bulgarian Empire, Second Bulgarian Tsardom, the existing tax system, laws, and the power of low-ranking nobility remained unchanged until his death in 1025. The autocephalous Bulgarian Patriarchate was subordinated to the Ecumenical Patriarch in Constantinople and downgraded to an archbishopric centred in Ohrid, while retaining its autonomy, Basil appointed the Bulgarian John I Debranin as its first archbishop, but his successors were Byzantines. The Bulgarian aristocracy and tsars relatives were given various Byzantine titles, despite hardships, the Bulgarian language, literature, and culture survived, surviving period texts refer to and idealize the Bulgarian Empire. Most of the conquered territories were included in the themes Bulgaria, Sirmium. The initial centre of the resistance was the theme of Bulgaria, in what is now Macedonia, where the massive Uprising of Peter Delyan, both were quelled with great difficulty by Byzantine authorities. These were followed by rebellions in Paristrion and Thrace, the disastrous rule of the last Comnenian emperor Andronikos I worsened the situation of the Bulgarian peasantry and nobility. The first act of his successor Isaac II Angelos was to impose a tax to finance his wedding. In 1185, two brothers from Tarnovo, Theodore and Asen, asked the emperor to enlist them into the army and grant them land
Second Bulgarian Empire
–
Bulgaria under Ivan Asen II
Second Bulgarian Empire
–
The
Church of St Demetrius in Tarnovo, built by Asen and Peter in the beginning of the uprising
Second Bulgarian Empire
–
The
Church of the Holy Forty Martyrs where Kaloyan was buried.
19.
Emperor of the Serbs and Greeks
–
Between 1345 and 1371, the Serbian monarch was titled emperor, the full title being Emperor of the Serbs and Greeks in Serbian and basileus and autokrator of Serbia and Romania in Greek. The Serbian Empire was ruled by two monarchs, Stefan Dušan and Stefan Uroš V. Two other claimants of the ruled in Thessaly, Central Greece. Following his conquest of Serres, which crowned his conquest of Macedonia, in November or December 1345 Stefan Dušan proclaimed himself emperor, laying claim on the Byzantine imperial inheritance. On 16 April 1346 hewas crowned emperor at Skopje in an assembly attended by the elevated Serbian Patriarch, and also the Bulgarian Patriarch and his imperial title was recognised by Bulgaria and various other neighbors and trading partners but not by the Byzantine Empire. Mount Athos addressed him as Emperor, though rather as Emperor of Serbs than Emperor of Serbs, in Serbian charters, ethnic terms are used – Emperor of the Serbs and Greeks. In Greek, the title was basileus and autokratōr of Serbia, notably, when the Byzantines came around to recognizing Dušans imperial title, it was only for Serbia proper, much as they had done with the Bulgarian Tsar Simeon 400 years earlier. After his coronation, the title of king was dropped, when Stefan Dušan died in 1355, his son Stefan Uroš V succeeded him. Uroš Vs uncle Simeon Uroš in Thessaly claimed the title in rivalry, with the extinction of the main line of the Nemanjić dynasty with the death of heirless Stefan Uroš V in 1371, the imperial title became obsolete. The fall of the Serbian Empire saw the state fragmenting into provinces ruled by magnates, holding various titles, in 1527, a renegade Hungarian-Serbian commander, Jovan Nenad, styled himself Emperor. Stefan Dušan Emperor of Serbs and Greeks, in 1349. in 1349, Emperor of Serbs and Greeks and the Western Provinces, in 1349. Emperor of Serbs, Greeks and Bulgarians, Emperor of Serbs, Greeks, Bulgarians and Albanians. Emperor of the Serbs, by the Athonite community, Emperor and Autocrat of Serbia and Romania, from a chrysobull to Iveron Monastery. Emperor of all Serb and Greek lands, the Maritime Region, Arbania, Emperor of Greece and King of All Serb Lands and the Maritime, between 1347–56. Emperor of Serbia and the Maritime Region, between 1347–56, Emperor of Rascia and Romania, Despot of Arta and Count of Vlachia in 1348, after the Serb conquest of Epirus and Thessaly. Stefan Uroš V Emperor of Serbs and Greeks, in 1357. in 1358. in 1357,1360, twice in 1357,1362,1365, and between 1356–67. Dušans Code List of Serbian monarchs Fine, John Van Antwerp, the Late Medieval Balkans, A Critical Survey from the Late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman Conquest. Ann Arbor, University of Michigan Press, — La Serbie, pouvoir et administration sociale
Emperor of the Serbs and Greeks
–
Stefan Uroš V
Emperor of the Serbs and Greeks
–
Empire flag
Emperor of the Serbs and Greeks
–
Coronation of Stefan Uroš IV Dušan.
Emperor of the Serbs and Greeks
–
Stefan Uroš IV Dušan the Mighty
20.
Joanikije II
–
Joanikije II was the Serbian Archbishop and first Serbian Patriarch. He was elected Serbian Archbishop on January 3,1338, prior to his election, he served as a logotet, royal chancellor, to the Kingdom of Serbia. Joanikije continued a tradition of building, and built, among others, two churches in the Holy Land, the Church of St. Elias on Mount Carmel. Joanikije died on September 3,1354, which is his feast day and he was buried in the Monastery of the Patriarchate of Peć. Joanikije was born in the vicinity of Prizren, an important town in the Kingdom of Serbia, Joanikije served as a logotet, royal chancellor, to the Serbian King Stefan Uroš IV Dušan. Archbishop Danilo II died on December 19,1337, Joanikije was elected Serbian Archbishop on January 3,1338. King Dušan had expanded his territory into the deep Greek south in the 1340s. Joanikije II continued a tradition of building, and built, among others, two churches in the Holy Land, the Church of St. Elias on Mount Carmel. Joanikije II died on September 3,1354, which is his feast day and he was buried in the Monastery of Peć. His patronymic or surname is unknown and this article incorporates text from Joanikije II at OrthodoxWiki which is licensed under the CC-BY-SA and GFDL. Архиепископ Данило, Животи краљева и архиепископа Српских
Joanikije II
–
Joanikije II, fresco from the Church of St. Demetrius
21.
Bulgarian Patriarchate
–
The Patriarch of All Bulgaria is the Patriarch of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. The Patriarch is officially styled as Patriarch of All Bulgaria and Metropolitan of Sofia, Patriarch Neophyte acceded to this position on 24 February 2013. Thus, the Bulgarian Patriarchate became the fifth autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church after the patriarchates of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem. After the fall of the capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire Tarnovo to the Ottomans in 1393 and the exile of Patriarch Euthymius, the Bulgarian diocese was again subordinated to the Patriarchate of Constantinople. Conditions for the restoration of the Bulgarian Patriarchate were created after World War II, in 1945 the Patriarch of Constantinople recognised the autocephaly of the Bulgarian Church. In 1950, the Holy Synod adopted a new Statute which paved the way for the restoration of the Patriarchate and in 1953, it elected the Metropolitan of Plovdiv, Cyril, Bulgarian Patriarch. After the death of Patriarch Cyril in 1971, the Church elected in his place Maxim, the Metropolitan of Lovech, for an interim leader on 10 November 2012 was chosen Metropolitan Cyril of Varna and Veliki Preslav, who organized the election of a new Patriarch. On February 24,2013 Neophyte of Bulgaria was elected as the new Patriarch, list of Patriarchs of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church
Bulgarian Patriarchate
–
Patriarch of All Bulgaria
Serbia portal
Media related to Serbian Empire at Wikimedia Commons
