Stefan Dragutin of Serbia

[
thumb|200px|Stefan_Dragutin,_fresco_from_St. Achilleos church near Arilje, detail, 1296] Stefan Dragutin (died March 12 1316) was King of Serbia from 1276 to 1282 and King of Srem from 1282 to 1316.

Life

Dragutin was the eldest son of king Stefan Uroš I by Hélène d'Anjou. He married Katarina, daughter of Hungarian king Stephen 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 hence gave the throne to his younger brother Stefan Milutin (the council at Deževo 1282) while keeping for himself some northern parts of the country. Since his son Vladislav married the relative of Hungarian king, Dragutin in 1284 gained from Ladislaus IV areas of Mačva with Belgrade, and the Bosnian areas Soli and Usora, which he ruled until 1316, establishing family relations with Bosnian ban Stefan I Kotromanić. His new state was named "Kingdom of Srem". The first capital of his state was Debrc (between Belgrade and Šabac), and later he moved his residence to Belgrade. He is the first of the Serb rulers who ruled from the capital of Belgrade.

In that time the name "Srem" was designation for two territories: "Upper Srem" (present day Srem) and "Lower Srem" (present day Mačva). Kingdom of Srem under the rule of Stefan Dragutin was actually Lower Srem. Some historical sources mention that Stefan Dragutin also ruled over Upper Srem and Slavonija, but the other sources mention another local ruler who ruled over Upper Srem. The name of this ruler was Ugrin Csák.

Near the end of the 13th century Stefan Dragutin expanded his territory, adding Braničevo and Kučevo. He came into conflict with his brother Milutin when Milutin wanted to create stronger political ties with the Byzantine Empire and obviously did not intend to give the throne to Dragutin's son Vladislav as agreed. Conflict between the brothers was calmed by the clergy in 1313. Near the end of his life he separated from his Hungarian friends and strengthened his connections in Serbia. He later became a monk and changed his name to Teoktist. He died in 1316 and was buried in the Đurđevi Stupovi monastery near Novi Pazar. After Dragutin died, new ruler of the Kingdom of Srem became his son Stefan Vladislav II.

His legacy includes some splendid monasteries, most notable among them: monastery "Mala Remeta" on Fruška Gora, dedicated to the "Shroud of the Mother of God"; "St. Achilleos church" near Arilje (1296); and a monastery "Đurđevi stupovi" with "St. George church" in Ras (now Novi Pazar), where he was buried.

Family

His marriage in about 1268 with Katarina, daughter of Stephen V of Hungary and Elizabeth the Cuman, produced at least four children:
# Stefan Vladislav II, king of Srem (1316-1325).
# Elisaveta (Јелисавета) or Jelisaveta of Serbia, married in 1284 to the Bosnian ban Stefan I Kotromanić, becoming mother of Stephen II of Bosnia.
# Ursula, married before 1300 to Pavle Šubić (Павле Шубић).
# Urošic (Урошиц), died as a monk.

ee also

*History of Serbia
*List of Serbian monarchs
*Srem

References

*John V.A. Fine, Jr., "The Late Medieval Balkans", Ann Arbor, 1987.
*Miomir Filipović - Fića, Tri cara i trideset i jedan kralj srpskog naroda, Čikago, 1992.
*Drago Njegovan, Prisajedinjenje Vojvodine Srbiji, Novi Sad, 2004.
*Small encyclopedia "Sveznanje" published by "Narodno delo", Belgrade, in 1937 which is today in public domain. This article is written from the point of view of that place and time and may not reflect modern opinions or recent discoveries."
*Age, marriage and progeny information from "The geneaology and coats of arms of Serbian dynasties and feudals (Родословне таблице и грбови српских династија и властеле)"; editors Aleksa Ivić (1928), Dušan Spasić, Aleksandar Palavestra and Dušan Mrđenović (1987); Bata, Belgrade, ISBN 86-7685-007-0 (1928), ISBN 86-7335-050-6 (1987) (in Serbian language).

External links

* [http://www.arhiva.serbia.sr.gov.yu/g3/images/dragutin_i_milutin_drzava.jpgMap of Dragutin's realm]
* [http://www.zastava-info.co.yu/img/monografija/ix_vek_1.gifMap of Dragutin's realm]
* [http://mek.oszk.hu/00800/00893/html/img/nagy/1ed1.jpgMap of Dragutin's realm]

Persondata
NAME = Dragutin, Stefan
ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
SHORT DESCRIPTION = Serbian monarch
DATE OF BIRTH = unknown
PLACE OF BIRTH = unkwown
DATE OF DEATH = March 12 1316
PLACE OF DEATH = Serbia