Realm of Stefan Dragutin


The Realm of Stefan Dragutin was a medieval Serb kingdom. Initially, it was a vassal kingdom of the Kingdom of Hungary, but subsequently became an independent kingdom, after the collapse of the central power in the Kingdom of Hungary. It was ruled by the Serbian kings Stefan Dragutin and his son Stefan Vladislav II. The kingdom was centered in the region of Lower Syrmia and its first capital was Debrc, while residence of the king was later moved to Belgrade.

Territory

In the Middle Ages, "Syrmia" was the name for a larger area around the river Sava. The part in the north of Sava was known as Upper Syrmia, while the area south of the river was known as Lower Syrmia. The kingdom was centered in Mačva, but also included Belgrade, part of Šumadija with Rudnik, and the counties of Podrinje, Usora, Soli, Braničevo and Kučevo. According to several Serbian historians, the kingdom also included Upper Syrmia.

History

was initially the king of Serbia from 1276 to 1282. In 1282 he broke his leg while hunting and became ill; he passed the throne to his younger brother Stefan Milutin at the council at Deževo in 1282, while keeping for himself some northern parts of the country. Since his son Vladislav married a relative of the Hungarian king, Dragutin in 1284 gained from Ladislaus IV the Banates of Só, Ózora and Macsó with Belgrade, which he initially ruled as a Hungarian vassal, until the collapse of the central power in the Kingdom of Hungary. The first capital of his state was Debrc, and later he moved his residence to Belgrade. Dragutin was the first Serb ruler who ruled from Belgrade as the capital.
In roughly 1291 and with the help of Milutin, Dragutin expanded his territory by annexing regions of Braničevo and Kučevo, whose Bulgarian rulers Darman and Kudelin recently became independent from the Kingdom of Hungary. For the first time, that region became part of the Serbian state. This action probably caused the war between the Bulgarian despot Shishman of Vidin and Milutin.
Near the end of his life Stefan Dragutin separated from his Hungarian friends and strengthened his connections in Serbia. He later took monastic vows, and died 1316, buried at the Đurđevi stupovi monastery near Novi Pazar.
After king Dragutin died, his son Vladislav assumed his father's appanage. However, in 1319, Serbian king Milutin, Vladislav's uncle, invaded, defeated and imprisoned Vladislav. When Milutin died in 1321, the newly freed Vladislav recovered his father's lands, with the help of the Hungarians and Stephen II, Ban of Bosnia.
After having been beaten again by supporters of Stefan Dečanski, Vladislav retreated to the Kingdom of Hungary in 1324. Vladislav's nephew, Ban Stephen II, reincorporated Soli and Usora into Bosnia. Belgrade and the northern part of Banate of Macsó along the river Sava remained under the rule of the Kingdom of Hungary, while Braničevo and the southern part of Mačva remained Serbian. The kingdoms of Serbia and Hungary would contest Mačva for the next century.

Rulers

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