Stefan Dragutin of Serbia
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Stefan Dragutin, king of Serbia (1276-1282), king of Srem (1282-1316), fresco, detail, 1296 |
Stefan Dragutin (died
March 12 1316) was
King of
Serbia from
1276 to
1282 and king of
Srem from
1282 to
1316.
Dragutin was the eldest son of king
Stefan Uroš I by Helena. 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 cousin of Hungarian king Andrija II, Dragutin in
1284 gained from Hungarian king 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. First capital of his state was Debrc (between Belgrade and Šabac), and latter 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 Čak.
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.
His marriage in about
1268 with Katarina, daughter of
Stephen V of Hungary produced at least four children:#
Jelisaveta or Elisaveta (Јелисавета), married in
1284 to the
Bosnian
ban Stefan I Kotromanić.# Ursula, married before
1300 to Pavle Šubić (Павле Шубић).#
Stefan Vladislav II, king of Srem (1316-1325).# Urošic (Урошиц), died as a monk.
*
History of Serbia*
History of Vojvodina*
List of Serbian monarchs *
Rulers of Vojvodina*
Srem*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).
