List of Serbs - Monarchs

Monarchs

See: List of Serbian monarchs

• Zorsines, leader of Serbs near the Caucasus around 50 CE
• Gobazes, King of Lazica arrives with his troops in the Balkans.
• (Unnamed) 6th century King of White Serbia (also known as Bojka). He was succeeded by two sons, one of them was the leader of the Serbs. Little else is known about him. Also, Dervan, an early prince of the Sorbs and Serbs, is mentioned in the Chronicle of Fredegar.
• Unknown Archont (fl. 610–641), an eponymous leader of the Serb nation, considered the patriarch of the Vlastimirović dynasty who was granted land by Heraclius in the beginning of the seventh century.
• Rulers of the Svevladović Dynasty:
• King Svevlad sired three sons, who bore the following names: the first born was called Brusila (Brus), the second Oštroila and the third Totila, according to Slav chroniclers. He divided his kingdom between them in the following way. Oštroila (490-535) claimed Dalmatian and Serbian lands for his father King Svevlad, while Totila went to conquer territories in what is today Italy. Apparently Brusila (Brus) returned to his father's residence to succeed him. Historians have found a connection between the Amali dynasty and the brothers Valamir (420-469), Theodemir (also spelled Thiudimir), and Vidimir the Elder of the Ostrogoths (451-473) and King Svevlad. Later, it may explain the capture of Gelimer (Selimir) and his wife by Justinian's army and the Byzantine emperor's leniency towards them, being of the same faith and all.
• King Oštroila (490-535)
• King Svevlad II (535-549), son of Oštroila, defeated the Greeks, circa 550. About this same Svevlad II the Slav chroniclers report that "he subdued all Macedonia and Illyria...."
• King Selimir (also spelled Gelimer; 549-568) was the son of King Svevlad II. Selimir and his wife were brought to Tsarigrad (Constantinople) after the collapse of the Vandals in North Africa, Justinian, showed himself very lenient towards them. In 564 some other Slavs, the Avars, appeared from the other side of the Danube in the Slavic lands and conquered much of it.
• King Vladan (568-590)
• King Radimir (590-606)
• King Vladan II (606-619)
• King Radimir II (619-630)
• Svetimirović Dynasty (640-794)
• Prince Višeslav of Serbia (ft 768-814). Descendent of the Unknown Archont. He lived at the time of Charlemagne and ruled his hereditary lands; Župania's of Neretva, Tara, Piva, Lim. He united the Serbs and formed the first Principality of Serbia.
• Prince Radoslav of Serbia (800-822), son of Višeslav, ruled during the uprisings of Ljudevit Posavski against the Franks.
• Prince Prosigoj of Serbia (822-836), son of Radoslav, ruled the Principality of Serbia (medieval) (Rascia).
• Prince Vlastimir (r. 835–851), unified several provinces into a state and and succeeded by defeating the Bulgars (Vlastimirović dynasty)
• Beloje of Trebinje (before 842) who by marrying his son (Krajina) to Vlastimir's daughter prepared the way for a further union of Serbian lands.
• Krajina Belojević (ca. 847-851) had a son named Hvalimir, who inherited the title of zupan (lord) and claimed the lands that came with it.
• Hvalimir of the Belojević noble family ruled Travunia, like his father before, and his his son (Čučimir) after him.
• Čučimir continued the office under the Serbian crown.
• Prince Mutimir (r. 851–891), son of Vlastimir that ruled during the Christianization of Serbs (Vlastimirović dynasty)
• Prince Petar of Serbia (870-917), prosecuted strategic wars in the Balkans during the late ninth- and early tenth-century with varying success.
• Prince Časlav (r. 927–960) united and expanded Serbia in alliance with Byzantines (Vlastimirović dynasty)
• Grand Zupan Tihomir of Rascia ruled the country from 960 to 969. In the meantime, the banished Radoslav had come to Rome, and married a very distinguished Roman woman, with whom he had his first-born son called Petrislav (later, came Dragimir and Mirsolav). Radoslav died of old age (in senectute) and was buried in the Church of St. John Lateran
• Prince Petrislav of Duklja (died 1000) is the father of Jovan Vladimir. He also married a Roman noblewoman, who bore him a son, Pavlimir. Petrislav was laid to rest in the Church of St. Mary in Krajina. After Petrislav's death a quarrel arose in his family and ceteris Romanis, during which Pavlimir distinguished himself on the field of battle as a brave warrior and was nicknamed Belo Pavlimir (Pavlimir Ratnik in Serbian).
• Prince Jovan Vladimir (r. 990–1016), son of Petrislav, martyr, ruled the Serbian successor-state of Duklja (also known as Serbia, Triballia or Dalmatia)
• Prince Dragimir of Travunia and Zachlumia, paternal uncle of Jovan Vladimir, was well-educated and reportedly spoke five languages. He was looked upon kindly by Samuel of Bulgaria who gave back Dragimir's land of Travunia and Zuchlumia during the height of Byzantine-Bulgarian wars.
• Vojislavljević dynasty, the ancestral house of the Vlastimirović dynasty, now comes into prominence:
• Prince Vojislav (r. 1018–1043), son of Dragimir, revolted against the Byzantines and gained independence of Duklja, including Hum, Travunia and Rascia. (Vojislavljević dynasty)
• King Mihailo I (r. 1043–1081), proclaimed King by the Pope Gregory VII in c. 1077 after he succeeded in regaining Raška (Vojislavljević dynasty)
• Grand Prince Petrislav of Rascia (1050-1085) had been placed by Mihailo I over Raška between 1060 and 1074.
• Prince Vukan of Rascia (1083-1091)
• King Constantine Bodin (r. 1081–1101), son of Mihailo I, became Emperor of Bulgaria in 1072, significantly expanded his realm corresponding to that of Časlav, furthermore Bosnia was added to the state. But after Bodin's death new disorder ensued, caused internecine strife among several pretenders to the throne (Vojislavljević dynasty)
• Grand Prince Mihailo II of Duklja and Grand Prince Dobroslav II co-ruled Duklja from 1101-1102
• Grand Prince Kočapar Branislavljević (1102-1103)
• Grand prince Vladimir of Duklja, the oldest son of Mihailo I of Duklja and brother of Constantin Bodin, Dobroslav II and Petrislav.
• Grand Prince George of Duklja (1113–1118 and 1125-1131)
• Grand Prince Grubeša (1118-1125)
• Grand Prince Vukan (r. 1091–1112), became the strongest of all Serbian royalty and seceded Rascia, submitted Kosovo and northern Macedonia (Vukanović dynasty to his rule)
• Grand Prince Uroš I (r. 1112–1145), the first of Serbian monarchs entering an alliance with Hungary (Vukanović dynasty) and Moravia. His daughters, Jelena (Helena of Serbia) married Béla II of Hungary; and Maria married Conrad II, Duke of Znojma.
• Grand Prince Zavida of Zahumlje, Lord of Ribnica, ruled under Uroš I (1112-1145)
• Grand Prince George of Duklja (1113-1118)
• Grand Prince Grubeša (1118-1125)
• Grand Prince George of Duklja (reinstated, 1125-1131)
• Grand prince Gradinja of Duklja (1131-1146)
• Grand Prince Beloš (r. 1162), served as regent of Hungary 1141–1146, Ban of Croatia 1142–1158 (Vukanović dynasty)
• Grand Prince Uroš II of Rascia (1145-1162)
• Grand Prince Radoslav of Duklja (1146-1148)
• Grand Prince Desa (r. 1148–1162), became Duke of Primorije (Duklja and Travunia) from 1150 to 1153, and co-ruler of Rascia, 1153-1155, 1162–1166 (Vukanović dynasty)
• Grand Prince Uroš II of Rascia (1145-1162)
• Grand Prince Tihomir of Serbia (1162-1171); his successor was Stephen Nemanja, the father of Saint Sava
• Grand Prince Mihailo III of Duklja
• Grand Prince Grdeša (1120-1180)
• Grand Prince Stephen Nemanja (r. 1166–1196) is remembered as one of the most important figures in Serbian history, he marked the beginning of Serbian prospering in culture, he founded the Serbian Orthodox Church with his youngest son, Rastko, venerated as a Saint Sava of the Nemanjić dynasty. He had two other sons, Vukan Nemanjić of Serbia, his eldest, and Stefan II Nemanjić.
• Grand Prince / King Stephen the First-Crowned (r. 1196–1228) was crowned King in 1217. The Serbian church became autocephalous in 1219 under the leadership of Rastko (Saint Sava). (Nemanjić dynasty)
• King Stefan Radoslav of Serbia ruled as King of Serbia from 1228 to 1233.
• King Stephen Vladislav I of Serbia (died 1264)
• King Stephen Uroš I King 1243–1276; Queen consort Helen of Anjou (Nemanjić dynasty)
• King Stephen Dragutin (r. 1276–1282), ruled the monarchy from 1276 to 1282, then the Kingdom of Syrmia from 1291 to 1316. (Nemanjić dynasty)
• King Stephen Uroš II Milutin, from 1282 to 1321, Serbia became a "great power" in the Balkans, contending with Byzantium and the Bulgarians over Macedonia. (Nemanjić dynasty)
• King Stephen Constantine of Serbia, from 1321 to 1322
• King Stefan Uroš III of Dečani, from 1322 to 1331, followed up on this success by defeating the Bulgarians at Velbazhd in 1330 and continuing the expansion into Byzantine Macedonia (Nemanjić dynasty)
• Emperor Stephen Uroš IV Dušan the Mighty (r. 1331–1355), conquered a large part of Southeast Europe, becoming one of the most powerful monarchs in his time and Serbia reached its territorial, economical, political and cultural peak; he enacted Dušan's Code, one of the most important works of medieval Serbia (Nemanjić dynasty). One of his great military commanders was Vojvoda Bogut.
• King Simeon Uroš (1310-1370) was the brother of Dušan "the Mighty".
• Emperor Stephen Uroš V the Weak (r. 1355–1371), infamous for his lack of central rule; he was unable to control the nobility and the Empire began to fragment itself from within, hence the sobriquet "the weak" (Nemanjić dynasty).
• Czar Lazar Hrebeljanović (1371-1389) was killed in the 1389 Battle of Kossovo and so was Sultan Murad I who led the Ottoman Turks against the Serbs.
• Vukašin Mrnjavčević (1365-1371) was killed in the Battle of Maritsa. Vukašin's son Prince Marko (1371-1395) was killed in the Battle of Rovine.
• Stefan Lazarević (1389-1427), son of Lazar Hrebeljanović, who ruled from August 1402 to July 1427.
• Despot Đurađ I Branković (1427-1456) died defending the city of Belgrade during the Siege of Belgrade (1456). Other European defenders who came to the aid of the Serbs, John of Capistrano and John Hunyadi also perished in 1456. Đurađ ruled from July 1427 to August 1439.
• Ishak Bey ruled Bosansko Krajište from 1439 to 1443.
• Isa-Beg Isaković ruled from 1443 to June 1444.
• Despot Đurađ I Branković's rule was restored from June 1444 to December 1456.
• Despot Lazar Branković (1456-1458), whose wife was Helena Palaiologina of the Morea (1431-1473), ruled from December 1456 to January 1458.
• Despot Mihailo Anđelović ruled together with Jelena Paleolog and Stefan Branković as co-regents from January 1458 to March 1458.
• Despot Stefan Branković (1458-1459)
• Despot Stephen Tomašević (1459-1459), whose wife was Maria of Serbia, Queen of Bosnia, ruled from March 1459 to June 1459.

Titular rulers of the Serbian Despotate:

• Despot Vuk Grgurević Branković (1471-1485)
• Despot Đorđe Branković (1486-1496) ruled 1486 to 1492.
• Despot Jovan Branković (1496-1502) ruled from 1492 to 1502.
• Jelena Jakšić noble family (1502-1504) ruled from December 1502 to 1503
• Ivaniš Berislavić (1504-1514) ruled from 1503 to January 1514.
• Stefan Berislavić (1514-1527), son of Ivaniš, ruled from January 1514 to 1536.
• Radič Božić (1521-1527). Determined to invade Hungary against Louis II of Hungary Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent and Grand Vizier Piri Mehmed Pasha had first to siege the Balkan fortresses, and laid siege to Belgrade, defended by Radič Božić and his Serbian and Hungarian fighters. When reinforcements arrived from the fall of Šabac, mining breached the walls and Belgrade fell by storm. However, the invasion of Hungary was delayed five years until the advance advance through Mohács.
• Pavle Bakić (1527-1537). At the beginning of the 16th century in his futile attempts to restore the Serbian polity, despot Pavle Bakić collaborated with Jovan Nenad and Radoslav Čelnik while trying to come to some kind of compromise with the Hungarian court. Arriving from Serbia in 1525 with a large contingent of his compatriots, Bakić had fought with the Hungarians at Mohács. It was the time when the John Zapolya and Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor were vying for Central Europe, while being threatened at teh same time by the Ottoman Empire.
• Jovan Nenad also known as the Black One triumphed over the forces of the Hungarian magnates sent into the field against him by John Zapolya, only to be slain in an ambush. Jovan Nenad's army led by Radoslav Čelnik left for Syrmia, and Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor found a new ally in Pavle Bakić. Jovan Nenad, however, succeeded in establishing a Serbian State in Bačka from 1526 to 1527, however short-lived.
• Radoslav Čelnik led the remains of Jovan Nenad's army to Ottoman Syrmia, where he ruled until 1530 as a vassal.
• Jovan Monasterlija participated in the Siege of Belgrade (1688) and the Siege of Belgrade (1690), both times against the Turks. After the Turkish defeat at the walls of Vienna in September 1688, the Austrians and the Serbs liberated Belgrade. Two years later, the Turks recaptured it, but these conflicts left Belgrade destroyed and its population sparse, killed, persecuted and robbed because of its cooperation with Austrians.
• Koća Andjelković with Koča's frontier freedom fighters defeated the Turks in many skirmishes in the 1780s. The war of 1788–1791 is known to Serbian historians as "Koča' War", after Koča Andjelković, the military leader of the Serbian bands which joined in the insurrection against the Turks in Šumadija. Koča's men, including Karađorđe, joined the Habsburg Free Corps (Freicorps) under the command of General Ernst Gideon von Laudon who led the Siege of Belgrade (1789). After signing the Treaty of Sistova in 1791, the Austrians abandoned the Serbs when their differences with the Turks were settled. Belgrade was returned to the Turks for minor territorial concessions to the Austrians in northern Bosnia. The Janissary, initially forbidden to enter Belgrade, killed Moustapha-pasha, the governor of belgrade, in 1801, entered the city, and establishing their own rule independent of the Sultan of Turkey. This period of total chaos resulted in the Slaughter of the Knezes (dukes) which gave rise to the first Serbian insurrection in 1804. See: Modern Royalty.