Serbian Empire: Map & History
The Serbian Empire was a medieval Serbian state that emerged from the Kingdom of Serbia.
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The Serbian Empire was a medieval Serbian state that emerged from the Kingdom of Serbia. It was established in 1346 by Dušan the Mighty, who significantly expanded the state.
Modern Countries Once Part of Serbian Empire
At its mapped extent, Serbian Empire covered territory in 5 present-day countries. The period shown is when the mapped borders include that country, and the note says how much of it.
- North Macedonia1352–1374 CE · nearly all
- Montenegro1352–1452 CE · nearly all
- Albania1352–1458 CE · most
- Serbia1352–1458 CE · a large part
- Greece1352–1374 CE · a small part
States and Provinces
Largest Present-Day Cities in Its Territory
Each opens on the live map inside Serbian Empire's borders of that time.
Derived by testing mapped cities against this polity's dated territorial polygons, so the list is indicative and follows the borders in the source dataset.
Serbian Empire in Depth
History
Stefan Dušan was the son of the Serbian king Stefan Dečanski (r. 1322–1331). After his father's accession to the throne, Dušan was awarded with the title of "young king". Although this title bore significant power in medieval Serbia, Stefan wanted his younger son, Simeon Uroš, to inherit him instead of Dušan. However, Dušan had significant support from the major part of the Serbian nobility, including the Serbian archbishop Danilo, and some of the king's most trusted generals, such as Jovan Oliver Grčinić.
Military
Serbian military tactics consisted of wedge-shaped heavy cavalry attacks with horse archers on the flanks. Many foreign mercenaries were in the Serbian army, mostly Germans as cavalry and Spaniards as infantry. The army also had personal mercenary guards for the emperor, mainly German knights. A German nobleman, Palman, became the commander of the Serbian "Alemannic Guard" in 1331 upon crossing Serbia on the way to Jerusalem; he became leader of all mercenaries in the Serbian Army. The main strength of the Serbian army were the heavily armoured knights feared for their ferocious charge and fighting skills, as well as hussars, versatile light cavalry formations armed mainly with spears and crossbows, ideal for scouting, raiding and skirmishing.
Culture
Influenced by the clergy, Dušan showed extreme severity towards Roman Catholicism. Those who integrated into the Latin Church were condemned to work in mines, and people who propagated it were threatened with death. The Papacy grew concerned about this and the increasing power of Dušan and aroused the old rivalry of the Catholic Hungarians against the Orthodox Serbs. Once again Dušan overcame his enemies from whom he seized Bosnia and Herzegovina, which marked the height of the Serbian Empire in Middle Ages. However, the most serious menace came from the East, from the Turks. Entrenched on the shores of the Dardanelles, the Turks were the common enemies of Christendom.
Aftermath and legacy
The crumbling Serbian Empire under Uroš the Weak offered little resistance to the powerful Ottomans. In the wake of internal conflicts and decentralization of the state, the Ottomans defeated the Serbs under Vukašin at the Battle of Maritsa in 1371, making vassals of the southern governors; soon thereafter, the Emperor died. As Uroš was childless and the nobility could not agree on a rightful heir, the Empire continued to be ruled by semi-independent provincial lords, who often were in feud with each other. The most powerful of these, Lazar Hrebeljanović, a Duke of present-day central Serbia (which had not yet come under Ottoman rule), stood against the Ottomans at the Battle of Kosovo in 1389. The result was indecisive, but it led to the subsequent fall of Serbia.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Serbian Empire (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Serbian Empire: Key Facts
| Capitals | Skopje, Prizren |
|---|---|
| Form of government | absolute monarchy, monarchy |
| Currency | Serbian perper |
| Founded | 16 April 1346 |
| Dissolved | 1371 |
Facts from Wikidata Q1406298 (CC0).
Serbian Empire Map Over Time
Dated world maps on which Serbian Empire appears, with the other states of the time.
Serbian Empire Timeline
Key historical inflections from foundation to peak territorial expansion
Expansion to peak recorded area of 186,880 km² in 1357 CE.
Serbian Empire: Frequently Asked Questions
When did the Serbian Empire exist?
The Serbian Empire is dated to 1352 CE – 1458 CE, in the High & Late Middle Ages era.
What was the capital of the Serbian Empire?
The capital of the Serbian Empire was Prizren, Skopje, Serres.
How large was the Serbian Empire at its peak?
At its peak in 1357 AD the Serbian Empire covered about 186,880 km².
Other Sovereign Realms
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Early Modern & Age of Discovery • Capital: Agra, Fatehpur Sikri, Lahore, Delhi