View source for Serbian Empire

{{short description|Empire in the Balkans (1346–1371)}}
{{pp-protected|small=yes}}
{{Infobox country
| native_name            = {{native name|sr|{{lang-sr-Cyrl-Latn|Српско царство|<br />Srpsko carstvo|label=none}}}}
| conventional_long_name = Serbian Empire
| common_name            = Serbia
| era                    = [[Middle Ages]]
| event_start            = Coronation of [[Stefan Dušan]]
| year_start             = 1346
| date_start             = 16 April
| event1                 = [[Dušan's Code|Enaction of the Dušan's Code]]
| date_event1            = 31 May 1349
| event2                 = [[Serbian nobility conflict (1369)|Serbian nobility conflict]]
| date_event2            = 1369
| event_end              = [[Fall of the Serbian Empire|Empire collapses]]
| year_end               = 1371
| date_end               = 4 December
| event_post             = Resignation of anti-emperor [[John Uroš]]
| date_post              = 1373
| p1                     = Kingdom of Serbia (medieval){{!}}Kingdom of Serbia
| flag_p1                = Flag of the Serbian Empire, reconstruction.svg
| s1                     = Moravian Serbia
| flag_s1                = Flag of Moravian Serbia.svg
| s2                     = District of Branković
| flag_s2                = Royal banner of Branković family.svg
| s3                     = Zeta under the Balšići
| flag_s3                = Balsic small COA.svg
| border_s3              = no
| s4                     = Lordship of Prilep
| flag_s4                = Royal banner of Mrnjavčević family.svg
| s5                     = Domain of the Dejanović family{{!}}Dejanović domain
| flag_s5                = Zegligovic Coat of Arms.png
| border_s5              = no
| s6                     = Vojinović noble family{{!}}Vojinović domain
| flag_s6                = Vojinović coat of arms.png
| border_s6              = no
| s7                     = Despotate of Epirus
| border_s7              = no
| flag_s7                = Nemanjić dynasty coat of arms, Palavestra.jpg
| s8                     = Thessaly
| border_s8              = no
| flag_s8                = Nemanjić dynasty coat of arms, Palavestra.jpg
| image_flag             = Flag of the Serbian Empire, reconstruction.svg
| image_flag2            = [[File:Divellion of Emperor Dušan.svg|80px|border]]
| flag_size              = 
| flag_type              = Top: Flag (mid-14th century)<br />Bottom: Personal banner (''[[divellion]]'') of emperor [[Stefan Dušan|Dušan]]
| image_coat             = Coat of arms of the Nemanic Dynasty.svg
| coat_alt               = Royal arms
| coa_size               = 70px
| symbol_type            = [[Nemanjić dynasty|Arms of Nemanjić dynasty]]<!--
   symbol2           = --><div style="padding:3px 0;">[[File:Coat of arms of the Kingdom of Serbia (medieval).svg|70px|Imperial arms]]</div><!--
   symbol_type2      = -->[[Serbian Eagle|Imperial arms]] (alternate)
| image_map2             = 
| map_caption2           = 
| image_map              = SerbiaEmpire1355.jpg
| image_map_caption      = 
| capital                = [[Prizren]]<br />[[Skopje]]<br />[[Serres]]<ref>Gregory, Timothy E.; Ševčenko, Nancy Patterson (1991). "Serres". In Kazhdan, Alexander (ed.). The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 1881–1882. ISBN 0-19-504652-8.</ref>
| common_languages       = {{ubl|[[Serbian language|Serbian]] (official)|[[Greek language|Greek]]|[[Albanian language|Albanian]]|[[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]]|[[Common Romanian]]}}
| status                 = [[Empire]]
| religion               = [[Eastern Orthodox]] [[Eastern Christianity|Christianity]] ([[Serbian Orthodox Church|Serbian Orthodoxy]]) ([[State religion|official]])
| currency               = [[Serbian perper]]
| government_type        = [[Absolute monarchy]]
| title_leader           = [[Emperor of the Serbs|Emperor]] ([[Tsar]])
| leader1                = [[Stefan Dušan]]
| year_leader1           = 1346–1355
| leader2                = [[Stefan Uroš V]]
| year_leader2           = 1355–1371
| demonym                = [[Serbs|Serbian]], [[Serbs|Serb]]
| iso3166code            = omit
}}

The '''Serbian Empire''' ({{lang-sr-Cyrl-Latn|Српско царство|Srpsko carstvo|separator=" / "}}, {{IPA|sr|sr̩̂pskoː tsâːrstʋo|pron}}) was a [[Middle Ages|medieval]] Serbian state that emerged from the [[Kingdom of Serbia (medieval)|Kingdom of Serbia]]. It was established in 1346 by [[Stefan Dušan|Dušan the Mighty]], who significantly expanded the state.

During Dušan's rule, Serbia was one of the most powerful European states and the most powerful in Southeast Europe.<ref>David Nicolle; (1988) ''Hungary and the Fall of Eastern Europe 1000–1568 (Men-at-Arms)'' pp. 35, 37; Osprey Publishing, {{ISBN|0850458331}}</ref> It was an [[Eastern Orthodoxy|Eastern Orthodox]] multi-ethnic and multi-lingual empire that stretched from the [[Danube]] in the north to the [[Gulf of Corinth]] in the south, with its capital in [[Skopje]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=3YQRssRVLLkC&q=skenderbeg+serbia Positive Peace in Kosovo: A Dream Unfulfilled] by Elisabeth Schleicher, p. 49. 2012</ref> Dušan also promoted the [[Serbian Orthodox Church|Serbian Archbishopric]] to the [[Serbian Patriarchate of Peć|Serbian Patriarchate.]] In the Serbian Empire, the region of [[Kosovo region|Kosovo]] was the most prosperous and densely populated area, serving as a key political, religious, and cultural center.<ref>{{Cite web |last=UNESCO |first=World Heritage Scanned Nomination |date= |title=DEČANI MONASTERY |url=https://whc.unesco.org/uploads/nominations/724bis.pdf |page=Chapter 3. Description, Section b. History and Development |quote=At the time of great rise of the Serbian state in the early 14th century, Kosovo was the richest and most densely populated region, with political, ecclesiastical and cultural centers}}</ref>  

Dušan's son and successor, [[Stefan Uroš V|Uroš the Weak]], struggled to maintain his father's vast empire, gradually losing much of the conquered territory - hence his epithet. The Serbian Empire effectively ended with the death of Uroš V in 1371 and [[Fall of the Serbian Empire|the break-up of the Serbian state]]. Some successors of Stefan V claimed the title of [[Serbian Emperor|Emperor]] in parts of Serbia until 1402, but the territory in Greece was never recovered.{{sfn|Dvornik|1962|pp=111–114}}{{sfn|Fine|1994|pp=286–382}}{{sfn|Ćirković|2004|pp=63–80}} From the ruins of the Serbian Empire, [[Moravian Serbia]] emerged as the largest and most powerful Serbian state under the rule of the [[Lazarević dynasty]], later playing the key role in the [[Battle of Kosovo]] in 1389 against the [[Ottoman Empire]].

==History==
{{Main|Byzantine civil war of 1341–1347|Stefan Dušan}}

===Establishment===
[[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 [[Danilo II, Serbian Archbishop|archbishop Danilo]], and some of the king's most trusted generals, such as [[Jovan Oliver|Jovan Oliver Grčinić]]. Tensions slowly rose between the king and his son, especially after the [[Battle of Velbazhd|battle of Velbužd]], where Dušan showed his military capabilities, and they seem to have culminated when king Stefan raided [[Duklja|Zeta]], a province in Serbia where Dušan ruled autonomously, being a tradition of Serbian heirs to rule this province. Advised by the nobility, Dušan later marched from Zeta to [[Nerodimlje]], where he besieged his father and forced him to surrender the throne. Stefan was later imprisoned in the fortress of [[Zvečan Fortress|Zvečan]], where he died.

In 1333, [[Dušan]] launched a large attack on the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine empire]], at the time ruled by the ambitious emperor [[Andronikos III Palaiologos]], with the help of a deserted Byzantine general, [[Syrgiannes Palaiologos|Syrgian]]. Dušan quickly conquered the cities of [[Ohrid]], [[Prilep]] and [[Kastoria]], and attempted to besiege [[Thessaloniki|Thessalonica]] in 1334, but was prevented conquering the city by the death of Syrgian, who had been assassinated by a Byzantine spy. Syrgian was a key figure in Dušan's army, as he had earned a great reputation in Greece, convincing Greek citizens to surrender cities rather than fight Dušan's armies.

By 1345, Dušan ''the Mighty'' had expanded his state to cover half of the Balkans, more territory than either the [[Byzantine Empire]] or the [[Second Bulgarian Empire]] in that time. Therefore, in 1345, in [[Serres, Greece|Serres]], Dušan proclaimed himself "''[[Tsar]]''" ("Caesar").{{sfn|Fine|1994|p=309}} On 16 April 1346, in [[Skopje]] (former [[First Bulgarian Empire|Bulgarian]] capital), he had himself crowned "[[Emperor of the Serbs and Greeks]]", a title signifying a claim to succession of the Byzantine Empire. The ceremony was performed by the newly elevated [[Serbian Orthodox Church|Serbian Patriarch]] [[Joanikije II]], the [[Bulgarian Patriarchate|Bulgarian Patriarch]] Simeon, and [[Nicholas I of Ohrid|Nicholas]], the [[Archbishop of Ohrid]]. At the same time, Dušan had his son [[Uroš V|Uroš]] crowned as ''King of Serbs and Greeks'', giving him nominal rule over the ''Serbian lands'', although Dušan was governing the whole state, with special responsibility for the newly acquired Roman (Byzantine) lands. These actions, which the Byzantines received with indignation, appear to have been supported by the [[Second Bulgarian Empire|Bulgarian Empire]] and [[tsar]] [[Ivan Alexander of Bulgaria|Ivan Alexander]], as the [[Patriarch of Bulgaria]] Simeon had participated in both the creation of a [[Serbian Patriarchate of Peć]] and the imperial coronation of Stefan Uroš IV Dušan.{{sfn|Fine|1994|pp=309–310}} Dushan made marriage alliance with [[Second Bulgarian Empire|Bulgarian]] tsar [[Ivan Alexander of Bulgaria|Ivan Alexander]], marrying his sister [[Helena of Bulgaria, Empress of Serbia|Helena]].{{sfn|Ostrogorsky|1956|p=468}}{{sfn|Fine|1994|p=309}}

===Reign of Stefan Dušan===
[[File:Serbian Emperor Stefan Dušan, cropped.jpg|thumb|200px|Serbian Emperor [[Stefan Dušan]]]]
[[File:Skopje Fortress (9451263327).jpg|thumb|200px|[[Skopje Fortress]], where Dušan adopted the title of Emperor at his coronation]]
[[File:Kaljaja1.jpg|thumb|200px|Main Gate of the [[Prizren Fortress|Fortress]] in [[Prizren]], which was one of the cities of the Empire]]

Tsar Dušan doubled the size of Serbian state, seizing territories in all directions, especially south and southeast. Serbia held parts of modern [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]], Moravian Serbia, [[Kosovo]], Zeta, modern [[North Macedonia]], modern [[Albania]], and half of modern [[Greece]]. He did not fight a single field battle, instead winning his empire by besieging cities. Dušan undertook a campaign against the Byzantine Empire, which was attempting to avert a deteriorating situation after the destruction caused by the [[Fourth Crusade]]. Dušan swiftly seized [[Thessaly]], Albania, Epirus, and most of [[Macedonia (region)|Macedonia]].

After besieging the emperor at [[Salonica]] in 1340, he imposed a treaty assuring Serbia sovereignty over regions extending from the [[Danube]] to the [[Gulf of Corinth]], from the [[Adriatic Sea]] to the [[Maritsa]] river, and including parts of southern [[Second Bulgarian Empire|Bulgaria]] up to the environs of [[Edirne|Adrianople]]. Bulgaria had never fully recovered since its defeat by the Serbs at the [[Battle of Velbazhd]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Steven Runciman|title=The Fall of Constantinople 1453|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CJz8BCdxlfEC&pg=PA37|date=26 March 2012|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-107-60469-8|pages=37–}}</ref> The outcome of the battle shaped the balance of power in the Balkans for the next decades to come and although Bulgaria did not lose territory, the Serbs could occupy much of [[Macedonia (region)|Macedonia]].{{sfn|Fine|1994|p=272}} Bulgarian [[tsar]] [[Ivan Alexander of Bulgaria|Ivan Alexander]], whose sister [[Helena of Bulgaria, Empress of Serbia|Helena]] Dušan later married, became his ally between 1332 and 1365.{{sfn|Fine|1994|p=274}} Dušan ruled over major central part of the Balkan peninsula. He gave sanctuary to the former regent of the Byzantine Empire, [[John VI Kantakouzenos]], in revolt against the government, and agreed to an alliance.

In 1349 and 1354, Dušan enacted a set of laws known as [[Dušan's Code]]. The Code was based on [[Roman Law|Roman]]-[[Byzantine law]] and the first Serbian [[constitution]], [[St. Sava's Nomocanon]] (1219). It was a [[Civil law (legal system)|Civil]] and [[Canon law]] system, based on the [[Ecumenical Councils]], for the functioning of the state and the Serbian Orthodox Church. In 1355, Dušan began military preparations for new campaigns in the south and east, but suddenly died of an unknown illness in December 1355.{{sfn|Ćirković|2004|p=75}}

==== Events in Bosnia and Dalmatia (1350s) ====
{{History of Serbia}}
Dušan evidently wanted to expand his rule over the provinces that had earlier been in the hands of Serbia, such as [[Zahumlje|Hum]], which was annexed by Bosnian Ban [[Stephen II, Ban of Bosnia|Stephen II Kotromanić]] in 1326.{{sfn|Fine|1994|p=322}} In 1350, Dušan attacked Bosnia, seeking to regain the previously lost land of Hum and stop raids on his tributaries at Konavle.{{sfn|Fine|1994|p=322}} Venice sought a settlement between the two, but failed.{{sfn|Fine|1994|p=322}} In October, he invaded Hum, with an army said to be of 80,000 men, and successfully occupied part of the disputed territory.{{sfn|Fine|1994|p=322}} According to [[Mavro Orbini|Orbini]], Dušan had secretly been in contact with various Bosnian nobles, offering them bribes for support, and many nobles, chiefly of Hum, were ready to betray the Ban, such as the [[Nikolić noble family|Nikolić family]] which was kin to the Nemanjić.{{sfn|Fine|1994|p=323}} The Ban avoided any major confrontation and did not meet Dušan in battle; he instead retired to the mountains and made small hit-and-run actions.{{sfn|Fine|1994|p=323}} Most of Bosnia's fortresses held out, but some nobles submitted to Dušan.{{sfn|Fine|1994|p=323}} The Serbs ravaged much of the countryside. With one army they reached [[Duvno]] and [[Cetina]]; a second army reached [[Krka (Croatia)|Krka]], on which lay [[Knin]] (modern [[Croatia]]); and a third army took [[Imotski]] and [[Novi (Imotski)|Novi]], where they left garrisons and entered Hum.{{sfn|Fine|1994|p=323}} From this position of strength, Dušan tried to negotiate peace with the Ban, sealing it by the marriage of Dušan's son Uroš with Stephen's daughter [[Elizabeth of Bosnia|Elizabeth]], who would receive Hum as her dowry – restoring it to Serbia but the Ban was not willing to consider this proposal.{{sfn|Fine|1994|p=323}}

Dušan may have also launched the campaign to aid his sister, [[Jelena Nemanjić Šubić|Jelena]], who in 1347 married [[Mladen III Šubić]], who was forming an anti-Hungarian coalition.{{sfn|Fine|1994|p=323, 340}} Mladen soon died from [[Black Death]] (bubonic plague) in 1348, and Jelena sought to maintain the rule of the Šubić's cities of [[Klis]] and [[Skradin]] for herself and her son.{{sfn|Fine|1994|p=323, 341}} A Serbian garisson reached the Dalmatian cities in 1355, but they fell in 1356.{{sfn|Fine|1994|p=323, 342}} She was challenged by Hungary and Venice, so dispatched Serbian troops in the 1350s, led by generals [[Đuraš Ilijić]] and [[Palman]], to western Hum and Croatia may have been for her aid, as operations in this region were unlikely to help Dušan conquer Hum.{{sfn|Fine|1994|p=323}} If Dušan had intended to aid Jelena, rising trouble in the East precluded this.{{sfn|Fine|1994|p=323}}

===Reign of Stefan Uroš V===
Dušan was succeeded by his son, [[Stefan Uroš V]], called "the Weak," a term that also described the empire as it slowly slid into feudal anarchy. The failure to consolidate its holdings after a sudden conquest led to the fragmentation of the empire. The period was marked by the rise of a new threat: the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman Turkish]] sultanate gradually spread from [[Asia]] to Europe and conquered first Byzantine Thrace, and then the other [[Balkan]] states. Too incompetent to sustain the empire created by his father, Stefan V could neither repel attacks of foreign enemies nor combat the independence of his nobility. The Serbian Empire of Stefan V fragmented into a conglomeration of principalities, some of which did not even nominally acknowledge his rule. Stefan Uroš V died childless on 4 December 1371, after much of the Serbian nobility had been killed by the Ottoman Turks during the [[Battle of Maritsa]].

==Aftermath and legacy==
{{Further|Fall of the Serbian Empire|Stefan Uroš V}}
[[File:Situation in Serbian Empire around 1371.png|thumb|Internal divisions of the Serbian Empire in 1371]]
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 of Serbia|Vukašin]] at the [[Battle of Maritsa]] in 1371, making vassals of the southern governors; soon thereafter, the Emperor died.{{sfn|Ćirković|2004|pp=78–80}} 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, [[Tsar Lazar|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. [[Stefan Lazarević]], the son of Lazar, succeeded as ruler, but by 1394 he had become an Ottoman vassal. In 1402 he renounced Ottoman rule and became a Hungarian ally; the following years are characterized by a power struggle between the Ottomans and Hungary over the territory of Serbia. In 1453, the Ottomans [[Fall of Constantinople|conquered Constantinople]], and in 1458 [[Athens]] was taken. In 1459, Serbia was annexed, and then Morea a year later. During the following centuries of Ottoman rule, the legacy of former statehood, embodied in the Serbian Empire, became an integral part of [[Serbian national identity]].{{sfn|Blagojević|1993|pp=20–31}}

==Administration==

===Law===
{{Further|Dušan's Code}}
[[File:Dušan's Code, Prizren manuscript, 15th c.jpg|thumb|[[Dušan's Code]] from 1349]]

After finishing most of his conquests, Stefan Dušan dedicated himself to supervising the administration of the empire. One key objective was to create a written legal code, an effort his predecessors had only begun. An assembly of bishops, nobles, and provincial governors was charged with creating a code of laws, bringing together the customs of the Slav countries.

[[Dušan's Code]] was enacted in two state assemblies, the first on May 21, 1349, in [[Skopje]], and the second in 1354 in [[Serres, Greece|Serres]].{{sfn|Fine|1994|pp=314–317}}{{sfn|Ćirković|2004|pp=67–71}} The law regulated all social spheres, thus it is considered a medieval [[constitution]]. The Code included 201 articles, based on [[Roman Law|Roman]]-[[Byzantine law]]. The legal [[Legal transplants|transplanting]] is notable with the articles 172 and 174 of Dušan's Code, which regulated juridical independence. They were taken from the Byzantine code [[Basilika]] (book VII, 1, 16–17). The Code had its roots in the first Serbian [[constitution]] – ''[[St. Sava's Nomocanon]]'' ({{lang-sr-Latn|Zakonopravilo}}) from 1219, enacted by [[Saint Sava]]. St. Sava's Nomocanon was the compilation of [[Civil law (legal system)|Civil law]], based on [[Roman Law]] and [[Canon law]], based on [[Ecumenical Councils]]. Its basic purpose was to organize the functions of the state and [[Serbian Orthodox Church]].{{sfn|Fine|1994|pp=116, 118}}{{sfn|Ćirković|2004|pp=43, 68}}

The legislation resembled the feudal system then prevalent in Western Europe, with an aristocratic basis and establishing a wide distinction between nobility and peasantry.{{sfn|Krstić|1993|pp=188–195}} The monarch had broad powers but was surrounded and advised by a permanent council of magnates and prelates. The court, chancellery and administration were rough copies of those of [[Constantinople]]. The code enumerated the administrative hierarchy as following: "lands, cities, [[župa]]s and krajištes"; the župas and krajištes were one and the same, where župas on the borders were called krajištes (''frontier'').<ref>Radovanović, M. 2002, "Šar mountain and its župas in South Serbia's Kosovo-Metohia region: Geographical position and multiethnic characteristics", Zbornik radova Geografskog instituta "Jovan Cvijić", SANU, no. 51, [http://scindeks-clanci.nb.rs/data/pdf/0350-7599/2002/0350-75990251007R.pdf pp. 7–22]{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}; p. 5</ref> The župa consisted of villages, and their status, rights, and obligations were regulated in the constitution. The ruling nobility possessed hereditary allodial estates, which were worked by dependent ''sebri'', the equivalent of Greek ''[[paroikoi]]'': peasants owing labour services, formally bound by decree. The earlier ''župan'' title was abolished and replaced with the Greek-derived ''kefalija'' (''[[kephale (Byzantine Empire)|kephale]]'', "head, master").{{sfn|Ćirković|2004|pp=70–71}}

===Economy===
The Serbian Empire possessed rich forest resources, especially around the mines in the region of Kosovo. A 15th-century French traveller described the wealth and sophistication of Serbian life, comparing the lifestyle of the upper classes to that of [[Kingdom of France|France]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Singleton |first=Frederick Bernard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qTLSZ3ucaZMC&q=battle+of+kosovo&pg=PA46 |title=A Short History of the Yugoslav Peoples |date=1985-03-21 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-27485-2 |page=41 |language=en}}</ref> 

Commerce was another object of Dušan's concern. He gave strict orders to combat piracy and to assure the safety of travelers and foreign merchants. Traditional relations with Venice were resumed, with the port of [[Republic of Ragusa|Ragusa]] (Dubrovnik) becoming an important transaction point. East-west Roman roads through the empire carried a variety of commodities: wine, manufactures, and luxury goods from the coast; metals, cattle, timber, wool, skins, and leather from the interior. This economic development made possible the creation of the Empire. Important trade routes were the ancient Roman [[Via Militaris]], [[Via Egnatia]], [[Via de Zenta]], and the Kopaonik road, among others. Ragusan merchants in particular had trading privileges throughout the realm. Security of trade and merchants on the roads was a major concern for the state authorities.{{sfn|Sophoulis|2020|pp=39–55}}

Srebrenica, Rudnik, Trepča, Novo Brdo, Kopaonik, Majdanpek, Brskovo, and Samokov were the main centers for mining iron, copper, and lead ores, and silver and gold placers.{{sfn|Kovačević-Kojić|2014|pp=97–106}} The silver mines provided much of the royal income, and were worked by slave-labour, managed by [[Saxons in medieval Serbia|Saxons]].{{sfn|Fine|1994|pp=199–200, 316, 626}}{{sfn|Ćirković|2004|pp=54–55, 71, 123}} A colony of Saxons worked the Novo Brdo mines and traded charcoal burners. The silver mines processed an annual 0.5 million dollars (1919 comparation).<ref>{{cite book|author=National City Bank of New York|title=JOM: the journal of the Minerals, Metals & Materials Society|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2RpQAAAAYAAJ|year=2002|publisher=Society (TMS)|volume=6|page=27}}</ref>

The currency used was called ''[[Serbian dinar|dinars]]''; an alternative name was ''[[Serbian perper|perper]]'', derived from the Byzantine ''[[hyperpyron]]''. The ''golden dinar'' was the largest unit, and the imperial [[tax]] was one dinar coin, per house, annually.{{sfn|Ćirković|2004|pp=55–56}}

==Military==
{{further|Medieval Serbian army}}
{{see also|Military history of Serbia}}
[[File:Serbian armor 15th century.jpg|thumb|200px|15th century Serbian medieval armor]]

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 [[knight]]s. 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.

==State insignia==
The 1339 map by [[Angelino Dulcert]] depicts a number of flags, and Serbia is represented by a flag placed above [[Skoplje]] (''Skopi'') with the name Serbia near the [[Hoist (flag)|hoist]], which was characteristic for capital cities at the time the drawing was produced. The flag, depicting a red [[double-headed eagle]], represented the realm of Stefan Dušan.<ref>Solovyev 1958, pp. 134–135</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Gavro A. Škrivanić|title=Monumenta Cartographica Jugoslaviae 2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7E8ZMAEACAAJ|year=1979|publisher=Narodna knjiga}}</ref> A flag in [[Hilandar]], seen by Dimitrije Avramović, was alleged by the brotherhood to have been a flag of Emperor Dušan; it was a [[Triband (flag)|triband]] with red at the top and bottom and white in the center.<ref name="Stanojević1934">{{cite book|author=Stanoje Stanojević|title=Iz naše prošlosti|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=omhJAQAAIAAJ|year=1934|publisher=Geca Kon|pages=78–80}}</ref> Emperor Dušan also adopted the Imperial ''[[divelion]]'', which was purple and had a golden cross in the center.<ref name="Milićević1995">{{cite book|author=Milić Milićević|title=Grb Srbije: razvoj kroz istoriju|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nyNYAAAAMAAJ|year=1995|publisher=Službeni Glasnik|page=22|isbn=9788675490470}}</ref> Another of Dušan's flags was the Imperial cavalry flag, kept at the [[Hilandar|Hilandar monastery]] on [[Mount Athos]]; a triangular bicolored flag, of red and yellow.{{Citation needed|date=January 2025}}

<gallery>
File:Flag of Serbia on the map of Angelino Dulcert.jpg|Flag of Serbia on the map of Angelino Dulcert (1339).
File:Flag of the Serbian Empire, reconstruction.svg|Reconstruction based on Dulcert's map
File:Divellion of Emperor Dušan.svg|Emperor Dušan's Divellion
File:Flag of the Serbian Empire, bicolour, Hilandar.png|Imperial cavalry flag, Hilandar
File:Coa Serbia Country History (Fojnica Armorial) (14th century).svg|[[Attributed arms]] of Serbia from the ''[[Fojnica Armorial]]'', manuscript of the late 16th or early 17th century. A modified version of it would later go on to become the coat of arms of the [[Principality of Serbia]] and its ruling dynasty.
File:Imperial Coat of arms of Serbia (1346–1371).svg|[[Attributed arms|Attributed imperial coat of arms]] of [[Stefan Dušan]] from the ''[[Korjenić-Neorić Armorial]]'', manuscript of the late 16th century
File:Flag of the Serbian Empire, triband, Hilandar.png|Alleged flag, Hilandar
</gallery>

==Maps and source attribution==
<gallery> 
File:Serbian Empire 1358.jpg|Serbian Empire in 1358 according to Louis Etienne Dussieux
File:Geographic map of the Serbian Empire.svg|Geographic map of the Serbian Empire overlaid with modern borders
File:Balkans in 1350 (134038106).jpg|The Serbian Empire in 1350 according to [[Johann Gustav Droysen|Gustav Droysen]]
File:Map of the Serbian Empire, University of Belgrade, 1922.jpg|Map of the Serbian Empire, University of Belgrade, 1922
</gallery>

==Culture==
===Religion===
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. It was against them that the question of uniting and directing all forces in the Balkans to save Europe from the invasion arose. The Serbian Empire already included most of the region, and to transform the peninsula into a cohesive whole under a rule of a single master required seizure of Constantinople to add to Serbia what remained of the Byzantine Empire. Dušan intended to make himself emperor and defender of Christianity against the Islamic wave.{{sfn|Dragojlović|1993|pp=32–40}}

===Education and arts===
Education, to which [[St. Sava]] had given the first impulse, progressed remarkably during Dušan's reign. Schools and monasteries secured royal favor. True seats of culture, they became institutions in perpetuating Serbian national traditions. The fine arts, influenced by Italians, were not neglected. Architectural monuments, frescoes and mosaics testify the artistic level archived during this period.{{sfn|Đurić|1993|pp=72–89}}{{sfn|Korać|1993|pp=90–114}}

==Government==
{{Further|List of Serbian monarchs|Emperor of Serbia}}

;Emperors, and co-rulers
*[[Stefan Dušan]] (1346–1355)
*[[Stefan Uroš V]] (1355–1371)
** co-ruler [[Vukašin of Serbia]] with the title of "king" (1365–1371){{sfn|Ćirković|2004|pp=77–79}}
*** designated heir [[Prince Marko]] with the title of "young king" (1369–1371)

For a list of magnates, feudal lords and officials, see [[Nobility of the Serbian Empire]].

==See also==
* [[Serbia in the Middle Ages]]
* [[Serbian nobility conflict (1369)]]

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==Sources==
{{refbegin|2}}
* {{Cite book|editor-last=Bataković|editor-first=Dušan T.|editor-link=Dušan T. Bataković|title=Histoire du peuple serbe|trans-title=History of the Serbian People|language=fr|date=2005|location=Lausanne|publisher=L’Age d’Homme|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a0jA_LdH6nsC|isbn=9782825119587}}
* {{Cite book|last=Blagojević|first=Miloš|author-link=Miloš Blagojević|chapter=On the National Identity of the Serbs in the Middle Ages|title=Serbs in European Civilization|year=1993|location=Belgrade|publisher=Nova, Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Institute for Balkan Studies|pages=20–31|isbn=9788675830153|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O3MtAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA20}}
* {{Cite book|last1=Čanak-Medić|first1=Milka|last2=Todić|first2=Branislav|title=The Monastery of the Patriarchate of Peć|year=2017|location=Novi Sad|publisher=Platoneum, Beseda|isbn=9788685869839|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=91u8vQEACAAJ}}
* {{Cite book|last=Ćirković|first=Sima|author-link=Sima Ćirković|year=2004|title=The Serbs|location=Malden|publisher=Blackwell Publishing|isbn=9781405142915|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2Wc-DWRzoeIC}}
* {{Cite journal|last=Ćirković|first=Sima|author-link=Sima Ćirković|title=The Double Wreath: A Contribution to the History of Kingship in Bosnia|journal=Balcanica|year=2014|orig-year=1964|issue=45|pages=107–143|doi=10.2298/BALC1445107C|url=http://www.doiserbia.nb.rs/ft.aspx?id=0350-76531445107C|doi-access=free}}
* {{Cite book|last=Dragojlović|first=Dragoljub|chapter=Serbian Spirituality in the 13th and 14th Centuries and Western Scholasticism|title=Serbs in European Civilization|year=1993|location=Belgrade|publisher=Nova, Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Institute for Balkan Studies|pages=32–40|isbn=9788675830153|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O3MtAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA32}}
* {{Cite book|last=Đurić|first=Vojislav J.|chapter=The European Scope of Painting in Medieval Serbia|title=Serbs in European Civilization|year=1993|location=Belgrade|publisher=Nova, Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Institute for Balkan Studies|pages=72–89|isbn=9788675830153|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O3MtAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA72}}
* {{Cite book|last=Dvornik|first=Francis|author-link=Francis Dvornik|title=The Slavs in European History and Civilization|year=1962|location=New Brunswick|publisher=Rutgers University Press|isbn=9780813507996|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LACpYP-g1y8C}}
* {{Cite book|last=Engel|first=Pál|title=The Realm of St. Stephen: A History of Medieval Hungary, 895–1526|year=2001|location=London & New York|publisher=I.B. Tauris|isbn=9781850439776|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vEJNBqanT_8C}}
* {{Cite book|last=Fine|first=John Van Antwerp Jr.|author-link=John Van Antwerp Fine Jr.|title=The Late Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman Conquest|year=1994|orig-year=1987|location=Ann Arbor, Michigan|publisher=University of Michigan Press|isbn=0472082604|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LvVbRrH1QBgC}}
* {{Cite book|last=Gavrilović|first=Zaga|title=Studies in Byzantine and Serbian Medieval Art|year=2001|location=London|publisher=The Pindar Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0UBNAAAAYAAJ|isbn=9781899828340}}
* {{Cite journal|last=Isailović|first=Neven|title=Living by the Border: South Slavic Marcher Lords in the Late Medieval Balkans (13th–15th Centuries)|journal=Banatica|year=2016|volume=26|issue=2|pages=105–117|url=https://www.academia.edu/31105878}}
* {{Cite book|last=Isailović|first=Neven|chapter=Legislation Concerning the Vlachs of the Balkans Before and After Ottoman Conquest: An Overview|title=State and Society in the Balkans Before and After Establishment of Ottoman Rule|date=2017|location=Belgrade|publisher=The Institute of History|pages=25–42|isbn=9788677431259|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=esGHDwAAQBAJ}}
* {{Cite journal|last1=Ivanović|first1=Miloš|last2=Isailović|first2=Neven|title=The Danube in Serbian-Hungarian Relations in the 14th and 15th Centuries|journal=Tibiscvm: Istorie–Arheologie|year=2015|volume=5|pages=377–393|url=https://www.academia.edu/29083615}}
* {{Cite book|last=Ivanović|first=Miloš|chapter=Serbian Hagiographies on the Warfare and Political Struggles of the Nemanjić Dynasty (from the Twelfth to Fourteenth Century)|title=Reform and Renewal in Medieval East and Central Europe: Politics, Law and Society|year=2019|location=Cluj-Napoca|publisher=Romanian Academy, Center for Transylvanian Studies|pages=103–129|chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/43289161}}
* {{Cite book|editor-last=Ivić|editor-first=Pavle|editor-link=Pavle Ivić|title=The History of Serbian Culture|year=1995|location=Edgware|publisher=Porthill Publishers|isbn=9781870732314|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7nItAQAAIAAJ}}
* {{Cite book|last=Jireček|first=Constantin|author-link=Konstantin Jireček|title=Geschichte der Serben|year=1911|volume=1|location=Gotha|publisher=Perthes|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XoVOAQAAMAAJ}}
* {{Cite book|last=Jireček|first=Constantin|author-link=Konstantin Jireček|title=Geschichte der Serben|year=1918|volume=2|location=Gotha|publisher=Perthes|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o85DAAAAYAAJ}}
* {{Cite book|last=Korać|first=Vojislav|chapter=Serbian Architecture Between Byzantium and the West|title=Serbs in European Civilization|year=1993|location=Belgrade|publisher=Nova, Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Institute for Balkan Studies|pages=90–114|isbn=9788675830153|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O3MtAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA90}}
* {{Cite journal|last=Kovačević-Kojić|first=Desanka|author-link=Desanka Kovačević-Kojić|title=On the Composition and Processing of Precious Metals mined in Medieval Serbia|journal=Balcanica|year=2014|issue=45|pages=97–106|doi=10.2298/BALC1445097K|url=http://www.doiserbia.nb.rs/img/doi/0350-7653/2014/0350-76531445097K.pdf}}
* {{Cite book|last=Krstić|first=Đurica|chapter=Serbian Medieval Law and the Development of Law in Subsequent Periods|title=Serbs in European Civilization|year=1993|location=Belgrade|publisher=Nova, Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Institute for Balkan Studies|pages=188–195|isbn=9788675830153|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O3MtAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA188}}
* {{Cite book|last=Miller|first=William|author-link=William Miller (historian)|chapter=The Balkan States, I: The Zenith of Bulgaria and Serbia (1186–1355)|title=The Cambridge Medieval History|volume=4|year=1923a|location=Cambridge|publisher=University Press|pages=517–551|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c8pDAQAAMAAJ}}
* {{Cite book|last=Miller|first=William|author-link=William Miller (historian)|chapter=The Balkan States, II: The Turkish Conquest (1355–1483)|title=The Cambridge Medieval History|volume=4|year=1923b|location=Cambridge|publisher=University Press|pages=552–593|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c8pDAQAAMAAJ}}
* {{Cite book|last=Nicol|first=Donald M.|author-link=Donald M. Nicol|title=The Despotate of Epiros 1267–1479: A Contribution to the History of Greece in the Middle Ages|year=1984|orig-year=1957|edition=2. expanded|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9780521261906|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XIj0FfKto9AC}}
* {{Cite book|last=Nicol|first=Donald M.|author-link=Donald M. Nicol|title=The Last Centuries of Byzantium, 1261–1453|orig-year=1972|year=1993|location=Cambridge|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9780521439916|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y2d6OHLqwEsC}}
* {{Cite book|last=Nicol|first=Donald M.|author-link=Donald M. Nicol|title=The Reluctant Emperor: A Biography of John Cantacuzene, Byzantine Emperor and Monk, c. 1295–1383|year=1996|location=Cambridge|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9780521522014|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7bXGTfK_ogAC}}
* {{Cite book|last=Obolensky|first=Dimitri|author-link=Dimitri Obolensky|title=The Byzantine Commonwealth: Eastern Europe, 500–1453|year=1974|orig-year=1971|location=London|publisher=Cardinal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RlBoAAAAMAAJ|isbn=9780351176449}}
* {{Cite book|last=Orbini|first=Mauro|author-link=Mauro Orbini|year=1601|title=Il Regno de gli Slavi hoggi corrottamente detti Schiavoni|location=Pesaro|publisher=Apresso Girolamo Concordia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Fx3OntcdUkQC}}
* {{Cite book|last=Орбин|first=Мавро|author-link=Mauro Orbini|year=1968|title=Краљевство Словена|location=Београд|publisher=Српска књижевна задруга|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MduZAAAAIAAJ}}
* {{Cite book|last=Ostrogorsky|first=George|author-link=George Ostrogorsky|year=1956|title=History of the Byzantine State|location=Oxford|publisher=Basil Blackwell|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Bt0_AAAAYAAJ}}
* {{Cite book|last=Popović|first=Tatyana|year=1988|title=Prince Marko: The Hero of South Slavic Epics|location=New York|publisher=Syracuse University Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ok93aZ27r-oC|isbn=9780815624448}}
* {{Cite book|editor-last=Samardžić|editor-first1=Radovan|editor-link1=Radovan Samardžić|editor-last2=Duškov|editor-first2=Milan|title=Serbs in European Civilization|year=1993|location=Belgrade|publisher=Nova, Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Institute for Balkan Studies|isbn=9788675830153|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O3MtAQAAIAAJ}}
* {{Cite book|last1=Sedlar|first1=Jean W.|title=East Central Europe in the Middle Ages, 1000–1500|year=1994|location=Seattle|publisher=University of Washington Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4NYTCgAAQBAJ|isbn=9780295800646}}
* {{Cite book|last=Sophoulis|first=Panos|title=Banditry in the Medieval Balkans, 800–1500|year=2020|location=Cham|publisher=Springer Nature|isbn=9783030559052|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sPoFEAAAQBAJ}}
* {{Cite book|last=Soulis|first=George Christos|title=The Serbs and Byzantium during the reign of Tsar Stephen Dušan (1331–1355) and his successors|year=1984|location=Washington|publisher=Dumbarton Oaks Library and Collection|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NXFpAAAAMAAJ|isbn=9780884021377}}
* {{Cite journal|last=Uzelac|first=Aleksandar B.|title=Foreign Soldiers in the Nemanjić State – A Critical Overview|journal=Belgrade Historical Review|year=2015|volume=6|pages=69–89|url=https://www.academia.edu/19707068}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
* {{Commons category-inline|Serbian Empire}}

{{Empires}}
{{Middle Ages by region}}
{{Serbia topics}}

[[Category:Serbian Empire| ]]
[[Category:14th century in Serbia]]
[[Category:Medieval history of Albania]]
[[Category:Medieval Macedonia]]
[[Category:Medieval history of Montenegro]]
[[Category:Former empires]]
[[Category:Former countries in the Balkans]]
[[Category:States and territories established in 1346]]
[[Category:1346 establishments in Europe]]
[[Category:1371 disestablishments in Europe]]
[[Category:14th century in Greece]]
[[Category:Greece–Serbia relations]]
[[Category:Former Christian states]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in the 1370s]]