Vukaà ¡in MrnjavÃÂevià(, ; c. 1320 â 26 September 1371) was King of Serbia as the co-ruler of Stefan Uroà ¡ V from 1365 to 1371. He was also a nobleman. Principal domains of Vukaà ¡in and his family were located in southern parts of medieval Serbia and northwestern parts of the modern region of Macedonia. He died in the Battle of Maritsa in 1371 with his brother, Jovan Ugljeà ¡a.
In folk tradition, Vukaà ¡in is referred to as a usurper and, wrongly, the murderer of Tsar Uroà ¡. He was often considered de facto ruler of Serbian Empire during the reign of Uroà ¡.
According to 17th-century Ragusan historian Mavro Orbini, his father was a minor noble named Mrnjava from Zachlumia, whose sons Vukaà ¡in and Ugljeà ¡a MrnjavÃÂeviàwere born in Livno in western Bosnia. Some of Orbin's historical accounts are based on oral traditions of his time, but a 1280 Ragusan document mentions a Mrnjan as a nobleman from Trebinje, a town in Travunia in the vicinity of Zachlumia. The same Mrnjan is mentioned again in a 1289 charter as a treasurer of the Serbian queen Helen of Anjou. After Zachlumia was annexed by Bosnia in 1326, the family of Mrnjan, or Mrnjava, could have moved to Livno. Possibly the family supported Serbian Emperor Duà ¡an's invasion of Bosnia in 1350, as did other Zachlumian nobles, and fearing punishment, emigrated to Serbia when the war was about to start. In favor of Zachumlian or Travunian origin of Vukaà ¡in also speaks the inscription on the tomb in a church in Ohrid, where certain Ostoja Rajakoviàof the UgarÃÂiàclan (died 1379) is referred to as a cousin of Vukaà ¡in's eldest son Marko. The UgarÃÂiàclan is attested in contemporary sources as inhabiting the region of Trebinje.
After Serbia had expanded southwards into Macedonia, the local feudal lordsâÂÂGreeksâÂÂwere replaced with Serbs, many of whom were from Zachlumia and Travunia. Around 1350 Emperor Duà ¡an appointed Vukaà ¡in the à ¾upan (district governor) of Prilep in Macedonia. From then on Vukaà ¡in rapidly rose, and was one of the most dominant Serbian nobles at the time of the sudden death of Duà ¡an in 1355. He was given the title of despot by Duà ¡an's successor Emperor Stefan Uroà ¡ V. In 1365 he was crowned King of the Serbs and Greeks as the co-ruler of Emperor Uroà ¡. He ruled over an area which included Prizren, Skopje and Prilep, and had good relations with his brother, Despot Jovan Ugljeà ¡a who ruled an area around Ser. Later he became strong enough to disobey Uroà ¡. By 1369, as Uroà ¡ was childless, Vukaà ¡in designated his eldest son Prince Marko as heir to the throne, with the title of "young king".
In 1370 he contributed to the monasteries of Mount Athos and prepared a war against the Ottoman Empire, which his brother supported. Vukaà ¡in was to attack Trebinje in June 1371 but it was never carried out. In September 1371, he established a coalition with his brother against the Ottomans and advanced. The Serbian army of the coalition numbering ca. 70,000 men met the Ottoman army led by beylerbey of Rumeli Lala à Ââhin Paà Âa at the Battle of Maritsa on 26 September 1371 where superior Ottoman tactics won over. The Ottomans attacked the Serbian Army while they rested and Vukaà ¡in's forces were routed and himself killed during the battle.
With his wife Alena (Old Cyrillic: ÃÂûãýð), Vukaà ¡in had at least five children:
Brian Aldiss - published an alternative-history fantasy story "The Day Of The Doomed King" about King Vukaà ¡in.