The Serbian monarchs and royalty have assumed several regnal titles and styles throughout history.
The medieval Serbian state was a monarchy with a supreme ruler, and the regnal title changed from the 7th- to 15th century depending on expansion or contraction of state territory, as well as political, military or economic power of the ruler.
The Serbian rulers of the Vlastimiroviàdynasty were titled "archon of Serbia" () according to De Administrando Imperio (960). The title of archon (á¼ÂÃÂÃÂÃÂý, plural , archontes) was used by the Byzantines as a generic title for "prince, ruler". It has an antique origin, being used in the system of the nine Athenian officials (see Eponymous archon). It was used for the rulers of South Slavic polities as well as the Rus' and Bulgars. In Serbian historiography, the Slavic title of knez () is generally used instead of the Greek-derived arhont ().
John Skylitzes ( 1057âÂÂ59) used "archon of the Serbs" and "land of the Serbs" () for Stefan Vojislav ( 1018âÂÂ1043). Skylitzes used archon for foreign rulers with notable or full independence. Kekaumenos ( 1078) called Stefan Vojislav a toparch, which was a general term that simply signified local rulers in the edges of the empire. Vojislav's successor Mihailo is mentioned as "archegos ("chief, ruler") of the Triballi (an archaization) and Serbs" (). Anna Komnene (1083âÂÂ1153) called Mihailo I and Constantine Bodin ( 1081âÂÂ1101) the "Exarchs of Dalmats [i.e. Serbs]" (). Latin sources call both rex (king). The seal of Bodin calls him protosebastos (an honorific) and exousiastes of Dioklia and Serbia" (). In the mid-10th century List of Titles, exousiastes is ranked third, after exousiokrator and exousiarches, and above all ranks which have the prefix archi, and the rest, including exarchos. Judging by its usage and rank, exousiastes was explicitly used for foreign kings, and was not a generic term. The seals of Stefan Vojislav and Mihailo have not survived, so it is unknown what the Byzantine emperor recognized them as (in Byzantine nomenclature). In Byzantine usage, rex was used exclusively for rulers in Latin Europe. For the Hungarian kings in the 11th century, the Byzantines used the Slavic term krales.
The title of "satrap of the Serbs" () was used as an archaization by Niketas Choniates and Michael of Thessaloniki for poetic purpose in relation to veliki à ¾upan (archizoupanos) Uroà ¡ II ( 1145âÂÂ1162) and Stefan Nemanja ( 1166âÂÂ1196).
The word knez is present in all Slavic languages and has an old history; it is a Proto-Slavic loan word from Proto-Germanic kuningaz ("noble"), although there is a theory that it derived from Gothic kuniggs, German könig, meaning "king". The title of knez was used among Serbs and Russians for supreme rulers, and its oldest mentions are in Bulgaria and Russia. It has been attributed as the native regnal title for the Vlastimiroviàdynasty; in De Administrando Imperio, Serbian ruler Vlastimir is said to have elevated the à ¾upan of Travunija to archon, that is, an udeoni knez ("territorial prince", ) subordinated Vlastimir.
Until 1077, the title of knez was used in Duklja as the regnal title, until elevation of Mihailo I as king. Until then, Serbian rulers held the title of knez, according to conclusions of Yugoslav and Serbian medievalists. In Latin documents of the 10th- and early 11th century, the title dux (duke) is found for Serbian rulers. According to the Chronicle of the Priest of Duklja (1300), Constantine Bodin appointed Stefan the knesius of Bosnia, and the legendary Dobroslav's sons were knezes in divided parts of Duklja and Travunia, that is, "territorial princes". With the elevation of veliki à ¾upan in Serbia, the title of knez lost its significance as a regnal title. In the Nemanjiàera, the title of veliki knez (or knez zemaljski) was given to a small number of people. The title of knez was held by veliki à ¾upan Stefan Nemanja's brothers Stracimir and Miroslav, as provincial rulers; the 1186 treaty with Ragusa mentions the brothers (), and besides Nemanja, also knez Miroslav signed in Cyrillic (). Ansbert (1189) calls Nemanja magnus comes and Miroslav comes et princeps. In the 1170sâÂÂ80s, veliki knez Mihailo ruled Duklja as a Byzantine vassal, and his title rendered magnus comes in Latin (1189). Nemanja appointed his son Vukan the knez of Duklja in 1189, and his title was elevated to veliki knez in 1196. It is uncertain if the title of veliki knez was used in Hum in the 12th century, as only Desa is mentioned as magnus comes in a falsified document; Desa was a udeoni knez ("territorial prince") of Hum and would thus receive the knez title from his brother veliki à ¾upan Uroà ¡ II ( 1145âÂÂ1162). In the first half of the 13th century, the title of veliki knez was adopted in Hum, and showed their high rights in the Nemanjiàstate; while Miroslav held the title of knez, his son Andrija claimed veliki knez (1237). In the Hilandar charters of Stefan Nemanja (1198) and Stefan Nemanjià(1201), and Life of St. Symeon (1208), the term "land knezes" () is used for provincial governors (rulers of a zemlja, "land"). The knez in the 13th- and 14th centuries was used variously for dynastic members (such as the Hum branch), but also town and market governors and chiefs of shepherding villages, meaning there were three different groups. The title of knez zemaljski (or veliki knez) devaluated and although held by some NemanjiÃÂ, such as general Vratko ( 1342), in the court it became a noble title below vojvoda, kefalija and some times sevast.
After the Fall of the Serbian Empire in 1371, the supreme title in Serbia became knez or veliki knez, as used by Lazar HrebeljanoviÃÂ. It had rose to importance among the nobility during the reign of Uroà ¡ V ( 1355âÂÂ1371), with the powerful provincial rulers such as Vojislav Vojinoviàand especially Lazar HrebeljanoviÃÂ. Lazar Hrebeljanoviàwas known in Hungary as "Prince of the Kingdom of Rascia". As he was a pretender to the Nemanjiàthrone, Lazar added samodrà ¾ac (autokrator) to his regnal title. In correspondence with the Constantinopolitan Patriarchate (1386), Lazar was called mega knezi ().
The title of à ¾upan is known in sources from the 8th century and was used throughout Slavic territory. There are two main theories of its origin, either it was an Avaric word adopted by the Slavs in the Avar Khaganate or it is of Indo-European (Proto-Slavic) origin, as is the territorial term à ¾upa. It is the oldest native title for Serbian rulers, and only among Serbs, the à ¾upan became part of the regnal title (as in veliki à ¾upan). In the beginning, the à ¾upan was the representative of tribal leadership, and Byzantine sources speak of "elder à ¾upans". The DAI explains how among the South Slavs "Princes (archontas), as they say, these nations had non, but only zoupanous, elders (gerontas), as is the rule in the other Slavonic regions" (á¼ÂÃÂÃÂÿýÃÂñàôÃÂ, ὢàÃÂñÃÂù, ÃÂñῦÃÂñ ÃÂá½° á¼Âøý÷ üὴ á¼ÂÃÂõùý, ÃÂûὴý öÿàÃÂìýÿààóÃÂÃÂÿýÃÂñÃÂ, úñøὼàúñὶ ñἰ ûÿùÃÂñὶ ãúûñò÷ýïñù á¼ÂÃÂÿàÃÂù ÃÂá½ÂÃÂÿý). With the establishment of Serbian states in the Early Middle Ages, there was the ruler (knez or archon) as supreme leader, and several à ¾upan across the country, who held limited authority and territory (à ¾upa).
In the 11th- and 12th centuries, a regnal title in Serbia was veliki à ¾upan (), that is, "grand/great à ¾upan", rendered in Greek as archizoupanos (), megazoupanos (), megalos zoupanos (), etc, and in Latin as megaiupanus, megas iupanus and magnus iupanus. In Hungarian documents, the title was some times rendered as Latin megas comes. The title originates from à ¾upan, and signifies the leader of lesser chieftains titled à ¾upan. During the time of the kings of Duklja, the title of veliki à ¾upan was held by the rulers in the eastern part of Serbia (the Serbian hinterland, or Raà ¡ka), but in the 12th century, the holders became more powerful than the kings. The title became hereditary from the late 11th century. Vukan ( 1083âÂÂ1112) is mentioned by Anna Komnene as "bringing his relatives and chosen zoupanoi" () when swearing fealty to Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos. A legend in the Chronicle of the Priest of Duklja ( 1300) tells how after the death of "king" ÃÂaslav and disintegration of Serbia, no one wanted to take the title of king, and Tichomil instead took the title of "great à ¾upan" (), "as he was the head of the rest of the à ¾upans in Raà ¡ka" ().
The title of veliki à ¾upan for the monarch is only found among the Serbs, while in one instance John Kinnamos calls a Hungarian commander (and not a ruler) sent to support veliki à ¾upan (archizoupanos, Serbion archizoupano) Uroà ¡ II ( 1145âÂÂ1162) in the revolt against Byzantium with the title of archizoupanos. The title of Uroà ¡ II is found in various variations, such as Serbarches (, by Niketas Choniates), archiserbozoupanos (by Theodore Prodromos), iupanius in Rassa (in Chronicle of the Priest of Duklja), Serviam ... comitis magni (in Chronicon Pictum).
In the Hilandar charter (1198âÂÂ99) issued by Stefan Nemanja, he wrote "God the Merciful determined Greeks as emperors and Hungarians as kings ... and put me as the veliki à ¾upan ()", and signed with a seal in Greek which says "Stefan megalos zoupanos Nemanja" (). Nemanja identified the title of veliki à ¾upan as that of his ancestors and of Serbia. He had earlier signed as such () in the SerbianâÂÂRagusan peace treaty (1186). Ansbert (1189) calls Nemanja magnus comes and his brother Miroslav comes et princeps. It was also used by Nemanja's successor, Stefan, in documents such as a 1199 letter to Pope Innocentius III (), and a contract with Ragusa (both and ). With the crowning of Stefan as King in 1217, the title of veliki à ¾upan lost its rank and declined, especially with the adoption of Byzantine Greek noble titles (despot, kesar, sevastokrator, etc.).
In 1077, Mihailo I received a crown from Pope Gregory VII and Duklja was then known as a kingdom in the West. The Byzantines recognized Stefan Vojislav as exousiastes, a title used for foreign kings. The Byzantine writers of the 11th- and 12th centuries did not use "king" in naming Serbian rulers, but used archon, archegos, exarch, archizoupanos.
In 1217, Stefan was elevated to King (). He had requested the crown from Pope Honorius III, calling on the kingly tradition of Duklja. He signed as "Stefan, king and with God, Serb autokrator" () in a treaty with Ragusa (1220), and "Stefan by God's Grace, Crowned First King of all Serb Lands" () in the à ½iÃÂa Chrysobull (1220). In Latin, the title rex ("king") was used. In the 13th century the version "Great King" was introduced, used by Stefan, likely Stefan Uroà ¡ I, Stefan DeÃÂanski and Stefan Duà ¡an.The title of king was used until 1346, when Stefan Duà ¡an was elevated to emperor, car (tsar). The style "the First-Crowned" (prvovenÃÂani) was used in treaties by Stefan's successors mentioning him.
In 1220, Stefan signed as "Stefan, king and with God, Serb samodrà ¾ac (autokrator)" () in a treaty with Ragusa (1220). Autokrator, "self-ruler" in Greek, was the title of the senior Byzantine emperor. The Nemanjiàkings adopted it and applied it to themselves in its literal meaning to stress their independence from Byzantium, whose supreme suzerainty they nominally recognized.
Lazar Hrebeljanoviàused the title samodrà ¾ac (autokrator) of All Serbs (), and samodrà ¾avni () as he was a pretender to the Nemanjiàthrone.
In 1346, Stefan Duà ¡an was elevated to emperor, car (tsar). The Slavic title car is derived from caesar, and entered via Roman usage. Also, the word car (and derivates) was used by Saint Sava and in the Life of St. Symeon (1208) as a synonym for sovereignty, a sovereign ruler, apart from being an imperial title; derivatives were carevati (verb), carski (adjective). The longer title was "Tsar (Emperor) of the Serbs and the Greeks" () and "Basileus (Emperor) and autocrat of Serbia and Rhomania" (). After Duà ¡an's death in 1355, his son and successor Uroà ¡ V ( 1355âÂÂ1371), and half-brother who governed Thessaly and Epirus Simeon Uroà ¡, used the imperial title. Simeon Uroà ¡'s successor Jovan Uroà ¡ also claimed the title until taking vows (1373). After 1371, the supreme title was knez or veliki knez, as used by Lazar HrebeljanoviÃÂ.
In 1402, Stefan LazareviÃÂ received the title of despot (, despotes) by emperor John VII Palaiologos, and it was used in the Serbian Despotate until its fall in 1459. Stefan signed himself "By God's Grace, Lord of All Serbs, Despot Stefan" (). Foreign documents call him "Lord, Despot of Sclavonia" (), "Lord, Despot, Duke of Rascia" (), "Lord, Despot of [the Kingdom of] Rascia" (). Between 1459 and 1537, the title "Despot of Serbia" was given by the Hungarian kings to the most notable Serb nobility that settled in Hungary and fought against the Ottoman Empire as Hungarian vassals.
The rulers of the Serbian Despotate were often mentioned as Lord of the Serbs, Despot. Used after 1402. Initially Despot was a honorific title of Byzantine origin (ôõÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ÷ÃÂ, despotes), used alongside that of the Lord of the Serbs, but eventually it became synonymous with the Serbian monarchy, as well as its claimants in exile.
The first year of the First Serbian Uprising saw supreme military control of territory in the hands of KaraÃÂorÃÂe, which led to other military leaders wanting to limit his power. In response, the Governing Council (Praviteljstvujuà ¡ÃÂi Sovjet) was established in 1805, Laws passed by the Governing Council and People's Assembly (Narodna Skupà ¡tina) in October-November 1805 represented the first constitutional acts establishing the Council as the executive institution. The People's Assembly, made up of community leaders (owing to their reputation and position), and not electees, gathered to decide on important matters such as political and military issues. KaraÃÂorÃÂe became Assembly chairman (), being the commanding general with certain diplomatic, administrative and judicial functions. The second Constitutional Act was adopted by the Assembly at Belgrade in 1808, which recognized KaraÃÂorÃÂe as hereditary "leader" (ÿÃÂõôòþôøÃÂõÃÂ/predvoditelj) and the Council as the judicial institution. Although the Constitution obliged cooperation between KaraÃÂorÃÂe and the Council, some voivodes still wanted to limit his powers. The third Act came in 1811 with the intention to end the attempts of dissenting commanders, KaraÃÂorÃÂe receiving the title of "Voà ¾d" (again, hereditary) and some voivodes swearing oath first to him (as a monarch) and then the "fatherland", promising also to bring any rival to court. KaraÃÂorÃÂe in turn promised to lead the people justly, stay committed to the Russian alliance, rule alongside the Council which held judicial power, and not permit the abuse of power. As the president of the Council, he could nominate ministers and other members. KaraÃÂorÃÂe held almost unlimited power as head of state and government.