Simeon Uroà ¡ (, ; 1326âÂÂ1370), nicknamed Sinià ¡a (), was a self-proclaimed Emperor of Serbs and Greeks, from 1356 to 1370. He was son of Serbian King Stephen Uroà ¡ III and Byzantine Princess Maria Palaiologina. Initially, he was awarded the title of despot in 1346, and appointed governor of southern Epirus and Acarnania in 1347 by his half-brother, Serbian Emperor Stephen Duà ¡an. After Duà ¡an's death in 1355, the Serbian throne passed to Duà ¡an's son Stephen Uroà ¡ V, but despot Simeon decided to seize the opportunity in order to impose himself as co-ruler and lord of all southern provinces of the Serbian Empire. That led him to conflict with his nephew in 1356, when Simeon started to expand his control in southern regions of the Empire, trying to take Thessaly and Macedonia. He proclaimed himself Emperor of the Serbs and Greeks, creating a separate state, centered in regions of Thessaly and Epirus, where he ruled until his death in 1370. He was succeeded by his son Jovan Uroà ¡.
Simeon Uroà ¡ was the son of King Stephen Uroà ¡ III (r. 1322âÂÂ1331) by his second wife, Maria Palaiologina, the daughter of the Byzantine prince and rebel John Palaiologos who had joined Stephen's raids in Macedonia in 1326, the same year Simeon Uroà ¡ was born. His older, half-brother, Duà ¡an was crowned "Young king" (designated heir) in 1322 during the crowning of their father.
Stephen Duà ¡an was crowned King in September 1331, after months of civil war. Duà ¡an exploited the Byzantine civil war and made major gains beginning in 1342. Having all of Macedonia under his rule, Stephen Duà ¡an was proclaimed "Emperor of Serbs and Greeks" in September 1345, then crowned as such in April 1346. Duà ¡an, as an emperor, granted Byzantine titles upon his magnates. Simeon Uroà ¡ and Jovan Asen were given the despot title, while others were given the sebastokrator and kesar titles.
With the Serbian conquest of Epirus, Acarnania and Thessaly by 1348, Simeon Uroà ¡ was given the governorship of Epirus and Thessaly. Simeon Uroà ¡ consolidated his position with the local aristocracy by marrying Thomais Orsini, the daughter of the former ruler of Epirus, John II Orsini.
Simeon Uroà ¡'s relatively uneventful governorship was interrupted when, shortly after Duà ¡an's death in 1355, his brother-in-law Nikephoros II Orsini, the deposed ruler of Epirus, reappeared in Greece and gained the support of the nobility in Thessaly and Epirus. In 1356 Nikephoros entered Epirus and forced Simeon Uroà ¡ to flee to Kastoria. There Simeon proclaimed himself "Emperor of Serbs and Greeks" in rivalry with his nephew Stephen Uroà ¡ V.
Although he was supported by some important magnates like Jovan (the brother of Stephen Duà ¡an's widow), Simeon was rejected by the nobility of the Serbian lands and Macedonia. After he was forced to retreat from his attempt to invade Zeta (modern Montenegro) in 1358, Simeon Uroà ¡ gave up hope of asserting himself in Serbia. The next year, however, Nikephoros II Orsini was killed in a skirmish against Albanian clans, opening an opportunity for Simeon Uroà ¡. Consequently, he rapidly swept into Thessaly and was acknowledged as its ruler in 1359. He then invaded Epirus, where the towns, harried by the Albanian clans who had taken over the countryside, also recognized his authority. He also used his maternal maiden name, Palaiologos (àñûñùÿûÃÂóÿÃÂ), during his rule.
While Simeon Uroà ¡ was in Epirus, Radoslav Hlapen of Vodena (Edessa) attempted to seize Thessaly on behalf of his stepson Thomas PreljuboviÃÂ. Simeon Uroà ¡ was forced to cut his losses by recognizing Radoslav Hlapen's conquests, turning over Kastoria to him, and marrying his daughter Maria to Thomas. Hlapen recognized Simeon Uroà ¡'s suzerainty in at least some of these lands and provided a buffer between him and the Serbian nobles to the north. Simeon Uroà ¡ established himself in Trikala in Thessaly, and spent the remaining decade of his reign in relative peace. He soon recognized two of the Albanian leaders in Epirus, John Spata and Peter Losha, as despotes of Arta and Angelokastron. In 1366 he turned over Ioannina, his last major possession in Epirus, to his son-in-law Thomas, who ruled there as a vassal despot.
In Trikala, Simeon Uroà ¡ presided over a court including Byzantine, Serbian, and Albanian nobles, but he showed preference for the Byzantine relatives of his wife. He also founded and generously endowed the monasteries of Meteora. He died in 1370.
By his marriage to Thomais Orsini, Simeon Uroà ¡ had three children: