Saint Stefan Uroà ¡ V (, ; 13362/4 December 1371), known in historiography and folk tradition as Uroà ¡ the Weak (), was the second Emperor (Tsar) of the Serbian Empire (1355âÂÂ1371), and before that he was Serbian King and co-ruler (since 1346) with his father, Emperor Stefan Duà ¡an.
Stefan Uroà ¡ V was the only son of Stefan Uroà ¡ IV Duà ¡an by Helena of Bulgaria, the sister of Ivan Alexander of Bulgaria. He had been crowned as king (second highest title) in the capacity of heir and co-ruler after Duà ¡an was crowned emperor in 1346. Although by the time of his succession as sole ruler and emperor in 1355 Stefan Uroà ¡ V was no longer a minor, he remained heavily dependent on his mother and various members of the court.
The account of the contemporary John VI Kantakouzenos describes the descent of the Serbian Empire into disintegration soon after the death of Uroà ¡' father and his accession. However, Kantakouzenos mainly focused on the Greek lands rather than the Serbian core lands. Further the general disorder along with the powerlessness of the center represents the situation that arose much later in Uroà ¡'s reign. According to MihaljÃÂiÃÂ, during the initial years of his rule the threats to the territorial integrity of Uroà ¡'s empire in the south came mainly from external attacks. The death of Uroà ¡'s father was quickly followed by the death of Preljub, who governed the region of Thessaly. In the spring of 1356, Nikephoros Orsini landed a force on the coast of Thessaly and quickly overran it. He then followed up this success by driving despot Simeon Uroà ¡ from Aetolia and Acarnania. Simeon was a paternal uncle and the closest male relative of young Emperor Uroà ¡. Retreating to Epirus and western Macedonia, he seized Kostur and proclaimed himself Tsar in hope of becoming co-ruler, or even replacing young Uroà ¡ on the Serbian throne. His claim was not widely welcomed, and the support he gained was limited to some southern regions. The Sabor (state council) held in Skoplje did not accept Simeon's claims and following the endorsement of the magnates, Uroà ¡ became more energetic in his political activities, publishing a number of charters. In 1358, Simeon attacked the Skadar region, trying to capture the old Serbia region of Zeta, but was defeated. Defeated in the north, Simeon again turned to south, retaking Epirus and Thessaly in 1359, where he continued to rule with the title "emperor of Serbs and Greeks".
There is one account, early in his reign, that is in contrast to his general record of incompetence. In 1356, Matthew Kantakouzenos, a pretender to the Byzantine throne, gathered an army of 5,000 Turks and marched on Serres, the Serbian-held capital of Jovan Ugljeà ¡a. Uroà ¡ V, whose mother ruled from Serres, decided to raise an army to defend his mother. In 1357, when Matthew and his Turks attacked, the Serbian army under Vojihna of Drama (a major player in that region) came to aid. The Turks were defeated. Matthew Kantakouzenos was captured and held hostage until his ransom was paid by the Byzantine Emperor John V Palaiologos.
In following years, the Serbian Empire gradually fragmented into a conglomeration of principalities, some of which did not even nominally acknowledge Uroà ¡'s rule. His position was not helped by his mother Helena, who started to rule autonomously from the in alliance with Jovan Ugljeà ¡a. A similarly autonomous posture was assumed by the Dejanoviàfamily, the Balà ¡iàfamily, Nikola AltomanoviÃÂ. By 1365, the most powerful Serbian nobleman became Ugljeà ¡a's brother Vukaà ¡in MrnjavÃÂeviàwho became co-ruler with Emperor Uroà ¡ and was granted the title of Serbian King. 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".
Stefan Uroà ¡ V died childless in December 1371, after much of the Serbian nobility had been destroyed by the Turks in the Battle of Maritsa earlier that year. The exact cause of his death at a relatively young age remains unknown. Vukaà ¡in's son Prince Marko inherited his father's royal title, but real power in northern Serbia was held by Lazar HrebeljanoviÃÂ. The latter did not assume the imperial or royal titles (associated with the Nemanjiàdynasty), and in 1377 accepted King Tvrtko I of Bosnia (a maternal grandson of Stefan Dragutin) as titular king of Serbia. Serbia proper became a vassal of the Ottomans in 1390, but remained effectively ruled by the Lazareviàfamily and then by their Brankoviàsuccessors until the fall of Smederevo in 1459.
The exceptional modesty and tolerance of this ruler was the main reason he was called "the weak", and also the reason he was canonized 211 years after his death.
Stefan Uroà ¡ V was canonized by the Serbian Orthodox Church. His body is kept in the Jazak monastery on Fruà ¡ka Gora mountain.
Today, Stefan Uroà ¡ V is viewed mostly in contrast to his able and strong-willed father, as a lacking and indecisive ruler, unable to keep the Serbian nobility under his control, whose weak and unassertive personality greatly contributed to the fall of the Empire and the eventual destruction of the Serbian state by the Ottomans. In Serbian folklore and epic poems he is often described as a just, well-intentioned ruler of pleasant appearance but weak character. While this view is popular among historians as well, some argue that he was not especially incompetent in his role as Emperor of Serbia, and that the decline of the empire was much less spectacular and started much later into his rule than popular opinion suggests. For a long time, it was considered a historical fact that he was murdered by his co-ruler, Vukaà ¡in MrnjavÃÂeviÃÂ, but eventually Vukaà ¡in was proven to have died before the Emperor.
In 1825 Stefan StefanoviÃÂ, a Serbian writer living in the Austrian Empire wrote a tragic play called The Death of Uroà ¡ V, which drew inspiration from both facts and folk tradition about Uroà ¡, including the aforementioned belief that he was killed by King Vukaà ¡in.
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