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Stefan Dušan

Type Figure Region Serbia Time c. 1308–1355 Also known as Serbian Tsar

The most outstanding medieval Serbian ruler, he took sole power in 1331 and was crowned at Skopje in 1346 as "Emperor of Serbs and Greeks," establish…

Timeline

  1. 1331–1341Kingdom of Serbia · SerbiaIn 1331 he overthrew and replaced his father Stefan Dečanski, ending internal strife; he then consolidated control over the Serbian core lands, preparing for expansion into Macedonia and Greece.
  2. 1341–1346Skopje · MacedoniaIn the early 1340s he captured areas around Thessalonica and Epirus; on April 16, 1346, at Skopje, he was crowned emperor by the Serbian archbishop, claiming succession to the legal legacy of the Byzantine Empire, with the empire's territory on the eve of its zenith.
  3. 1346–1350Prizren · KosovoAfter assuming the imperial title he integrated the ecclesiastical and secular judicial systems; from 1349 he promulgated and disseminated the first provisions of the Dušan Code throughout the empire, regulating land, tribute, and court institutions through written law, strengthening the governance framework of the multi-ethnic empire.

Sources