Kingdom of Serbia (medieval)

The Kingdom of Serbia was proclaimed in 1217, when Stefan Nemanjić, grand prince of the reunited Serbian lands, was crowned king; his brother, Saint Sava, established the Serbian Orthodox Church as an autocephalous archbishopric two years later. Under the Nemanjić dynasty the realm expanded from its heartland in Raška, around Stari Ras, into Kosovo, Montenegro, northern Albania and Macedonia. Kings such as Uroš I, Dragutin and Milutin exploited silver and gold mines, promoted trade with the Adriatic and endowed monasteries that became centres of fresco painting. In 1331 Stefan Dušan seized the throne and, after a series of conquests, was crowned emperor in 1346, turning the kingdom into the Serbian Empire; his law code followed in 1349, and his rule stretched from the Danube to the Gulf of Corinth. The empire fragmented after his death, and the Nemanjić state collapsed in the late fourteenth century. Stari Ras, Skopje and Prizren served as royal seats at different times.