The House of Mrnjavčević ( sr-Cyrl, Мрњавчевић, Mrnjavčevići / Мрњавчевићи, ) was a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

Serbian Serbian may refer to: * someone or something related to Serbia, a country in Southeastern Europe * someone or something related to the Serbs, a South Slavic people * Serbian language * Serbian names See also * * * Old Serbian (disambiguation ...

noble house during the

Serbian Empire The Serbian Empire ( sr, / , ) was a medieval Serbian state that emerged from the Kingdom of Serbia. It was established in 1346 by Dušan the Mighty, who significantly expanded the state. Under Dušan's rule, Serbia was the major power in the ...

, its fall, and the subsequent years when it held a region of present-day

Macedonia region Macedonia () is a geographical and historical region of the Balkan Peninsula in Southeast Europe. Its boundaries have changed considerably over time; however, it came to be defined as the modern geographical region by the mid 19th century. Tod ...

. The house ruled a province from its base at

Prilep Prilep ( mk, Прилеп ) is the fourth-largest city in North Macedonia. It has a population of 66,246 and is known as "the city under Marko's Towers" because of its proximity to the towers of Prince Marko. Name The name of Prilep appea ...

(in modern

North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...

) from 1366 to 1395.

Vukašin Mrnjavčević Vukašin (Cyrillic script: Вукашин) is an old Slavic name of Serbian origin. It is composed from two words: Vuk (wolf) and sin (son), so it means sin vuka (son of wolf). In some places in Croatia and Bosnia it can be found as a surname. ...

was a military commander in the army of Emperor

Dušan the Mighty Dušan ( sr-Cyrl, Душан) is a Slavic given name primarily used in countries of Yugoslavia; and among Slovaks and Czechs. The name is derived from the Slavic noun ''duša'' "soul". Occurrence In Serbia, it was the 29th most popular nam ...

( 1331-1355) and co-ruler of Serbia as king, with Emperor

Uroš the Weak __NOTOC__ Uroš ( sr-Cyrl, Урош) is a South Slavic given or last name primarily spread amongst Serbs, and Slovenians (mostly of Serbian descent). This noun has been interpreted as "lords", because it usually appears in conjunction with ''velmõ ...

( 1355-1371). After Uroš' death, the Serbian Empire crumbled, as the nobility could not agree on its rightful successor. Vukašin's son, Marko Kraljević, ruled his hereditary lands as titular ''King of Serbs and Greeks''.

History

Origin

The family's progenitor, after whom historiography names it, was Mrnjava, a financial chancellor ('' kaznac'',

chamberlain Chamberlain may refer to: Profession *Chamberlain (office), the officer in charge of managing the household of a sovereign or other noble figure People *Chamberlain (surname) **Houston Stewart Chamberlain (1855–1927), German-British philosop ...

) who served King

Stefan Uroš I Stefan Uroš I ( sr-cyr, Стефан Урош I; 1223 – May 1, 1277), known as Uroš the Great (Урош Велики) was the King of Serbia from 1243 to 1276, succeeding his brother Stefan Vladislav. He was one of the most important ruler ...

and his wife, Queen

Helen of Anjou Helen of Anjou ( sr, Јелена Анжујска / Jelena Anžujska, ; c. 1235 – 8 February 1314) was the queen consort of the Kingdom of Serbia (medieval), Serbian Kingdom, as the spouse of King Stefan Uroš I, who ruled from 1243 to 1276. T ...

at the court at

Trebinje Trebinje ( sr-Cyrl, Требиње, ) is a city and municipality located in the Republika Srpska entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the southernmost city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and is situated on the banks of Trebišnjica river in the r ...

(in

Travunia Travunia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Travunija, Травунија; el, Τερβουνία, Tervounía; grc, Τερβουνία, Terbounía; la, Tribunia) was a South Slavic medieval principality that was part of Medieval Serbia (850–1 ...

). According to

Ragusan Ragusan may refer to: * citizen of the Republic of Ragusa ** List of Ragusans Here follows a list of notable Ragusans and Rectors of the Republic of Ragusa (also known as the Republic of Dubrovnik), a maritime republic centered on the city of Dub ...

historian

Mavro Orbin Mavro Orbini (1563–1614) was a Ragusan chronicler, notable for his work ''The Realm of the Slavs'' (1601) which influenced Slavic ideology and historiography in the later centuries. Life Orbini was born in Ragusa (now Dubrovnik), the capital o ...

(1563–1610) wrote that the family hailed from ''Hum'', and that the poor Mrnjava and his three sons, who later lived in

Blagaj Blagaj is a village in the south-eastern region of the Mostar basin, in the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It stands at the edge of Bišće plain and is one of the most valuable mixed urban and rural built environments in ...

, quickly rose to prominence under King

Stefan Dušan Stefan Uroš IV Dušan ( sr-Cyrl, Стефан Урош IV Душан, ), known as Dušan the Mighty ( sr, / ; circa 1308 – 20 December 1355), was the King of Serbia from 8 September 1331 and Tsar (or Emperor) and autocrat of the Serbs, Gre ...

. Possibly, the family had left Hum, which had been part of the Serbian Kingdom, after the Bosnian conquest of Hum (1326), and settled in

Livno Livno ( sr-cyrl, Ливно, ) is a city and the administrative center of Canton 10 of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated on the river Bistrica in the southeastern edge of the Livno Fiel ...

(where Vukašin was allegedly born). The family most likely supported Dušan's Bosnian campaign (1350), in which he saw to reconquer Hum.

Reign of Stefan Dušan

Reign of Uroš IV

Family tree

* Mrnjava ( 1280–89), a treasurer of Queen

** Vukašin (1320–1371), ''King'' and ''Lord of the Serbian and Greek Lands, and of the Western Provinces'' (1366–71) *** Marko (1335–1395), ''Young King'', titular ''King of Serbs'' (1371–95) *** Andrijaš (fl. 1371–95) *** Ivaniš *** Dmitar ( 1365–d. 1410) *** Olivera ** Jovan Uglješa (1320s–1371), ''despot'', ruler of

Serres Sérres ( el, Σέρρες ) is a city in Macedonia, Greece, capital of the Serres regional unit and second largest city in the region of Central Macedonia, after Thessaloniki. Serres is one of the administrative and economic centers of Northe ...

(1356–71) ***Tvrtko ***Uglješa *** Eupraxia

References

Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mrnjavcevic Serbian noble families Serbian Empire 14th century in Serbia Medieval Macedonia People from Prilep Serbian royal families