Saint Stefan the First-Crowned

Stefan Nemanjić , known as Stefan the First-Crowned (Serbian: Стефан Првовенчани, romanized: Stefan Prvovenčani, pronounced [stêfaːn prʋoʋěntʃaːniː]; c. 1165 – 24 September 1228), was the Grand Prince of Serbia from 1196 and the King of Serbia from 1217 until his death in 1228. He was the first Serbian king by Nemanjić dynasty; due to his transformation of the Serbian Grand Principality into the Kingdom of Serbia and the assistance he provided his brother Saint Sava in establishing the Serbian Orthodox Church. Stefan Nemanjić was the second-eldest son of Grand Prince Stefan Nemanja and Anastasija. His older brother and heir apparent, Vukan, ruled over Zeta and the neighbouring provinces (the highest appanage) while his younger brother Rastko (later known as Saint Sava) ruled over Hum. The Byzantines attacked Serbia in 1191, raiding the banks of the South Morava. Grand Prince Nemanja had a tactical advantage, and began to raid the Byzantine armies. Isaac II Angelos summoned a peace treaty, and the marriage of Nemanja's second son Stefan to Eudokia Angelina, the niece of Isaac II, was confirmed. Stefan Nemanjić received the title of sebastokrator. Throughout the 12th century, Serbs were at the center of war events between Byzantium and Hungary for dominance. In such circumstances, Serbs had no chance of gaining independence. Their only chance was to look for an ally on third side. In 1190, the German Emperor Friedrich Barbarossa drowned in the river Calycadnus. At the same time, Emperor Isaac II Angelos launched a punitive expedition against the Serbs, and Nemanja was defeated in the battle of South Morava. In fact, Constantinople did not want to subdue the Serbs, but to regain Niš and the main road to Belgrade, as well as to make allies of the rebellious Serbs. The peace treaty provided for Stefan Nemanjić, the middle son of the grand zoupan Stefan Nemanja, to marry a Byzantine princess, i.e. niece of the Byzantine emperor.