page_title: Stefan Dragutin
section_title: Sirmia ulterior
hierarchical_section_title: Stefan Dragutin / Reign / Sirmia ulterior
context_page_description: Stefan Dragutin was King of Serbia from 1276 to 1282. From 1282, he ruled a separate kingdom which included northern Serbia, and the neighboring Hungarian banates, for which he was unofficially styled as "King of Syrmia". He was the eldest son of King Stefan Uroš I of Serbia and Helen of Anjou. He received the title of "young king" in token of his right to succeed his father after a peace treaty between Uroš I and Béla IV of Hungary who was the grandfather of Dragutin's wife, Catherine, in 1268. He rebelled against his father and forced him to abdicate with Hungarian assistance in 1282.
  Dragutin abandoned Uroš I's centralizing policy and ceded large territories to his mother in appanage. After a riding accident, he abdicated in favor of his brother, Milutin in 1282, but he retained the northern regions of Serbia along the Hungarian border. Two years later, his brother-in-law, Ladislaus IV of Hungary, granted him three banates—Mačva, Usora and Soli—to him. He was the first Serbian monarch to rule Belgrade. With his brother's support, he also occupied the Banate of Braničevo in 1284 or 1285.
context_section_description: Inscriptions on frescos and diplomatic correspondence evidence that Dragutin was styled king after his abdication, but Milutin's supreme position is evident. Dragutin continued to style himself as king in his royal charters and coins. Dragutin and Milutin wore royal insignia on a fresco in the St. Achillios church, which was Dragutin's endowment near Arilje, but Dragutin is depicted with fewer royal emblems.  Actually, Serbia was divided between Dragutin and Milutin at Dragutin's abdication, with Dragutin retaining the northern region along the Hungarian border, including the recently opened silver mine at Rudnik. He also held territories in western Serbia on the river Lim, thus he was his brother's most powerful vassal. Ladislaus IV of Hungary granted Mačva, Usora and Soli to Dragutin in the second half of 1284. The same territories had been held in appanage by relatives of the Hungarian monarchs, most recently by Dragutin's mother-in-law, Elizabeth the Cuman, and Dragutin continued to rule them as a Hungarian vassal. Mačva was also known as Sirmia ulterior, hence Dragutin's contemporaries often styled him as "King of Srem". He took up his seat at Debrc on the Sava, but he also regularly stayed in Belgrade, thus he was the first Serbian monarch to rule this town.
  Dragutin administered his realm independently of his brother. He supported the Franciscans' missions in Bosnia and allowed the establishment of a Catholic see in Belgrade. Two Cuman or Bulgarian warlords, Darman and Kudelin, had seized a former Hungarian banate, Banate of Braničevo. Dragutin invaded Braničevo with Hungarian assistance in 1284 or 1285, but could not defeat them. Darman and Kudelin hired Cuman and Tatar troops and started raiding Dragutin's realm. Dragutin sought assistance from Milutin and the two brothers met in Mačkovac. After they joined their forces and defeated Darman and Kudelin, Dragutin seized Braničevo in 1291 or 1292. The new Hungarian monarch, Andrew III, also supported their military action, but Andrew's weak position in Hungary enabled Dragutin to strengthen his independence.
  Dragutin's sister-in-law, Mary, had laid claim to Hungary after the death of her brother, Ladislaus IV. Dragutin was allegedly willing to support her and her son, Charles Martel of Anjou. Charles Martel, who regarded himself the lawful king of Hungary, granted Slavonia to Dragutin's son, Vladislav, in 1292, but most Hungarian noblemen and prelates remained loyal to Andrew III. Dragutin also sought a reconciliation with Andrew and Vladislav married Constance, the granddaughter of Andrew's uncle, Albertino Morosini in 1293. Dragutin took advantage of the disintegration of Hungary during the last decade of the 13th century and became one of the dozen "oligarchs" (or powerful lords) who ruled vast territories independently of the monarch.
  Dragutin supported his brother's attacks against the Byzantine territories in Macedonia in the 1290s. After Milutin made peace with the Byzantine Empire in 1299, dozens of Serbian noblemen, who had benefitted from the war, moved to Dragutin's realm. Tensions between the two brothers rapidly grew, most probably because Milutin wanted to secure the succession in Serbia to his own sons. In 1301, open war broke out and Milutin occupied Rudnik from Dragutin. According to Ragusan reports, a peace treaty was made in late 1302, but Dragutin's troops or allies pillaged Milutin's silver mines at Brskovo already in 1303. The armed conflict lasted for more than a decade, but its details are unknown. The parties allegedly avoided fighting in pitched battles and Dragutin could retain his realm almost intact, although income from the silver mines enabled Milutin to hire mercenaries.
  Charles Martel's son, Charles Robert had come to Hungary to assert his claim to the throne in 1300. His grandfather, Charles II of Naples, listed Dragutin and Dragutin's wife among Charles Robert's principal supporters. Between the summer of 1301 and May 1304, Charles Robert spent much time in the powerful Ugrin Csák's domains which were located to the north of Dragu
caption: Realm of Stefan Dragutin with its northern borders on Sava and Danube rivers
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