caption father predecessor successor mother death_date death_place title consort birth_date alt image article_title name reign
king to the church of marko 's monastery near skopje . marko he was a ktetor of this monastery . on a fresco above the south entrance vukašin mrnjavčević vukašin mrnjavčević none -lrb- title abolished -rrb- alena 17 may 1395 rovine , wallachia -lrb- now romania -rrb- king '' -rrb- of the serbian land -lrb- '' de jure jelena , daughter of hlapen 1335 bearded man with hat and dark clothing marko mrnjavcevic.jpg prince marko
 marko mrnjavčević 1371 -- 1395
prince marko

marko mrnjavčević -lrb- , ; -- 17 may 1395 -rrb- was the `` de jure '' serbian king from 1371 to 1395 , while he was the `` de facto '' ruler of territory in western macedonia centered on the town of prilep .
he is known as prince marko -lrb- , `` kraljević marko '' , -rrb- and king marko -lrb- ; -rrb- in south slavic oral tradition , in which he has become a major character during the period of ottoman rule over the balkans .
marko 's father , king vukašin , was co-ruler with serbian tsar stefan uroš v , whose reign was characterised by weakening central authority and the gradual disintegration of the serbian empire .
vukašin 's holdings included lands in western macedonia , kosovo and metohija .
in 1370 or 1371 , he crowned marko `` young king '' ; this title included the possibility that marko would succeed the childless uroš on the serbian throne .
on 26 september 1371 , vukašin was killed and his forces defeated in the battle of maritsa .
about two months later , tsar uroš died .
this formally made marko the king of the serbian land ; however , serbian noblemen , who had become effectively independent from the central authority , did not even consider to recognise him as their supreme ruler .
sometime after 1371 , he became an ottoman vassal ; by 1377 , significant portions of the territory he inherited from vukašin were seized by other noblemen .
king marko , in reality , came to be a regional lord who ruled over a relatively small territory in western macedonia .
he funded the construction of the monastery of saint demetrius near skopje -lrb- better known as marko 's monastery -rrb- , which was completed in 1376 .
marko died on 17 may 1395 , fighting for the ottomans against the wallachians in the battle of rovine .
although a ruler of modest historical significance , marko became a major character in south slavic oral tradition .
he is venerated as a national hero by the serbs , macedonians and bulgarians , remembered in balkan folklore as a fearless and powerful protector of the weak , who fought against injustice and confronted the turks during the ottoman occupation .
