Stefan Nemanja (Serbian Cyrillic: , ; – 13 February 1199) was the Grand Prince (Veliki Župan) of the Serbian Grand Principality (also known as Raška, lat. ) from 1166 to 1196. A member of the Vukanović dynasty, Nemanja founded the Nemanjić dynasty, and is remembered for his contributions to Serbian culture and history, founding what would evolve into the Serbian Empire, as well as the national church. According to the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Nemanja is also among the most remarkable Serbs for his literary contributions and altruistic attributes.
In 1196, after three decades of warfare and negotiations, including the Third Norman invasion of the Balkans (1185–1186) which consolidated Serbia while distinguishing it from both Western and Byzantine spheres of influence, Nemanja abdicated in favour of his middle son Stefan Nemanjić, who later became the first King of Serbia. Nemanja ultimately went to Mount Athos, where he became a monk and took the name of Simeon, joining his youngest son (later known as Saint Sava), who had already become the first archbishop of the Serbian Orthodox Church.
Together with his son Saint Sava, Nemanja restored the Hilandar Monastery at Mount Athos from 1198 to 1199, and issued the "Charter of Hilandar". The monastery thus became the center of Serbian Orthodox monasticism at Athos. Shortly after his death, Serbian Orthodox Church canonized Stefan Nemanja, under the name Saint Simeon the Myrrh-streaming ().
Early life
Nemanja was born around the year 1113 or 1114 AD in Ribnica, Zeta (in the vicinity of present-day Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro). He was the youngest son of Zavida, a Prince of Zahumlje, who after a conflict with his brothers was sent to Ribnica where he had the title of Lord. Zavida (Beli Uroš) was most probably a son of Uroš I or Vukan. Since western Zeta was under Roman Catholic jurisdiction, Nemanja received a Latin baptism, although much of his later life was spent balancing Western and Eastern forms of Christianity.
After Byzantine armies defeated Nemanja's kinsmen Đorđe of Duklja and Desa Urošević, leading to the decline of that branch of the Vojislavljević family, Zavida took his family to their hereditary lands at Raška.
Byzantine-Hungarian War
In 1163, Emperor Manuel I Comnenus came to Niš with the army via Serdica (Sofia), where, according to John Kinnamos, he decided "to deal with things concerning Serbia". At that time, Serbia was ruled by the grand zoupan (archzupan or megajupanus) Desa, an ally of Stephen III in the Hungarian dynastic conflicts, and thus an opponent of Manuel. When Desa was finally forced to come to Niš before the emperor, his connections with the Hungarian king Stephen III were revealed, Desa called him his master, Manuel I decided to take him to court and punish him. Desa was first detained and kept under guard, and then sent to the court prison in Constantinople.
In Raška, he replaced the grand zoupan Desa, who entered into an alliance with the Hungarians, and instead gave the land to the administration of Zavida's sons, who were in the pro-Greek party. Zavida had four sons: Tihomir, Stracimir, Miroslav and the youngest Nemanja. Tihomir was the oldest and became the grand zoupan of Raška. He was recognized by the brothers who ruled certain parts of Raška. Stracimir held the areas around West Morava, Miroslav Zahumlje, while Stefan Nemanja held the areas around Ibar, and Dubocica (around Leskovac). Stefan Nemanja was married to Anastasia, with whom he had three sons, Vukan, Stefan and Rastko, and daughters Vuk, Deva and Efimija
The Byzantine emperor Manuel I Comnenus launched a large army against Hungary because he was informed of their dissatisfaction and internal conflicts. The Hungarian prince Béla III had to live in Constantinople, where he was married, and Béla's lands, Dalmatia with southern Hungary (below Velebit), had to come under Constantinople's rule. There is resistance in Hungary, which is why Emperor Manuel embarks on a campaign. The Byzantine army conquered Zemun and Srem in 1165. The Greeks were accompanied by the obligatory detachments of Serbs. The second Byzantine army under command of John Doukas Komnenos moved west, across Raška and Bosnia towards the Adriatic coast. Without significant resistance, they took all the cities from Split to Bar, forcing them to recognize Byzantine rule.