Four Less–Known Cases of Personal Union Projects in Southeast Europe Cover Image

Four Less–Known Cases of Personal Union Projects in Southeast Europe
Four Less–Known Cases of Personal Union Projects in Southeast Europe

Author(s): Vladimir Aleksić
Subject(s): History, Diplomatic history, History of ideas, Middle Ages, 13th to 14th Centuries
Published by: Великотърновски университет „Св. св. Кирил и Методий”
Keywords: Personal Union; Milutin Nemanjić; Stephen Dečanski; Sigismund of Luxemburg; Stephen Tomaš; Stephen Tomašević; Bulgaria; Byzantine Empire; 15th-century Ottoman Conquest

Summary/Abstract: The paper discussed four episodes from the medieval Serbian past when personalunions’ concept formed the basis for resolving complex regional diplomatic relations. The first two dates in King Milutin’s (1282–1321) and Stephen Dečanski`s (1321–1331) reigns. In both instances,the unification proposals came from Bulgaria. Furthermore, Sigismund von Luxembourg (1387–1437) acquired in 1394 the right to receive the Bosnian royal crown. With the decline of Hungarian influence in Bosnia, the prospects of realizing this bold plan lost momentum. The last case examines the prevailing circumstances that led to establishing a short-lived personal union between Bosnia and the Serbian Despotate 1458/1459.

  • Issue Year: XXIX/2021
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 59-66
  • Page Count: 8
  • Language: English