Uroš II (Serbian: Урош II) was the Serbian Grand Prince from c.1145 to 1162. A member of the Vukanović dynasty and son of Uroš I, he ruled a Serbia which was dependent on the politics of the neighbouring powers of the Byzantine Empire and Kingdom of Hungary. Uroš II sought to rid Serbia of Byzantine supremacy, as his father had tried, and relied on his brother Beloš, the most influential at the Hungarian court through the dynastic marriage of their sister Jelena with Stephen II (r. 1116–1131) that produced Hungarian king Géza II (r. 1141–1162). Using the opportunity when Byzantine emperor Manuel I Komnenos fought the Normans, Uroš II revolted and raided Byzantine territory, which resulted in two Byzantine campaigns against Serbia in 1149–1150 which ended with Byzantine victory and renewal of vassal obligations. He swore fealty once again in 1153 after a planned rebellion, and was ousted in 1155 by the pro-Hungarian faction in Serbia that chose Desa, the youngest brother of Uroš and Beloš. Manuel however supported Uroš II and he was reinstated, ruling for many years as loyal to Byzantium, until another rebellion in 1162 led to his removal.
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Early life
Uroš II was the oldest son of Uroš I (r. 1112–1145). He was born before 1115. The identity of his mother remains unknown; Serbian chronicles mention Ana as the wife of Beli Uroš ("White Uroš"). He had two younger brothers, Beloš and Desa, and two sisters, Jelena and Marija.
In 1129–1130, Jelena married Hungarian prince Béla II, the heir of Hungarian king Stephen II (r. 1116–1131). Beloš also joined the Hungarian court, and both Jelena and Beloš became very influential. In 1134, Marija married Conrad II of Znojmo. This Hungarian–Serbian alliance could offer Uroš support in his fight for independence against the ever more powerful empire that managed to quell any previous uprising. In 1141, Géza II, the son of Béla II and Jelena, succeeded the Hungarian throne, and at this time, Beloš was the most powerful in the Hungarian court. In 1143, Manuel I Komnenos succeeded the Byzantine throne, and he inherited a strong and rising empire which had been mostly disengaged in the East to focus on Europe. Some time after 1143, Desa was invited by the old enemies of Radoslav of Duklja and came to rule Zeta and Travunija.
Reign
The Serbian throne was succeeded by Uroš II in 1144 or 1145 (according to T. Živković), or 1143 or 1146 (according to Komatina). In 1146, Serbian military assistance was sent by Uroš II for Manuel's expedition against Seljuk sultan Mesud I. Desa's pressure on Duklja suggests Uroš II started his reign with anti-Byzantine political maneuvers, as Radoslav was a Byzantine vassal, and he had support in this through his brother Beloš at the Hungarian court.
In 1147, relations between European states were affected by the decision for a new Catholic Crusade, where German and French crusader armies would cross Byzantine territory in the Balkans (Belgrade–Braničevo–Niš–Serdica) and further into Asia Minor. Byzantine emperor Manuel entered an alliance with Conrad III of Germany, while Louis VII of France was allied with Siculo-Norman Roger II of Sicily. Roger II had Corfu taken from the Byzantines and started a war in autumn 1147. By 1148, the political situation in the Balkans was divided into the alliance of Byzantium and Venice, and that between the Siculo-Normans and Hungary. A Serbian revolt would need more fighting power and a wider battlefield, and thus, for the first time in history, Serbia joined a European anti-Byzantine alliance.
In 1149, Uroš II raided the Byzantine frontier while Manuel was planning to attack Roger II in Italy. Manuel learnt that the Normans, Hungary and Serbia had entered an alliance. The Serbian revolt had come as a shock, and it exposed Byzantine weaknesses in the control of the Balkans and in diplomacy. From Pelagonia, Manuel marched north, via the Kosovo field to Ras, which he quickly took, and left sebastohypertatos Constantine Angelos with a strong garrison while he continued the campaign, advancing into the Nikava province, part of Uroš II's crown land, and easily conquered the fortresses along the way, including Galič, where many were taken prisoner. The campaign had the mission to completely cut off the southern provinces of Uroš II and to secure the hinterland for the Byzantine army in continued warfare. While at Galič, Manuel received news that Uroš II clashed with Angelos at Ras. Uroš II attacked individual Byzantine detachments. Manuel set out, while Uroš II declined open pitched battle, using the harsh geography and withdrawing to the hinterland in the west or north-west. The estate of Uroš II were burnt down by Manuel. Manuel I's army was however unable to pursue the Serbs into the mountains, nor to capture Uroš II, and returned home to try again the next year. After the defeat in 1149, Uroš II went west of the Lim river and planned for war against the Byzantines. Judging by Manuel's swift and strong retaliation, leaving the campaign against Roger II, the Serbian revolt must have been of wider proportion and successful. The Serbs were not aided by any foreign power in 1149, perhaps due to Manuel's quick handling.
Title
The title of Uroš II was veliki župan (Greek: archizoupanos, Serbion archizoupano). His title is found in various variations, such as Serbarches (Greek: Σερβάρχης, by Niketas Choniates), archiserbozoupanos (by Theodore Prodromos), satrap of Serbs (Greek: τῶν Σέρβων σατράπην, by Niketas Choniates and Michael of Thessaloniki, archaization for poetic purpose), iupanius in Rassa (in Chronicle of the Priest of Duklja), Serviam ... comitis magni (in Chronicon Pictum).
