DYNASTIES OF MEDIEVAL RULERS

Members of the Serbian national dynasties were ruling over Serbia for almost 300 years, from 1168 to 1459. Since the very beginning they have accepted the Byzantine rulers ideology, according to which the social order on Earth should be the ideal copy of that in Heavens. Following analogy, the Byzantine emperor is God’s regent on Earth, and father of all people who surround him as members of an ideal political family. In accordance with the same classification, Serbian rulers were granted the title of Grand Zhupan, and later that of King. Therefore promotion of Serbia into empire at the time of Stefan Urosh IV Dushan Nemanyich was later interpreted as an anti-natural act, which provoked the punishment in terms of fall of the Serbian state. After the decline of the Serbian Empire, the later rulers bore only titles of princes and despots.

From 1168 to 1371 Serbia was ruled by founders of its political independence - the Nemanyich dynasty.
Since 1365 to 1395, a part of Serbia was ruled by the Mrnyavchevich Family.
From 1375 to 1427 the ruling dynasty was the Lazarevich family.
In 1427 the power to rule over Serbia came into hands of the members of the Brankovich family, who ruled until 1459.
In the year 1459, for less than three months, Serbia was ruled by Stefan
Tomashevich of the Bosnian dynasty Kotromanich.