Српско-византијски односи крајем XI и почетком XII века

Abstract

После краћег осврта на политички развој српске државе за време владавине дукљанске династије од краја X до краја XI века, излагање се усмерава на односе између српске државе и Ромејског царства од времена краља Бодина и Вукана и њихове борбе са драчким дуком Јованом Дуком између 1085. и 1091. Разматра се питање територи јалне поделе надле жности између краља Бодина и Вукана и значаја Бодиновог заробљавања 1091. за Вуканово даље деловање као самосталног српског владара, у вези са чим се указу је на околност да Вукан 1093–1094. иступа потпуно самостално у односима са царем Алексијем I Комнином, као и на чињеницу да се од тог времена у византијским изворима о Србији и Дукљи говори као о посебним територијама. Након тога се даје осврт на природу српско-византијских односа од уговора из 1094. до смрти цара Алексија I Комнина 1118. године и разматра поход цара Јована II Комнина против Срба 1123, којим су они били принуђени да признају царску врховну власт, као и њихова побуна у време византијско-угарског рата 1127–1129. године.

It is known that the family of Stefan Nemanja, which according to his contemporaries had ruled Serbia „from the beginning” stemmed from Diocela. The earliest information about the rule of the Dioclean dynasty in Serbia comes from the time of John Vladimir at beginning of the 11th century. After a brief Byzantine reconquest in 1018, when Serbia in 1034–1036 and in 1039 was finally freed from the Byzantine authority, it was ruled by Stefan Vojislav, who, just as John Vladimir some decades earlier, ruled both Dioclea and Serbia. The political and territorial integrity of the Serbian and Maritime lands was preserved during the reign of his son Michael and grandson Constantine Bodin until 1091. The battles that King Bodin and his deputy Vukan led against the Byzantine governor in Durres, John Ducas, between 1085 and 1092, had primarily the character of border conflicts. Bodin’s defeat by John Ducas and his capture in 1091 were of key importance for Bodin’s position and the further development of Serbian statehood. The captivity weakened his authority and allowed Vukan to become an independent ruler of Serbia. Bodin was released in 1093 and concluded a treaty with the emperor that he would not attack the imperial territory, but after that as the Serbian king he ruled only the Maritime lands. Vukan, as the ruler of Serbia, continued independently the fight with the emperor and his lieutenants in the border area around Lipljan during 1093 and 1094, in which he had some success, but he did not have enough strength to enter into a decisive battle with the emperor himself, so after a long delay in 1094 he had to agree to a peace treaty in which he promised to return the conquered territories and not to attack the imperial possessions any more, and to hand over the hostages “from his relatives” to the emperor as a pledge that he would comply with his obligations. On that occasion, however, he did not recognize the nominal supreme authority of the emperor. The Serbs remained faithful to their obligations from the treaty with the emperor until the death of Alexius I in 1118, and in that period there were no new Serbian-Byzantine conflicts. However, after the emperor’s death, the Serbs broke the treaty and started attacking the imperial territory again. Because of this, Alexius’ son and successor John II Comnenus personally led a campaign against them in 1123, defeated them and forced them to accept a new treaty in which they committed to recognize the supreme authority of the emperor. On that occasion, the emperor also established a Byzantine military garrison in the fortress of Ras. The imperial power fell hard on the Serbs, so they took the first opportunity to rebel against it, and during the Byzantine-Hungarian war of 1127–1129 attacked the fortress and the military garrison there. As the Byzantine side won the war, the Serbs probably submitted again, and the imperial power over Serbia, despite frequent attempts by the Serbian rulers to liberate it with Hungarian help, remained firm until the reign of Stefan Nemanja (1166–1196).