Permanence and Change in Serbian Medieval Diplomacy

Abstract

The paper considers the phenomena of permanence and change in diplomatic relations in the case of Serbian medieval diplomacy. The first segment offers a brief overview of medieval Serbia’s international relations, dividing it into four periods – the early principalities and their positioning between the Byzantine Empire and Bulgaria (7th-10th century), the struggle for independence from Byzantine supreme rule (11th-late 12th century), the Nemanjić period of full international independence (late 12th – second half of 14th century), and the period of regional lords and the Serbian Despotate, marked by the balancing between Hungary and the Ottoman Turks, in attempts to stave off Ottoman conquest. The second segment explores the key notions through which surviving texts from medieval Serbia expressed the international political activities of its rulers, noting the emphasis on self-rule (God-given rule, the epithet samodržac) in the early Nemanjić period, on expansion and accumulation of power at the time of Nemanjić conquests (taking of others’ “wealth” and “glory”), and on diplomatic skill and twists of fortune in the struggle against the Ottoman advance (“wisdom”, “miracle”). Finally, the third segment discusses the permanent presence and changing forms of such diplomatic tools as summit meetings, ambassadorial service, mixed courts, mediations, and dynastic marriages.