List of Serbian monarchs

This is an archontological list of Serbian monarchs, containing monarchs of the medieval principalities, to heads of state of modern Serbia.
The Serbian monarchy dates back to the Early Middle Ages. The Serbian royal titles used include Knyaz, Grand Župan, King, Tsar, and Despot.

Early medieval Serbian states (7th century–1166)

Vlastimirović dynasty (7th century–960)

Vlastimirović

The Vlastimirović dynasty was the first royal dynasty of the Serb people. Byzantine emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus mentions that the Serbian throne is inherited by the son, i.e. the first-born, though in his enumeration of Serbian monarchs, on one occasion there was a triumvirate. The Serbs established several polities by the 10th century: Serbia or Zagorje which consisted of Serbia and small land of Bosnia; and Pomorje which consisted of Dioclea, Zachlumia, Pagania, Travunia. The Serbian ruler was titled knyaz or archon by the Byzantines, "prince".
The history of the dynasty starts with the eponymous founder Vlastimir. This era is marked by the Christianization of Serbs, the many internal and external wars, and the power struggle between the First Bulgarian Empire and the Byzantine Empire in which Serbia found itself in the middle. The history of this dynasty ends with the annexation of Serbia in 969.

Vojislavljević dynasty (1018–1186)

With the partial annexation of Serbia, the county around the city of Doclea emerges into a Principality, where the leaders adopt the title archon of Serbs, signifying supreme leadership among Serbs, alongside their given offices under Byzantine overlordship. The first office-holder was Peter of Diokleia, of which we only have a seal found in the 19th century. The next known is Jovan Vladimir, who became a Bulgarian vassal. Stefan Vojislav succeeds in giving the realm independence, he is the eponymous founder of the Vojislavljevići that ruled Duklja from the early 11th century up to the 1180s.

Picture	^TitleName	Reign	Notes
	^Archon Peter	10th century	Peter was an archon of Duklja in the 10th or 11th century. The only information on him is from a seal found in the 19th century, which is decorated on the obverse with a bust of the Virgin Mary holding a medallion of Christ and flanked by two cruciform invocative monograms. The text is in Greek letters, saying "Petrou, Archontos Diokleias, Amin" Υ ΑΡΧΟΝΤΟΣ ΔΙΟΚΛΙΑ - Peter, archon of Dioklea, Amen. The seal shows that although Duklja underwent turmoil in the 9th century, the region still continued under Byzantine rule, or if not authority, influence.
	^Prince Jovan Vladimir	1000–1016	Jovan fought to protect Duklja from Bulgarian expansion, making an alliance with Byzantium; Bulgaria however conquered Doclea in 997 and took Jovan Vladimir prisoner. Jovan ruled Duklja as a vassal of the Bulgarian empire until his murder in 1016.
	^Ruler Dragimir of Travunia and Zachlumia	1000–1018	Ruler of Travunia and Zachlumia, medieval Serbian principalities located in present-day regions of Herzegovina and south Dalmatia.
	^Prince Stefan Vojislav	1018–1043	Overthrew the Byzantine supremacy over Serbs in Duklja; founder of the Vojislavljević dynasty; in 1035 rebelled against the Byzantine Empire, but forced to sign an armistice; went to war again in 1040, which would be continued by his heir and son, Mihailo. Except Doclea, his realm included Travunia with Konavle and Zachumlia.
	^Princess Neda	1043–1046	As queen, she co-ruled with her sons, the princes.
	^{King ↑Prince} Mihailo Vojislavljević	1046–1081	Initially as a Byzantine vassal holding the title of protospatharios, then after 1077 as nominally serving Pope Gregory VII, addressed as "King of the Slavs". He had alienated himself from the Byzantines when he supported a Byzantine Slavic revolt in 1071–72, after which he then sought to gain support in the West. In 1077 he received a royal insignia by Gregory VII in the aftermath of the Church schism of 1054. note: Serbia is liberated from Byzantine rule and restored into the Serbian realm of Doclea, with Duklja being the seat.
	^King Constantine Bodin	1081-1101	Son of Michael. He was crowned 'Tsar of Bulgaria' as Peter III in 1072, after being chosen by Bulgarian nobles through his Cometopuli lineage, he was sent off with an army that would conquer parts of southern Serbia and Macedonia. He was captured and sent to Constantinople, where he spent several years. He was rescued in 1078 by Venetian sailors, and in 1081 he succeeds his father as King. He enlarged his influence, installing his nephews and other family in Bosnia and Serbia. He is captured by the Byzantines in the 1090s, and continues as a mere Byzantine vassal. note: Doclea is continued with a number of Byzantine and Serbian vassals - see List of rulers of Duklja.
	^King Dobroslav II	1101-1102	Overthrown by Vukan and Kočapar.
	Kočapar	1102-1103	Brought to power by Vukan of Serbia. Killed in battle against Zachlumia.
	Vladimir II	1103-1113	Married daughter of Vukan of Serbia. He was poisoned by his cousin Đorđe I.
	Đorđe I	1113-1118	Son of Constantine Bodin. Đorđe was overthrown by Uroš I in 1118.
	Grubeša	1118-1125	Overthrew Đorđe with the help of the Byzantines.
	Đorđe I	1125-1131	Second rule.
	^Prince Gradinja	1131-1146	Appointed to Doclean throne by Byzantines after Đorđe's defeat in the second war against Byzantines.
	^Prince Radoslav	1146-1148	Byzantine vassal. Only dynastic member to be mentioned as Prince of Doclea.
	^Prince Mihailo III	1148-1186	Byzantine vassal.

Vukanović dynasty (1091–1166)

In the mid-11th century, Mihailo I had liberated Serbia from Byzantine rule, and appointed his son Petrislav to rule as Prince, independently. In 1083, Constantine Bodin appoints brothers Vukan and Marko, sons of Petrislav, as rulers of Serbia. In 1089, the Byzantines capture Bodin, and Vukan retains independence, founding the Vukanović dynasty. The Vukanovići quickly claim the following Serbian domains in the following decades, and by 1148, the maritime possessions are united with the inland. The Byzantine Empire at times intervened in the political scene, and at times Serbia had Hungary as its main ally. The dynasty ruled until 1166, when a dynastic branch is instated by the Byzantines.

Ruler	Reign	Notes
^{Grand Prince} Vukan	1091–1112	Vukan was the son of Petrislav, the Prince of Serbia and son of Mihailo I, that held the office from ca 1060. In 1083, Constantine Bodin appoints Vukan to the supreme rule of Serbia, while Vukan's brother Marko administrated a part of the land, most likely the frontier region in the north. After the Byzantine campaign against Duklja in 1089, and the subsequent civil war, Vukan asserted independence, ruling as Grand Prince, becoming the most powerful Serb ruler as of ca 1091. He began raiding Byzantine territories in 1090, taking Kosovo, and defeated a Byzantine army in 1092. Vukan made peace with Alexios I Komnenos, after the Emperor had threatened with a larger army. However, Vukan immediately broke the treaty as the Byzantines marched onto the dangerous Cumans in Adrianople. Vukan conquers the cities along the Vardar. In 1095, the Emperor meets Vukan and renews the treaty. Vukan again raided Macedonia, as the First Crusade began. In 1106 he nominally recognized Alexios I. Note: Serbia is elevated to an independent Grand Principality.
^{Grand Prince} Uroš I	1112–1145	Uroš I was the son of either Vukan or Marko. In the treaty concluded between Vukan and Alexios I in 1095, Uroš I and Vukan became "guarantors of peace", as hostages to the Byzantines. Uroš succeeds the throne when Vukan dies. In ca 1130, he married his daughter, Jelena, to King Béla II of Hungary. Béla II, being blind, relied entirely on Jelena who acted as a co-ruler. In 1137, Ladislaus II, the son of Béla II and Jelena, becomes the Ban of Bosnia.
^{Grand Prince} Uroš II	1145–1162	Replaced his father at 1131 or around 1140 and ruled until 1155. note: Duklja and Travunia is re-incorporated into the realm.
^{Grand Prince} Beloš	1162	Instated by Manuel I Komnenos.
^{Grand Prince} Desa	1150-1155 1162-1166	Desa took Zeta and Travunia from Radoslav of Duklja and unified the coastal Serbian Principalities under his firm grip.
^{Grand Prince} Tihomir	1166	First son of Zavida, exiled Župan of Zahumlje.

After Desa's revolt, in 1165 the Byzantium divided the Serb lands between the four sons of Zavida: Tihomir in Raška, Stracimir in Duklja, Miroslav in Zahumlje and Travunia, and Stefan Nemanja in Toplica. Stefan Nemanja rebelled against his eldest brother Tihomir in 1166, who fled with his brothers Stracimir and Miroslav to Byzantium to seek help. But later on, Stefan Nemanja defeated his Greek army of mercenaries in the same year near the town of Pantino on Kosovo in which poor Tihomir drowned in the River of Sitnica. Nemanja captured his other brothers and made peace with them by giving them rule in their former parts of the land to recognise him as the only ruler of Rashka or Serbia. The Nemanjić dynasty was named after Stefan Nemanja and ruled over Serbia until 1371.