interwiki, renameuser, Administrators
9,194
edits
Changes
m
→Vassal prince: added wife's commemoration date
In 1163 the grand prince of Raška Desa, Nemanja's kinsman, was replaced by Nemanja's eldest brother, Stefan Tihomir. This took place by the will of Emperor Manuel I Komnenos (1143-1180).
Tihomir's brothers became minor princes. Nemanja was a prince in counties of Ibar, Toplica, Rasina, and Reke. Later, the emperor granted him the county of Dubočica and imperial rank (sometimes mistranslated as imperial dream). Nemanja, several years before, personally met the powerful emperor. Some historians suggest that Nemanja's wife Ana, later Saint St. Anastasia([[June 21]]), was a Byzantine noblewoman. This could explain the emperor's sympathy for him.
Nemanja was popular among the people because he was a good ruler and a pious man. He soon built two [[monastery|monasteries]]: the Monastery of Holy Mother of Godon on the rivers Kosanica and Toplica, and the Monastery of Saint Nicholas-Kuršumlija. His brothers called him to council and imprisoned him and held him in a nearby cave. Saint George freed Nemanja from the cave. Nemanja soon, with support of the people, nobility, and the Church, deposed Tihomir and became the grand prince in 1166.
