The Bulgarian-Serbian Political Relations During the Reign of Ivan Alexander (1331-1371) and Stefan Dushan (1331-1355)

Abstract

The development and nature of Bulgarian-Serbian political relations during the reign of Ivan Alexander and Stefan Dushan are a relatively little studied issue in the history of the European Southeast. A special study of these relations is imperative, since almost all previous studies have focused primarily on the relations of Bulgaria and Serbia with the Byzantine Empire. Such a study would help to clarify not only the issues related to the relations between the two countries, but would also shed light on the fate of the Balkan Peninsula, and at one of the most dramatic moments in its centuries-long history. As is well known, entangled in almost continuous conflicts, the rulers of Bulgaria and Serbia, on the one hand, and Byzantium, on the other, due to their short-sighted policy, became to a large extent the reason for the Ottoman Turks to set foot undisturbed on the peninsula and begin its gradual conquest. In this complex and tense situation, filled with various political events, the Bulgarian-Serbian relations undoubtedly occupy an important place. Before we turn to the study of these relations in the period 1331-1355, it is necessary to outline in a few words the political the political development of the Balkan states and the balance of power between that emerged by the 1530s.