Stjepan Dabiša

Stjepan Dabiša (Serbian Cyrillic: Стефан Дабиша) was the king of Bosnia from 1391 to 1395 and a member of the House of Kotromanić.

Early life

Dabiša was a nephew of King Stjepan Tvrtko I. He rebelled against Tvrtko in 1366 serving under Tvrtko's opponent brother.

King

Dabiša succeeded King Tvrtko in 1391 as "Stefan Dabiša by the mercy of God King of Serbs, Bosnia, the Hum Land, the Lower Edges, the Western Lands, Usora, Soli and the Drina". At the time of his assention to power, Bosnia was already decentralized by the semi-independent nobility. Members of the House of Sanković, Prince Beljak and Duke Radič, ruled independently in the Hum and Popovo. They gave Konavle to the Republic of Dubrovnik and Dubrovnik started to rile up Kotor and other Dalmatian cities from the King's rule, asking them to reaccept the supreme rule of the Hungarian King Sigismund, but they refused. King Stefan Dabiša dispatched Duke Vlatko Vuković and Prince Pavle Radenović to Konavle already in 1391, and they kicked out the Sankovićs and split their lands. Beljak died and Radič was thrown into captivity. This marked the final end of the House of Sanković, the only early Bosnian Orthodox Serb noble family. The Ottoman Turks started to invade Bosnia again and in 1392, King Stefan Dabiša dispatched Duke Hrvoje Vukčić, who decisively defeated the Turks.

The rest of his reign, Dabiša spent quarrelling with the Hungarian King Sigismund and the King of Naples Ladislaus for control over Croatia and Dalmatia. Naples' King managed to win the Vukčić nobility to his side. Vuk Vukčić, Dabiša's Ban took Ostrovica and Vrana from Ivaniš Paližna. Dabiša desired to put Zadar under his supreme rule, but Vuk worked for the King of Naples. Hrvoje Vukčić recognized Dabiša's supreme rule, stating that he will serve him as long as Dabiša draws breath, but serve the Hungarian King Sigismund afterwards.

At the beginning of 1394, the Croatian nobility under Ivaniš Horvat, a subject of the King Naples refused to serve King Dabiša. Dabiša dispatched Prince Ivan Radivojević to take Omiš from Horvat as a punishment. The Hungarian King Sigismund moved to destroy both Horvat and Dabiša. The Hungarian Army besieged and burned to the ground Dobor in the lower stream of Bosna. Dabiša arrived there, recognized King Sigismund's supreme rule and gave up Dalmatia and Croatia in his name. in turn, the Hungarian King nominated him Prince of the Szomod Principality.

King Stefan Dabiša died of disease on 8 September 1395 and King Sigismund took over most control over Bosnia, but the Bosnian Rusag elected that his wife, Queen Jelena Gruba should remain in power.

Marriage & Children

Dabiša was married to Jelena Gruba with who he had three children:
* Stana, who married Đurađ Radivojević
* Stojsava
* SterojanFact|date=January 2008

See also

* House of Kotromanić
* History of Bosnia and Herzegovina

External links

* [http://www.rastko.org.yu/istorija/zfajfric-kotromanici.html#_Toc486040901 Kotromanići by Željko Fajfrić]
* [http://members.tripod.com/cafehome/povkotromanica/dabisa.htm Serb Land of Bosnia]