The Thracian Bosphorus

The re-established Greek Emperors could no longer hope to extend their dominion over Servia. Under the necessity of appeasing the hostility of the Latins by an approximation to their church ritual, they involuntarily excited the aversion of the bigoted populace of their own country, from whom they with difficulty exacted obedience.

This conflict between the Latins and Greeks, and the divisions that again sprang up in all parts — exciting feuds on the whole line of coast, and in the interior, from the Ionian sea to the Thracian Bosphorus, and preventing the establishment of any strong or lasting government—gave the Servians an opportunity of acting vigorously on their own behalf, indignant that the government of Constantinople, unable even to defend itself, should make humiliating demands upon them, they, at the end of the loth century, assumed the offensive, and took possession of the provinces on the Upper AVardar, which belonged to the ancient Servian tribes.

The continued disunions at Constantinople, and the relations in which the Servians stood with the contending parties, made it easy for them to make further encroachments; and in the first half of the 14th century, they not only formed the strongest power of the Illyrian triangle, but it appeared probable that they would exert a powerful influence on the politics of Europe.

The natural policy of the Servians was always to act with that party in the Greek Empire which opposed the Court. They allied themselves with the younger Andronicus against the elder. Ser- gianus of Macedonia, and Sphranzes of Bccotia, powerful governors of provinces, who had quarrelled with the younger Andronicus, found refuge amongst them, and afterwards returned strengthened by their support.

In 1341, when John Cantacuzenus assumed the purple, important prospects were opened to the Servians. Cantacuzenus, finding that neither his friends and relations, nor the Latin auxiliary troops whom he had assembled, could uphold his authority, went up to the mountains, and prevailed upon Stephan Dushan, the powerful king of the Servians, whom he found in a country palace at Pristina, to join his cause.

Nicephorus Grcgoras relates, that these princes entered into an agreement, according to which neither of them was to interfere with the success of the other, and that the towns of their common enemies should be left at liberty to declare in favour of whichever leader they might prefer.* If this be true, it may be assumed that a league of brotherhood was concluded between them, ac-cording to the national custom in Servia.