Stephan was instituted by him in
1346.
He then turned his arms northwards, and defeated Louis of Hungary in
several engagements. He was preparing to invade Thrace, and attempt
the conquest of Constantinople, in 1356, with eighty thousand men, but
death cut him off in the midst of his career.
The brilliant victories of Stephan Dushan were a misfortune to
Christendom. They shattered the Greek empire, the last feeble bulwark
of Europe, and paved the way for those ultimate successes of the
Asiatic conquerors, which a timely union of strength might have
prevented. Stephan Dushan was the little Napoleon of his day; he
conquered, but did not consolidate: and his scourging wars were
insufficiently balanced by the advantage of the code of laws to which
he gave his name.
His son Urosh, being a weak and incapable prince, was murdered by one
of the generals of the army, and thus ended the Neman dynasty, after
having subsisted 212 years, and produced eight kings and two emperors.
The crown now devolved on Knes, or Prince Lasar, a connexion of the
house of Neman, who was crowned Czar, but is more generally called
Knes Lasar.
Pages:
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204