Dušan the Mighty in the context of "Medieval Monuments in Kosovo"

The House of Mrnjavčević (Serbian Cyrillic: Мрњавчевић, pl. Mrnjavčevići / Мрњавчевићи, pronounced [mr̩̂ɲaːʋt͡ʃeʋit͡ɕ]) was a medieval Serbian noble house during the Serbian Empire, its fall, and the subsequent years when it held a region of present-day Macedonia region. The house ruled a province from its base at Prilep (in modern North Macedonia) from 1366 to 1395.

Vukašin Mrnjavčević was a military commander in the army of Emperor Dušan the Mighty (r. 1331-1355) and co-ruler of Serbia as king, with Emperor Uroš the Weak (r. 1355-1371). After Uroš' death, the Serbian Empire crumbled, as the nobility could not agree on its rightful successor. Vukašin's son, Marko Kraljević, ruled his hereditary lands as titular King of Serbs and Greeks.

The House of Crnojević (Serbian Cyrillic: Црнојевић, pl. Crnojevići / Црнојевићи) was a medieval Serbian noble family that held Zeta, or parts of it; a region north of Lake Skadar corresponding to southern Montenegro and northern Albania, from 1326 to 1362 CE, then 1403 until 1515.

Its progenitor Đuraš Ilijić was the head of Upper Zeta in the Medieval Kingdom of Serbia and Empire (r. 1326–1362†), under Stefan Dečanski, Dušan the Mighty and Stefan Uroš V. Đuraš was killed in 1362 by the Balšić family, the holders of Lower Zeta (since 1360); Zeta was in the hands of the Balšići under nominal Imperial rule until 1421, when Serbian Despot Stefan Lazarević was given the province by Balša III (1403–1421). The family fought its rivals following the murder of Đuraš, and the Crnojevićs controlled Budva from 1392 until 1396, when Radič Crnojević was murdered by the Balšićs. They are mentioned again in 1403, as vassals of the Republic of Venice, taking power in their hereditary lands.

Žarko (Serbian Cyrillic: Жарко; 1336–before 1371) was a 14th-century Serbian nobleman. After the death of Serbian Emperor Dušan the Mighty (r. 1331–1355†), he became a lord of the coasts of the Zeta region, under the succeeding Emperor Uroš the Weak (r. 1355–1371).

Around 1356 he married Teodora Dejanović, the daughter of Dejan Dragaš and Theodora Nemanjić (sister of Dušan and Symeon Siniša). Together, they had a son, Mrkša, in 1363.

The House of Dejanović (Serbian Cyrillic: Дејановић, pl. Dejanovići / Дејановићи) or House of Dragaš (Serbian Cyrillic: Драгаш, pl. Dragaši / Драгаши) originates from a medieval noble family that served the Serbian Empire of Dušan the Mighty (r. 1331–1355) and Uroš the Weak (r. 1355–1371), and during the fall of the Serbian Empire, after the Battle of Maritsa (1371), it became an Ottoman vassal. The family was one of the most prominent during these periods. The Dejanović/Dragaš held a region roughly centered where the borders of Serbia, Bulgaria and North Macedonia meet. The last two Byzantine Emperors were maternal descendants of this house.

The progenitor, sevastokrator Dejan, was a magnate in the service of Emperor Dušan, and also the Emperor's brother-in-law through his marriage with Teodora-Evdokija. Dejan held the župe (counties) of Žegligovo and Preševo under Dušan, and later received the title of despot during the rule of Dušan's son, Emperor Uroš V, when he was appointed the administration Upper Struma with Velbužd, after the death of powerful despot Jovan Oliver. After Dejan's death between 1358 and 1365, most of his province was given to Vlatko Paskačić, besides the initial counties of Žegligovo and Preševo, which were left to his two sons, Jovan and Konstantin. The brothers, who ruled jointly, managed to double the extent of their province during the Fall of the Serbian Empire following Emperor Uroš V's death, chiefly to the south; the lands now covered from Vranje and Preševo to Radomir, in the south to Štip, Radovište and Strumica. In 1373, two years after the devastating Battle of Maritsa, the brothers became vassals to the Ottoman Empire. After the death of Jovan in 1377, Konstantin continued to rule under Ottoman overlordship. Konstantin and his provincial neighbour and fellow Ottoman vassal, Prince Marko, fell at the Battle of Rovine in 1395.