Raška (region) in the context of "Serbian Grand Principality"

Duklja (Serbian Cyrillic: Дукља; Greek: Διόκλεια, romanized: Diokleia; Latin: Dioclea) was a medieval South Slavic state which roughly encompassed the territories of modern-day southeastern Montenegro, from the Bay of Kotor in the west to the Bojana river in the east, and to the sources of the Zeta and Morača rivers in the north. First mentioned in 10th– and 11th-century Byzantine chronicles, it was a vassal of the Bulgarian Empire between 997 and 1018, and then of the Byzantine Empire until it became independent in 1040 under Stefan Vojislav (fl. 1034–43) who rose up and managed to take over territories of the earlier Serbian Principality, founding the Vojislavljević dynasty. Between 1043 and 1080, under Mihailo Vojislavljević (r.  1050–81), and his son, Constantine Bodin (r.  1081–1101), Duklja saw its apogee. Mihailo was given the nominal title King of Slavs by the Pope after having left the Byzantine camp and supported an uprising in the Balkans, in which his son Bodin played a central part. Having incorporated the Serbian hinterland (known as Grand Principality of Serbia, and anachronistically as Raška) and installed vassal rulers there, this maritime principality emerged as the most powerful Serb polity, seen in the titles used by its rulers ("Prince of Serbia", "of Serbs"). However, its rise was short-lived, as Bodin was defeated by the Byzantines and imprisoned; pushed to the background, his relative and vassal Vukan became independent in Raška, which continued the fight against the Byzantines while Duklja was struck with civil wars. Between 1113 and 1149 Duklja was the centre of Serbian–Byzantine conflict, with members of the Vojislavljević as protégés of either fighting each other for power. Duklja was then incorporated as a crown land of the Grand Principality of Serbia ruled by the Vukanović dynasty, subsequently known as Zeta, remaining so until the fall of the Serbian Empire in the 14th century.

The Kingdom of Serbia (Serbian: Краљевина Србија / Kraljevina Srbija, or the Serbian Kingdom (Serbian: Српско краљевство / Srpsko kraljevstvo), also known as Kingdom of Serbs (Serbian: Краљевина Срба / Kraljevina Srba); Latin: Regnum Serbiæ; Greek: Βασίλειο της Σερβίας, also known by historical exonym Rascia (Serbian: Рашка / Raška), was a medieval Serbian kingdom in Southern Europe comprising most of what is today Serbia (excluding Vojvodina), Kosovo, and Montenegro, as well as southeastern Bosnia and Herzegovina, parts of coastal Croatia south of the Neretva river (excluding Dubrovnik), Albania north of the Drin River, North Macedonia, and a small part of western Bulgaria. The medieval Kingdom of Serbia existed from 1217 to 1346 and was ruled by the Nemanjić dynasty. The Grand Principality of Serbia was elevated with the regal coronation of Stefan Nemanjić as king, after the reunification of Serbian lands. In 1219, the Serbian Orthodox Church was reorganized as an autocephalous archbishopric, headed by Saint Sava. The kingdom was proclaimed an empire in 1346, but kingship was not abolished as an institution, since the title of a king was used as an official designation for a co-ruler of the emperor.

Sandžak (Serbian: Санџак; Bosnian: Sandžak) is a historical and geo-political region in the Balkans, located in the southwestern part of Serbia and the eastern part of Montenegro. The Bosnian/Serbian term Sandžak derives from the Sanjak of Novi Pazar, a former Ottoman administrative district founded in 1865. Sandžak is inhabited by a plurality of ethnic Bosniaks.

Various empires and kingdoms have ruled over the region. In the 12th century, Sandžak was part of the region of Raška under the medieval Serbian Kingdom. During the Ottoman territorial expansion into the western Balkans in a series of wars, the region became an important administrative district, with Novi Pazar as its administrative center. Sandžak was under Austro-Hungarian occupation between 1878 and 1909 as a garrison, until an agreement between Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire resulted in the withdrawal of Austro-Hungarian troops from Sandžak in exchange for full control over Bosnia. In 1912, it was divided between the Kingdom of Montenegro and the Kingdom of Serbia.

The Vukanović dynasty (Serbian Cyrillic: Вукановић, pl. Vukanovići / Вукановићи), was a medieval Serbian dynasty that ruled over inner Serbia, centered in the Raška region (Latin: Rascia), during the 11th and 12th century. Several members of the Vukanović dynasty also ruled in some other regions (Zachlumia, Travunia, Duklja, and also Croatia). The house may have descended from the Vojislavljević dynasty of Duklja. Vukanović dynasty was later succeeded in Serbia by the closely related Nemanjić dynasty, who represented their younger, cadet branch.

The Vukanović family was named by later historians, after its founder Vukan of Serbia. However, the family itself is also known as the Urošević dynasty (Serbian Cyrillic: Урошевић, pl. Uroševići / Урошевићи), after Vukan's nephew, Uroš I of Serbia.

The Catepanate of Ras (Byzantine Greek: Κατεπανίκιον Ἄρσης) was a province (catepanate) of the Byzantine Empire, established around 971 in central regions of early medieval Serbia, during the rule of Byzantine Emperor John Tzimiskes (969–976). The catepanate was named after the fortified town of Ras, eponymous for the historical region of Raška (Latin: Rascia). The province was short-lived, and collapsed soon after 976, following the Byzantine retreat from the region after the restoration of the Bulgarian Empire.

Ras (Serbian Cyrillic: Рас; Latin: Arsa), known in modern Serbian historiography as Stari Ras (Serbian Cyrillic: Стари Рас, "Old Ras"), is a medieval fortress and area located in the vicinity of former market-place of Staro Trgovište, some 10–11 kilometers (6.2–6.8 mi) west of modern-day city of Novi Pazar in Serbia.

Old Ras was initially part of the First Bulgarian Empire (until the 10th century), then Byzantine Empire (mid-10th until mid-12th century), in the end becoming one of the first and main capitals of the Grand Principality and Kingdom of Serbia (from mid-12th until early 14th century). Located in today's region of Raška, its favorable position in the area known as Old Serbia, along the Raška gorge at Pešter plateau, on the crossroads and trading routes between neighbouring regions of Zeta and Bosnia in the west and Kosovo in the south, added to its importance as a city.