Stefan Uroš V inherited the Serbian Empire at its territorial peak following the death of his father Stefan Dušan in 1355, but lacked the political authority to hold it together. Regional lords — including the powerful Mrnjavčević brothers — operated as effectively independent rulers within years of his accession, reducing the emperor to a figurehead over a fracturing realm. Uroš died without an heir in 1371, the same year as the catastrophic Ottoman victory at the Maritsa River, which eliminated his most powerful vassals in a single engagement and ended the Serbian Empire entirely.
Stefan Uroš V inherited the Serbian Empire at its territorial peak following the death of his father Stefan Dušan in 1355, but lacked the political authority to hold it together. Regional lords — including the powerful Mrnjavčević brothers — operated as effectively independent rulers within years of his accession, reducing the emperor to a figurehead over a fracturing realm. Uroš died without an heir in 1371, the same year as the catastrophic Ottoman victory at the Maritsa River, which eliminated his most powerful vassals in a single engagement and ended the Serbian Empire entirely.