Serbia is one of the greatest countries in the Balkans. Every country in that region has its own culture and unique style but the Serbs are in a league of their own.
This image was seen on Pinterest, and I immediately put it on my Pinterest boards. I was intrigued by the costumes and the crowns. Like many images on Pinterest, it is tough to find the origin of these images. However, it was clear that the people who running the camera and making the costumes did an incredible job here. It’s almost like they stepped out of a Byzantine painting right into our world with all the jewels and glory shining through here.
However, we all know the story of the Serbian Empire. The great founder of the Serbian Empire, Stefan Dušan ruled and transformed Serbia in two decades of conquest and reforms. However, soon after, the death of Stefan, the empire began falling apart.
The Serbian Empire at the height of his empire included many groups of people: Greeks, Serbs, Albanians and many others. Had it survived and continued to thrive, it would have been to transmit the traditions of the Byzantine Empire which at this time was being torn apart by civil wars.
The photo at the top clearly shows the Serbians melding the Byzantine and Serb into one cohesive way.
When you think about it, the Serbians were a continuation of that empire. Many of the early Byzantine Emperors such as Constantine and Justinian came from the area around or in Serbia. They had the imperial ideas in their tradition, and they continued maintaining it with the Principality of Serbia.
As the empire began, there was inkling of this empire being able to surpass the stagnant and declining Byzantine Empire.
When it returned from the domination of the Ottomans, the Serbians did not forget their own history. They continued to maintain that memory while building a new kingdom that would aspire to stand toe to toe with the great nations of Europe.
Such photos show the importance of Byzantine diplomacy and cultural exchange. More valuable than armies in the age of retrenchment after the Muslim Conquests, this is yet another sign of the Byzantines managed to convert people without the usage of huge armies.
That the Serbians would take inspiration from Byzantine culture and dress to build a fusion with their own traditions shows the truth in the great axiom: Making More with Less.
The Byzantines were a shrunken empire, but they made it for with great amounts of resiliency, endurance and cultural innovation.
This is another reason why they were able to survive. They made their traditions worthwhile to export across Southern and Eastern Europe.
Byzantine-Empire.com 