Serbian rule over Belgrade began in 1284, when the king of Hungary, Ladislav IV, gave the area of Mačva and Belgrade to his son-in-law and vassal King Dragutin of Serbia to rule. This marked a period of intense Serb migration to the area and a widening of the Serbian Orthodox Church's influence. King Dragutin built his court in Belgrade and the newly built cathedral (Saborna crkva) was a symbol of the power and wealth of the young Serbian state. King Dragutin's brother, Milutin, succeeded him as ruler of Belgrade. His reign was short-lived however, as the town was conquered and subsequently razed to the ground by the Hungarians in 1319. The destroyed and abandoned town became a Hungarian border base used to resist the expansion of the Serbian state from the south, during the reign of Emperor Dušan. As Belgrade entered the fifteenth century in this sorry state, a new conquering force was taking centre stage in European history - the Turks.

Belgrade was allowed to rebuild during the reign of Despot Stefan Lazarević, as the Hungarians required strong bases on both the Sava and the Danube in order to be fully equipped to repel a Turkish invasion. Belgrade truly flourished under his rule between 1403 and 1427. The town was not only the capital of the Serbian state, but also the most important economic, cultural and religious centre. The Metropolitan Church (Mitropolitska crkva), Despot's Palace (Despotov dvorac) and a new fortress ('citadela') were built, as well as a hospital and a library. Merchants were given privileges and wealthy and skilled people moved to the town, who contributed to its prosperity. The city is estimated to have had between 40,000 and 50,000 inhabitants at this time.

The Despot's successor, Đurađ Branković, was forced to hand the town over to the Hungarians and he moved to Smederevo where he built a new fortress, modelled on the one in Belgrade. During the 100-year rule by the Hungarians, the entire make-up of the population was changed, along with the appearance of the city. During their 100 years in power, the Hungarians transformed the town's population and appearance. With the Serbian population expelled to the outskirts, unable to enter the Upper Town, Belgrade's development quickly ground to a halt. King Sigismund of Hungary populated the town with Hungarians and widened the influence of the Catholic Church.

DESPOT STEFAN LAZAREVIĆ
(1377-1427), Serbian ruler

He was the first to make Belgrade the capital of all the Serbian lands from the Sava and Danube to the Adriatic Sea in 1403. Stefan Lazarević became a prince ('knez') at the age of twelve after the death of his father, Prince Lazar, in the 1389 Battle of Kosovo Polje. Raised by his mother, Princess Milica, he received an excellent education and was well prepared for both his military and diplomatic career. Hardened in the key battles of the time (Rovine - 1395, Nikopolje - 1396 and Angora - 1402), always on the side of Sultan Bayezid, he gained independence by obtaining the trust of the Sultan but then later bowed to the Hungarians. For his services to Bayezid he received Peć and Priština, while the Hungarians gave him Mačva and Belgrade, and thanks to his friendship with Byzantine emperor Manuel II, he met all the leaders of Central Europe. He accepted their ways of administration, but his encouragement of architecture and art he took from his ancestors. He was ranked highly among European knights and was one of the most respected of the 24 knights of the Order of the Dragon.

At his palace in Belgrade he retained painters and architects and was visited by famous writers from Greece (Andonio Rafailo) and Bulgaria (Gregorios Camblak) and Constantine the Philosopher. In his newly-built Resava monastery (today Manasija) he established a renowned school for transcribing and translating Greek texts, and received brief chronicles of national and world history from his writers. He himself was also a writer and all of his documents contained an introduction, written in his own recognisable style. He wrote "Words of Praise for Prince Lazar" ("Pohvalno slovo knez Lazaru"), "Inscription on the Kosovo Marble Column" ("Natpis na mramornom stubu na Kosovu") and the poem "Ode to Love" ("Slovo ljubve"), which became examples of the high style of the time in Serbian mediaeval literature and inspired original poetry. The translation into Serbian of the important Greek allegorical poem on evil, "On Future Times", is also attributed to this ruler. As one of the most educated people of the time, he was in fact a representative of the Serbian Renaissance. This is best seen in Constantine the Philosopher's biography on Despot Stefan, in which he is not described as a saint, but as a wise diplomat, courageous warrior, a talented writer and a true lover of art.