Henry IV of HRE vs Stefan Uros IV Dusan

Henry IV defeated Saxon rebels at Langensalza in Thuringia. The victory temporarily ended the Saxon Rebellion, but the conflict resumed later. The battle demonstrated Henry's military capability early in his reign.

Pope Gregory VII excommunicated Henry IV after Henry attempted to depose the Pope. The excommunication freed Henry's subjects from their oaths of loyalty, leading to a rebellion by German princes. This forced Henry to seek reconciliation at Canossa.

Henry IV traveled to Canossa Castle in northern Italy to seek absolution from Pope Gregory VII. He stood barefoot in the snow for three days before the Pope lifted his excommunication. This event symbolized the power struggle between secular and religious authority.

Henry IV besieged Rome and captured the city. He was crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Antipope Clement III. Pope Gregory VII took refuge in the Castel Sant'Angelo and was rescued by Norman forces under Robert Guiscard, who sacked Rome.

Stefan Dušan was crowned Emperor (Tsar) of Serbs and Greeks in Skopje by the newly elevated Serbian Patriarch Joanikije II. This coronation asserted Serbian imperial ambitions over Byzantine territories. The act created the Serbian Empire, claiming succession to the Byzantine Empire and challenging Constantinople's authority.

Dušan convened a church council in Skopje that elevated the Serbian Archbishopric to a Patriarchate, with Joanikije II as the first Patriarch. This act was done without Constantinople's approval, causing a schism. The Serbian Patriarchate provided ecclesiastical independence for the empire and legitimized Dušan's imperial coronation.

Dušan's armies conquered most of Macedonia, including the cities of Serres, Drama, and Kavala, as well as Epirus and Thessaly. These conquests expanded the Serbian Empire to its greatest territorial extent, covering much of the Balkan Peninsula. The acquisitions gave Serbia access to the Aegean Sea and control over key trade routes.

Dušan issued the Zakonik, a comprehensive legal code consisting of 201 articles. The code regulated all aspects of society, including feudal relations, church rights, and criminal law. It was based on Byzantine law but adapted to Serbian conditions. The code remained in use until the Ottoman conquest and influenced later Balkan legal systems.

Dušan died suddenly at age 47, possibly from poisoning or illness, near Constantinople while preparing a campaign against the Byzantine capital. His death left the Serbian Empire without a strong successor. His son Stefan Uroš V proved unable to control the nobility, leading to the empire's fragmentation into rival principalities within two decades.