Zavida belonged to the
Vukanović dynasty of Serbia (
Raška). He had four sons,
Tihomir (born 1105),
Stracimir,
Miroslav and
Nemanja (born 1112/1113). Although there are variations in
Serbian chronicles of the number and names of the brothers, historiography counts four brothers (Tihomir, Stracimir, Miroslav, Nemanja). In the
Life of St. Symeon (1208), a hagiography of Stefan Nemanja written by his son Serbian
archbishop Sava, and
Domentian's
Life of St. Symeon (1263/1264), their father was deposed (he "lost the throne due to a rebellion led by his brothers"). His family took refuge in
Zeta, where the youngest, Nemanja, was born. After some years in exile, while Nemanja was still a child, the family returned to Raška. The family was closely related to
the ruling family of Serbia at the time, but it is unknown exactly how. Serbian historian T. Živković (2006) concluded Uroš I was the son of
Marko, and Zavida was the son of
Vukan ( 1083–1112), and Zavida was therefore the legitimate heir of Vukan. Serb-inhabited territories were under Byzantine vassalage, and the
veliki župan was confirmed by the emperor. There are several views in historiography on the succession of the Serbian throne following Vukan and Uroš I. • According to J. Kalić, Vukan's nephew Uroš I took power after his death. Uroš I was imprisoned by his relatives, and Đorđe Bodinović freed him. Nemanja's family were relatives of the dynasties in Raška and Zeta. During unrest, Zavida and his family fled to Zeta where Nemanja was born. • According to T. Živković, who used passages of the
Chronicle of the Priest of Duklja that were largely unused in historiography, Vukan's oldest son Zavida succeeded the Serbian throne upon his death in the beginning of 1112. Zavida, as his father, relied on Byzantium; it seems that his uncle Marko (Vukan's brother) who ruled in the northern parts interfered in the succession, most likely with Hungarian support. After only some months, Zavida was forced to abdicate, being ousted by his cousins Uroš (I) and
Stefan Vukan, and moved to his birth place of Ribnica in
Upper Zeta. While in exile, he waited for the right moment to return to Serbia, and possibly gained Byzantine help. At the same time, there was a dynastic conflict in
Duklja, which ended with
Đorđe Bodinović's exile with Uroš I in Raška in 1113/1114. Byzantium was preoccupied with events in the East, and Uroš I's coup was left uncontested, perhaps as Uroš I did not put pressure on Byzantine territory. In 1120/1121, Đorđe Bodinović retook Duklja with Uroš I's help, and he tried to have one of his cousins,
Gradinja, who had fled to Raška and married a daughter of Zavida, to return to Duklja and support him. Uroš I was ousted some time between 1123 and 1125 by relatives, including Gradinja, and was imprisoned. Zavida then ruled Raška as a Byzantine ally, until he was attacked by Hungarian troops sent by
Stephen II of Hungary and taken prisoner, while Zavida's sons continued ruling in Raška until Đorđe freed Uroš I and overthrew them in 1126. Uroš I began his second reign with the conquest of Byzantine frontier fortress
Ras in 1127, but the Byzantine emperor intervened and forced Uroš to make peace. The Serbian throne was succeeded by Uroš II in 1144 or 1145. • According to Komatina and Komatina (2021), Zavida was ousted before 1113 by his brothers, then returned to Serbia some time between 1129 and 1134, upon the death of Uroš I, and regained the Serbian throne. It is noted that the prevalent opinion in historiography is that Zavida was not a
veliki župan as he is not mentioned in Miroslav's
inscription in Bijelo Polje. Zavida's sons received lands during his reign (1130/1134–1143/1146), in the 1130s. I. Komatina earlier believed Zavida's sons received territories around the time of Uroš II's
revolt against Byzantium (1149), however, Nemanja's son
Stefan claimed his father (born in 1113) received "a part of the fatherland" when he was
adolescent. The territories of Nemanja laid in the eastern part of the
Serbian lands: the four
župa (Toplica, Ibar, Rasine, Reke), located between the Ibar river and the left banks of the South Morava. Although not mentioned explicitly by Stefan, it can be concluded that Miroslav received Polimlje, Stracimir received Pomoravlje, and Tihomir, the oldest, must have held lands in the most important part of Serbia, outside Ras. After Zavida's probable death in 1143 or 1146, Uroš II ruled Serbia. Zavida's sons kept their share of lands. Zavida is mentioned in the inscription of Miroslav's endowment in Bijelo Polje, though without a title. ==Family==