Preljub appears in sources in 1344, taking part in the Serbian conquest of
Macedonia during the
Byzantine civil war of 1341–1347. According to contemporary chroniclers, Stefan Dušan considered him the best of all his magnates "in valor, courage and experience". In May 1344, he fought in the
Battle of Stephaniana against the
Emirate of Aydin, allies of the
Byzantine emperor John VI Kantakouzenos. The battle was a defeat, but it did not seriously affect the progress of the Serbian conquest. In 1348, reinforced with numerous
Albanian auxiliary troops, Preljub invaded
Thessaly. Aided by the depopulation brought about by the
Black Death, which, among others, had killed the local
Byzantine governor,
John Angelos, he wrested most of the region from the
Byzantines and the
Catalans of the
Duchy of Neopatria by November of the same year. Dušan named him governor of Thessaly, with
Trikala as his seat, and gave him the title of
caesar as a reward. Several earlier scholars have stated that Preljub also controlled parts of
Epirus, including the city of
Ioannina, but recent research regards this as unlikely, and most likely the result of additions or mistakes in later sources. In 1350, John VI Kantakouzenos took advantage of Dušan's absence in a campaign against
Bosnia, and attempted to recover his lost provinces in Macedonia and Thessaly. He landed at
Thessalonica and succeeded in regaining several key fortresses in Macedonia, but his advance towards Thessaly was stopped by Preljub, who, with 500 men, held the strategically important fortress of
Servia against him. Kantakouzenos, whose army was insufficient to overpower the town's defenses, withdrew, and Dušan was able to recover his lost fortresses with ease. Preljub died in late 1355, or early 1356, shortly after Dušan himself, in a clash with local Albanian clans. His widow, Irina
Nemanjić, a daughter of Dušan, and their son
Thomas, soon faced an invasion by
Nikephoros Orsini, the former
Despot of Epirus. Orsini managed to rally the Greek inhabitants of the province to his side, forcing Irina to return to Serbia. In 1357, she married
Radoslav Hlapen, the governor of much of western Macedonia, including
Vodena and
Berrhoea. In 1366/67, Thomas became ruler of the
Despotate of Epirus at Ioannina. ==Annotations==