FEATURES OF "BYZANTINISATION" IN SERBIAN ARCHITECTURE IN THE TIME OF KING MILUTIN (1282-1321)
The change in the political orientation of the Serbian state at the turn of the 14th century was focused on the replacement and succession of the politically and militarily weakened Byzantine Empire. After the two-century period of domination in the Serbian architecture of “rashka school” with strong Romance inﬂ uences, this created a new stylistic trend called “Serbian-Byzantine style” which found its highest expression in the architecture and painting of the time of King Milutin. This style was fully assimilated in the architecture of Serbia, developing alongside the monuments of “rashka school” the image of the national church, and enriched by the artistic heritage of the Byzantine Empire in the period of its ﬁnal rise. Starting from the architecture of Hilandar monastery on Athos, passing through contemporary trends of metropolitan and regional architecture and actively using the “rashka” tradition, the architecture of King Milutin returned to the origins of Eastern Christian construction techniques. The process of architectural byzantinisation continued in Serbia in a rather complicated fashion and by no means directly represented a borrowing, nor was it a gradual development. It was closely intertwined with various political and cultural events in the country and depended on them to varying degrees. The great creative activity of King Milutin was in full symphony with the Serbian Orthodox Church and its clergy.