Serbia. Stefan Uroš IV Dušan. As Tsar, 1345-1355. AR gros.

Serbia. Stefan Uroš IV Dušan. As Tsar, 1345-1355. AR gros (19 mm, 1.37 g). Christ enthroned facing / Legend in five lines. Ljubic pl. IX, 6 var. Toned good VF, slightly crude as issued. Purported by Papal ambassadors to be a giant, perhaps close to seven feet tall, Stefan Uroš IV Dušan was the only true tsar of Serbia. He expanded his borders to their greatest extent at the cost of his southern neighbor, Byzantine Greece, thus making the Serbian Empire one of the larger states of Europe. His forceful personality did not survive him, however, and the territorial gains he made were soon lost.