Radoslav, the eldest son of Stefan the First-Crowned, was ousted by the Serbian nobility due to increasing Epirote influence through his marriage alliance to Theodore Komnenos Doukas; thus Vladislav became his successor.

[7] Serbia was politically aligned with Bulgaria at the time,[8] since Vladislav was married to Beloslava, the daughter of Ivan Asen II.

The Mongols, led by Kadan, invaded Hungary and devastated the Balkans, at which time the Serbian nobility rose up against Vladislav.

[11] In 1230, Theodore was defeated and captured by Emperor Ivan Asen II of Bulgaria, after which Radoslav's position seems to have weakened; some of his nobility revolted in the autumn of 1233.

This is evident from a document dated February 4, 1234, which promised Ragusa trading privileges once Radoslav had returned to Serbia and become king again.

Because of this, Vladislav began threatening Ragusa, which then turned to Ban Matej Ninoslav of Bosnia for help.

The revolt against Vladislav was unsuccessful, and Radoslav joined the court of Epirote ruler Manuel in Dyrrhachium.

[11] Sava's body was returned to Serbia after a series of requests,[11] and was then buried in the Mileševa monastery, built by Vladislav in 1234.

[11] Sava was canonized, and his relics were considered miraculous; his cult remained throughout the Middle Ages and the Ottoman occupation.

[15] The marriage alliance between Vladislav and Ivan Asen II may be a result of the Hungarian threat to both of the rulers' countries.

[16][17] Pope Gregory IX's crusade against the Bogumils in Bosnia, who were deemed heretics, did not bring good results.

Central Bosnia was not conquered, and Bosnian Ban Matej Ninoslav and his nobility retreated to the Republic of Ragusa in 1240.

In the winter of 1241, the Mongols crossed the Danube and entered western Hungary; Béla IV could not manage to organize any resistance.

[15] Scholars have argued that Bulgarian influence had been strong and unpopular, causing opposition that led to Vladislav's deposition after the death of Asen.

The main resistance against Uroš was led by Vladislav's wife Beloslava, who spent some time exiled in Ragusa.

The tradition of medieval Serbian rulers taking the name is likely connected with the Byzantine association of the martyrdom of Saint Stephen.

St. Stephen was the patron saint of the Serbian state and government; he was depicted on the royal seals and coins of the early Nemanjić rulers.

[23] In Serbian medieval biographies, Vladislav was praised as "the Faithful", "the God-Loving", "the Christ-Loving", "the Great", "the World-Loving".

[29] He also signed himself with the expanded title of his father: "King of All Rascian Lands, and Diocletia, and Dalmatia, and Travunia, and Zachumlia".

[31] When Serbian royalty was canonized, the church sometimes used their given names; examples of this include: St. Stefan Vladislav ("Св.

[32] The son of King Stefan Vladislav, Desa Župan, sent delegates from Kotor to Ragusa (Dubrovnik) to return items from the king's treasury; the inventory list included, among other things, "a flag of red and blue colour"[33] ("vexillum unum de zendato rubeo et blavo" - a flag made of red and blue fabric, zendato or čenda being a type of light, silky fabric).

[37] Although the color order is not known, the version with horizontal red and blue is sometimes used in medieval-themed events in modern Serbia, representing the oldest known Serbian flag.