Medieval Serbian state centered on Raška, founded when Grand Prince Vukan asserted independence from Byzantine control; reached full consolidation and independence under Grand Prince Stefan Nemanja (r. 1166-1196), founder of the Nemanjić dynasty, who expanded the realm across Raška, Zeta (Montenegro), and parts of Herzegovina and southern Dalmatia.
Transformed into the Kingdom of Serbia in 1217 when Stefan Nemanja's son, Stefan the First-Crowned, was crowned king with papal sanction — the existing canonical record for the successor state (kingdom_of_serbia_nemanjic) begins exactly at 1217, a clean handoff.
Biography of the founder-consolidator of the Nemanjić state, the pivotal 1166-1196 reign that defines this record.
Standard scholarly survey whose opening chapters cover Nemanja's Serbia and the transition to the Nemanjić kingdom, for readers who want the wider Balkan context.