Since the early 8th century, Serbia had a relationship of entirely nominal suzerainty with the Byzantine Empire. Serbian rulers were crowned as princes and led entirely independent states linked very precariously to the Constantinople. However, beginning at the middle of the 11th century, Serbia waged a series of successive wars against the Byzantines, the end result of which would be Serbia's territorial enlargement and its eventual advancement into a kingdom.
Constantine Bodin and Knez Vukan had been waging successful war against the Byzantine Empire for quite some time. The object of Vukan's campaigns was the total acquisition of Kosovo and the expansion of Serbia southwards. Thus, Zvecan, then situated at the border of the two states, was, from 1091 to 1094, the site of constant skirmishes and border warfare. The Serbian incursions became so intense that the emperor himself had decided to come and inspect the situation. The Emperor's nephew, John Komnenos, the commander of Durrës, led a vast army into Serbia which met a much smaller Serbian force at Zvecan. The Byzantine force was decimated and Vukan sent raiding armies deep into Byzantine territory, reaching as far as Skoplje, Tetovo, and Vranje.
The following year, a renewed Byzantine campaign against the Serbs seemed imminent but Vukan managed to negotiate a peace treaty.
