Dabiša of Bosnia

Dabiša
Dabiša's 1395 seal
King of Bosnia
Reign	March 1391 – 8 September 1395
Predecessor	Tvrtko I
Successor	Helen
Died	8 September 1395
Burial	Bobovac
Spouse	Helen of Bosnia
House	Kotromanić
Religion	Roman Catholic

Stephen Dabiša (Serbo-Croatian: Stjepan Dabiša, Стефан Дабиша; Hungarian: Dabiša István; died on 8 September 1395) was as a member of the Kotromanić dynasty who reigned as King of Bosnia from March 1391 until his death. Elected to succeed the first king, Tvrtko I, Dabiša at first maintained the integrity of the Kingdom of Bosnia. He successfully resisted Hungary, Naples, and even Ottoman Turks. The latter part of his reign, however, saw the ascent of magnates and considerable loss of Bosnia's territory and influence.

Dabiša's relationship with the rest of the Kotromanić family is uncertain. In a letter, Dabiša called himself younger brother of Tvrtko I, who became Ban of Bosnia in 1353, but this should not be taken literally. Influenced by the writings of the 16th century Ragusan chronicler Mavro Orbini, modern historiography usually describes Dabiša as the illegitimate son of Ninoslav, who was the brother of Tvrtko's father Vladislav.

According to Orbini, Dabiša ruled the župa (county) of Neretva (corresponding to the area around the Upper Neretva and the town of Konjic) and, supporting Tvrtko's brother Vuk, took part in the rebellion that led to the deposition of Tvrtko in 1366. Dabiša, however, is the only rebel mentioned by Orbini whose name does not appear in contemporary accounts of the uprising. Tvrtko prevailed in 1367 and banished Dabiša, revoking his lands. Dabiša spent the following two decades in obscurity, while Tvrtko had himself crowned King of Bosnia in 1377.