emperor uroš v died childless in december 2/4 1371, after much of the serbian nobility had been destroyed in maritsa earlier that year. this marked an end to the once powerful empire. vukašin's son marko, who had earlier been crowned "young king" was to inherit his father's royal title, and thus became one in the line of successors to the serbian throne. meanwhile, the nobles pursued their own interests, sometimes quarreling with each other. serbia, without an emperor "became a conglomerate of aristocratic territories", and the empire was thus divided between the provincial lords: marko, the dejanović brothers, đurađ i balšić, vuk branković, nikola altomanović, lazar hrebeljanović and other lesser ones.