Individual Details
Djuradj Brankovic, Despot and Magnat of Serbia
(Est 1366 - 1456)
Djuradj was the son of Vuk Brankovic, knez of Raska-Kosovo, and Maria Lazarevic, the daughter of Stefan Lazar Hrebeljanovic, zupan of Rudnik, lord of Serbia. Djuradj's long reign was rich and eventful, and he was one of the most eminent European personalities of his era. Immediately upon assuming the throne after the death of his uncle Despot Stefan, in accordance with Stefan's agreements with the Hungarians, Djuradj had to restore Macva and Belgrade to them; and his fortress of Golubac surrendered to the Turks. Pressed from two sides, Djuradj decided to renew the vassal contract with Sultan Murad (Amurath) II, ruler of the Ottoman empire. Deprived of several important towns and desperately in need of a capital, Djuradj managed to build Smederevo, a new, well fortified city on the Danube, in only two years; its monumental walls and towers, despite heavy damage in the two world wars, largely remain to this day.
With the main construction complete in 1430, he transferred his court and the mint to Smederevo, which now also replaced Belgrade as the seat of the metropolitan. In a very short time, the new capital became a 'new Constantinople', its Christian reputation enhanced by events like the transfer of St. Luke the Apostle's relics to the city. The court functioned through two chancelleries, Serbian and Latin. The city was also inhabited by Serbian and Dubrovnik aristocracy.
Despite some initial setbacks, Djuradj still possessed a large and rich state - his despotate extended from the Sava and Danube rivers to the Adriatic coast. Its neighbours were Turkey, Hungary (with its vassal Bosnia) and Venice; at this point the Byzantine empire was no longer geographically adjacent to Serbia. The political approach towards the West did not, however, mean any break with the Byzantine culture - on the contrary, common perils made political ties between Serbia and Byzantium as strong as ever. At the same time, the negotiations which brought the Byzantine emperor Ioannes VIII Palaiologos to conclude the Florentine union of the two Churches (in 1439) did not result in any significant Western help.
As early as 1438, Murad II made major forays into Serbian territories, and destroyed several important fortifications, together with the Ravanica monastery. In the following year he besieged Smederevo. Short of supplies, the city eventually surrendered, along with most of the state; this marked what was the first fall of Serbia. In 1440 came the first Turkish siege of Belgrade, but the invaders were defeated and forced to withdraw. In the meantime, Djuradj tried to have Hungary mobilise Christian forces, but he was frustrated due to the confusion following the death of the Hungarian king and emperor Sigismund I in 1437, and the subsequent quarrels over the Hungarian throne.
In 1443 Djuradj with his Serbian forces joined the grand crusade led by King Wladislaw III and the Hungarian nobleman Janos Hunyadi, who would become regent of Hungary after Wladislaw's death, and was the father of Matthias Hunyadi gen. Corvinus, king of Hungary from 1458. The Turks were defeated several times, allowing Djuradj to recover his state in the following year. The Turks were obliged to restore all his possessions together with 24 cities. In a further crusade soon after, in which Djuradj did not take part, in a battle near Varna in Bulgaria on 10 October 1444 the Christians were routed and King Wladislaw and Cardinal Cesarini killed. Hunyadi barely managed to escape. In his revenge campaigns against the Turks in autumn 1448, Hunyadi ravaged through Serbia, but was defeated by the Turks in the second battle of Kosovo. Djuradj's position was this time strengthened by his neutrality, giving him the position of mediator in the 1451 peace negotiations between the Turks and Hungary.
However skilfully Djuradj may have navigated these troubled political waters, the end was near. The new sultan Mehemmed II 'the Conqueror' (1451-1481), shortly after his accession, besieged and finally took Constantinople in 1453 - the last significant remnant and crucial symbol of the Byzantine empire. Having earlier generously supplied resources to repair portions of the walls of Constantinople, Djuradj was now obliged to supply vassal troops to aid the sultan in pounding and scaling them. In the meantime, Djuradj's diplomatic efforts in several Italian cities produced no concrete offers of help. In 1455 the Turks conquered the key mining centre of Novo Brdo, massacring its inhabitants. The following year they tried to conquer Belgrade again, and once more were defeated, the sultan himself being wounded. But 1456 saw the deaths of two of the 15th century's most distinguished crusaders, Janos Hunyadi in Belgrade, and Djuradj in Smederevo, the latter apparently in a duel.
Djuradj was married twice. By an unnamed first wife he had a daughter Katrina who would have progeny. By his second wife Eirene (Jerina) Kantakuzene, daughter of Theodorus Palaiologos Kantakuzenos and Euphrosyne Palailogina, he had four sons, two of whom were blinded by the Ottomans, and his daughter Maria had been married to Murad II, living in the Turkish harem until his death. Djuradj was succeeded by his son Lazar, who unfortunately died in January 1458, and was followed briefly by his brother Stephan.
Deprived of a serious government, demoralised and abandoned, Serbia proper was finally conquered by the Turks in 1459, when its last major outpost and capital, Smederevo, was surrendered - this time without a fight. In the final decades of the 15th century, the invaders would gradually eliminate the relative autonomy of the remaining Serbian lands: Bosnia (in 1463), Herzegovina (in 1481) and Zeta (in 1496). The heirs of the Brankovic family took refuge in Hungary, where they continued to play a significant role in the anti-Turkish struggle for some time.
Source: Leo van de Pas
With the main construction complete in 1430, he transferred his court and the mint to Smederevo, which now also replaced Belgrade as the seat of the metropolitan. In a very short time, the new capital became a 'new Constantinople', its Christian reputation enhanced by events like the transfer of St. Luke the Apostle's relics to the city. The court functioned through two chancelleries, Serbian and Latin. The city was also inhabited by Serbian and Dubrovnik aristocracy.
Despite some initial setbacks, Djuradj still possessed a large and rich state - his despotate extended from the Sava and Danube rivers to the Adriatic coast. Its neighbours were Turkey, Hungary (with its vassal Bosnia) and Venice; at this point the Byzantine empire was no longer geographically adjacent to Serbia. The political approach towards the West did not, however, mean any break with the Byzantine culture - on the contrary, common perils made political ties between Serbia and Byzantium as strong as ever. At the same time, the negotiations which brought the Byzantine emperor Ioannes VIII Palaiologos to conclude the Florentine union of the two Churches (in 1439) did not result in any significant Western help.
As early as 1438, Murad II made major forays into Serbian territories, and destroyed several important fortifications, together with the Ravanica monastery. In the following year he besieged Smederevo. Short of supplies, the city eventually surrendered, along with most of the state; this marked what was the first fall of Serbia. In 1440 came the first Turkish siege of Belgrade, but the invaders were defeated and forced to withdraw. In the meantime, Djuradj tried to have Hungary mobilise Christian forces, but he was frustrated due to the confusion following the death of the Hungarian king and emperor Sigismund I in 1437, and the subsequent quarrels over the Hungarian throne.
In 1443 Djuradj with his Serbian forces joined the grand crusade led by King Wladislaw III and the Hungarian nobleman Janos Hunyadi, who would become regent of Hungary after Wladislaw's death, and was the father of Matthias Hunyadi gen. Corvinus, king of Hungary from 1458. The Turks were defeated several times, allowing Djuradj to recover his state in the following year. The Turks were obliged to restore all his possessions together with 24 cities. In a further crusade soon after, in which Djuradj did not take part, in a battle near Varna in Bulgaria on 10 October 1444 the Christians were routed and King Wladislaw and Cardinal Cesarini killed. Hunyadi barely managed to escape. In his revenge campaigns against the Turks in autumn 1448, Hunyadi ravaged through Serbia, but was defeated by the Turks in the second battle of Kosovo. Djuradj's position was this time strengthened by his neutrality, giving him the position of mediator in the 1451 peace negotiations between the Turks and Hungary.
However skilfully Djuradj may have navigated these troubled political waters, the end was near. The new sultan Mehemmed II 'the Conqueror' (1451-1481), shortly after his accession, besieged and finally took Constantinople in 1453 - the last significant remnant and crucial symbol of the Byzantine empire. Having earlier generously supplied resources to repair portions of the walls of Constantinople, Djuradj was now obliged to supply vassal troops to aid the sultan in pounding and scaling them. In the meantime, Djuradj's diplomatic efforts in several Italian cities produced no concrete offers of help. In 1455 the Turks conquered the key mining centre of Novo Brdo, massacring its inhabitants. The following year they tried to conquer Belgrade again, and once more were defeated, the sultan himself being wounded. But 1456 saw the deaths of two of the 15th century's most distinguished crusaders, Janos Hunyadi in Belgrade, and Djuradj in Smederevo, the latter apparently in a duel.
Djuradj was married twice. By an unnamed first wife he had a daughter Katrina who would have progeny. By his second wife Eirene (Jerina) Kantakuzene, daughter of Theodorus Palaiologos Kantakuzenos and Euphrosyne Palailogina, he had four sons, two of whom were blinded by the Ottomans, and his daughter Maria had been married to Murad II, living in the Turkish harem until his death. Djuradj was succeeded by his son Lazar, who unfortunately died in January 1458, and was followed briefly by his brother Stephan.
Deprived of a serious government, demoralised and abandoned, Serbia proper was finally conquered by the Turks in 1459, when its last major outpost and capital, Smederevo, was surrendered - this time without a fight. In the final decades of the 15th century, the invaders would gradually eliminate the relative autonomy of the remaining Serbian lands: Bosnia (in 1463), Herzegovina (in 1481) and Zeta (in 1496). The heirs of the Brankovic family took refuge in Hungary, where they continued to play a significant role in the anti-Turkish struggle for some time.
Source: Leo van de Pas
Events
| Birth | Est 1366 | ||||
| Marriage | 26 Dec 1414 | Irene Kantakuzena | |||
| Death | 1456 |
Families
| Spouse | Irene Kantakuzena (1400 - 1457) |
| Child | Stefan Brankovic Despot of Raska (1415 - 1476) |
| Father | Vuk Brankovic ( - 1398) |
| Mother | Marija "Mara" Lazarevic ( - ) |