Jakša ( sr-cyr, Јакша; 1452–53), was a military commander (''vojvodа'') in the service of

Serbian Despot The Serbian Despotate ( sr, / ) was a medieval Serbian state in the first half of the 15th century. Although the Battle of Kosovo in 1389 is generally considered the end of medieval Serbia, the Despotate, a successor of the Serbian Empire and ...

Đurađ Branković Đurađ Branković (; sr-cyr, Ђурађ Бранковић; hu, Brankovics György; 1377 – 24 December 1456) was the Serbian Despot from 1427 to 1456. He was one of the last Serbian medieval rulers. He was a participant in the battle of Anka ...

(r. 1427–56). Jakša is the eponymous founder of the

Jakšić noble family Jakšić ( sr-cyr, Јакшић, ) is a South Slavic surname. It may refer to: * Jakšić noble family *a family of the Drobnjaci clan *Đura Jakšić, Serbian artist * Đurađ Jakšić, Serbian politician *Jovana Jakšić, Serbian tennis player ...

In 1452, he was sent as a deputy of the Despot to the

Republic of Ragusa hr, Sloboda se ne prodaje za sve zlato svijeta it, La libertà non si vende nemmeno per tutto l'oro del mondo"Liberty is not sold for all the gold in the world" , population_estimate = 90 000 in the XVI Century , currency = ...

. As an Ottoman vassal, Đurađ was forced to send 500 cavalry to participate in the

Siege of Constantinople (1453) The Fall of Constantinople, also known as the Conquest of Constantinople, was the capture of the capital of the Byzantine Empire by the Ottoman Empire. The city fell on 29 May 1453 as part of the culmination of a 53-day siege which had begun o ...

. Sultan

Mehmed II Mehmed II ( ota, محمد ثانى, translit=Meḥmed-i s̱ānī; tr, II. Mehmed, ; 30 March 14323 May 1481), commonly known as Mehmed the Conqueror ( ota, ابو الفتح, Ebū'l-fetḥ, lit=the Father of Conquest, links=no; tr, Fâtih Su ...

did not tell Đurađ of his intentions, but notified Đurađ that Jakša's cavalry squadron would travel to

Karaman Karaman, historically known as Laranda (Greek: Λάρανδα), is a city in south central Turkey, located in Central Anatolia, north of the Taurus Mountains, about south of Konya. It is the capital district of the Karaman Province. According to ...

.Michalowicz, Konstanty (2011), ''Memories of a Janissary'', p. 46. Markus Wienner Publishers . The sultan slaughtered civilians on his way to Constantinople, which he quickly besieged. Jakša, hearing of this, wanted to return but was warned that if they would not continue, the sultan would destroy the Serbs. Jakša reached Constantinople, which had been the cradle of Eastern Christianity and culture, serving as the capital of the now destroyed

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

. Janissary

Konstantin Mihailović Konstantin Mihailović, also known as Constantine of Ostrovica, born in 1430, was a Serbian soldier and author of a memoir of his time as a Jannissary in the army of the Ottoman Empire. Mihailović was born in the village of Ostrovica, near Rud ...

was part of this army; he wrote a memoir in which he mentioned these events. He had two sons, Stefan and Dmitar, who became highly respected noblemen in Kingdom of Hungary.

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* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jaksa 15th-century Serbian nobility People of the Serbian Despotate Medieval Serbian military leaders 15th-century soldiers