Radič Božić ( sr, Радич Божић, hu, Radics Bosics ;
fl. 1502 – September 1528) was titular
Despot of Serbia, from 1527 until his death in September 1528. He was one of the most notable military commanders among
Serbian nobility Serbian nobility ( sr, српска властела / srpska vlastela, српско властелинство / srpsko vlastelinstvo or српско племство / srpsko plemstvo) refers to the historical privileged order or class (aristocrac ...
in the
Eastern Hungarian Kingdom, and fought against the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
in several battles, most notably the
Battle of Mohács
The Battle of Mohács (; hu, mohácsi csata, tr, Mohaç Muharebesi or Mohaç Savaşı) was fought on 29 August 1526 near Mohács, Kingdom of Hungary, between the forces of the Kingdom of Hungary and its allies, led by Louis II, and thos ...
.
Life
By the end of the 15th century, he left
Ottoman-occupied Serbia for Hungary, and received the towns of
Solymos
In Greek mythology, Solymus or Solymos (Ancient Greek: Σολύμου) may refer to two individuals:
* Solymus, an ancestral hero and eponym of the Solymi, who inhabited Milyas (i.e the area around Solyma), in south-west Anatolia. He was a son ...
and
Lippa by Hungarian king. He was part of the Hungarian-Serbian army that crossed into Serbia and Bulgaria in 1502 and burnt the Ottoman bases at
Braničevo,
Kladovo
Kladovo ( sr-Cyrl, Кладово, ; ro, Cladova or ) is a town and municipality located in the Bor District of eastern Serbia. It is situated on the right bank of the Danube river. The population of the town is 8,913, while the population of ...
,
Vidin
Vidin ( bg, Видин, ; Old Romanian: Diiu) is a port city on the southern bank of the Danube in north-western Bulgaria. It is close to the borders with Romania and Serbia, and is also the administrative centre of Vidin Province, as well as ...
and
Nikopol.
In 1522, shortly after the
Siege of Belgrade (1521)
The siege of Belgrade in 1521 is an event that followed as a result of the third major Ottoman attack on this Hungarian stronghold in the Ottoman–Hungarian wars at the time of the greatest expansion of the Ottoman Empire to the west. Ottom ...
, he became the commander of a flotilla, with 500
chaiki. Together with
Pál Tomori
Pál Tomori (c. 1475 – 29 August 1526) was a Catholic monk and archbishop of Kalocsa, Hungary. He defeated an Ottoman army near Sremska Mitrovica ( hu, Szávaszentdemeter-Nagyolaszi) in 1523.
Pál Tomori was elected commander-in-chief (join ...
he defeated the Bosnian pasha Ferhat at Manđelos in
Syrmia, on August 12, 1523. Although he already was elderly and sick, he defeated an Ottoman band at
Petrovaradin
Petrovaradin ( sr-cyr, Петроварадин, ) is a historic town in the Serbian province of Vojvodina, now a part of the city of Novi Sad. As of 2011, the urban area has 14,810 inhabitants. Lying on the right bank of the Danube, across from t ...
in 1526, then participated in the
Battle of Mohács
The Battle of Mohács (; hu, mohácsi csata, tr, Mohaç Muharebesi or Mohaç Savaşı) was fought on 29 August 1526 near Mohács, Kingdom of Hungary, between the forces of the Kingdom of Hungary and its allies, led by Louis II, and thos ...
, as well as destroying an Ottoman Army department at
Titel
Titel ( sr-Cyrl, Тител, hu, Titel) is a town and municipality located in the South Bačka District of the province of Vojvodina, Serbia. The town of Titel has a population of 5,247, while the population of the municipality of Titel is 15, ...
after the battle.
John Zápolya
John Zápolya or Szapolyai ( hu, Szapolyai/ Zápolya János, hr, Ivan Zapolja, ro, Ioan Zápolya, sk, Ján Zápoľský; 1490/91 – 22 July 1540), was King of Hungary (as John I) from 1526 to 1540. His rule was disputed by Archduke Fer ...
called him the most revered Serbian person in Hungary.
During the succession war between two rivals for the Hungarian crown,
Ferdinand Habsburg and
John Zápolya
John Zápolya or Szapolyai ( hu, Szapolyai/ Zápolya János, hr, Ivan Zapolja, ro, Ioan Zápolya, sk, Ján Zápoľský; 1490/91 – 22 July 1540), was King of Hungary (as John I) from 1526 to 1540. His rule was disputed by Archduke Fer ...
, he took the side of Zápolya, while
Stjepan Berislavić (titular Despot of Serbia) opted for king Ferdinand. In 1527, king John decided to create his own Despot of Serbia, in order to attract Serbian nobility and soldiers to his side, and chose Radič, granting him the title. As newly created Despot of Serbia, he remained loyal to king John until his death in September 1528.
See also
*
History of Ottoman Serbia
Most of the territory of what is now the Republic of Serbia was part of the Ottoman Empire throughout the Early Modern period, especially Central Serbia and Southern Serbia, unlike Vojvodina which had passed to Habsburg rule starting from th ...
References
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bozic, Radic
Despots of Serbia
16th-century Serbian monarchs
16th-century Serbian nobility
16th-century Hungarian nobility
Eastern Hungarian Kingdom
1528 deaths
Year of birth uncertain