Pavle Bakić ( sr-Cyrl, Павле Бакић, ; – 9 October 1537) was the last titular Despot of Serbia. He was one of the most notable military commanders among

Serbian nobility Serbian nobility () refers to the historical privileged order or class (aristocracy) of Serbia, that is, the medieval Serbian states, and after the Ottoman conquests of Serbian lands in the 15th and 16th centuries, Serbian noble families of the Kin ...

in the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

, and fought against the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

in several battles, most notably at the Battle of Mohács (1526) and the Battle of Vienna (1529). He fell at the Battle of Gorjani (1537).

Life

Pavle had a Turkish

timar A timar was a land grant by the sultans of the Ottoman Empire between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries, with an annual tax revenue of less than 20,000 akçes. The revenues produced from the land acted as compensation for military service. A ...

, as did his father, and was the lord of great estates around Venčac in

Šumadija Šumadija ( sr-Cyrl, Шумадија, ) is a geographical region in the central part of Serbia. The area used to be heavily covered with forests, hence the name (from ''šuma'' 'forest'). The city of Kragujevac is the administrative center of t ...

called "Bakić's land". He was viewed highly by the

, and had the rights to collect taxes ( harač) from his people. In consultation with Pál Tomori and

Louis II of Hungary Louis II (; ; ; ; 1 July 1506 – 29 August 1526) was King of Hungary, King of Croatia, Croatia and King of Bohemia, Bohemia from 1516 to 1526. He died during the Battle of Mohács fighting the Ottoman Empire, Ottomans, whose victory led to the Ot ...

, Pavle Bakić left his land with his family, five brothers, and a great number of

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Serbia, culture, History of Serbia, history, and Serbian lan ...

, into

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

, and in return he received the town of Lak among other estates. With his forces he participated in the

Battle of Mohács The Battle of Mohács (; , ) took place on 29 August 1526 near Mohács, in the Kingdom of Hungary. It was fought between the forces of Hungary, led by King Louis II of Hungary, Louis II, and the invading Ottoman Empire, commanded by Suleima ...

in 1526. After the battle the

Šajkaši ''Šajkaši'' (In Serbian, sr-cyrl, шајкаши, ) refers to the river flotilla troops guarding the Danube and Sava, and especially, the Port of Belgrade, against the Ottoman Empire from the 16th to the 19th century. During that period, the r ...

were still unpaid for their services. Ferdinand reprimanded the court for nothing having paid at least part of the unpaid salary to the Šajkaši. Bakić once again turned to Ferdinand, alerting him that the nonpayment to the Šajkaši would cause estrangement of the Serbs in his lands, and those of

John Zápolya John Zápolya or Szapolyai (; ; ; ; 1487 – 22 July 1540), was King of Hungary (as John I) from 1526 to 1540. His rule was disputed by Archduke Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor, Ferdinand I, who also claimed the title King of Hungary. He wa ...

and the Ottoman Empire. He also informed Ferdinand of the persecution of Serbs by the Austrian staff and officers. When the succession war between Ferdinand I and John Zápolya started, he took the side of Zápolya. After the defeat of Zápolya in the Battle of Tokaj in 1527, Bakić sided with Ferdinand, and would stay faithful to him for the rest of his life. In 1528, Ferdinand confirmed Bakić and his brothers' holdings and appointed him the captain of the Serbian infantry, cavalry and river forces. During the Siege of Vienna in 1529, Serbian hussars under the command of Pavle Bakić were the first to engage the Turks when they attacked the capital. After the Ottoman conquest of Syrmia, Radoslav Čelnik sough refuge in Bakić's lands, in Győr. In charters of 1534, Ferdinand again confirmed Bakić and his brothers' holdings ( Lak,

Győr Győr ( , ; ; names of European cities in different languages: E-H#G, names in other languages) is the main city of northwest Hungary, the capital of Győr-Moson-Sopron County and Western Transdanubia, Western Transdanubia region, and – halfwa ...

Szombathely } Szombathely (; ; also see #Etymology, names) is the 10th largest city in Hungary. It is the administrative centre of Vas County in the west of the country, located near the border with Austria. Szombathely lies by the streams ''Perint'' and '' ...

, Hédervár and all estates that were part of these towns). The fortress of Győr was administered by his Hungarian ally Count György Cseszneky. By that time, previous holder of the title of ''Despot of Serbia'', Stefan Berislavić was already dead (1535) and the title was vacant. A charter of king Ferdinand, dated September 20, 1537, designates Pavle Bakić as the new '' Despot'', and calls all Serbs to join and follow Bakić as the Serbian Despot. Attempts made by King Ferdinand to push the Ottomans out of the Banate of Slavonia and eastern counties (

Požega County Požega County (; ) was a historic administrative subdivision (''Counties of Croatia, županija'') of the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia. Croatia-Slavonia was an autonomous kingdom within the Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen (Transleithania ...

, Vukovo County), with the help of Pavle, were not successful. In 1537, Bakić did not manage to liberate

Osijek Osijek () is the fourth-largest city in Croatia, with a population of 96,848 in 2021. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja ...

from the Ottomans, he then retreated towards

Đakovo Đakovo (; , , sr-Cyrl, Ђаково) is a town in the region of Slavonia, Croatia. Đakovo is the centre of the fertile and rich Đakovo region ( ). Etymology The etymology of the name is the (diákos) in Slavic form đak (pupil). The Hungar ...

, where he fell at the

battle of Gorjani The Battle of Gorjani (, ) or Battle of Đakovo () was fought on 9 October 1537 at Gorjani, a place in present-day Slavonia (today in eastern Croatia), between the towns of Đakovo and Valpovo, as part of the Little War in Hungary as well as t ...

against the Ottomans. Mehmed-paša sent the head of Bakić to

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

Family

He married Teodora, and had two daughters: * Margita, married

Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

Menyhért Balassa * Angelina, married Imre Révay, later Baron Imre Czobor de Czoborszentmihály.

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bakic, Pavle 16th-century Serbian nobility 16th-century Hungarian nobility Despots of Serbia Serbs of Hungary 1537 deaths Year of birth uncertain People of the Habsburg–Ottoman wars in Hungary (1526–1568)

Life

Family

See also

References

Sources