Vuk Grgurević Branković ( sr-cyrl, Вук Гргуревић Бранковић; c. 1439 – 16 April 1485) was a Serbian nobleman who was the titular despot of Serbia from 1471 until his death in 1485. He inherited the title of '' despot'' (as an heir to the throne, which was then occupied by 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 ...

) from King

Matthias Corvinus Matthias Corvinus (; ; ; ; ; ) was King of Hungary and King of Croatia, Croatia from 1458 to 1490, as Matthias I. He is often given the epithet "the Just". After conducting several military campaigns, he was elected King of Bohemia in 1469 and ...

, and ruled most of present-day

Vojvodina Vojvodina ( ; sr-Cyrl, Војводина, ), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an Autonomous administrative division, autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia, located in Central Europe. It lies withi ...

, under the overlordship of 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 ...

. Known in

Serbian epic poetry Serbian epic poetry () is a form of epic poetry created by Serbs originating in today's Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro and North Macedonia. The main cycles were composed by unknown Serb authors between the 14th and 19th centu ...

for his

bravery Courage (also called bravery, valour ( British and Commonwealth English), or valor (American English)) is the choice and willingness to confront agony, pain, danger, uncertainty, or intimidation. Valor is courage or bravery, especially in ...

and heroism, he is called Vuk the Fiery Dragon ( / ''Zmaj Ognjeni Vuk''), Vuk the Dragon-Despot, or simply the Dragon; he commanded the Hungarian army ('' Black Army'') in several of its battles against the Ottomans. He is considered the founder of the Grgeteg Monastery.

Life

Vuk was son of Grgur Branković, and a grandson of despot Đurađ Branković. His father Grgur was blinded by the Ottomans in 1441. His mother may have been a woman named Jelisaveta, who later sources give as Grgur's wife, but he may also have been their illegitimate son, or the son of an unknown woman. After the fall of the Serbian Despotate in 1459, Vuk Grgurević was first an Ottoman vassal, but in 1465, he entered into the service of

and became the commander of Serbian military units in

Syrmia Syrmia (Ekavian sh-Latn-Cyrl, Srem, Срем, separator=" / " or Ijekavian sh-Latn-Cyrl, Srijem, Сријем, label=none, separator=" / ") is a region of the southern Pannonian Plain, which lies between the Danube and Sava rivers. It is div ...

. Vuk gained a reputation for bravery and was nicknamed "Zmaj Ognjeni", which translates as "Fiery Dragon". His name "Vuk" means "wolf" in Serbian, so his nickname "Zmaj Ognjeni Vuk" actually means "Fiery Dragon Wolf". He is the hero of many Serbian epic songs. He fought for the Hungarians against the Czechs, Poles, Austrians and Turks. In 1471 he was given the title of Despot of

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

. He gained large possessions in what is now

, which had previously belonged to the Despot Đurađ Branković. Among his possessions were Slankamen, Kupinovo,

Zrenjanin Zrenjanin ( sr-Cyrl, Зрењанин, ; ; ; ; ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Central Banat District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. The city urban area has a population of 67,129 inh ...

, Berkasovo, Irig, and

Vršac Vršac ( sr-Cyrl, Вршац, ) is a city in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. As of 2022, the city urban area had a population of 31,946, while the city administrative area had 45,462 inhabitants. It is located in the geographical ...

. His most famous military campaigns were in 1476, when he captured

Srebrenica Srebrenica ( sr-cyrl, Сребреница, ) is a town and municipality in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is a small mountain town, with its main industry being salt mining and a nearby spa. During the Bosnian War in 1995, Srebr ...

and fought near

Šabac Šabac ( sr-Cyrl, Шабац, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative centre of the Mačva District in western Serbia. The traditional centre of the fertile Mačva region, Šabac is located on the right banks of the river ...

and

Smederevo Smederevo ( sr-Cyrl, Смедерево, ) is a list of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Podunavlje District in eastern Serbia. It is situated on the right bank of the Danube, about downstream of the Serbian capital, ...

, and in 1480, when he attacked

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...

. In 1479, together with Dimitar Jakšić, he led Serbian light cavalry squadrons in the

Battle of Breadfield The Battle of Breadfield (, , ) was the most tremendous conflict fought in Transylvania up to that time in the Ottoman–Hungarian Wars, taking place on October 13, 1479, on the Breadfield near the Transylvanian Saxons, Saxon village of Șibot, ...

near Zsibót. At the decisive moment of the battle, Hungarian heavy cavalry and Serbian hussars charged the Ottoman centre and broke their ranks, which decided the outcome of the battle. In 1481, he fought against the Turks in Serbia and brought from there (the area around

Kruševac Kruševac ( sr-Cyrl, Крушевац, ) is a list of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Rasina District in central Serbia. It is located in the valley of West Morava, on Rasina (river), Rasina river. According to the 202 ...

) tens of thousands of people who settled in Banat, mostly around

Timișoara Timișoara (, , ; , also or ; ; ; see #Etymology, other names) is the capital city of Timiș County, Banat, and the main economic, social and cultural center in Western Romania. Located on the Bega (Tisza), Bega River, Timișoara is consider ...

. Vuk worked together with the alias Dojčin Petar, which demonstrates in some of his letters. An inheritance was suspected centuries later. Imperial censorship caused every copy of the 1808 issue of the

Almanach de Gotha The ''Almanach de Gotha'' () is a directory of Europe's royalty and higher nobility, also including the major governmental, military and diplomatic corps, as well as statistical data by country. First published in 1763 by C. W. Ettinger in ...

to be seized and destroyed. In fact, the censorship office found the word "genealogy" to be an insult since the Bonapartes could not ''produce'' one and the tendentious word was suppressed.Secrets of the Gotha, Ghislain de Diesbach, Chapman & Hall, 1967.

Possessions

His territory was called " Little Rascia" (Мала Рашка).

Titles

*"Despot of the Kingdom of Rascia".

Legacy

According to tradition, Vuk Grgurević founded the Grgeteg monastery in 1471. He is considered one of the greatest, if not the greatest, heroes of the Post-Kosovo cycle of Serbian epic poetry, and his legend stems from his portrayal as a hero destined to redeem the sins of his namesake and great-grandfather, the infamous traitor in the Kosovo Myth -

Vuk Branković Vuk Branković ( sr-Cyrl, Вук Бранковић, , 1345 – 6 October 1397) was a Serbian medieval nobleman who, during the Fall of the Serbian Empire, inherited a province that extended over present-day southern and southwestern Serbia, enti ...

References

External links