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Final collapse of the Serbian Despotate
In 1459, with the fall of Smederevo and the execution of the last ruler Stefan Tomašević, the Serbian Despotate long dominated by the Branković famil…
Timeline
- 1456–1458Smederevo · SerbiaIn December 1456 Serbian despot Đurađ Branković died, ending the Branković family's decades-long rule. Serbian territory had shrunk greatly to the area around Smederevo, and the despotate struggled to survive between Hungary and the Ottomans, with the choice of successor becoming a focus of great-power rivalry.
- 1458–1459Smederevo · SerbiaHungarian king Matthias I installed Bosnian king Stefan Tomašević as ruler of Serbia, but aid was limited. In early 1459 the Ottoman army appeared before the walls, Serbian nobles were divided, Smederevo became an isolated city holding out alone, and the despotate existed in name only.
- 1459Smederevo · SerbiaOn 20 June 1459 Smederevo fell; Stefan Tomašević surrendered and was taken to Constantinople for execution. The Serbian Despotate perished entirely as a political entity, and the independence tradition of the medieval Serbian state was interrupted until the national revival of the nineteenth century.
Sources
- Encyclopaedia Britannica: Serbia https://www.britannica.com/place/Serbia
- Fine, John V. A. The Late Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman Conquest — John V. A. Fine (1994)