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Serbian Despotate under Đurađ Branković (1430s)

Type Event Region Europe Time 1430–1439

In the 1430s Đurađ Branković maintained the Serbian Despotate's semi-independence between Ottoman expansion and Hungarian protection, completing Smed…

Timeline

  1. 1428–1430Smederevo Fortress · SmederevoĐurađ Branković built a large river-defense fortress at Smederevo as the new capital of the Despotate. Commanding the Danube waterway, it became an important barrier for Serbia's remnant regime against the Ottoman advance southward, and a representative work of medieval Serbian architecture.
  2. 1433–1437Serbian Despotate · SerbiaBranković regularly paid tribute to the Ottoman sultan Murad II and in 1433 gave his daughter Mara to the sultan in exchange for peace. At the same time he maintained his vassalage to the king of Hungary, preserving a fragile balance between the two great powers and allowing the Despotate to continue its rule.
  3. 1439Near Belgrade · SerbiaIn 1439 the Ottoman sultan besieged Hungarian-held Belgrade, and the situation in Southeast Europe grew tense again. Though Branković temporarily preserved the Despotate, Ottoman pressure continued to mount, the space for the Serbian Despotate's independence steadily narrowed, laying groundwork for its final fall in the 1450s.

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