Which Realm Will You Opt for? – the Serbian Nobility between the Ottomans and the Hungarians in the 15th Century

Krstić, Aleksandar (2017) Which Realm Will You Opt for? – the Serbian Nobility between the Ottomans and the Hungarians in the 15th Century. In: State and Society in the Balkans before and after Establishment of Ottoman Rule. Zbornici radova . Institute of History, Yunus Emre Enstitüsü Turkish Cultural Centre, Beograd, pp. 129-163. ISBN 978-86-7743-125-9

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Abstract

Serbian rulers were both the vassals of the sultan and the Hungarian king from the beginning of the 15th century until the fall of the medieval Serbian state (1459). The interweaving of the Ottoman and Hungarian influence in Serbia reflected also on the Serbian nobility. Thus, like the ruling despots, some of the leading Serbian aristocrats received possessions in Hungary. This did not prevent some of them to enter into the sultan’s service in order to preserve their positions and possessions, especially during the periods of increased Ottoman expansion in Serbia (for example in 1439). Entering the military service of conquerors was even more commonplace among the small nobility in those areas that came under the Ottoman rule. This tendency became even more evident after 1459, when the Ottoman authorities included numerous Serbian petty noblemen, as well as some of the high nobility, in their military organization as Christian sipahis, especially in the border regions of northern Serbia (sancak of Smederevo). However, many of them crossed to the Hungarian side. The Serbian despots and noblemen in Hungary participated in the defence of the southern Hungarian border and fought against the Ottomans, but they also struggled in Central Europe at the service of Hungarian kings

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