Serbian Despotate

The Serbian Despotate (Serbian: Српска деспотовина/Srpska despotovina) was a medieval Serbian state in the first half of the 15th century, the last to be conquered by the Ottoman Empire. Although the Battle of Kosovo in 1389 is generally considered the end of the medieval Serbia, the Despotate, a successor of the Serbian Empire and Moravian Serbia survived for 70 more years, experiencing a cultural and political renaissance before it was conquered by the Ottomans in 1459. Even then, it continued to exist in exile in the medieval Kingdom of Hungary until the mid-16th century. Pavle Bakić was the last Despot of Serbia to be recognized by both Ottoman and Habsburg Empires.

History

Origin of the Despotate

After Prince Lazar was killed in the Battle of Kosovo on June 28, 1389, his son Stefan Lazarević succeeded him. Being a minor, his mother Princess Milica ruled as his regent. A wise and diplomatic woman, she managed to balance the Ottoman threat as Ottoman Empire was in a turmoil after the Battle of Kosovo and killing of Sultan Murad I. She married her daughter, Olivera, to his successor, Sultan Bayezid I.