Vuk Grgurević
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Vuk Grgurević (Serbian Cyrillic: Вук Гргуревић), also known as Despot Vuk Branković and Zmaj Ognjeni Vuk, was Serbian despot (1471-1485). He was a son of Grgur Branković and grandson of despot Đurađ Branković. At first, Vuk Grgurević was with the Ottomans, but in 1465, he acceded into the Hungarian service and became a commander of the Serb military squads in Syrmia.
Being a very brave, Vuk Grgurević acquired a great reputation, and gained a nickname "Zmaj Ognjeni", which could be translated into English as "Fiery Dragon" (It is interesting that his name "Vuk" means "wolf" in Serbian, thus his nickname, "Zmaj Ognjeni Vuk", actually means "Fiery Dragon Wolf"). He also became a hero in many Serbian national songs.
He fought with the Hungarians against Czechs, Poles, Austrians and Turks. In 1471 he gained a title of the despot of Serbia, and also gained a large possessions in the territory of present day Vojvodina, which formerly belonged to despot Đurađ Branković. Among his possessions were Kupinik (today Kupinovo), Slankamen, Berkasovo, Bečkerek (today Zrenjanin), etc.
Vuk was married with Barbara Frankopan. His most famous military forays were those in 1476, when he seized Srebrenica, and fought near Šabac and Smederevo, and in 1480, when he attacked Sarajevo. In 1481, he fought against Turks in Serbia, and brought from there (area around Kruševac) about 50,000 people, who were settled in Banat, mostly around Temišvar. Vuk Grgurević died in 1485.
[edit] Literature
- Dr. Aleksa Ivić, Istorija Srba u Vojvodini, Novi Sad, 1929.
- Dr. Dušan J. Popović, Srbi u Vojvodini, knjiga 1, Novi Sad, 1990.
