Stjepan Berislavić

Stjepan Berislavić^[1] (Serbian: Стефан Бериславић, Hungarian: Beriszló István; c. 1505 – 1535) was a Croatian nobleman^[2] and titular Despot of Serbia between 1520 and 1535. He was a prominent nobleman in several counties (Syrmia, Vukovar and Požega) of Slavonia, Hungary.^[3][4][5]

Stjepan Berislavić
titular Despot of Serbia
Despot of Serbia
Reign	1520–1535
Predecessor	Ivaniš Berislavić
Successor	Pavle Bakić
Born	c. 1505 (1505)
Died	1535 (aged 29–30)
Spouse	Catherine Batthyany
House	Ivaniš Berislavić
Mother	Jelena Jakšić

Life

Siege of Belgrade (1521)

Ruins of Kupinik fortress, once residence of Stjepan Berislavić, destroyed by Suleiman the Magnificent in 1521 during the Siege of Belgrade

Stjepan Berislavić was member of the noble family Berislavić of Grabarje,^[6] from the Požega County (central region of modern Slavonia). He was the elder son of Ivaniš Berislavić (d. 1514), who served as titular Despot of Serbia (1504–1514), and Ban of Jajce (1511–1513).^[7]

Stjepan's mother was Jelena Jakšić, a member of the Jakšić noble family, who had previously been married to Jovan Branković, the last Serbian Despot of the Branković dynasty (1496–1502). As Jelena and his first husband had no male issue, the title of Serbian Despot became vacant upon Jovan's death in 1502. When Jelena remarried to Ivaniš Berislavić in 1504, he received the title, from Croato-Hungarian king Vladislaus II (d. 1516), and held it until his death in 1514.^[8][9]

Stjepan was c. nine years old when his father died, and thus the title of Serbian Despot was granted to him only in 1520, by king Louis II (d. 1526).^[10] After the Ottoman conquest of Belgrade in 1521, he tried to hold his fortress of Kupinik in Syrmia county, but the region was eventually lost to Ottoman invasion.^[11]

After the defeat at the Battle of Mohács (1526), Kingdom of Hungary became divided between two rival fractions; one was led by King Ferdinand Habsburg, while the other was led by John Zápolya, the Duke of Transylvania, who was also proclaimed King. At first, Stjepan Berislavić supported Zapolja (1526), but soon opted for Ferdinand, at the beginning of 1527. Learning of that, Zapolja tried to suppress Stjepan's authority over Serbs by appointing Serbian nobleman Radič Božić as titular Despot of Serbia (1527–1528). In spite of that, Stjepan continued to act as Serbian Despot, and was recognized as such by King Ferdinand. In 1529, Stjepan fell out of Ferdinand's favor and was confined in Buda, but soon escaped.^[12][13]

At that time, Ferdinand's territories in Hungary were invaded again by the Ottomans, who acted as allies of rival king John Zápolya, ruler of the Eastern Hungarian Kingdom. Stjepan decided to join them, and in return received confirmation of his domains. Since 1529, he has controlled frontier regions in Slavonian Posavina, centered in Brod. During 1532 and 1533, he negotiated again with king Ferdinand, but no agreement was reached. In 1535, he came in conflict with Ottoman governor of Bosnia. During the invasion, Stjepan was killed by janissary, and his domain was conquered by the Ottomans.^[14][15] In a letter written from Stoni Beograd, dated 1 May 1542, his widow, Catherine Batthyany (d. after 1542), former Despotess of Serbia informs her brother, Ferenc Batthyány, former Ban of Croatia, that Murat Bey Tardić already conquered Orahovica and that she fears she will soon fall into the hands of the Ottomans.^[16]

Ancestors

Ancestors of Stjepan Berislavić
2. Ivaniš Berislavić 1. Stjepan Berislavić 12. Jakša 6. Stefan Jakšić 3. Jelena Jakšić 14. Miloš Belmužević 7. Milica Belmužević

Regnal titles
Preceded by Ivaniš Berislavić	titular Despot of Serbia 1520–1535	Succeeded by Pavle Bakić

Annotations

• Name: Serbian historiography uses Stefan or Stevan, while Croatian historiography uses Stjepan.^[17] In Hungarian historiography, his full name is written as Beriszló István.^[18]

References

1. "Croatian nobility in the fight against the Ottomans. An example of the Berislavić Grabarski family from Slavonia". CEEOL - Central and Eastern European Online Library. Retrieved 2021-04-26.
2. "A Displaced Noble Family during the Ottoman Threat: the Example of the Berislavići de Werhreka de Mala Mlaka". CROSBI-Croatian Scientific Bibliography. Retrieved 2021-04-26.
3. Ивић 1929.
4. Ћирковић 1982, p. 479–490.
5. Karbić 2006, p. 79-84.
6. Karbić 2006, p. 71-85.
7. Karbić 2006, p. 76-78.
8. Jireček 1918, p. 256.
9. Krstić 2017, p. 152.
10. Jireček 1918, p. 257.
11. Fodor & Dávid 2000, p. 80-81.
12. Ћирковић 1982, p. 484, 487.
13. Karbić 2006, p. 80-82.
14. Ћирковић 1982, p. 488.
15. Karbić 2006, p. 82-84.
16. https://d-nb.info/366893718/04
17. Karbić 2006, p. 79-85.
18. Thallóczy & Áldásy 1907, p. 47-48, 110-113, 357-362.

Sources

• Ćirković, Sima (2004). The Serbs. Malden: Blackwell Publishing. ISBN 9781405142915.
• Dávid, Géza; Fodor, Pál, eds. (1994). Hungarian-Ottoman Military and Diplomatic Relations in the Age of Süleyman the Magnificent. Budapest: Loránd Eötvös University, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Institute of History. ISBN 9789638312310.
• Engel, Pál (2001). The Realm of St. Stephen: A History of Medieval Hungary, 895-1526. London & New York: I.B.Tauris. ISBN 9781850439776.
• Ивић, Алекса (1929). Историја Срба у Војводини од најстаријих времена до оснивања потиско-поморишке границе (1703). Нови Сад: Матица српска.
• Fine, John Van Antwerp Jr. (1994) [1987]. The Late Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman Conquest. Ann Arbor, Michigan: University of Michigan Press. ISBN 0472082604.
• Fodor, Pál; Dávid, Géza, eds. (2000). Ottomans, Hungarians, and Habsburgs in Central Europe: The Military Confines in the Era of Ottoman Conquest. Leiden: BRILL. ISBN 9004119078.
• Jireček, Constantin (1918). Geschichte der Serben. Vol. 2. Gotha: Perthes.
• Karbić, Marija (2006). "Hrvatsko plemstvo u borbi protiv Osmanlija: Primjer obitelji Berislavića Grabarskih iz Slavonije". Povijesni Prilozi. 31: 71–85.
• Krstić, Aleksandar R. (2017). "Which Realm will You Opt for? – The Serbian Nobility Between the Ottomans and the Hungarians in the 15th Century". State and Society in the Balkans Before and After Establishment of Ottoman Rule. Belgrade: Institute of History, Yunus Emre Enstitüsü Turkish Cultural Centre. pp. 129–163. ISBN 9788677431259.
• Margalits, Ede (1918). Szerb történelmi repertorium. Budapest: Magyar Tudományos Akadémia.
• Pálosfalvi, Tamás (2018). From Nicopolis to Mohács: A History of Ottoman-Hungarian Warfare, 1389-1526. Leiden: BRILL. ISBN 9789004375659.
• Rezar, Vlado, ed. (2001). Ludovici Tuberonis Dalmatae Abbatis Commentarii de temporibus suis. Zagreb: Hrvatski institut za povijest. ISBN 9789536324286.
• Thallóczy, Lajos; Áldásy, Antal, eds. (1907). Magyarország és Szerbia közti összeköttetések oklevéltára 1198-1526. Budapest: Magyar Tudományos Akadémia.
• Ћирковић, Сима (1982). "Последњи деспоти". Историја српског народа. Vol. књ. 2. Београд: Српска књижевна задруга. pp. 479–490.