Pavle Bakić was the last titular Despot of Serbia. He was one of the most notable military commanders among Serbian nobility in the Kingdom of Hungary, and fought against the Ottoman Empire in several battles, most notably at the Battle of Mohács (1526) and the Battle of Vienna (1529). He fell at the Battle of Gorjani (1537).

The Serbian Despotate was a medieval Serbian state in the first half of the 15th century. Although the Battle of Kosovo in 1389 is mistakenly considered the end of medieval Serbia, the Despotate, a successor of the Serbian Empire and Moravian Serbia, lasted for another sixty years, experiencing a cultural, economic, and political renaissance, especially during the reign of Despot Stefan Lazarević. After the death of Despot Đurađ Branković in 1456, the Despotate continued to exist for another three years before it finally fell under Ottoman rule in 1459.