Matko Talovac (, ) or Matija Talovac, was a Croatian

nobleman Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...

, a member of the Talovac noble family. He served as Ban (Viceroy) of Slavonia from 1435 and

Ban of Croatia Ban of Croatia () was the title of local rulers or office holders and after 1102, viceroys of Croatia. From the earliest periods of the Croatian state, some provinces were ruled by Ban (title), bans as a ruler's representative (viceroy) and sup ...

from 1436, until his death in 1444 or 1445.

Family

Matko Talovac was born in the island of

Korčula Korčula () is a Croatian island in the Adriatic Sea. It has an area of , is long and on average wide, and lies just off the Dalmatian coast. Its 15,522 inhabitants (2011) make it the second most populous Adriatic island after Krk. The populat ...

at the end of the 14th century. About that time or in the early 15th century, the Talovac family moved to the city of

Dubrovnik Dubrovnik, historically known as Ragusa, is a city in southern Dalmatia, Croatia, by the Adriatic Sea. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, a Port, seaport and the centre of the Dubrovni ...

. In contemporary sources, Matko is also called "Matko of Dubrovnik" (''Mathico de Aragouse''). The Talovac family was influential in the region of

Cetina The Cetina () is a river in southern Croatia. It has a length of and its basin covers an area of . From its source, Cetina descends from an elevation of above sea level to the Adriatic Sea. It is the most water-rich river in Dalmatia.Naklada Nap ...

in the 15th century. Matko's brother Petar Talovac was the ban of Croatia and Dalmatia from 1438 to 1453. His second brother Franko (Franjo) was the ban of Severin, prefect of Temeš and captain of

Nándorfehérvár Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

(modern-day Belgrade). His third brother

Ivan Ivan () is a Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John) from Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was the B ...

was the prior of Vrana (1439-1445). Accepting the royal gifts of lands, the Talovac brothers were for a time the most powerful lords in all of the Croatian lands. Their rule extended from Nándorfehérvár to

Senj Senj is a town on the upper Adriatic coast in Croatia, in the foothills of the Mala Kapela and Velebit mountains. The symbol of the town is the Nehaj Fortress () which was completed in 1558. For a time this was the seat of the Uskoks, who were ...

and from the

Drava The Drava or Drave (, ; ; ; ; ), historically known as the Dravis or Dravus, is a river in southern Central Europe.

to the

Neretva The Neretva (, sr-Cyrl, Неретва), also known as Narenta, is one of the largest rivers of the eastern part of the Adriatic basin. Four Hydroelectricity, hydroelectric power plants with Dam, large dams (higher than 15 metres) provide flood ...

Service

Matko served at the court of Serbian Despot

Stefan Lazarević Stefan Lazarević ( sr-Cyrl, Стефан Лазаревић, 1377 – 19 July 1427), also known as Stefan the Tall (), was a Serbian ruler as prince (1389–1402) and Despot (court title), despot (1402–1427). He was also a diplomat, legislat ...

. He was in his service from 1416, according to a contemporary document from Dubrovnik. After Stefan's death in 1427, he joined Hungarian and Croatian King

Sigismund Sigismund (variants: Sigmund, Siegmund) is a German proper name, meaning "protection through victory", from Old High German ''sigu'' "victory" + ''munt'' "hand, protection". Tacitus latinises it ''Segimundus''. There appears to be an older form of ...

and was in 1430 appointed Count of Keve and

Castellan A castellan, or constable, was the governor of a castle in medieval Europe. Its surrounding territory was referred to as the castellany. The word stems from . A castellan was almost always male, but could occasionally be female, as when, in 1 ...

of Hungarian-held

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

. He was also given control of the forts of

Srebrenik Srebrenik ( sr-cyrl, Сребреник) is a city located in Tuzla Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located in northeastern Bosnia and Herzegovina, near Tuzla. As of 2013, the city had a population of 39,678 inhabitants, ...

, Grabovac, and

Brčko Brčko ) is a city and the administrative seat of Brčko District, in northern Bosnia and Herzegovina. It lies on the banks of Sava river across from Croatia. As of 2013, it has a population of 39,893 inhabitants. De jure, the Brčko District b ...

, in the region of Usora. Matko participated in a number of battles against the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

in Serbia. In service to Emperor Sigmund he was named the steward of the

Zagreb bishopric The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Zagreb (; ) is the central Latin Church archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Croatia, centered in the capital city Zagreb. It is the metropolitan see of Croatia, and the present archbishop is Dražen Kutleša. It ...

in 1433. In the following year, he was named

prior The term prior may refer to: * Prior (ecclesiastical), the head of a priory (monastery) * Prior convictions, the life history and previous convictions of a suspect or defendant in a criminal case * Prior probability, in Bayesian statistics * Prio ...

of Vrana, a title he held until 1439. Matko was appointed ban of all Slavonia in October 1435, and

and Dalmatia in May 1436. He held the title of Croatian ban together with Stephen III Frankopan from 1436–1437, with Petar Talovac from 1437–1444, and with Petar and Franko Talovac until his death. His brothers

and Franko succeeded him on the position of castellan of Nándorfehérvár. He held land in Topolovica (old sources call it Thallowch, Talloca, Tallowcz, Tallocz, Tallovec, Tallovez or Talloucz), given to him by Sigismund from which he took the name Talovac. His rule came at a time of rapturous Ottoman incursions into

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

n territory and internal fighting of feudal lords. The exact date of Matko's death is not known. He probably died in late 1444 or the beginning of 1445, in his fort of Prodavić (modern-day Virje in

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Talovac, Matko Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown Bans (title) 15th-century Croatian nobility 15th-century Hungarian nobility Bans of Slavonia Bans of Croatia 15th-century Croatian military personnel People from the Republic of Ragusa People from Korčula People from the Serbian Despotate