VUK MANDUŠIĆ - THE BLACK VLACH FEARED BY THE OTTOMANS

BIJELJINA, JULY 30 /SRNA/ - Celebrated Serbian hero Vuk Mandušić, among the most beloved figures of the Uskok epic tradition alongside Stojan Janković and Ilija Smiljanić, was killed in battle against the Ottomans on July 31, 1684.

Contemporaries described him as a brave soldier and a humble, selfless voivode.

"When he managed to seize spoils in battle, he would distribute everything among his soldiers, who loved, respected, and followed him just as much as the Ottomans feared him," wrote Venetian provveditore Leonardo Foscolo.

The exact date and place of Mandušić’s birth remain uncertain, likely in Dalmatian Hinterland, with the village of Rupe near Skradin considered the most probable. Alternative theories suggest Velestovo near Cetinje or even Tetovo in present-day North Macedonia.

Historical sources referred to him as a Morlach, a term derived from the Italian Morlacco and Latin Morlachus, meaning Black Vlachs.

The term "Vlachs" was used for the Christian, predominantly Orthodox, population of BiH, Dalmatia, and the Krajina region.

Vuk Mandušić was the main commander of the Morlach army and one of the most prominent hajduk leaders in the Dalmatian Hinterland, fighting against the Ottoman Empire during the Cretan War.

He remains a renowned figure in Serbian epic poetry, immortalized by Petar II Petrović Njegoš in The Mountain Wreath: “...but in the hands of Mandušić Vuk, every rifle will strike true!