Mihailo St. Popović

This article examines the historical role of Mara Branković (c. 1416-1487), daughter of Serbian despot George Branković and wife of Ottoman sultan Murad II, in relations between the Ottoman Empire and Orthodox ecclesiastical institutions. Through a historical study based on documentary sources, Mihailo St. Popović analyzes the singular position occupied by this female figure at the intersection of two distinct political and religious worlds. The central idea is that Mara Branković, who remained Christian despite her status as sultana, exerted a decisive protective influence in favor of Serbian monasteries on Mount Athos after the death of her husband. The contribution of the article lies in the light it sheds on the mechanisms of Christian patronage within the Ottoman court itself, thereby contributing to a better understanding of the conditions for the survival of Orthodox monastic institutions under Ottoman rule in the fifteenth century.