Nikola Skobaljić was a mid 15th-century Serbian

Serbs

The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...

 voivode (Vojvoda) who ruled a region around Leskovac

Leskovac

Leskovac is a city and municipality in southern Serbia. It is the administrative center of the Jablanica District of Serbia...

, Southern Serbia, during the rule of Đurađ Branković (r. 1427 — 1456). He came from Dubočica, and was seated at Zelen Grad (Skobaljić Grad).

After Ottoman

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

 Sultan Mehmed II

Mehmed II

Mehmed II , was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire for a short time from 1444 to September 1446, and later from...

 had conquered Constantinople

Constantinople

Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...

, he turned to conquer the Serbian Despotate

Serbian Despotate

The Serbian Despotate was a Serbian state, the last to be conquered by the Ottoman Empire. Although the Battle of Kosovo in 1389 is generally considered the end of the medieval Serbian state, the Despotate, a successor of the Serbian Empire and Moravian Serbia survived for 70 more years,...

, a division of the Serbian Army

Medieval Serbian Army

The medieval Serbian army was well-known for its strength and was among the top Balkan armies before the Ottoman expansion.Prior to the 14th century the army consisted of Byzantine-style noble cavalry armed with bows and lances and infantry armed with spears, javelins and bows...

 was at Dubočica, led by Nikola, the other was arond Sitnica

Sitnica

The Sitnica , is a long river in Kosovo. It flows into the Ibar River at Kosovska Mitrovica, and it's the longest river that flows completely within Kosovo's borders.- History :...

. He fought at the Battle of Kruševac

Battle of Kruševac

The Battle of Kruševac was fought in 1454 between the forces of the Serbian Despotate, allied with the Kingdom of Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire....

 and Battle of Leskovac

Battle of Leskovac

The Battle of Leskovac took place on September 24, 1454. After the successful route of the Ottomans under Firuz Bey at the Battle of Kruševac at the hands of the Serbian despot and his allies, two Serbian armies were set up, one in Kosovo, and the other in Dubočica, which is now known as Leskovac...

 in September 24, 1454, and Battle of Trepalje against Ottoman Empire. The first two battles resulted in a decisive Serbian victory. He was defeated on November 16th, 1454, taken prisoner and impaled alive with his uncle by the Ottoman Turks

Ottoman Turks

The Ottoman Turks were the Turkish-speaking population of the Ottoman Empire who formed the base of the state's military and ruling classes. Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks is scarce, but they take their Turkish name, Osmanlı , from the house of Osman I The Ottoman...

.

Sources

• М. Вукићевић: Никола Скобаљић, Дело 1894.
• Сергије Димитријевић: Борба с Турцима под Скобаљићем, историја и предање, Лесковац 1951.
• Др Живан Стојковић, Др Слободанка Стојичић, Хранислав Ракић: Историја Лесковца, Београд 1992.