He inherited the title of despot (as an heir to the throne, which was then occupied by the Ottoman Empire) from King Matthias Corvinus, and ruled most of present-day Vojvodina, under the overlordship of the Kingdom of Hungary.

[1][3] Vuk gained a reputation for bravery and was nicknamed "Zmaj Ognjeni", which translates as "Fiery Dragon".

In 1479, together with Dimitar Jakšić, he led Serbian light cavalry squadrons in the Battle of Breadfield near Zsibót.

In 1481, he fought against the Turks in Serbia and brought from there (the area around Kruševac) tens of thousands of people who settled in Banat, mostly around Timișoara.

Imperial censorship caused every copy of the 1808 issue of the Almanach de Gotha to be seized and destroyed.