 Death became an ever-present thought and vision, a constant companion, a tormentor, the central theme and recurrent motif of his literary works.Dimitrije had another traumatic experience, according to some chronicles, Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror executed several members of the Kantakouzenos family in Serbia; Janja was executed in Istanbul in September 1477 together with his two younger brothers Alexios and George, his four sons and twelve grandsons, on the orders of Sultan Mehmed II.The fact that the Serbian Kantakouzenos (Kantakuzini) were closely related to Irene Kantakouzene (Jerina), the wife of Serbian Despot Đurađ Branković who gave his daughter Mara Branković in marriage to Murad II, did not prevent their execution.