Battle of Kosovo
From Freepedia
- This page is about the Battle of Kosovo of 1389; for other battles, see Battle of Kosovo (disambiguation).
The Battle of Kosovo Polje (Косовска битка or Битка на Косову) was fought on St. Vitus' Day of 1389 (June 15 in Julian calendar) between Serbs and the Ottoman Empire.
The historical reality of this battle is a matter of conjecture, with little or conflicting evidence for any of the details. Most historians believe that tellings that have survived do refer to a clash between Ottoman invaders and Slavic peoples already in the area.
The Ruling Knez (Prince) of Serbia, Lazar Hrebeljanović marshalled a Christian coalition force, made up not only of Serbs, but also troops from Bosnia, Hungary, Albania, and even a contingent of Saxon mercenaries. Ottoman Sultan Murad I also gathered a coalition of soldiers and volunteers from neighboring countries in Anatolia and Rumelia. Exact numbers are difficult to come by, but most reliable historical accounts suggest that the Christian army was heavily outnumbered by the Ottomans.
The Serbs marched out to meet the Ottomans at Kosovo Polje. The battle started with Serbian nobleman and Lazar's sons-in-law General Vuk Branković on one wing, Lazar in the centre, and Captain Miloš Obilić and Duke Vlatko Vuković commanding the third wing of the Christian army. The Ottomans initially gained the upper hand, especially because of the wing commanded by Bayezid I (son of Murad I). But, as the day progressed, the Christians regained a tactical advantage. The two flanks pushed forward and each side made their way into the Ottoman camp. It was during the battle that both sides lost their leaders - Lazar was captured and executed by the Ottomans during battle, while Murad was murdered by Captain Miloš Obilić, who went into the Sultan's tent posing as a defector, but instead stabbed Murad with a poisoned dagger.
Results of the war
The new sultan, Bayezid I, reconciled with the Serbs by marrying princess Olivera Despina, daughter of Prince Lazar. From then on, Serbs were obligated to serve in Ottoman army and to pay a lot of taxes to the Turks. These policies eventually resulted in the Ottomans annexing Serbia in 1459, after the siege of Smederevo. When Bayezid I attacked the forces of Timur at the Battle of Ankara, the Ottoman army consisted mainly of Serbs, since most of the Turks chose Timur's side.
It is the battle of all battles in Serbian history the fall of the medieval Serbian kingdom and aristocracy started. More than 150 Serbian knights, a large part of Serbian knighthood died in a battle. In fact, the battle itself, in military terms, is considered a tie, but the consequences for the following Serbian history were catastrophic.
Links
- The Kosovo Battle, Excerpts from various Encyclopediæ
- The events Surrounding the Battle of Kosovo 1389 and its cultural effect on the Serbian people by Mark Gottfried
- The Kosovo Legacy by Thomas Emmert
- The Battle of Kosovo Serbian Epic Poems edited by Charles Simic
- Battle of Kosovo 1389 and Albanians in Albanian
