World History
The Battle of Kosovo was a turning point in Ottoman control over the Balkans and a major defeat for the Serbs. As the Muslim Ottoman army moved deep inside Balkan territory, The Serbian ruler Lazar I, with the solid backing of the Serbian Orthodox Christian Church, formed a coalition with other Balkan peoples including Bosnians and Albanians to raise an army that was equivalent in size to the Ottoman forces. Lazar then challenged Sultan Murad I, who, ever eager to take the offensive, met him on the Kosovo battlefield in the summer of 1389 c.e..
Lazar and Murad commanded their troops from the centerlines. Murad’s son Bayezid I led the left flank and his other son, Yacoub, led the right. Lazar’s nephew and the leading feudal Serbian knights led the Serbian cavalry charges. Initially the Serbs gained against the right flank, but Bayezid’s left flank held firm.
In the midst of the battle, Miloš Obilic (Milosh Obilich) pretended to be a deserter; he gained access to Murad’s tent and stabbed the sultan. Murad’s guards then killed Obilic. On the battlefield the tide turned in favor of the Ottomans and Lazar was captured. Although fatally wounded, Murad lived long enough to pronounce a death sentence on his enemy, who was then beheaded.
Bayezid I was proclaimed the new sultan and to prevent any rival claims to the throne, he promptly had his brother assassinated. Following a custom practiced by many conquerors over the ages, Bayezid I then married Olivera, the daughter of his vanquished foe Lazar.
Serbia was formally annexed as part of the Ottoman Empire in 1459. Many Serbian knights, including Bayezid’s new Serbian brother-in-law, fought side by side with the Ottomans in subsequent battles, particularly against Timurlane (Tamerlane).
The Battle of Kosovo had a catastrophic impact on Serbia and marked the end of medieval Serbian knighthood. The battle also became a major event in Serbian historiography and numerous folk ballads, known as the Battle of Kosovo cycle, have been passed down through the centuries to the present day. These poems celebrate the Serbian heroes of Kosovo and keep the battle, characterized as the forces of Christianity against Islam and good against evil, very much alive in the popular Serbian national imagination.
- Bayezid I
Bayezid I Bayezid I was declared sultan following the death of Sultan Murad on the battlefield at Kosovo in 1389. To ensure his uncontested succession to the sultanate, Bayezid had his brother Yakub assassinated; subsequently the practice of fratricide...
- Mehmed I
Mehmed IMehmed I came to the Ottoman Turkish throne at perhaps the most desperate time in the dynasty’s history. Up until the reign of his father, Bayezid I, the Ottoman rise to power had been meteoric. His grandfather, Sultan Murad I, had defeated...
- Ottoman Empire: 1299–1453
Ottoman Empire In the 13th century a nomadic Turkish tribesman named Ertogrul established control over large parts of northwest Anatolia. The Ottoman Empire took its name from his son Osman (r. 1280–1324); Ottoman was an Italian corruption of Osmanli....
- History Of Serbia And Montenegro
History of Serbia and Montenegro. Or that which remains of the former Yugoslavia. This is a brief history of the ever shrinking nation in Europe. I wonder when Monegro will reclaim it's rghtful place as a soveriegn nation? Wikipedia notes, "Serbia...
- Who Started Wwi? 10 Historians Weigh In
Ten historians give 10 different interpretations on who started WWI in this BBC story. Sir Max Hastings - military historian, argues that Germany was most responsible. "It alone had power to halt the descent to disaster at any time in July 1914 by withdrawing...
World History
Battle of Kosovo (1389)
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| Battle of Kosovo (1389) |
The Battle of Kosovo was a turning point in Ottoman control over the Balkans and a major defeat for the Serbs. As the Muslim Ottoman army moved deep inside Balkan territory, The Serbian ruler Lazar I, with the solid backing of the Serbian Orthodox Christian Church, formed a coalition with other Balkan peoples including Bosnians and Albanians to raise an army that was equivalent in size to the Ottoman forces. Lazar then challenged Sultan Murad I, who, ever eager to take the offensive, met him on the Kosovo battlefield in the summer of 1389 c.e..
Lazar and Murad commanded their troops from the centerlines. Murad’s son Bayezid I led the left flank and his other son, Yacoub, led the right. Lazar’s nephew and the leading feudal Serbian knights led the Serbian cavalry charges. Initially the Serbs gained against the right flank, but Bayezid’s left flank held firm.
In the midst of the battle, Miloš Obilic (Milosh Obilich) pretended to be a deserter; he gained access to Murad’s tent and stabbed the sultan. Murad’s guards then killed Obilic. On the battlefield the tide turned in favor of the Ottomans and Lazar was captured. Although fatally wounded, Murad lived long enough to pronounce a death sentence on his enemy, who was then beheaded.
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Bayezid I was proclaimed the new sultan and to prevent any rival claims to the throne, he promptly had his brother assassinated. Following a custom practiced by many conquerors over the ages, Bayezid I then married Olivera, the daughter of his vanquished foe Lazar.
Serbia was formally annexed as part of the Ottoman Empire in 1459. Many Serbian knights, including Bayezid’s new Serbian brother-in-law, fought side by side with the Ottomans in subsequent battles, particularly against Timurlane (Tamerlane).
The Battle of Kosovo had a catastrophic impact on Serbia and marked the end of medieval Serbian knighthood. The battle also became a major event in Serbian historiography and numerous folk ballads, known as the Battle of Kosovo cycle, have been passed down through the centuries to the present day. These poems celebrate the Serbian heroes of Kosovo and keep the battle, characterized as the forces of Christianity against Islam and good against evil, very much alive in the popular Serbian national imagination.
- Bayezid I
Bayezid I Bayezid I was declared sultan following the death of Sultan Murad on the battlefield at Kosovo in 1389. To ensure his uncontested succession to the sultanate, Bayezid had his brother Yakub assassinated; subsequently the practice of fratricide...
- Mehmed I
Mehmed IMehmed I came to the Ottoman Turkish throne at perhaps the most desperate time in the dynasty’s history. Up until the reign of his father, Bayezid I, the Ottoman rise to power had been meteoric. His grandfather, Sultan Murad I, had defeated...
- Ottoman Empire: 1299–1453
Ottoman Empire In the 13th century a nomadic Turkish tribesman named Ertogrul established control over large parts of northwest Anatolia. The Ottoman Empire took its name from his son Osman (r. 1280–1324); Ottoman was an Italian corruption of Osmanli....
- History Of Serbia And Montenegro
History of Serbia and Montenegro. Or that which remains of the former Yugoslavia. This is a brief history of the ever shrinking nation in Europe. I wonder when Monegro will reclaim it's rghtful place as a soveriegn nation? Wikipedia notes, "Serbia...
- Who Started Wwi? 10 Historians Weigh In
Ten historians give 10 different interpretations on who started WWI in this BBC story. Sir Max Hastings - military historian, argues that Germany was most responsible. "It alone had power to halt the descent to disaster at any time in July 1914 by withdrawing...