Battle of Kosovo

Battle on Kosovo, by Adam Stefanović, oil, 1870

The Battle of Kosovo (Serbian Cyrillic: Косовски бој or Бој на Косову, see also names in other languages) was fought on St Vitus' Day (June 15, now celebrated on June 28) 1389 between the coalition of Serb lords and the Ottoman Empire.

Reliable historical accounts of this battle are scarce, however a critical examination of them and comparison with similar contemporary battles (such as the Battle of Angora or Nikopolis) enables for a reliable reconstruction. The battle saw the end of the medieval Serbian kingdom, and the start of more than four centuries of Ottoman rule. When the possibility not only of gaining independence from the Ottomans but also of regaining its ancient prestige as a local power became thinkable, the battle of Kosovo became a dominant motif in patriotic Serbian literature. Prince Lazar, the slaughtered Serb leader, took on a Christ-type persona that pitted him against the Ottomans as Christ-slayers. Slavs who became Muslim were subsequently regarded as race-traitors and as equally guilty of murdering Lazar. On the eve of the Bosnian War and of the Kosovo crises following the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1990, Serbian President Miloševic used the 600th anniversary of Kosovo to announce that new battles that faced the Serbian people could not "be won without resolve, bravery, and sacrifice, without the noble qualities that were present here in the field of Kosovo in the days past" . During the subsequent war, Miloševic was himself was depicted in posters side by side with Prince Lazar and Jesus, ‘in a kind of holy trinity’ (Mahmutcehajic: 70).

Preparations

Army movement

Murad gathered his troops in Philippoupolis (Plovdiv) in the spring of 1389, and arrived in Ihtiman after a three-day long march. From there, he chose the route across Velbužd (Kyustendil) and Kratovo. Though longer than the alternative route across Sofia and Nišava valley which would give him direct acces to Lazar's lands, it led him to Kosovo, which was strategically important as one of the most importand trade crossroads on the Balkans: from Kosovo Murad could attack either Lazar's or Vuk's lands. After staying in Kratovo for a while Murad passed across Kumanovo, Preševo and Gnjilane to Priština, where he arrived on June 14.

There are less data about Lazar's preparations, but it could be assumed that he gathered his troops near Niš, possibly on the right bank of the Južna Morava. He likely stayed there until he learned that Murad moved to Velbužd, when he too moved, probably across Prokuplje, to Kosovo. Lazar arrived to the Kosovo Field right after Murad's arrival to Priština. This was the optimal choice for the battlefield as it controlled all possible direction Murad could take.

Army composition

It is not certain how large the armies were, especially as later sources tend to exagerrate on their size, launching it into hundreds of thousands.

Murad's army might have numbered 27-40,000. Taking the 40,000 estimate, it probably included some 5,000 Janissaries, 2,500 of Murad's cavalry guard, 6,000 spahis, 20,000 azaps and akincis and 8,000 of his vassals. Lazar's might have 12-30,000. Taking the estimate of 25,000, some 15,000 were under Lazar's command, 5,000 Vuk's, and as much of Vlatko's. Of those, several thousands were cavalry, but perhaps only several hundreds were clad in full plate armour.

Both armies included some foreign troops: Serbian included Croatian ban Ivan Paližna with a small number of troops, probably as a part of Bosnian contingent while Turkish was helped by Serbian noble Konstantin Dejanović. This led some authors to describe the armies as coalitions.

“

...if all of us would now turn to salt, we couldn't even salt the Turk's lunch...

”

The Battle

Kosovo Field with probable disposition of troops before the battle

Troop disposition

The armies met at Kosovo Field. Center of the Turkish army was led by Murad, while Bayezid was on the right wing and Yakub on the left. Around 1,000 archers were in the first line of the wings, followed with azaps and then akincis; in the front of the center were janissary, behind whom was Murad, surrounded with his cavalry guard; finally, logistics was in the back, guarded by a small number of troops.

Serbian army had Lazar at the center, Vuk at his right wing and Vlatko as left. In the front of the Serbian army was cavalry, while infantry was in the back. While parallel, the disposition was not symmetric, as Serbian center overlapped the Turkish.

“

When torrent of arrows landed on Serbian armsmen who until then stood motionless like mountains of iron, they rode forward, rolling and thundering like the sea

”

Start

The battle started with Turkish archers shooting at Serbian cavalry which then moved into attack. They managed to break through Turkish left wing, but weren't as successful against center and right wing. Even the left wing wasn't as defeated as it was simply pushed back.

Murad's death

Murad's death is disputed to this day, with one account being he was assassinated by Milos Obilic, who made his way into the Turkish camp on the pretext of being a deserter and forced his way into the Sultan's tent and stabbed him with a poisoned dagger. Regardless of how Murad died, the confusion that followed was eventually quelled by Bayezid, the Sultan's son. For the death of the Sultan, the Ottomans killed many of their prisoners.

Turkish counterattack

The Balkans coalition initially gained advantage after their first charge, which heavily damaged the Turkish wing commanded by Jakub Celebi. In the center, the Christian fighters managed to push Ottoman forces back with only Bayezid's wing holding off the forces commanded by Vlatko Vuković. The Ottomans in a counter attack pushed Balkans forces back and prevailed later in the day.

The Outcome

Due to inadequate reliable historical sources, the result of the battle is not clear. Though the Ottomans managed to push the Serbian forces back, they didn't move further to conquer Kosovo right after the battle. Instead, they retreated. This was due to the death of Sultan Murad; the new sultan Bayezid had to go to the capital to be crowned. On the other hand, some Serbian nobles started paying tribute and supplying soldiers to the Ottomans after the battle, while some didn't. Therefore it is not a clear victory or defeat. However, Ottomans had the initiative now since the toll on the Serbian side was heavy.

Aftermath

File:TheKosovoMaiden.jpg

The Kosovo Maiden by Uroš Predić

Both armies sustained heavy casualties and withdrew from the battlefield, but the toll on the Christians, especially on Serbia, was catastrophic as much of their political elite was wiped out. Prince Lazar Hrebeljanović was taken prisoner and executed.

It is said that before the Battle Milos Obilic said to Lazar: "For thy goblet I thank you. For thy speech, Tsar Lazar, I thank you not... Tomorrow, in the battle of Kosovo, I will perish fighting for the Christian faith."

Legacy

The Battle of Kosovo represents for many Serbs a defining moment in their history. Lazar is held as an epic legend by many Balkans people, although scholars debate his origin and existence. He is often regarded as a Serb.

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Mahmutcehajic, Rusmir The Denial of Bosnia, University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 2000 ISBN 027102030X
• Mihaljcic, Rade The Battle of Kosovo in history and in popular tradition (History and memoirs series) , Belgrade, Serbia: Beogradski izdavacko-graficki zavod, 1989 ISBN 8613003664
• Matthias, John and Vuckovic, Vladeta The Battle of Kosovo, Athens OH: Swallow Press, 1988 ISBN 0804008973
• Sells, Michael A The Bridge Betrayed: Religion and Genocide in Bosnia, Berkeley, CA: The University of California Press, 1998 ISBN 0520216628

External links

• The Battle of Kosovo The Encyclopedia Britannica
• Kosovo Field The Columbia Encyclopedia
• Battle of Kosovo as National Narrative by Dr. Seth Ward
• The Battle of Kosovo: Early Reports of Victory and Defeat by Thomas Emmert
• The Kosovo Legacy by Thomas Emmert alternate URL
• The events Surrounding the Battle of Kosovo 1389 and its cultural effect on the Serbian people by Mark Gottfried
• The Battle of Kosovo Serbian Epic Poems edited by Charles Simic Alternate URL

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