Battle of Kosovo is a major battle between the combined forces of Serbia and the Bosnian kingdom with Sultan Murad I and his Turkish army.It happened June 15, 1389.Kosovo Polje is located near modern Pristina.Their separates 5 kilometers.Fight brought great losses to both sides.
What preceded
Sultan Murad I troops, winning at Chernomene (1371) and Savr (1385), continued to tread on Serbian land.The Ottoman Empire wanted to subjugate the Middle East, North Africa and South-Eastern Europe.And they succeeded after a while.But the Serbs want them to, no matter what was to prevent.
serious shortcoming of the Serbian kingdom was that it broke up into several smaller entities that are constantly at odds with each other.Quite naturally, they were unable to repel enemy attacks.Serbian and Albanian princes, formed a coalition under the leadership of Prince Lazar Hrebelyanovicha, strongly opposed by the Ottoman troops.
Kosovo is the heart of the Serbian lands.It was the intersection of important routes that opened up a number of routes to the Turks to move further in the Serbian lands.Here and there was an important battle.
Murad I here paved the way through the lands of their vassals in Macedonia.
Forces party
Ottoman troops numbered about 27-40 thousand. People.These included the Janissaries (2-5 thousand people.)., The riders of the Sultan's personal guard (2.5 thousand people.)., Sipahi (6 thousand people.)., And AZAPO Akinci (20 thous.) And warriors of vassal states (8 ths.).
Prince Lazar Hrebelyanovich led an army of 12-33 thousand. Soldiers.
directly subordinate to the prince of 12-15 thousand. People.Vuk Brankovic was leading a 5-10 thousand. People.The same soldiers were under the command of the Bosnian nobleman Vlatko Vukovic.Help the Serbs had the knights from Hungary and Poland.In addition, they have come to the rescue of the Hospitallers - the Order of the Knights of St. John.As a result, the Serbian army had troops from Bosnia (sent Tvrtko I), Wallachian, Bulgarian, Croatian and Albanian militia.
The weakness of the Serbian army was the lack of central command.Furthermore, an army was not balanced in composition.Infantry poorly covered in heavy cavalry armor.The latter constitute the bulk of the troops.
Serbs did not have the military experience, as the Turkish army, which for 30 years was victorious in battle.
Battle of Kosovo Field - a place that remembers the battle of June 15, 1389.On this day, the army led by Prince Lazar Hrebelyanovicha resist the army, which greatly outnumber.The songs of Serbia stated that the battle lasted for three days.
From the Ottoman Murad I led Turkish troops, Prince Bayazid took command of the right wing, and Prince Yakub - left.In front of building on the flanks were 100 archers.Janissaries occupies a central position, for which the Guard was among soldiers Sultan.
Prince Lazar commanded the center, the right flank led Vuk Brankovic, and Vlatko Vukovic - left.The entire front of the Serbian army took heavy cavalry, horse archers were on the flanks.
To present course of events in Kosovo, the map can demonstrate the location of troops.
Unfortunately, Serbian and Turkish sources the data on the battle so contradictory that historians can not recreate the battle.It is known that the first rushed to battle the Serbs, despite the numerical superiority of the enemy.Horse wedge entered the Turkish position.At the same time the shelling of Serb positions began Turkish archers.Serbs broke through the left flank of the Ottoman army.The latter suffered heavy losses.But in the center and on the right flank had no such success.After some time, the Serbian army was able to somewhat push the Turks in the middle.The right flank of the Ottoman army under the command of Prince Bayezid quickly moved to the counter, pushed the Serbs, dealing a severe blow to the infantry.After some time, the defense of the Serbian infantry was broken, so she began to recede.
Easy Turkish cavalry soon struck a counterattack.The infantry went on Serbian armored cavalry.The first managed to overturn the cavalry.
Without commanders ...
Vuk Brankovic, saving his troops left Kosovo Polje.His actions gave rise to different interpretations.Some believe that Vuk saved his soldiers.Others are convinced that he retreated for fear of losing all their army.But the people believe that the prince gave Lazarus, his father in law.Vlatko Vukovic led the remnants of his troops and the troops of Lazarus.
Prince Lazar was captured and executed on the same day.
Serbian Milos Obilic governor was able to sneak into the camp of the Turks, declaring himself a defector.He was able to kill the Ottoman Sultan in the very beginning of the battle.Murad Milos stabbed with a knife, but the protection of the Sultan did not give him leave.
Bayezid I now heads the Turkish army.As soon as he learned about the incident, the prince sent a messenger to his older brother Jakub.The letter stated that Sultan Murad gave new orders.Upon arrival, Jacob to Bayazid, he was strangled.Now Prince Bayazid is the sole heir of Murad.
no winners
the Battle of Kosovo in 1389 only formally brought victory to the Turks.But the battlefield is not got nobody.Although the Serbs and lost an incredibly strong opponent, but they showed a desperate courage.This led to large losses from the Turks.They could no longer continue fighting, why quickly returned to the East, not forgetting the Kosovo Field.
The battle led to the birth of many legends.Many of them are related to the fact that the commanders of the troops were killed before the completion of the battle.Therefore, none of them did not recognize the outcome of the battle.The circumstances of their deaths quickly overgrown with legends.
For example, there are several versions of how Sultan Murad was killed.One of them claims that he was killed by a Serb soldier who pretended to be dead.But Serbian chronicles you can find more information.The official version is that he was killed by Prince Milos Obilic.There is a tradition that he led the Order of St. George.This community had as its aim the killing of Sultan.
consequences of the battle of Kosovo
Serbia was able to maintain its independence, but the losses after the fight were very high.And it took a long time to collect a new army.After some time, the Ottoman army came back and won the Serbia and Montenegro - in 1459.And then he went on, almost reached Vienna.Joining the Serbian lands to the Ottoman Empire to stop the political and economic development of the country.A cultural development of the Serbs finally turned.
Prince Bayezid, who is now the Sultan, of course, was an excellent commander.He is better known as Bayazid Lightning.In this internal policy, he spent quite differently, like his father.The new sultan stopped on the conquered territories of forced assimilation.Local authorities began to control the provinces.
Defeat as a victory
history of Kosovo showed that the loss of the war and the loss of the troops may raise the national spirit and consciousness of the people.And even when the Turks 300 years owned by the Serbian lands, the Serbs were able to preserve their national identity.Moreover, they managed to maintain Orthodoxy, while their neighbors Albanians almost en masse to Islam.
Some historians believe that if the Turks were victorious, it would accelerate the conquest of the Balkans.And the death of Sultan Murad and the incredible resistance of the South Slavs gave them the opportunity to retain their nationality and religion.Europe is not subjected to what could be.Kosovo, Serbia as a whole, took on a substantial part of the impact.
importance of the battle for the Serbs
Despite the fact that the Serbs were defeated, the battle in 1389 was very important.Its importance lies in the unification of the existing Serbian principalities.In fact, Kosovo field - the place where the history of the common state of Serbia.Many researchers argue that this battle is one of the most unknown and incomprehensible.It is often argued that the story created legends and speculation, confirmed by sources of the XIV century.
Serbian historians believe was originally a series of variations of the Battle of Kosovo.Over time they merged into one.
why the story has become a legend?
possible that the myth has been created in order to influence the generation of Serbs.The legend is based on the biblical story.Prince Lazar is often compared to Jesus Christ.
religious motive also remains in the legend.Duration of fight - 3 days, so you can draw a parallel with Calvary.And the death of almost the entire Serbian army martyr.
Therefore, almost all the folk songs and epic sing soldiers as martyrs.And the highest value of Serbia became the crown of martyrdom, t. E. The emphasis is on the spiritual meaning of the events, so the Serbs and feel like winners.And it gives you a sense of inspiration in the life of the new generation.
