Battle of Kosovo


 * This page is about the Battle of Kosovo of 1389; for other battles, see Battle of Kosovo (disambiguation); for the movie depicting the battle, see Boj na Kosovu (film)

The Battle of Kosovo was a battle fought in 1389 on St Vitus' Day, June 15*, between the Serbian Empire and its allies, and the Ottoman Empire, in the Kosovo Field, about 5 kilometers northwest of modern-day Pristina. Reliable historical accounts of the battle are scarce. However a critical comparison with historically contemporaneous battles (such as the Battle of Angora or Nikopolis) enable reliable reconstruction.

The Battle of Kosovo is particularly notable to Serbian concepts of history, heritage, tradition and national identity.


 * [Some sources attempt to give the date as June 28 New-Style (Gregorian Calendar), but that was not adopted for another two centuries. If it had been, the New-Style date in 1389 would have been only June 23.]

Army movement
After the defeat of the Ottomans at the Battle of Bileca and the Battle of Plocnik, Murad I, the reigning Ottoman sultan, moved his troops from Philippoupolis (Plovdiv, in present-day [[

Army composition
Murad's army numbered from 27,000 to 40,000 fighters. Amongst the 40,000 included 2,000 to 5,000 Janissaries, 2,500 of Murad's cavalry guard, 6,000 sipahis, 20,000 azaps and akincis and 8,000 of his vassals. Lazar's army were from 12,000 to 30,000. Out of the 25,000 fighters, 15,000 were under Lazar's command, with 5,000 under Vuk Brankovic, a Serbian nobleman from Kosovo, and just as many under Bosnian noble Vlatko Vukovic. Several thousand were cavalry. As for combatants with full plated armor, it consisted of several hundred.

Both armies included some foreign mercenaries: for example, the Serbian force included a small number of troops from the Croatian ban Ivaniš Horvat, as part of the Bosnian contingent, while the Turkish army was helped by the Serbian noble Konstantin Dejanovic. This has led some analysts to describe the armies as coalitions.

Hungary and Poland also sent reinforcements: a number of Polish and Hungarian knights helped the Serbs.

Troop disposition
The armies met at Kosovo Field. The Ottoman army was headed by Murad, with his son Bayezid on his right, and his son Yakub on his left. Around 1,000 archers were in the front line in the wings, backed up by azap and akinci; in the front centre were janissary, behind whom was Murad, surrounded by his cavalry guard; finally, the supply train at the rear was guarded by a small number of troops.

The Serbian army had prince Lazar at its center, Vuk on the right and Vlatko on the left. At the front of the Serbian army was placed the heavy cavalry and archer cavalry on the flanks, with the infantry to the rear. While parallel, the dispositions of the armies were not symmetric, as the Serbian center had a broader front than the Ottoman center.

When a 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 commenced with Ottoman   archers shooting at Serbian cavalry, who then made for the attack. After positioning in a V shaped formation, the Serbian cavalry managed to break through the Ottoman left wing, but were not as successful against the center and the right wing.

Turkish counterattack
The Serbs had the initial advantage after their first charge, which significantly damaged the Turkish wing commanded by Yakub Celebi. When the knights' charge was finished, light Ottoman cavalry and light infantry counter-attacked and the Serbian heavy armour became a disadvantage. In the centre, Serbian fighters managed to push back Ottoman forces with only Bayezid's wing holding off the forces commanded by Vlatko Vukovic. The Ottomans, in a ferocious counter-attack led by Bayezid, pushed the Serbian forces back and then prevailed later in the day. It is said that Vuk Brankovic, one of the great lords, to whom was entrusted one wing of the Serbian army, had long been jealous of his sovereign. Some historians state that he had arranged with Sultan Murat I to betray his master, in return for the promise of the imperial crown of Serbia, subject to the Sultan's overlord-ship. At a critical moment in the battle, Vuk Brankovic turned his horse and fled from the field, followed by 12,000 of his troops, but even though he did that, there is a possible theory that says that he didn't flee because of the contract with Murad, but to save some of the Serbs, because he knew that this would be a devastating loss for the Serbs. Bayezid I, who would become the Ottoman sultan after the battle, gained his nickname "the thunderbolt" here, after leading the decisive counter-attack.

Murad's death
Based on Turkish historical records, it is believed that Sultan Murad I was killed by Miloš Obilić in battle, killed Murad while he walked on the battlefield after the fighting had finished. In contrast, Serbian sources allege that he was killed by the Serbian knight Obilić, who went into the Turkish camp with several Serbian soldiers and killed a Turkish emperor. Obilić was immediately "slashed to pieces" by the Sultan's bodyguards. Murad was the only Ottoman sultan who died in battle. Murad's son, Bayezid, was immediately informed of the Sultan's death and, while the battle was still raging, called his older brother Yakub and informed him that their father had some new orders for them. When Yakub arrived he was strangled to death, his demise leaving Bayezid as the sole heir to the throne.

However, according to the earliest preserved record, a letter from the Florentine senate to the King Tvrtko I of Bosnia, dated 20 October 1389, Murad was killed during the battle. The killer is not named, but it was one of 12 Serbian noblemen who managed to break through the Ottoman ranks, probably during the initial charge of Serbian knights:

Fortunate, most fortunate are those hands of the twelve loyal lords who, having opened their way with the sword and having penetrated the enemy lines and the circle of chained camels, heroically reached the tent of Amurat himself. Fortunate above all is that one who so forcefully killed such a strong vojvoda by stabbing him with a sword in the throat and belly. And blessed are all those who gave their lives and blood through the glorious manner of martyrdom as victims of the dead leader over his ugly corpse.

Aftermath
The battle of Kosovo was an important victory for the Ottomans. While losses were substantial (with both armies being virtually destroyed) on both sides and both sides lost the leaders, the Ottomans could easily field another army of equal or greater size, whereas Serbia couldn't. Heavy losses suffered by Serbia resulted in its reduction to a vassal state with Serbian nobles paying tribute and supplying soldiers to the Ottomans.The Battle did however, stop the Ottoman advance into Europe (temporarily) and slowed down their invasion of Serbia. Furthermore, in response to Turkish pressure, some Serbian noblemen wed their daughters, including the daughter of Prince Lazar, to Bayezid. In the wake of these marriages, Stefan Lazarevic became a loyal ally of Bayezid, going on to contribute significant forces to many of Bayezid's future military engagements including the Battle of Nicopolis which marked the last large scale Crusade in the Middle Ages. Eventually, the Serbian Despotate would, on numerous occasions, attempt to defeat the Ottomans in conjunction with the Hungarians until its final defeat in 1459 and again in 1540.

The Battle of Kosovo came to be seen as a symbol of Serbian patriotism and desire for independence in the 19th century rise of nationalism under Ottoman rule, and its significance for Serbian nationalism returned to prominence during the break-up of Yugoslavia and the Kosovo War when Slobodan Milošević invoked it during an important speech.