The battle of Kosovo took place on this day in 1389. From the middle of the 14th century, the threat of Turkish conquest of the Balkan countries intensified. In 1352, the Ottomans defeated troops of Greeks, Serbs, and Bulgarians who fought on the side of the Byzantine emperor. In the same year, the Ottomans crossed the Dardanelles and took the Çimpe Castle, and in 1354 they captured the Gallipoli Peninsula. Then, the Ottomans penetrated Eastern Thrace (modern-day European Turkey), turning it into the base of their attack on the Balkan Peninsula. The feudal rulers of the Balkan states, fighting the Turkish troops alone, constantly betrayed each other and sometimes resorted to the help of the Turks themselves to fight their neighbors, thereby contributing to the implementation of strategic Ottoman interests. The Ottoman state at that time was strong and had a large, well-organized army consisting mainly of irregular or light and regular cavalry. In 1329, the Turks acquired a Janissary infantry corps, which was finally formed in 1362. It seemed to form the “core” of the Turkish combat order or had the role of a general reserve for delivering decisive blows. Turkish expansion into the Balkans intensified from the late 50s of the 14th century, especially during the reign of Sultan Murad I (1326-1389). In 1359-1360, the Ottomans occupied Thrace, then captured Adrianople (Edirne) and began to develop an offensive in the southwestern part of the peninsula. After the Ottomans defeated the Serbian Army at the Battle of Maritsa in 1371, Bulgarian, Serbian, and Bosnian lands became vulnerable to their devastating raids. Given the real danger of an Ottoman invasion of Serbia and Bosnia, the rulers of these lands began to show a desire for unity and consolidation. Thus, the Serbian prince Lazar Hrebeljanović, who in the 1370s united all the northern and central Serbian regions, sought to subjugate some rulers in his areas and to end feudal strife in the Serbian lands. Carrying out the aggressive policy of the Turkish state, Sultan Murad I attacked Serbia in 1382 and took the Tsarevets Fortress near Veliko Târnovo in Bulgaria. Not having sufficient forces to fight back, Lazar was forced to pay off the peace and accept the obligation to give the Sultan one thousand of his soldiers in case of war. Soon, the current situation ceased to suit both sides. The Turks wanted more. In 1386, Murad took the city of Niš. In turn, the Serbs still hoped to break the shackles of a humiliating peace. In response to the military preparations of the Turks, Lazar announced the beginning of a general uprising. In 1386, the Serbian prince defeated the Turkish troops at Pločnik. At the same time, he intensified his diplomatic activity: relations with Hungary were established (the Serbian prince agreed to become a Hungarian vassal); he managed to receive military assistance from the Bosnian ruler Tvartka, who sent to Serbia an army led by Governor Vlatko Vukovich. Of the Serbian feudal lords in the coalition who took part was Vuk Brankovic, the ruler of the southern regions of Serbia. The rulers of Herzegovina and Albania also sent troops. The Allied army also included Serbs, Bosnians, Albanians, Wallachians, Hungarians, Bulgarians, and Poles. Its number fluctuated between 15 and 20 thousand people. The weakness of the Allied troops was the lack of internal unity. The Ottoman army under the command of Murad numbered from 27,000 to 30,000 people. The decisive battle between the Serbs and the Turkish army occurred on June 15, 1389, on Kosovo Field - a basin in southern Serbia near Pristina, surrounded on both sides by mountains and cut through the middle by the river Sitnitsa. On the eve of the battle, June 14, military councils were held in both camps: Ottoman and Serbian. Many Turkish military leaders proposed covering the front with camels to confuse the Serbian cavalry with their exotic appearance. However, Bayezid, the son of the Sultan, objected to the use of this petty trick. Firstly, it would mean disbelief in fate, which had previously favored the weapons of the Ottomans, and, secondly, the camels themselves could be frightened by the heavy Serbian cavalry and upset the main forces. The Sultan agreed with his son, whose opinion was shared by the Grand Vizier Ali Pasha. Many proposed imposing a night battle on the enemy at the council of the Allies. However, the opinion of their opponents prevailed, who found the size of the allied army sufficient to win a daylight battle. After the council, the Serbian prince threw a feast, during which disagreements, mutual hostility, and grievances again emerged. Vuk Branković continued to intrigue against Milos Obilic, who was married to the youngest princely daughter. Lazar succumbed to Brankovic's instigations and told his other son-in-law that he doubted his loyalty. At 6 a.m. on June 15, a fierce battle began. At first, the Serbs pushed back the Turks, and by 2 p.m., they had already started to overcome them, but then the Turks firmly took control of the strategic initiative. On the Serbian side, the right wing was commanded by Prince Lazar's father-in-law Yug Bogdan Vratko, the left wing was Vuk Brankovic, and Lazar himself was in the center. On the Ottoman side, on the right wing was Evrenos-Beg, and on the left was Yakub (the eldest son of the Sultan). Murad himself was going to command the center. However, the Sultan was mortally wounded by Miloš Obilić, who thus proved his patriotism and personal devotion to the Serbian prince. Bayazid took command of the main forces of the Turkish army and, to remain in charge, ordered the death of his elder brother Yakub. The Turks quickly attacked the left wing of the allied army. Vuk Brankovich, who had previously accused his brother-in-law Miloš of treason, showed cowardice and essentially betrayed the common cause, retreating with his detachment beyond the Sitnica River. The Bosnians ran after him, attacked by Bayezid’s cavalry. Bayezid then turned to the right wing of the Serbs, where South Bogdan Vratko stood unshakably. He fought bravely but died in a fierce and bloody battle. After him, one after another, all nine of his sons took command. They also fought heroically but fell in an unequal struggle. Prince Lazar fought to the death. However, a misfortune happened when he rode off to change his tired horse. The army, accustomed to seeing him ahead and thinking he was killed, wavered—the prince's attempts to restore order led nowhere. Carelessly driving forward, he was surrounded by the enemy, wounded, and taken to the dying Murad, on whose orders he was killed along with Miloš Obilić. Having lost their valiant leaders, the Serbs, partly demoralized by Brankovic's betrayal, suffered complete defeat. Bayezid, having become a sultan after his father's death, devastated Serbia, and Lazar's widow, Militsa, was forced to give him his daughter Mileva Olivera as his consort. Thus, the state independence of Serbia was lost, and after the defeat, it turned into a vassal of Turkey. In 1453, Serbians already participated in the siege of Constantinople on the Ottoman site, especially as miners. In 1459, the country was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire and thus came under centuries-old Turkish oppression, which retarded the economic, political, and cultural development of the Serbian people. No event in Serbian history has left such a deep, sorrowful trace as the defeat at Kosovo. However, the Turks’ victory came at a high price: they suffered heavy losses, and the death of Murad and the murder of the heir to the throne caused temporary turmoil in the Ottoman state. In 1391, Manuel II Palaiologos became the emperor and took off to the west. He was the first and only Byzantine emperor to visit Paris and London. The Empire became a debtor to the Venetians, who were not interested in taking it over by the Ottomans. Bayezid I, nicknamed Thunderbolt, continued the aggressive policy of his predecessors. He captured Bulgaria (1393-1396), Macedonia, and Thessaly and made devastating raids into Morea (1394) and Hungary (1395). In 1394, Bayezid demanded Constantinople. To release the blockade in 1396, Hungarian king Sigismund of Luxemburg led an anti-Ottoman crusade, which was defeated at the Battle of Nikopolis on the Danube (1396); Bayezid subjugated Bosnia, forced Wallachia to pay tribute, strengthened Turkish positions on the Balkan Peninsula, and established a virtual dictatorship over Byzantium. However, there is always “manus Dei.” In 1402, Timur, a Turco-Mongolian Emir, crashed the Ottomans at the battle of Ankara. Bayezid became a prisoner of Timur and died in captivity. As a result, the civil war erupted. His son Suleyman returned to Thessaloniki and stopped all claims. The life of Byzantium was extended for another 50 years.
Source:
"Bitva na Kosovom pole," Khronos.
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