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Battle of Kosovo

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This page is about the Battle of Kosovo of 1389; for other battles, see Battle of Kosovo (disambiguation).
Battle of Kosovo
Part of the Ottoman wars in Europe

Battle on Kosovo, by Adam Stefanović, oil, 1870
DateJune 15, 1389 (Julian calendar)
Location
Kosovo Field, Serbia
Result Decisive Ottoman Victory
Belligerents
Ottoman Empire Serbia
Commanders and leaders
Murad I †,
Bayezid I,
Yakub		 Lazar Hrebeljanović †,
Vuk Branković,
Vlatko Vuković
Strength
~ 27,000-40,000 ~ 12,000-30,000 [1][2][3][4]
Casualties and losses
Unknown Heavy

The Battle of Kosovo (or Battle of Amselfeld; 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 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 a reliable reconstruction.[5]

Preparations

Army movement

Murad I, ruler of the Ottoman empire, 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 access to Lazar's lands, it led him to Kosovo, which was strategically important as one of the most important 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.[5]

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 (Amselfeld) right after Murad's arrival at Priština. This was the optimal choice for the battlefield as it controlled all possible directions Murad could take.[5]

Army composition

It is not certain how large the armies were, especially as later sources tend to exaggerate on their size, launching it into hundreds of thousands.[6]

Murad's army might have numbered 27-40,000.[1][2][3][5] 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.[5] Lazar's might have 12-30,000.[1][2][3][4] Taking the estimate of 25,000, some 15,000 were under Lazar's command, 5,000 Vuk's, and as much of Vlatko's.[4] Of those, several thousands were cavalry, but perhaps only several hundreds were clad in full plate armour.[6]

Both armies included some foreign troops: Serbian included Poles, Hungarians, 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.[6]

...if all of us would now turn to salt, we couldn't even salt the Turk's lunch... [7]

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.[6]

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.[6]

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 [8]

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.[6]

Murad's death

Based on many of the Turkish historical records, it is believed that the Sultan was killed by Miloš Obilić who was pretending to be dead, while the Sultan was walking in the battlefield after the battle. On the other hand, in one account in Serbian records he was assassinated by Miloš Obilić, who made his way into the Turkish camp on the pretext of being a deserter and knelt before the Sultan. He stabbed him in the stomach while kneeling before him.

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

The Kosovo Maiden by Uroš Predić

Both armies sustained heavy casualties and both armies 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 Miloš Obilić told 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." He is now held as an epic legend by many Balkans people, while his origin or existence has not been verified yet. He is often regarded as a Serb.

Name in different languages

  • Albanian: Beteja e Kosovës
  • Bulgarian: Битка на Косово поле или Косовска битка
  • Bosnian: Bitka na Kosovu polju or Kosovska bitka
  • Croatian: Bitka na Kosovu polju or Kosovska bitka
  • English: Battle of Amselfeld, Battle of Kosovo or Battle of Kossovo
  • French: Bataille de Kosovo
  • Italian: Battaglia di Kosovo
  • German: Schlacht auf dem Amselfeld
  • Hungarian: Rigómezei csata
  • Polish: Bitwa na Kosowym Polu
  • Portuguese: Batalha de Kosovo
  • Romanian: Bătălia de la Câmpia Mierlei
  • Serbian: Kosovski Boj or Boj na Kosovu Polju
  • Serbian Cyrillic: Косовски бој or Бој на Косову Пољу
  • Slovenian: Bitka na Kosovem polju
  • Spanish: Batalla de Kosovo
  • Swedish: Slaget vid Trastfältet or Slaget vid Kosovo Polje
  • Turkish: Kosova Savaşi

References

  1. ^ a b c Sedlar, Jean W. East Central Europe in the Middle Ages, 1000-1500. University of Washington Press. p. 244. ...Nearly the entire Christian fighting force (between 12,000 and 20,000 men) had been present at Kosovo, while the Ottomans (with 27,000 to 30,000 on the battlefield) retained numerous reserves in Anatolia...
  2. ^ a b c Cox, John K. The History of Serbia. Greenwood Press. p. 30. ...The Ottoman army probably numbered between 30,000 and 40,000. They faced something like 15,000 to 25,000 Christian soldiers...
  3. ^ a b c Cowley, Robert. The Reader's Compagnion to Military History. Houghton Mifflin Books. p. 249. ...On June 28, 1389, an Ottoman army of between thirty thousand and forty thousand under the command of Sultan Murad I defeated an army of Balkan allies numbering twenty-five thousand to thirty thousand under the command
    of Prince Lazar of Serbia at Kosovo Polije (Blackbird's Field) in the central Balkans...     {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthor= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ a b c "Kosovska bitka". Vojna Enciklopedija (in Serbo-Croatian). Belgrade: Vojnoizdavački zavod. 1972. pp. 659–660.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Kosovska bitka". Vojna Enciklopedija (in Serbo-Croatian). Belgrade: Vojnoizdavački zavod. 1972. p. 659.
  6. ^ a b c d e f "Kosovska bitka". Vojna Enciklopedija (in Serbo-Croatian). Belgrade: Vojnoizdavački zavod. 1972. p. 660.
  7. ^ Kosančić Ivan, Serbian epic poetry
  8. ^ Mehmet Neşri
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