Vlatko Vuković

Duke ("Vojvoda") Coat of Arms of Vuković noble family

Vlatko Vuković Kosača (Serbian Cyrillic: Влатко Вуковић Косача; died 1392) was a Bosnian medieval noble who ruled as Grand Duke of Hum, a part of Bosnia.

He was a son of Vuk Kosača, the founder of a medieval Serbian dynasty known as the Kosačas in Bosnia. He governed the province of Hum, which was part of the Kingdom of Bosnia. Bosnia were enjoying a period of peace and prosperity under King Tvrtko I of Bosnia, but the Turkish threat was building to the east, threatening neighboring Serbia. On August 27, 1388, Vojvoda Vlatko defeated Ottoman raiding party (some 18,000 strong) that invaded Hum in the Battle of Bileća. Serbian heavy cavalry is typically credited with winning the battle as they broke the Ottoman ranks and pursue the retreating enemy. It has been cited that "Ottoman leader Shain barely managed to save himself with the small band of his soldiers". In 1389 he commanded a Bosnian Serb army that fought alongside Serbian Prince Lazar Hrebeljanović at the Battle of Kosovo against the Ottomans. Vuković is one of the few leaders on the Christian side who survived the battle. Although the battle is viewed now as a decisive defeat and the end of Serbian independence, at the time the battle was viewed differently; Vuković reported the outcome of the battle as a victory, as the Ottomans suffered heavy losses and were forced to withdraw for a time. He died in 1392.

Vuković's grave lies marked near the village of Boljuni near Stolac, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Inscription on the grave was written in Bosnian/Croatian Cyrillic Script (bosančica or bosanica) in ikavian dialect.

See also

• Bosnian Cyrillic
• History of Bosnia and Herzegovina (958–1463)

External links

• Vlatko Vuković's grave
• Jezik Boljunskih natpisa