Serbian Warriors I

Battle of Kosovo 1389
Boj na Kosovu 1389

Ko je Srbin i srpskoga roda,
i od srpske krvi i kolena,
a ne došo na boj na Kosovo,
ne imao od srca poroda,
ni muškoga ni devojačkoga!
Od ruke mu ništa ne rodilo,
rujno vino ni pšenica bela!
Rđom kapo dok mu je kolena!

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

Based on many of the Turkish historical records, it is believed that the Sultan wass 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 forced his way into the Sultan's tent and stabbed him with a dagger.

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.

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.

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.