the Prince Lazar Hrebeljanović ( in Serb Cyrillic : ЛазарХребељановић ) 1329 - June 28th 1389 died during the Battle of Kosovo Polje, he is the son of the chancellor Pribac Hrebeljanović, sovereign Serb of the dynasty of the Lazarević.

Its youth at the court of the emperor Dusan.

Prince Lazar Hrebeljanović was born in 1329 with Prilep. This city had been given to his/her father Pribac Hrebeljanović by the king Dusan (at the time he was still king) because of its services returned to the court of Dusan, he was the Chancelier of Dusan. The History forgot which was the mother of prince Lazare as well as the number of brothers and sisters that it had. 17 years, it attended with the crowning of the emperor Dusan. In 1353, he married the princess Milica of Nemanja which resulted from a branch of the family of the Nemanjić. And in 1355, finally, it was also present at the ground setting of Dusan. It gave also his Mara oldest daughter for woman to Vuk Branković Lazare was also an influential civil servant under the reign of Etienne X Uroš V. He obtains thus the title of Prince (knez into Serb). During all these years Lazar acquired an experiment of the policy and governorship which was going to make of him a large Prince.

Geopolitical of the Serbia at the end of the reign of Stefan X Uroš V, 1371

The Serb empire was divided into several principalities and despotats:

  • of Balšić which controlled Zeta and the coast of the south of Kotor until Ulcij,
  • the Despot Vuk Branković which controlled current the Kosovo and the north of Macedonia,
  • Radenović was to him the Master of the town of Trebije, Cavtat as well as the grounds in the neighborhoods,
  • the Duke Sandaljhranič who controlled all the grounds of the Neretva until Konjic in the west, until Gorazde in the north and the east of the Monastère of Mileševa to Budva.
  • And finally, Lazar which had the largest territory which gathered the Serb grounds of the the Danube in north in the south Novo brdo (city to 20 km in the east of Pristina), the Drina in the west until Nis.
  • One can also quote the Round of applause Tvrtko Ier of Bosnia, which had authority on part of the Serb grounds of Rascie which was crowned with Mileševa (after having conquered in Sandaljhranic) king de Bosnie and Serbia in 1377.

Lazar, lord of the Serb lords

After the Turkish victory at the time of the Battle of Maritza December 1371, the vassalisation of the grounds of the king Vukašin Mrnjavčević and the tender of his/her son Marko Kraljević. Lazar organized around him the unit of the Serb lords. Already in 1370, Lazar became vassal of Louis Ier of Hungary preparing to face the Turkish threat. it could thus also reach the coasts of the Save and the the Danube thanks to the grounds given by Louis Ier, the Macva and part of the Banovine. In Europe, Lazar was regarded as an influential Prince and thrives, after having bound relationship very close with the lords to Serbia, it called Branković " my fils" , and him named it Seigneur. He installed his daughters with the arm of the emperor of Bulgaria Sismanović and another with influential Palatin Hungarian Nicolas Gorjanski the junior.

With the King of Bosnia Tvrtko Ier, the reports/ratios were always tended, but they never degenerated beyond the peaceful competition to know which of the two lords would be the guide of the world Serbe. Tvrtko was the only sovereign besides to send a big number of knights to fight at the coasts of Lazar and Vuk Branković at the time of the Bataille of Kosovo Polje.

Reunification of the orthodoxe world Christian

Following the crowning of the Emperor Stefan Dusan the Byzantine emperor Jean VI Cantacuzène with the support of the oecumenical patriarch had thrown the anathema against the Serb Église 1346. Dusan at the time had already started to negotiate a return to the normal. After his death, the Despot Jovan Uglesa had continued them. It does not remain any more but with prince Lazar to convince the supreme authority of Serb orthodoxe Église with Petch in Kosovo, the patriarch of Petch. Once an agreement found, the oecumenical patriarch recognized the Serb patriarchate, in the condition that the populated grounds of Greeks under Serb control are attached never again to the Serb patriarchate. The reconciliation was sealed in 1375, on the tomb of the emperor Dusan, in the church of the Saint-Archangels with Prizren.

Administrative Lazar and patron, economic and cultural richnesses of Serbia de Lazar

The alliance of prince Lazar and the Despot Vuk Branković created an economic emulation, their grounds became prosperous. Moreover, the military victories of Lazar transformed its grounds into refuge for all the Chrétiens which flee in front of the Turkish projection, Greek scholars, artists, aristocrats, merchants, , Bulgares, Armenian, all found refuge in Serbia. That also enriched Serbia. Lazar had restored Dubrovnik in its commercial privileges on all its grounds, freedom of trade, legal autonomy, sale of salt.

Very many money mines as, were worked more strongly as in the past, Rudnik, Trepaca, Janjevo and of news were open: Planed, Koporici, Crnca. Serbia was covered with money mines, whereas the course of the money had increased by 25% in the remainder of the Europe. In parallel, the exchanges with the foreigner strongly increased. Villages became prosperous cities, like Pristina, Vucitrn, Petch, Krusevac, Paracin and Valjevo. So much, there was money in Serbia that the authorization of the striking of the currency is democratized, Brankovic, the lords Balsic, Dragas, of the cities like Prizren and Skoplje strikes their own currency, even the Patriarch of Serbia has his own currency.

Prince Lazar and the war against the Turks

Economic progresses and cultural of the State of prince Lazar attracted the Turks more and more towards the Serbia. Lazar knew it and it prepared carefully, for confrontation against the powerful Othoman empire .

The first battle on the territory of Lazar between the Serb ones and the Turks took place in 1381 with Dubravica, close to Paracin. The Serb army, with at its head the generals Crep and Vitomir, gained the victory. The Bataille of Dubravica was celebrated by all the Chrétiens. Then, in 1387, celebrates it Serb knight Miloš Obilić intercepted one second army, carried out by Murat Ier in person, on the level of the river Toplica the Bataille of Plocnik was still a defeat for Turkish, " Murat is afraid, it enfuit." bring back a Serb chronicler of the time.

In spite of these defeats against the Serb ones, the Turks went from victory in victory in the rest of Europe of south-east, 1388 Thessalonique fall after a long seat, Serrès already in 1383 was also Othoman, they also occupied two Serb kingdoms, that of Balsa II in 1385 and that of Vukasin in 1371. The Turks thus had still important reserves soldier, thanks to their new vassal. They attacked then the king of Bosnia Tvrtko Ier combined of Lazar, thus hoping to weaken Lazar. The general of Tvrtko, Vlatko Vukovic, put in rout the Turkish army led by Lala Sahin.

Lastly, the Battle of Kosovo Polje, battles most important of the history Serbe and medieval Europe, because it marks the end of the golden age of medieval Serbia as well as the occupation of the Turks on all Europe of the South. It was held on June 28th 1389, the day of the Guy saint. All large the courses of Europe had sent observers to be informed result of the battle. 140.000 Turks divided into three armies, the center Murat, on the right Bayezid and on the left Jakub, opposite the armies Serbes were made up of approximately 70.000 men, Lazar in the center, Vuk Brankovic on the right, and the general Vlatko Vukovic accompanied by the more big families of lords of Bosnia. Moreover, only the king of Bosnia Tvrtko Ier had sent troops to fight the Turks: neither the Hungarian, neither the Bulgarian , nor the German , Wallachian or Albanian were occupied. The Hungarians could have taken part, but they were surely cooled by the recent conquests of Lazar on their grounds.

During the battle, Lazar will be decapitated, Murat will be killed by the knight Serbe Miloš Obilić founder of the Ordre of the Dragon, the death of the sultan made sound the retirement of the Othoman Turks, Bayezid returned to Asia Mineure, current Turkey, to organize its takeover without to have taken the care, before, to make kill his/her brother to be the only heir. The observers thought that the victory was Serb, of their return they informed their sovereigns of them. The King of France Charles V made sound all the bells of France in the honor of the victory of the Serb Christians, against the Moslem Turks. Actually Serbia was with knee, it had lost all its fine flower of knight, all had preferred to fight until death at the side of Lazar, rather than living in shame to have survived their prince. Only, Vuk Brankovic had survived the battle.

End of Prince Lazar, become Holy Lazar

The body of prince Lazar was transferred, in 1392, of the church of Pristina to the monastery of Ravanica, close to the town of Ćuprija. Because of the Turkish threat, the inhabitants as well as the monastic personalities were obliged to give up their hearths and monasteries carrying with them the remainders of prince Lazar, become since the Lazar saint. A few years after its remainders were transported in the monastery of the Fruška Gora, called Vrdnik. During the second world war, in 1942, because of the Croatian collaborators Nazi " the Oustachis " , which wanted to destroy all the symbols of the orthodoxe Serbes Christian the remainders were put at the shelter in the church " Saborna" of Belgrade.

In 1954, the council of the orthodoxe church decided to transfer the body from Lazar Saint to Ravanica. This decision applied at the time of the celebration of the 600ème birthday of the Bataille of Kosovo Polje, in 1989. Its remainders were exposed throughout the roads of many cities and Serb monasteries. Thus as from 1988, at the time of the Guy Saint, until August 1989, the remainders of the Lazar Saint left the church of Belgrade, to visit the monasteries of Vrdnik, Ozren, Tronose and Celija. Then, Sabac, Valjevo and Kragujevac, as well as the monastery of Zica, Ljubostinja and Pavlica, until the Kosovo. With Gazimestan, place of the Battle of Kosovo Polje, a homage was celebrated. Its remainders went then to the Monastère of Manasija and found finally remains in the Monastère of Ravanica.

Sources

  • Dusan Batkovic, " History of the people serbe" , editions the age of man
  • Georges Castellan, History of Balkans, XIVe-XXe century , editions Beech
  • Donald Mr. Nicol, Last centuries of Byzance, 1261-1453 , editions the Beautiful Letters

External bonds

  • Vladimir Ćorović: history of Serb into Serb (Latin)
  • Medieval Serbia, the Order of the Red Dragon (as Serb Latin)
  • History Illustrated into Serb (Latin)
  • founders of the city into Serb (Latin)
  • Serbia Information into Serb (Latin)

Internal bonds

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