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Prince Lazar Hrebeljanović (Serbian Кнез Лазар Хребељановић) (1329 - [[June 15] 1389) , also known as "Tsar Lazar", was a Serbian noble who fought and perished at the Battle of Kosovo, to which his name and life are inextricably tied. He is a mythical figure in Serbia, and a saint of the Serbian Orthodox Church.
Life Lazar was born in Prilepac in 1329, the son of a minor vlastelin (noble). He was educated at Tsar Dusan's court in Prizren, where he later held the office of "stavilac". He was later promoted to knez by Dusan's successor Tsar Uros. Despite his imperial title, Uros was a weak and ineffectual leader, allowing local nobles to gain power and influence at the expense of the central authority.
Lazar left Prizren in the early 1370s, and devoted himself to the consolidation of his power in the northern Serbian regions around his court in Krusevac. Although a pledged vassal to Uros, he refused to participate in the Battle of Marica, at which the bulk of the imperial Serbian army was destroyed by an Ottoman force. Soon afterwards, Uros, the last of the Nemanjic emperors, passed away. Through a combination of diplomacy, military action, and family alliances, Lazar emerged from the resulting power vacuum as the most powerful Serbian noble not in the Ottomans' service. He acquired dynastic legitimacy by marrying Milica Nemanjic, and despite retaining only the minor title of knez, he nevertheless used the imperial name of Stefan as well as the designation "autocrator". At the same time, he took no issue with Bosnian ban Tvrtko (whose Nemanjic lineage was in any case much stronger than Lazar's) proclaiming himself "King Stefan of Serbs and Bosnia". In this way Lazar could retain the de facto power, while ceding only a ceremonial title to Tvrtko, who never managed to revive the old Nemanjic institutions of central power.
Battle of Kosovo Reliable historical accounts of this battle are scarce, and they've been largely displaced in the Serbian tradition by the epic poetry, which tell a grossly distorted picture of the events, such as the branding of Vuk Brankovic as a traitor.
The Ottomans fielded a full army, led by the Sultan Murad I and his sons. The Serbian force was composed chiefly of Lazar's army, flanked by the troops of Vuk Brankovic and Bosnian ban Tvrtko (commanded by fierce duke Vlatko Vukovic). In strictly military terms the battle might be termed a draw - both sides lost their leader, and withdrew amidst heavy casualties. However, the toll of the battle on Serbia was catastrophic as its entire political elite was wiped out.
Aftermath and Myth Following Lazar's death, his widow Milica assumed control of Serbia. Lacking in military or economic strength, she pledged suzerainty to Murad's successor Bayezid. Meanwhile, she turned to internal matters, where she dealt with her few remaining political opponents. It was her propaganda campaign, via the epic poetry composed at her court, that resulted in Lazar's quick canonization, and the subsequent portrayal of Vuk Brankovic as the traitor responsible for the Serbian defeat.
In the myth, Lazar is portrayed as having been visited by an angel of God on the night before battle, and offered a choice between an earthly or a heavenly kingdom, which choice would result in a victory or defeat, respectively, at Kosovo. Lazar, naturally, opts for the heavenly kingdom, which will last "forever and ever", but has to perish on the battlefield. This is why sometimes Serbs refer to themselves as the people of heaven ("nebeski narod"). In other poems, Lazar is portrayed as holy, emanating light, and being resurrected 40 years after his death, in a clear Christ parallel.
Serbian Orthodox Church canonised Lazar as Saint Hieromartyr Lazar. He is celebrated at June 15th of the Julian calendar, which is June 28th of the Gregorian Calendar.
Marriage and Progeny Lazar married Milica (Милица) ¹ in around 1353 and issued at least seven children (Cyrillic in parentheses): - Mara (Марa): died April 12, 1426, married Vuk Brankovic in around 1371
- Stefan Visoki (Стефан Високи) (around 1377 - July 19, 1427, burried in Resava), prince (1389-1402) and despot (1402-1427) , married in 1405 Jelena, ћепка Френческа Гатилузија 1384-1404)
- Vuk, prince, executed on July 6th 1410
- Mara or Dragana, died before July 1395, married Bulgarian tsar Ivan Shishman in around 1386
- Teodora, died before 1405, married Nikola II Gorjanski (who died 1433) (Nikola II Gorjanski jr. (Никола II Горјански Млађи), son of Nikola I Gorjanski (Никола I Горјански), ban of Mačva since 1387, ban of Croatia since 1394, Hungarian Palatin since 1401)
- Jelena or Jela, died March 1443, married
- Djuradj Stracimirovic (Ђурађ Страцимировић), one of Balsics
- Sandalj Hranic ² (Сандаљ Хранић) Kosace (Косаче)
- Olivera Despina (Оливера Деспина) died after 1444, married ³ Ottoman Sultan Beyazid I in 1390
See also: List of Serbian monarchs - History of Serbia - Milos Obilic
Footnotes ¹ Milica was a daughter of Prince Vratko (кнез Вратко), who was a great-grandson of Vukan Nemanjic. Vukan himself was the eldest son of Stefan Nemanja. Milica was first mentioned in 1395 and later became the nun Jevgenija (Јевгенија) and abbess Jefrosina (Јефросина). [Mrdjenović (1987), p.20, 75]
² Sandalj Hranic (around 1370-March 15, 1435) was a nephew of Vlatko Vukovic, the aforementioned participant of the Battle of Kosovo. [Mrdjenović (1987), p.108]
³ Balkan noblewomen married to an Ottoman sultan during this era of Turkish invasion were chosen into the sultan's harem.
Sources
External link - Lazar's virtual grave (http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=10081&pt=Lazar%20Hrebeljanovich)
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