Prince Lazar

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Image:Lazar.jpgPrince Lazar Hrebeljanović (Serbian Cyrillic: Кнез Лазар Хребељановић) (1329 – June 28 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.

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Life

Lazar was born in Prilepac in 1329, the son of a minor vlastelin (noble). He was educated at Emperor 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, Uroš 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 Kruševac. Although a pledged vassal to Uroš, in 1371 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.

Around 1380 Lazar founded the monastery of Ravanica and around 1388 Ljubostinja.

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Battle of Kosovo

Reliable historical accounts of this battle (1389) 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 Branković as a traitor. What is known is that Lazar was killed during the battle, and Murad I was assassinated by Milos Obilic who was subsequently killed by the Ottomans for the act.

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 Branković and Tvrtko (commanded by fierce duke Vlatko Vuković). In strictly military terms the battle might be termed a draw - both sides lost their leader, and both withdrew from the battlefield amidst heavy casualties. However, the toll of the battle on Serbia was catastrophic as its entire political elite was wiped out, essentially crippling Serbia from being in future threat to the Ottoman conquest and expansion.

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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 I's successor, his son Bayezid, who had taken as his wife the daughter of Lazar. Meanwhile, Milica 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 Branković 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 the Battle of 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. A small church in the inner-Sydney suburb of Alexandria (in Australia) is dedicated to him.

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Marriage and Progeny

Lazar married Milica (Милица)Template:Ref in around 1353 and issued at least seven children (Cyrillic in parentheses):

  1. Mara (Марa): died April 12 1426, married Vuk Brankovic in around 1371
  2. Stefan Visoki (Стефан Високи) (around 1377 - July 19 1427, buried in Manasija monastery), prince (1389-1402) and despot (1402-1427) , married in 1405 Jelena, daughter of Francesco Gattilusio (1384-1404)
  3. Vuk, prince, executed on July 6th 1410
  4. Mara or Dragana, died before July 1395, married Bulgarian tsar Ivan Shishman in around 1386
  5. 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)
  6. Jelena or Jela, died March 1443, married
    1. Đurađ Stracimirović (Ђурађ Страцимировић), one of Balsics
    2. Sandalj HranićTemplate:Ref (Сандаљ Хранић) Kosače (Косаче)
  7. Olivera Despina (Оливера Деспина) died after 1444, marriedTemplate:Note Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I in 1390
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Footnotes

Template:FootnoteMilica 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). [Mrđenović (1987), p.20, 75]

Template:FootnoteSandalj Hranić (around 1370-March 15 1435) was a nephew of Vlatko Vuković, the aforementioned participant of the Battle of Kosovo. [Mrđenović (1987), p.108]

Template:FootnoteBalkan noblewomen married to an Ottoman sultan during this era of Turkish invasion were chosen into the sultan's harem.

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See also

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Sources

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External link

de:Lazar Hrebeljanović nl:Lazar Hrebeljanović ja:ラザル sr:Лазар Хребељановић

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