1.
Battle of Kosovo (film)
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Battle of Kosovo is a 1989 Yugoslav historical drama/war film filmed in Serbia. The film was based on the written by poet Ljubomir Simović. It depicts the historical Battle of Kosovo between Medieval Serbia and the Ottoman Empire which took place on 15 June 1389 in a field about 5 kilometers northwest of Pristina. Serbian Duke Lazar in 1389 refuses to obey the Turk Sultan Murat who intends on invading Serbia with an army in order to conquer Europe, although aware that he is weaker, without enough men, Duke Lazar decides to fight him anyway. The Serbian Lords are not united, most of them want to fight, even at the cost of defeat, but some of them do not. Everyone fit for battle is sent to Kosovo, the battle of Kosovo in 1389 ended with no winners - with both armies defeated and both Lazar and Murat dead. The Turks would proceed to invade Serbia but were hindered from taking over the rest of Europe, the film was released in 1989, which marked the 600th anniversary of the Battle
2.
Ottoman wars in Europe
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The earliest conflicts began during the Byzantine–Ottoman wars in the 13th century, followed by the Bulgarian–Ottoman wars and the Serbian–Ottoman Wars in the 14th century. Much of this period was characterized by Ottoman expansion into the Balkans, the Ottoman Empire made further inroads into Central Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries, culminating in the peak of Ottoman territorial claims in Europe. The Ottoman–Venetian Wars spanned four centuries, starting in 1423 and lasting until 1718, the island of Corfu under Venetian rule remained the only Greek island not conquered by the Ottomans. Nevertheless, Ottoman armies were able to hold their own against their European rivals until the half of the eighteenth century. In the nineteenth century the Ottomans were confronted with insurrection from their Serbian and this occurred in tandem with the Russo-Turkish wars, which further destabilized the empire. The final retreat of Ottoman rule came with the First Balkan War, Constantinople fell in 1453 after the Battle of Varna and the Second Battle of Kosovo. The remaining Greek state fell in 1461, sofia fell in 1382, followed by the capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire Tarnovgrad in 1393, and the northwest remnants of the state after the Battle of Nicopolis in 1396. Much of Serbia fell to the Ottomans by 1459, the Kingdom of Hungary made a partial reconquest in 1480, the Ottomans took much of Albania in the 1385 Battle of Savra. The 1444 League of Lezhë briefly restored one part of Albania, until Ottomans captured complete territory of Albania after capture of Shkodër in 1479 and Durrës in 1501. It has been argued that Albanian resilience halted the Ottoman advance along the Eastern flank of the Western Civilization, Sultan Mehmet II died in 1481, merely two years after the collapse of the Albanian resistance and one year after he launched an Italian campaign. Ottoman Empire first reached Bosnia in 1388 where they were defeated by Bosnian forces in the Battle of Bileca, after the fall of Serbia in 1389 Battle of Kosovo, where the Bosnians participated through Vlatko Vuković, the Turks began various offensives against the Kingdom of Bosnia. The Bosnians defended themselves but without much success, Bosnians resisted strongly in the Bosnian Royal castle of Jajce, where the last Bosnian king Stjepan Tomašević tried to repel the Turks. The Ottoman army conquered it after a few months of the siege of Jajce, in 1463, the House of Kosača held Herzegovina until 1482. The Ottomans meanwhile reached the river Neretva and having conquered Herzegovina in 1482, they encroached upon Croatia, a decisive Ottoman victory at the Battle of Krbava field shook all of Croatia. However, it did not dissuade the Croats from making persistent attempts at defending themselves against the attacks of the superior Ottoman forces. After almost two hundred years of Croatian resistance against the Ottoman Empire, the victory in the Battle of Sisak marked the end of Ottoman rule, the Viceroys army, chasing the fleeing remnants at Petrinja in 1595, sealed the victory. The Kingdom of Hungary, which at the time spanned the area from Croatia in the west to Transylvania in the east, was gravely threatened by Ottoman advances. The origins of such a deterioration can be traced back to the fall of the ruling dynasty and their subsequent replacement with the Angevin
3.
Ottoman Empire
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After 1354, the Ottomans crossed into Europe, and with the conquest of the Balkans the Ottoman Beylik was transformed into a transcontinental empire. The Ottomans ended the Byzantine Empire with the 1453 conquest of Constantinople by Mehmed the Conqueror, at the beginning of the 17th century the empire contained 32 provinces and numerous vassal states. Some of these were later absorbed into the Ottoman Empire, while others were granted various types of autonomy during the course of centuries. With Constantinople as its capital and control of lands around the Mediterranean basin, while the empire was once thought to have entered a period of decline following the death of Suleiman the Magnificent, this view is no longer supported by the majority of academic historians. The empire continued to maintain a flexible and strong economy, society, however, during a long period of peace from 1740 to 1768, the Ottoman military system fell behind that of their European rivals, the Habsburg and Russian Empires. While the Empire was able to hold its own during the conflict, it was struggling with internal dissent. Starting before World War I, but growing increasingly common and violent during it, major atrocities were committed by the Ottoman government against the Armenians, Assyrians and Pontic Greeks. The word Ottoman is an anglicisation of the name of Osman I. Osmans name in turn was the Turkish form of the Arabic name ʿUthmān, in Ottoman Turkish, the empire was referred to as Devlet-i ʿAlīye-yi ʿOsmānīye, or alternatively ʿOsmānlı Devleti. In Modern Turkish, it is known as Osmanlı İmparatorluğu or Osmanlı Devleti, the Turkish word for Ottoman originally referred to the tribal followers of Osman in the fourteenth century, and subsequently came to be used to refer to the empires military-administrative elite. In contrast, the term Turk was used to refer to the Anatolian peasant and tribal population, the term Rūmī was also used to refer to Turkish-speakers by the other Muslim peoples of the empire and beyond. In Western Europe, the two names Ottoman Empire and Turkey were often used interchangeably, with Turkey being increasingly favored both in formal and informal situations and this dichotomy was officially ended in 1920–23, when the newly established Ankara-based Turkish government chose Turkey as the sole official name. Most scholarly historians avoid the terms Turkey, Turks, and Turkish when referring to the Ottomans, as the power of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum declined in the 13th century, Anatolia was divided into a patchwork of independent Turkish principalities known as the Anatolian Beyliks. One of these beyliks, in the region of Bithynia on the frontier of the Byzantine Empire, was led by the Turkish tribal leader Osman, osmans early followers consisted both of Turkish tribal groups and Byzantine renegades, many but not all converts to Islam. Osman extended the control of his principality by conquering Byzantine towns along the Sakarya River and it is not well understood how the early Ottomans came to dominate their neighbours, due to the scarcity of the sources which survive from this period. One school of thought which was popular during the twentieth century argued that the Ottomans achieved success by rallying religious warriors to fight for them in the name of Islam, in the century after the death of Osman I, Ottoman rule began to extend over Anatolia and the Balkans. Osmans son, Orhan, captured the northwestern Anatolian city of Bursa in 1326 and this conquest meant the loss of Byzantine control over northwestern Anatolia. The important city of Thessaloniki was captured from the Venetians in 1387, the Ottoman victory at Kosovo in 1389 effectively marked the end of Serbian power in the region, paving the way for Ottoman expansion into Europe
4.
Serbs
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The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group that formed in the Balkans. The majority of Serbs inhabit the state of Serbia, as well as Bosnia and Herzegovina. They form significant minorities in Croatia, Macedonia and Slovenia, there is a large Serb diaspora in Western Europe, and outside Europe there are significant communities in North America and Australia. The Serbs share many traits with the rest of the peoples of Southeast Europe. They are predominantly Eastern Orthodox Christians by religion, the Serbian language is official in Serbia, co-official in Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and is spoken by the majority in Montenegro. The modern identity of Serbs is rooted in Eastern Orthodoxy and traditions, in the 19th century, the Serbian national identity was manifested, with awareness of history and tradition, medieval heritage, cultural unity, despite living under different empires. When the Principality of Serbia gained independence from the Ottoman Empire, Orthodoxy became crucial in defining the national identity, instead of language which was shared by other South Slavs. The tradition of slava, the family saint feast day, is an important ethnic marker of Serb identity, the origin of the ethnonym is unclear. Serbia has among the tallest people in the world, after Montenegro and Netherlands, Slavs invaded and settled the Balkans in the 6th and 7th centuries. Up until the late 560s their activity was raiding, crossing from the Danube, the Danube and Sava frontier was overwhelmed by large-scale Slavic settlement in the late 6th and early 7th century. What is today central Serbia was an important geo-strategical province, through which the Via Militaris crossed and this area was frequently intruded by barbarians in the 5th and 6th centuries. The numerous Slavs mixed with and assimilated the descendants of the indigenous population, numerous small Serbian states were created, located in modern Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Serbia. With the decline of the Serbian state of Duklja in the late 11th century, Raška separated from it, prince Stefan Nemanja conquered the neighbouring territories of Kosovo, Duklja and Zachlumia. The Nemanjić dynasty ruled over Serbia until the 14th century, over the next 140 years, Serbia expanded its borders. Its cultural model remained Byzantine, despite political ambitions directed against the empire, the medieval power and influence of Serbia culminated in the reign of Stefan Dušan, who ruled the state from 1331 until his death in 1355. Ruling as Emperor from 1346, his territory included Macedonia, northern Greece, Montenegro, when Dušan died, his son Stephen Uroš V became Emperor. With the death of two important Serb leaders in the battle, and with the death of Stephen Uroš that same year, hrebeljanović was subsequently accepted as the titular leader of the Serbs because he was married to a member of the Nemanjić dynasty. In 1389, the Serbs faced the Ottomans at the Battle of Kosovo on the plain of Kosovo Polje, both Lazar and Sultan Murad I were killed in the fighting
5.
Moravian Serbia
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Moravian Serbia is the name used in historiography for the largest and most powerful state to emerge from the ruins of the Serbian Empire. In 1403 it was raised to the Serbian Despotate, which would exist until 1459, Moravian Serbia was established in 1373 and attained its largest extent in 1379 through the military and political activities of its first ruler, Prince Lazar Hrebeljanović. The name Moravian Serbia should not imply that the state was affiliated in any way with the region of Moravia in the present-day Czech Republic. The adjective Moravian in this sense refers to the fact that the state comprised the basins of the Great Morava, West Morava, and South Morava rivers. Lazar Hrebeljanović was born in around 1329 in the fortress of Prilepac, near the town of Novo Brdo in the region of Kosovo, powerful Serbian nobles became practically independent in the regions they controlled. Lazar left the court Tsar Uroš in 1363 or 1365, and he held the title of prince since at least 1371. His territory initially developed in the shadow of stronger regional lords, the strongest were the Mrnjavčević brothers, Vukašin and Jovan Uglješa. They were defeated and killed by the Ottoman Turks in the Battle of Mariča in 1371, Lazar and Tvrtko Kotromanić, the Ban of Bosnia, jointly defeated in 1373 another strong noble, Nikola Altomanović. Most of Altomanovićs territory was acquired by Lazar, about that time, Lazar accepted the suzerainty of King Louis I of Hungary, who granted him the region of Mačva, or at least a part of it. With all these gains, Lazar emerged as the most powerful Serbian lord. The state he created is known in historiography as Moravian Serbia. Moravian Serbia attained its full extent in 1379, when Lazar took Braničevo and Kučevo, Lazars state was larger than the domains of the other lords on the territory of the former Serbian Empire. It also had an organized government and army. The state comprised the basins of the Great Morava, West Morava and its north-western border ran along the Drina River. Besides the capital Kruševac, the state included important towns of Niš and Užice, as well as Novo Brdo and Rudnik, of all the Serbian lands, Lazars state lay furthest from Ottoman centres, and was least exposed to the ravages of Turkish raiding parties. This circumstance attracted immigrants from Turkish-threatened areas, who built new villages, there were also spiritual persons among the immigrants, which stimulated the revival of old ecclesiastical centres and the foundation of new ones in Lazars state. A Turkish raiding party, passing unobstructed through territories of Ottoman vassals and it was routed by Lazars nobles Crep Vukoslavić and Vitomir in the Battle of Dubravica, fought near the town of Paraćin. In 1386, the Ottoman Sultan Murad I himself led much larger forces that took Niš from Lazar and it is unclear whether the encounter between the armies of Lazar and Murad at Pločnik, a site southwest of Niš, happened shortly before or after the capture of Niš
6.
Kingdom of Bosnia
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The Kingdom of Bosnia was a medieval kingdom that evolved from the Banate of Bosnia. Bosnia enjoyed de facto independence in the 13th and 14th centuries despite being a part of the Hungarian Crown Lands and its difficult terrain and remoteness enabled the Bosnians to maneuver between their two powerful neighbors, Hungary and Serbia, usually managing to avoid subordination to either. Several capable rulers allowed Bosnia briefly to play the role of a power in the 14th century. After 1290, Bosnia enjoyed virtual independence from Hungary and gained significant territory in Dalmatia at Serbias expense, however, feudal fragmentation remained strong in Bosnia, and after his death the country lost its importance. The Ottoman Empire annexed portions of eastern Bosnia in the 1440s and 1450s, the Banate of Bosnia was a medieval state comprising at its peak most of what is today Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as parts of Dalmatia, Serbia and Montenegro. Although nominally in vassalage to the Kingdom of Hungary, Bosnia was a de facto independent state, the Banate of Bosnia existed until 1377, when it was elevated into a kingdom with the coronation of Tvrtko I. By the mid-14th century, Bosnia reached its peak under Ban Tvrtko I of the House of Kotromanić, by having done so, he became a ruler of the newly proclaimed Kingdom of Bosnia, a state that followed the Banate of Bosnia. At its peak the Kingdom became one of the most influential, throughout the Middle Ages, Herzegovina was made up of several smaller polities, Zahumlje, centered around the town of Blagaj, and Travunia, centered on the town of Trebinje. These statelets were in periods ruled by semi-independent princes, mostly under suzerainty of the Serbian medieval monarchy and their territories included modern Herzegovina and parts of Montenegro and southern Dalmatia. The name Herzegovina was adopted when Stjepan Vukčić Kosača, the Duke of St. Sava asserted its independence in 1435–48, the assembly of these noblemen was called stanak and was quite influential. Bosnia reached its peak under Ban Tvrtko I, a member of the Kotromanić dynasty, in 1372, Tvrtko formed an alliance with Prince Lazar Hrebeljanović, one of the regional lords in the territory of the disintegrated Serbian Empire. The next year, Tvrtko and Lazar attacked the domain of Nikola Altomanović, after defeating Altomanović, they divided his lands, except for his littoral districts of Dračevica, Konavle, and Trebinje, which were seized by Đurađ I Balšić, the Lord of Zeta. Tvrtko received parts of Zahumlje, the reaches of the Drina and Lim rivers, as well as the districts of Onogošt. This acquisition included the important Serbian Orthodox monastery of Mileševa, in 1377, Tvrtko took the littoral districts from Balšić. That year, on 26 October, he was crowned King of Serbia, Bosnia, the Primorje, and this was made possible by the royal Nemanjić line having died out with Uroš in 1371. The crown was sent to him by Hungarian king Louis of Anjou, in contrast, some earlier historiographers, mostly represented by scholars from Serbia, consider that he was crowned in the Orthodox Monastery of Mileševa, by the Metropolitan of Mileševa. However, after the defeat of Nikola Altomanović, Prince Lazar had emerged as the most powerful lord on the territory of the former Serbian Empire and he wanted to reunite the Serbian state, and the Serbian Orthodox Church saw him as most fitted to succeed the Nemanjić dynasty. The Church, which was the strongest cohesive force among the Serbs at the time, by 1390, Tvrtko I expanded his realm to include a part of Croatia and Dalmatia, and expanded his title to King of Rascia, Bosnia, Dalmatia, Croatia and the Littoral
7.
Murad I
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Murad I was the Ottoman Sultan from 1362 to 1389. He was a son of Orhan and the Valide Nilüfer Hatun, Murad I conquered Adrianople, renamed it to Edirne, and in 1363 made it the new capital of Ottoman Sultanate. Murad I administratively divided his sultanate into the two provinces of Anatolia and Rumelia, Murads death against the Serbs would cause the Ottomans to halt their expansion into the territory temporarily and focus their attention once more on the ailing Byzantine Empire. Murad fought against the powerful beylik of Karaman in Anatolia and against the Serbs, in 1385, Sofia fell to the Ottomans. In 1386 Prince Lazar Hrebeljanović defeated an Ottoman force at the Battle of Pločnik, the Ottoman army suffered heavy casualties, and was unable to capture Niš on the way back. In 1389, Murads army defeated the Serbian Army and its allies under the leadership of Lazar at the Battle of Kosovo, there are different accounts from different sources about when and how Murad I was assassinated. The contemporary sources mainly noted that the battle took place and that both Prince Lazar and the Sultan lost their lives in the battle. The existing evidence of the stories and speculations as to how Murad I died were disseminated and recorded in the 15th century and later. One Western source states that during first hours of the battle, Murad I was assassinated by Serbian nobleman, most Ottoman chroniclers state that he was assassinated after the finish of the battle while going around the battlefield. Others state that he was assassinated in the evening after the battle at his tent by the assassin who was admitted to ask a special favour and his older son Bayezid, who was in charge of the left wing of the Ottoman forces, took charge after that. A letter of Florentine senate to the King Tvrtko I of Bosnia, dated 20 October 1389, a party of twelve Serbian lords slashed their way through the Ottoman lines defending Murad I. One of them, allegedly Miloš Obilić, had managed to get through to the Sultans tent and kill him with sword stabs to the throat and it has been vandalized between 1999-2006 and renovated recently. His other remains were carried to Bursa, his Anatolian capital city and it was Murad who established the former Osmanli tribe into an sultanate. He established the title of sultan in 1383 and the corps of the janissaries and he also organised the government of the Divan, the system of timars and timar-holders and the military judge, the kazasker. He also established the two provinces of Anadolu and Rumeli and he and his ally, Byzantine emperor John V Palaeologus son Andronicus, rebelled against their fathers. Andronicus, who had surrendered to his father, was imprisoned and blinded at Murads insistence, Sultan Bayezid I – son of Gülçiçek Hatun, Yakub Çelebi – son. Bayezid I had Yakub killed during or following the Battle of Kosovo at which their father had been killed, ibrahim Bey, Daughter Nefise Hatun, Murad is the subject of Thomas Goffes play The Courageous Turk, published in 1632. Harris, Jonathan, The End of Byzantium, new Haven and London, Yale University Press,2010
8.
Bayezid I
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Bayezid I was the Ottoman Sultan from 1389 to 1402. He was the son of Murad I and Gülçiçek Hatun and he built one of the largest armies in the known world at the time and unsuccessfully besieged Constantinople. He was defeated and captured by Timur at the Battle of Ankara in 1402, the first major role of Bayezid was as governor of Kütahya, a city that was conquered from the Germiyanids. He was a soldier, earning the nickname of Lightning in a battle against the Karamanids. Immediately after obtaining the throne, he had his younger brother strangled to avoid a plot, in 1390, Bayezid took as a wife Princess Olivera Despina, the daughter of Prince Lazar of Serbia, who also lost his life in Kosovo. Bayezid recognized Stefan Lazarević, the son of Lazar, as the new Serbian leader, the upper Serbia resisted the Ottomans until general Pashayigit captured the city of Skopje in 1391, converting the city to an important base of operations. Meanwhile, the sultan began unifying Anatolia under his rule, forcible expansion into Muslim territories could endanger the Ottoman relationship with the gazis, who were an important source of warriors for this ruling house on the European frontier. So Bayezid began the practice to first secure fatwas, or legal rulings from Islamic scholars, however he suspected the loyalty of his Muslim Turkoman followers, for Bayezid relied heavily on his Serbian and Byzantine vassal troops to perform these conquests. In a single campaign over the summer and fall of 1390, Bayezid conquered the beyliks of Aydin, Saruhan and his major rival Sulayman, the emir of Karaman, responded by allying himself with the ruler of Sivas, Kadi Burhan al-Din and the remaining Turkish beyliks. At this point, Bayezid accepted peace proposals from Karaman, concerned that further advances would antagonize his Turkoman followers and lead them to ally with Kadi Burhan al-Din. Once peace had been made with Karaman, Bayezid moved north against Kastamonu which had given refuge to many fleeing from his forces, from 1389 to 1395 he conquered Bulgaria and northern Greece. In 1394 Bayezid crossed the River Danube to attack Wallachia, ruled at that time by Mircea the Elder, in 1394, Bayezid laid siege to Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire. Anadoluhisarı fortress was built between 1393 and 1394 as part of preparations for the Second Ottoman Siege of Constantinople, which place in 1395. On the urgings of the Byzantine emperor Manuel II Palaeologus a new crusade was organized to defeat him and this proved unsuccessful, in 1396 the Christian allies, under the leadership of the King of Hungary and future Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, were defeated in the Battle of Nicopolis. Bayezid built the magnificent Ulu Cami in Bursa, to celebrate this victory, thus the siege of Constantinople continued, lasting until 1402. The beleaguered Byzantines had their reprieve when Bayezid fought the Timurid Empire in the East, at this time, the empire of Bayezid included Thrace, Macedonia, Bulgaria, and parts of Serbia in Europe. In Asia, his domains extended to the Taurus Mountains and his army was considered one of the best in the Islamic world. In 1397, Bayezid defeated the emir of Karaman in Akçay, killing him, in 1398, the sultan conquered the Djanik emirate and the territory of Burhan al-Din, violating the accord with Timur
9.
Capital punishment
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Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is a government sanctioned practice whereby a person is put to death by the state as a punishment for a crime. The sentence that someone be punished in such a manner is referred to as a death sentence, etymologically, the term capital in this context alluded to execution by beheading. Fifty-six countries retain capital punishment,103 countries have abolished it de jure for all crimes, six have abolished it for ordinary crimes. Capital punishment is a matter of controversy in various countries and states. In the European Union, Article 2 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union prohibits the use of capital punishment, also, the Council of Europe, which has 47 member states, prohibits the use of the death penalty by its members. The United Nations General Assembly has adopted, in 2007,2008,2010,2012 and 2014, non-binding resolutions calling for a moratorium on executions. Although most nations have abolished capital punishment, over 60% of the population live in countries where executions take place, such as China, India. Execution of criminals and political opponents has been used by nearly all societies—both to punish crime, in most countries that practise capital punishment it is reserved for murder, terrorism, war crimes, espionage, treason, defection or as part of military justice. In many countries use the death penalty, drug trafficking is also a capital offence. In China, human trafficking and serious cases of corruption are punished by the death penalty, in militaries around the world courts-martial have imposed death sentences for offences such as cowardice, desertion, insubordination, and mutiny. The use of formal execution extends to the beginning of recorded history, most historical records and various primitive tribal practices indicate that the death penalty was a part of their justice system. Communal punishment for wrongdoing generally included compensation by the wrongdoer, corporal punishment, shunning, banishment, usually, compensation and shunning were enough as a form of justice. The response to crime committed by neighbouring tribes or communities included a formal apology, a blood feud or vendetta occurs when arbitration between families or tribes fails or an arbitration system is non-existent. This form of justice was common before the emergence of a system based on state or organized religion. It may result from crime, land disputes or a code of honour, acts of retaliation underscore the ability of the social collective to defend itself and demonstrate to enemies that injury to property, rights, or the person will not go unpunished. However, in practice, it is difficult to distinguish between a war of vendetta and one of conquest. Elaborations of tribal arbitration of feuds included peace settlements often done in a religious context, compensation was based on the principle of substitution which might include material compensation, exchange of brides or grooms, or payment of the blood debt. Settlement rules could allow for animal blood to replace human blood, the person offered for execution did not have to be an original perpetrator of the crime because the system was based on tribes, not individuals
10.
Lazar of Serbia
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Prince Lazar Hrebeljanović was a medieval Serbian ruler who created the largest and most powerful state on the territory of the disintegrated Serbian Empire. Lazars state, referred to by historians as Moravian Serbia, comprised the basins of the Great Morava, West Morava, Lazar ruled Moravian Serbia from 1373 until his death in 1389. Lazars programme had the support of the Serbian Orthodox Church. Lazar was killed at the Battle of Kosovo in June 1389 while leading an army assembled to confront the invading Ottoman Empire. The battle ended without a victor, though both sides endured heavy losses, which were more devastating for the less numerous Serbs and their Christian allies. Lazars widow, Milica, who ruled as regent for their adolescent son Stefan Lazarević, Lazars successor, Lazar is venerated in the Orthodox Christian Church as a martyr and saint, and is highly regarded in Serbian history, culture and tradition. In Serbian epic poetry, he is referred to as Tsar Lazar, Lazar was born around 1329 in the Prilepac Fortress,13 kilometres southeast of Novo Brdo, then an important mining town. His family were the lords of Prilepac, which together with the nearby fortress of Prizrenac protected the mines. Lazars father, Pribac, was a logothete in the court of Stefan Dušan, a member of the Nemanjić dynasty, who ruled as the King of Serbia from 1331 to 1346, the rank of logothete was relatively modest in the hierarchy of the Serbian court. Lazars father was among these nobles and was elevated to the position of logothete by pledging loyalty to Dušan, according to Mavro Orbin, a 16th-century Ragusan historian, Pribac and Lazars surname was Hrebeljanović. Though Orbin did not provide a source for this claim, it has widely accepted in historiography. Pribac was awarded by Dušan in yet another way, his son Lazar was granted the position of stavilac at the rulers court. The stavilac had a role in the ceremony at the royal table, the title of stavilac ranked as the last in the hierarchy of the Serbian court. It was, nevertheless, quite prestigious as it enabled its holder to be close to the ruler. Stavilac Lazar married Milica, according to subsequent genealogies, created in the first half of the 15th century, Milica was the daughter of Prince Vratko, a great-grandson of Vukan. The latter was the son of Grand Prince Stefan Nemanja, the founder of the Nemanjić dynasty, vukans descendents are not mentioned in any known source that predates the 15th-century genealogies. Tsar Dušan died suddenly in 1355 at the age of about 47, dušans death was followed by the stirring of separatist activity in the Serbian Empire. Epirus and Thessaly in its southwest broke away by 1359, the same happened with Braničevo and Kučevo, the empires north-eastern regions controlled by the Rastislalić family, who recognized the suzerainty of King Louis of Hungary
11.
Battle of Maritsa
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Before the Battle of Maritsa, Vukašin had the intention to recapture Skadar for the Serbian Empire. The Serbian army numbered 20, 000–70,000 men, most sources agree on the higher number. Despot Uglješa wanted to make an attack on the Ottomans in their capital city, Edirne. Thousands of Serbs were killed, and thousands drowned in the Maritsa river when they tried to flee, after the battle, the Maritsa ran scarlet with blood. Macedonia and parts of Greece fell under Ottoman power after this battle, the battle preceded the later 1389 Battle of Kosovo, and was one of many in history of the Serbian-Turkish wars. Battle of the Maritsa River Encyclopædia Britannica
12.
Battle of Savra
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The Battle of Savra or the Battle of the Vjosë was fought on 18 September 1385 between Ottoman and much smaller Zetan forces, at the Savra field near Lushnjë. The Ottomans were invited by Karlo Thopia to support him in his feud against Balša II, in 1372, Balša II married Komnina, the daughter of John Komnenos Asen, the Despot of Valona. As a dowry, Balša gained the cities of Valona, Berat and Kanina, in 1385 Balša II conquered Durazzo, presumably from Karl Topia. In a charter to Ragusa issued in April 1385, he called himself Duke of Durazzo, the expansion of Balšićs realm into Epirus brought him to the frontline against the Ottomans. Being aware of Ottoman aspirations to his territory, on 8 August 1385 Balša II asked Venetians to support him with four galleys, Karlo Thopia invited Ottomans to support him in conflict with Balša II. Thopias invitation was accepted and Hayreddin Pasha brought his forces from region of Ohrid to Saurian field, news about incursion of the Ottoman forces into the region of Berat reached Balša II while he was in Durrës. According to Mavro Orbini, Balša II rounded up one thousand men in Durrës and, ignoring the advice of his nobles, unsurprisingly, Balšas small forces had little success and Balša II was killed. Orbinis work is the source that mention Ivaniš Mrnjavčević as participant in this battle. Some scholars believe he did not even exist, while other believe that he was not independent medieval lord, another person mentioned only by Orbini is Balšas voivode Đurađ Krvavčić, described as brave warrior who also died in this battle. Mavrini explains that body of Balša II was decapitated and his head taken to Hayreddin Pasha, since the Ottomans were victorious, most of the local Serbian and Albanian lords became vassals. Immediately after this battle Thopia recaptured Durrës, probably under the Ottoman suzerainty, the Ottomans captured Krujë, Berat and Ulcinj and soon retreated from them keeping only Kastoria under their permanent control. Some sources explain that Ottomans probably remained in Berat with intention to use it as foothold to capture Vlorë, the work of Mavro Orbini is one of the main primary sources about this battle. It contains many incorrect and imprecise data, another primary source about the Battle of Savra is Marin Barleti who explained that Balša II was brave and idealistic. This battle set foundation for centuries-long Ottoman presence in this part of the Balkans, Serbian historian Stojan Novaković emphasized that the battles importance for these Serbian and Albanian lords was comparable to that of the Battle of Marica and Battle of Kosovo together. The important result of battle was influx of Albanians into Ottoman forces who had been a significant source of its strength during next 527 years. The Late Medieval Balkans, A Critical Survey from the Late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman Conquest, ivić, Aleksa, Mrđenović, Dušan, Spasić, Dušan, Palavestra, Aleksandar. Rodoslovne tablice i grbovi srpskih dinastija i vlastele, research Centre for Islamic History, Art and Culture
13.
Siege of Belgrade (1456)
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The Siege of Belgrade, or Battle of Belgrade or Siege of Nándorfehérvár. After the fall of Constantinople in 1453, the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II rallied his resources in order to subjugate the Kingdom of Hungary and his immediate objective was the border fort of the town of Belgrade. John Hunyadi, the Voivode of Transylvania, who had many battles against the Turks in the previous two decades, prepared the defenses of the fortress. The battle had significant consequences, as it stabilized the southern frontiers of the Kingdom of Hungary for more than half a century, the Pope celebrated the victory as well, as he previously ordered all Catholic kingdoms to pray for the victory of the defenders of Belgrade. This led to the noon bell ritual that is undertaken in Catholic. The day of the victory,22 July, has been a day in Hungary ever since. At the end of 1455, John Hunyadi began preparations for the defence of Belgrade, at his own expense, he provisioned and armed the fortress with a strong garrison under the command of his brother-in-law Mihály Szilágyi and his own eldest son László. Hunyadi then proceeded to form an army and an additional fleet of two hundred corvettes. The barons feared Hunyadis growing power more than the Ottoman threat, an Italian Franciscan friar allied to Hunyadi, Giovanni da Capistrano, preached a crusade to attract peasants and local countryside landlords to Hunyadis cause. The recruits were ill-armed, many with only slings and scythes, the recruits came under Hunyadis banner, the core of which consisted of smaller bands of seasoned mercenaries and a few groups of minor knights. All in all, Hunyadi managed to build a force of 25–30,000 men, before Hunyadi could assemble his forces, the army of Mehmed II arrived at Belgrade. The siege began on July 4,1456, Szilágyi could rely on a force of only 5, 000-7,000 men in the castle. Mehmed set up his siege on the neck of the headland and he arrayed his men in three sections, The Rumelian corps had the majority of his 300 cannons, while his fleet of 200 river war vessels had the rest of them. The Rumelians were arrayed on the wing and the Anatolian corps were arrayed on the left. In the middle were the guards of the Sultan, the Janissaries. The Anatolian corps and the Janissaries were both heavy infantry troops, Mehmed posted his river vessels mainly to the northwest of the city to patrol the marshes and ensure that the fortress was not reinforced. They also kept an eye on the Sava river to the southwest to avoid the infantry from being outflanked by Hunyadis army, the zone from the Danube eastwards was guarded by the Sipahi, the Sultans feudal heavy cavalry corps, to avoid being outflanked on the right. When Hunyadi was informed of this, he was in the south of Hungary recruiting additional light cavalry troops for the army, although relatively few, his fellow nobles were willing to provide manpower, and the peasants were more than willing to do so
14.
Serbia in the Middle Ages
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Тhe medieval history of Serbia begins in the 6th century with the Slavic invasion of the Balkans, and lasts until the Ottoman occupation of 1540. Sclaveni raided and settled the western Balkans in the 6th and 7th century, through linguistical studies, it is concluded that the Early South Slavs were made up of a western and eastern branch, of parallel streams, roughly divided in the Timok–Osogovo–Šar line. The DAI drew information on the Serbs from, among others, the first capital was Ras, in Raška. The other Serb-inhabited lands that were mentioned included the countries of Paganija, Zahumlje and Travunija and these polities bordered Serbia to the north. The exact borders of the early Serbian state are unclear, the Serbian ruler was titled Prince of the Serbs. The DAI mentions that the Serbian throne is inherited by the son, i. e. the first-born, his descendants succeeded him, between 1043 and 1080, under Mihailo Vojislavljević, and his son, Constantine Bodin, Duklja saw its apogee. Mihailo was given the nominal title King of Slavs by the Pope after having left the Byzantine camp and supported a Slavic uprising in the Balkans, in which his son Bodin played a central part. Having incorporated the Serbian hinterland and installed vassal rulers there, this maritime principality emerged as the most powerful Serb polity, between 1113 and 1149 Duklja was the centre of Serbian–Byzantine conflict, with members of the Vojislavljević as protégés of either fighting each other for power. The Serbian Grand Principality, also known as Rascia, was founded in 1090, when Bodin had died, Rascia became the strongest entity, in which the Serbian realm would be seated, in hands of the Vukanović dynasty. Uroš I, the son of Vukan, ruled Serbia when the Byzantines invaded Duklja, and Rascia would be next in line, Uroš II initially fought the Byzantines, but after a defeat soon gives oaths of servitude to the Emperor. Desa, the brother of Uroš II and an initial Byzantine ally, turned to Hungarian support, but was deposed in 1163, Stefan Nemanja was succeeded by his middle son Stefan, while his first-born son Vukan was given the rule of the Zeta region. Stefan Nemanjas youngest son Rastko became a monk, turning all his efforts to spread religion among his people, since the Catholic Church already had ambitions to spread its influence to the Balkans as well, Stefan took advantage and obtained the royal crown from the Pope in 1217. In Byzantium, Sava managed to secure autocephaly for the Serbian Church, in the same year Sava issued the first constitution in Serbia, the Zakonopravilo. Thus the medieval Serbian state acquired both forms of independence, political and religious, the next generation of Serbian rulers, the sons of King Stefan, Stefan Radoslav, Stefan Vladislav and Stefan Uroš I, marked a period of stagnation of the state structure. All three kings were more or less dependent on some of the neighbouring states—Byzantium, Bulgaria or Hungary, the ties with the Hungarians played a decisive role in the fact that Uroš I was succeeded by his son Stefan Dragutin, whose wife was a Hungarian princess. Thus, some of these became part of the Serbian state for the first time. His new state was named Kingdom of Srem, in that time the name Srem was a designation for two territories, Upper Srem and Lower Srem. Kingdom of Srem under the rule of Stefan Dragutin was actually Lower Srem, after Dragutin died, the new ruler of the Kingdom of Srem became his son, king Vladislav II, who ruled this state until 1325
15.
Tvrtko I of Bosnia
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Stephen Tvrtko I was the first King of Bosnia, and is widely considered one of the countrys greatest medieval rulers. A member of the House of Kotromanić, Tvrtko succeeded his uncle Stephen II as Ban of Bosnia in 1353, as he was a minor at the time, his father, Vladislav, briefly ruled as regent, followed by his mother, Jelena. Early in his personal rule Tvrtko quarreled with Roman Catholic clergy, after initial difficulties – the loss of large parts of Bosnia to his overlord, King Louis I of Hungary, and a brief deposition by magnates – Tvrtkos power grew considerably. He conquered some remnants of the neighbouring Serbian Empire in 1373, after the death of its last ruler and his distant relative, in 1377 he had himself crowned King of Bosnia and of Serbia, claiming to be the heir of the extinct Serbian Nemanjić dynasty. The expansion of the Kingdom of Bosnia continued, with the King focusing on the coast, the death of King Louis and accession of Queen Mary in 1382 allowed Tvrtko to take advantage of the ensuing succession crisis in Hungary and Croatia. After bitter fighting from 1385 to 1390, Tvrtko succeeded in conquering large parts of Slavonia, Dalmatia and Croatia proper. Following the Battle of Kosovo in 1389, his tenuous claim to Serbia became a mere fiction, the Ottoman Turks also launched their first attacks on Bosnia during Tvrtko Is reign, but his army was able to repel them. Tvrtkos sudden death in 1391 prevented him from solidifying the Kotromanić hold on Croatian lands, Tvrtko I extended medieval Bosnias borders to their farthest limits, left a strong economy and improved the living standards of his subjects. He was survived by at least one son, Tvrtko II, Tvrtko was the elder son of Vladislav Kotromanić and Jelena Šubić, likely born within a year of their marriage, which was celerated in 1337. The couple were the brother of the Bosnian ban Stephen II, Tvrtko was most likely raised as a Roman Catholic, his mother belonged to the Roman Catholic Church, and his uncle Stephen joined it shortly after Tvrtkos birth. Stephen died in September 1353, leaving no sons. Although Vladislav was still alive, Stephens title passed directly to Tvrtko, Tvrtko, however, was only about fifteen years old at the time, so his father assumed the government as regent. Soon after his accession, Tvrtko was taken by his father through the realm to settle relations with his vassals, Jelena replaced Vladislav as regent upon his death in 1354. She immediately traveled to Hungary to obtain consent to Tvrtkos accession from King Louis I, his overlord. Following her return, Jelena held an assembly in Mile, with mother and son confirming the possessions and privileges of the noblemen of all of Bosnia, Donji Kraji, Zagorje and the Hum land. The death of Tvrtkos maternal uncle, Mladen III Šubić, in 1348 led to a decline of the noble family. In May 1355, Jelena and Tvrtko marched with an army to Duvno in order to claim his share of his uncles patrimony, the state assembled by Tvrtkos uncle Stephen broke apart on Tvrtkos accession, much to the satisfaction of his overlord Louis. The Hungarians were keen to encourage Stephens vassals to act independently from Tvrtko, Louis posed a more direct threat as well, he was determined to enlarge the royal domain and throughout his realm he ardently reclaimed all lands that once belonged to the monarch
16.
Kosovo
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Kosovo is a disputed territory and partially recognised state in Southeastern Europe that declared independence from Serbia in February 2008 as the Republic of Kosovo. Kosovo is landlocked in the central Balkan Peninsula, with its strategic position in the Balkans, it serves as an important link in the connection between central and south Europe, the Adriatic Sea, and Black Sea. Its capital and largest city is Pristina, and other urban areas include Prizren, Pejë. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, the Republic of Macedonia to the southeast, Montenegro to the west, while Serbia recognises administration of the territory by Kosovos elected government, it still continues to claim it as its own Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija. In antiquity, the Dardanian Kingdom, and later the Roman province of Dardania was located in the region, the area was inhabited by several ancient Illyrian tribes. In the Middle Ages, it was part of the Byzantine, Bulgarian and Serbian Empires, Kosovo was the core of the medieval Serbian state and it has been the seat of the Serbian Orthodox Church from the 14th century when its status was upgraded into a patriarchate. After being part of the Ottoman Empire from the 15th to the early 20th century, the war ended with a military intervention of NATO, which forced the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to withdraw its troops from Kosovo, which became a UN protectorate under UNSCR1244. On 17 February 2008 Kosovos Parliament declared independence and it has since gained diplomatic recognition as a sovereign state by 111 UN member states, Taiwan, the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, the Cook Islands and Niue. Serbia refuses to recognise Kosovo as a state, although with the Brussels Agreement of 2013 it has accepted the legitimacy of Kosovar institutions, the entire region is commonly referred to in English simply as Kosovo and in Albanian as Kosova or Kosovë. The name of the plain was applied to the Kosovo Province created in 1864, Albanians refer to Kosovo as Dardania, the name of a Roman province located in Central Balkans that was formed in 284 AD which covered the territory of modern Kosovo. The name is derived from the Albanian word dardha/dardā which means pear, the former Kosovo President Ibrahim Rugova had been an enthusiastic backer of a Dardanian identity and the Kosovan flag and presidential seal refer to this national identity. However, the name Kosova remains more widely used among the Albanian population, the official conventional long name of the state is Republic of Kosovo, as defined by the Constitution of Kosovo, and is used to represent Kosovo internationally. This arrangement, which has dubbed the asterisk agreement, was agreed in an 11-point arrangement agreed on 24 February 2012. By the independence declaration in 2008, its long name became Republic of Kosovo. In prehistory, the succeeding Starčevo culture, Vinča culture, Bubanj-Hum culture, the area in and around Kosovo has been inhabited for nearly 10,000 years. During the Neolithic age, Kosovo lay within the area of the Vinča-Turdaş culture which is characterised by West Balkan black, bronze and Iron Age tombs have been found in Metohija. However, life during the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age is not confirmed yet, therefore, until arguments of Paleolithic and Mesolithic man are confirmed, Neolithic man, respectively the Neolithic sites are considered as the chronological beginning of population in Kosovo. From this period until today Kosovo has been inhabited, and traces of activities of societies from prehistoric, ancient, whereas, in some archaeological sites, multilayer settlements clearly reflect the continuity of life through centuries
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Kosovo field (plain)
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Kosovo Field is a former battlefield northwest from Priština that was the site of the Battle of Kosovo between the Balkan Alliance and Ottoman armies. It is for field, and the battle, that the Kosovo region is named. The modern city of Kosovo Polje is also named after the field, Balkan Alliance ruler Stefan Lazarević erected a marble column with inscriptions on the field, in memory of his father. Battle of Kosovo was fought between the Ottoman Empire and Kingdom of Hungary
18.
Pristina
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Prishtina or Priština, is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. It is the center of the homonymous municipality and district. Geographically, it is located in the part of Kosovo close to the Goljak mountains. The city is situated some 250 kilometres north-east of Tirana,90 kilometres north of Skopje,520 kilometres south of Belgrade and 300 kilometres east of Podgorica, being Kosovos largest city, Pristina is a hometown of many of the major local universities, cultural institutions and commercial companies. One of the most important prehistoric cultures of Europe, the Vinča culture, in ancient times, Illyrians and Romans inhabited the region. In the 4th century BC, the king of Dardanians, Bardyllis brought various tribes together in the area of Pristina, the ancient city of Ulpiana, near Pristina, was considered one of the most important Roman cities in the Balkans. In the Middle Ages, Pristina was an important town in Medieval Serbia and it was a royal estate of Stefan Milutin, Stefan Uroš III, Stefan Dušan, Stefan Uroš V and Vuk Branković. During the Ottoman period, Pristina was classified as an important mining and trading center on the Balkan market due to its position near the mining town of Novo Brdo. The city was known for its fairs and items, such as goatskin and goat hair. The first mosque in Pristina was built in the late 14th century, Pristina has always been considered as a city where tolerance and coexistence in terms of religion and culture has been part of the society in the last centuries. The city has a majority Albanian population, alongside other smaller communities, with a population of about 500.000, Pristina is the second-largest Albanian-speaking city in the world. The name of the city is derived from a Slavic form *Prišьčь, an adjective from the personal name *Prišьkъ. The name is most likely a patronymic of the personal name *Prišь, preserved as a surname in Sorbian Priš, and Polish Przybysz, a false etymology connects the name Priština with the Serbian word prišt, meaning ulcer or tumour, referring to its boiling. The inhabitants of this city call themselves Prishtinali in local Gheg Albanian or Prištevci in the local Serbian dialect, in prehistory, the succeeding Starčevo culture, Vinča culture, Bubanj-Hum culture, Baden culture were active in the region. The area in and around Kosovo has been inhabited for nearly 10,000 years, during the Neolithic age, Kosovo lay within the areal of the Vinča-Turdaş culture which is characterised by West Balkan black and grey pottery. Bronze and Iron Age tombs have found in Rrafshi i Dukagjinit. The area in and around Pristina has been inhabited for nearly 10,000 years, early Neolithic findings were discovered dating as far back as the 8th century BC, in the areas surrounding Pristina, i. e. Matiçan, Gračanica and Ulpiana. In the 4th century BC, Bardyllis brought various tribes together in the region, after the Roman conquest of Illyria in 168 BC, Romans colonized and founded several cities in the region, which they named Dardania
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Fall of the Serbian Empire
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The fall of the Serbian Empire was a decades-long period in the late 14th century that marked the end of the once-powerful Serbian Empire. This period is known as the dissolution or the beginning of the fall of the Serbian Empire, between 1366 and 1371 King Vukašin was the co-ruler of Emperor Uroš, ruling the southern half, thus the Empire may be viewed as a de facto diarchy. Before 1371, the nobility were either directly subordinate to Emperor Uroš or to Vukašin, Vukašin died in the Battle of Maritsa against the invading Ottoman Empire, and southern Serbian provinces became nominal Ottoman vassals. The lords could not agree on the ruler, they dismissed Prince Marko, the son of Vukašin. The period after the death of Uroš and Vukašin was marked with the rise and fall of Prince Lazar, Lazar ruled the most powerful Serbian principality – Moravian Serbia. The rule of Lazar ended with his death in the Battle of Kosovo in 1389, when Serbia stood up against invading Ottomans, an event that is deeply rooted in Serbdom. After the battle, and by 1395, most of the provinces were conquered and annexed by the Ottomans. Dušans half brother Simeon Uroš was expelled from Epirus and sought to obtain Serbia and he marched on Serbia in 1357 after he had himself proclaimed Tsar of the Greeks, Serbs, and Albanians at Kastoria in 1356. The forces of Stephen Uroš met the forces of Simeon near Scutari in Zeta, the ransom was paid by the Emperor John V Palaiologos and Matthew was allowed to retire to Morea. Now the lands that remained loyal to Uroš were most of Macedonia, the lands that remained Serbian could be divided into three main parts, the western territories, including Zeta, the central Serbian lands of Uroš and the southern lands. One of the strongest western nobles was Vojislav Vojinović and he quarreled with the Republic of Ragusa in the fall of 1358, when the Serbs, the Hungarians penetrated deep into Serbian territory and the Serbian army retreated to avoid battle with the attackers. Vojislav waited until the Hungarians withdrew in 1359 then he attacked Ragusa, in 1363 the Hungarians and Wallachians were joined by Bosnian and Serbian forces committed to expel the Ottoman Turks from Europe. Caught by surprise near Adrianople, these forces were defeated by the Turks in 1364 on the banks of the Maritsa river, in 1365 Vukašin was proclaimed King of Serbia and co-ruler with Uroš, and Jovan Uglješa was made Despot in the Serbian principality of Serres. There was a far more serious problem for Serbia — and the whole Balkans — than the internal squabbling of the Serbian nobles, followed by their penetration into Thrace, in 1354 they acquired Gallipoli on the European side of the Dardanelles. From there, they expanded into Thrace taking Demotika from the Byzantines in 1361 and Philippopolis from the Bulgarians in 1363, by 1370 Turks had occupied most of Thrace to the Rhodopes and to the Balkan Mountains. As they reached the Rhodopes they collided with Jovan Uglješa who had extended his realm beyond the Mesta into this territory, the offensive against the Turks was originally scheduled for early 1371, but was delayed perhaps because Uglješa had hoped that Bulgaria might also join the coalition. Furthermore, they did not keep their horses or their weapons in readiness, the Ottomans won the battle, as they attacked the Serbian army while they rested. The bodies of the commanders were not found, Prince Marko inherited the royal title of his father, and became the co-ruler of Emperor Uroš
20.
Serbian nobility
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Notable are also Serbian families that gained nobility in Russian Empire. With the independence of Serbia in the 19th century, a new aristocracy arose, in the medieval Serbian states, the privileged class consisted of nobility and clergy, distinguished from commoners, part of the feudal society. The nobility were roughly grouped into magnates and the lesser nobility, after the Ottoman conquest in the 15th and 16th centuries, large migrations of Serbs followed into the Pannonian Plain. The community in the Kingdom of Hungary, and subsequently Habsburg Monarchy, were known as Rascians, Serbs distinguished themselves as warriors and diplomats, and enrolled in Austrian, Transylvanian or Wallachian services. After the fall of Vienna in 1683, Serbian warriors left for Austria and Russia where they obtained high ranks and honors in the armies, and once again a new level of nobility emerged. Similarly, towards the Adriatic, the Frontier Serbs, outlaw hajduks and Uskoks waged war against the Ottomans, and were bestowed noble titles by the Republic of Venice
21.
Plovdiv
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Plovdiv is the second-largest city in Bulgaria, with a population of 341,567 inhabitants as of 2015, while 544,628 live in its urban area. It is an important economic, transport, cultural, and educational center, Plovdiv has evidence of habitation since the 6th millennium BC when the first Neolithic settlements were established. It is said to be one of the oldest cities in the world, Plovdiv was known in the West for most of its recorded history by the name Philippopolis as Philip II of Macedon conquered it in the 4th century BC and gave his name to it. The city was originally a Thracian settlement, later being invaded by Persians, Greeks, Celts, Romans, Goths, Huns, Bulgarians, Slav-Vikings, Crusaders, on 4 January 1878, Plovdiv was liberated from Ottoman rule by the Russian army. It remained within the borders of Bulgaria until July of the same year, in 1885, Plovdiv and Eastern Rumelia joined Bulgaria. Plovdiv is situated in a region of south-central Bulgaria on the two banks of the Maritsa River. The city has developed on seven syenite hills, some of which are 250 metres high. Because of these hills, Plovdiv is often referred to in Bulgaria as The City of the Seven Hills, Plovdiv is host to cultural events such as the International Fair Plovdiv, the international theatrical festival A stage on a crossroad, and the TV festival The golden chest. There are many remains preserved from antiquity such as the ancient Plovdiv Roman theatre, Roman odeon, Roman aqueduct, Roman Stadium, the archaeological complex Eirene, and others. The oldest American educational institution outside the United States was founded in Plovdiv in 1860, on 5 September 2014, Plovdiv was selected as the Bulgarian host of the European Capital of Culture 2019. This happened with the help of the Municipal Foundation Plovdiv 2019″ - a non-government organization which was established in 2011 by Plovdivs City Council, the main objectives were to develop and to prepare Plovdivs bid book for European Capital of Culture in 2019. The organization has a board of directors, which consists of 9 members, the foundation also has a Public Council, chaired by the mayor of the city, and a Control Board supervises the organizations activities. The main objective of the foundation is strategic development and implementation of the bid book, Plovdiv was given various names throughout its long history. The Odrysian capital Odryssa is suggested to have been modern Plovdiv by numismatic research or Odrin, Philippopolis was identified later by Plutarch and Pliny as the former Poneropolis. Strabo identified Philip IIs settlement of most evil, wicked as Calybe, kendrisia was an old name of the city. An assumed name is the 1st century Tiberias in honor of the Roman emperor Tiberius, after the Romans had taken control of the area, the city was named in Latin, TRIMONTIUM, meaning The Three Hills, mentioned in the 1st century by Pliny. At times the name was Ulpia, Flavia, Julia after the Roman families, Ammianus Marcellinus wrote in the 4th century that the then city had been the old Eumolpias/Eumolpiada, i. e. the earliest name in chronological terms. In the 6th century Jordanes wrote that the name of the city was Pulpudeva
22.
Ihtiman
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Ihtiman is a town in western Bulgaria, part of Sofia Province. It is located in the Ihtimanska Sredna Gora mountains and lies in a valley 48 km from Sofia and 95 km from Plovdiv, formerly a Roman defensive station guarding the important roads to the Bosphorus, Ihtiman was then called Stipon. It continued to play this role under the Byzantine Empire and the Bulgarian Empire, following the Ottoman domination in the 14th century, the towns name was changed to Ihtiman, which is thought to be of Ottoman Turkish origin. The traditional and dominant religion is Eastern Orthodox Christianity, Ihtiman Hook on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica is named after Ihtiman. Ikhtiman has a continental climate with very cold and snowy winters and not too hot. The average annual temperature is 8. 9C, Ihtiman is also the seat of Ihtiman municipality, which includes the following 27 villages, Russia Klimovsk Information portal for IHTIMAN
23.
Kyustendil
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Kyustendil is a town in the far west of Bulgaria, the capital of the Kyustendil Province, a former bishopric and present Latin Catholic titular see. The total population counts 44,532 people, with a Bulgarian majority, during the Iron Age, a Thracian settlement was located within the town, later known as Roman in the 1st century AD. In the Middle Ages, the town switched hands between the Byzantine Empire, Bulgaria and Serbia, prior to Ottoman annexation in 1395, after centuries of Ottoman rule, the town became part of an independent Bulgarian state in 1878. The modern name is derived from Kösten, the Turkified name of the 14th-century local feudal Constantine Dragaš, from Latin constans, steadfast + the Turkish il shire, the town was known as Pautalia in Antiquity and as Velbazhd in the Middle Ages. Kyustendil Ridge in Graham Land, Antarctica is named after the city, many Thracian and Roman objects are exhibited in the towns Regional History Museum, most notably an impressive numismatic collection. A fortress was built in the town in the 4th century, the town was mentioned under the Slavic name of Velbazhd in a 1019 charter by the Byzantine Emperor Basil II. It became a religious and administrative centre of the Byzantine Empire. In 1282, Serbian king Stefan Milutin defeated the Byzantine Empire, in 1330, the Serbs defeated the Bulgarians in the vicinity, effectively keeping the region to the Serbian Kingdom. Upon Dejans death, his possessions in Žegligovo and Upper Struma were given to his two sons, Jovan Dragaš and Konstantin, the city was a sanjak centre initially in Rumelia governorate-general, after that in the Bitola and Niš vilayets. It was a centre in the Sofia sanjak of Danube Province until the creation of the Principality of Bulgaria in 1878. The residents of Kyustendil took a part in the Bulgarian National Revival and crafts. The town was liberated from Ottoman rule on 29 January 1878, in the mean time, about a fourth of Bulgarians live in the surrounding villages, also part of the Municipality of Kyustendil. Kyustendil today belongs to the Sofia diocese in regards of Orthodox church-administrative structure, the city is the center of the vicarage and the Kyustendil Eparchy, in the past, Kyustendil was the seat of the diocese, that latter was closed in 1884. The majority of the population profess the Orthodox faith today, there are several Christian denominations associated with Protestantism. During Ottoman rule Kyustendil had mostly Turkish population professing Islam, but of the mosques of the time. Today the city has only Christian churches operating, in Antiquity, Pautalia was a bishopric in the Roman province of Dacia Mediterranea, suffragan to the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Sardica, in the sway of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. Its only recorded residential bishop is Evangelius, who was summoned to Constantinople by Byzantine emperor Anastasius I Dicorus in 516 during the controversy against Monophysitism, the archdiocese was nominally restored in 1933 as Latin Metropolitan Titular archbishopric of Velebusdus / Velebusdo / Velesdien. Gabriele Arcangelo all’Acqua Traversa, previously Titular Bishop of Tisili as Auxiliary Bishop of Madrid Archbishop Gábor Pintér, papal diplomat, Apostolic Nuncio to Belarus, Kyustendil is a national balneological resort at an altitude of 600 metres
24.
Kratovo, Macedonia
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Kratovo is a small picturesque town in Macedonia, one of the regions living museums. It is the seat of Kratovo Municipality and it lies on the western slopes of Mount Osogovo at an altitude of 600 metres above sea level. Having a mild and pleasant climate, it is located in the crater of an extinct volcano and it is famous for its bridges and towers. Tetradrachmas of Philip II of Macedon found in Kratovo might suggest that there was a settlement here in antiquity, in the Roman period there was a settlement called Tranatura located within the modern city municipality. There was a nearby and the town was the seat of local authorities. No remains of the settlement has been found, however, remnants of Roman fortification were found on Zdravče kamen hill above the town, the golden age of Kratovo started after 1282 when it became part of the Kingdom of Serbia. In all probability the wealth of the came from its mines. Saxon miners and Ragusan merchants who already had worked in other parts of Serbia settled here, the town was first mentioned under its current name in 1330. Gold, silver, lead, iron and copper were mined in the immediate vicinity, during the reign of Emperor Stefan Dušan the mines of Kratovo were the prime source of wealth of despot Jovan Oliver. After his death, during the fall of the Serbian Empire under Stefan Uroš V, konstantin Dejanović minted his silver coins here. The Ragusan merchant colony grew larger and took over the best part of trading with ores, in 1389, during his attack on Prince Lazar, Ottoman sultan Murad I stopped in Kratovo to gather information and hold a war council. Next year, in 1390, his son, Bayezid, captured it from the Dejanović and put his official to reside here. Kratovo was the seat of a nahiya, as a part of the sanjak of Velbužd, as well as a kaza, seat of a kadi/judge, engulfing not only the towns vicinity but also Štip, Kočani and Nagoričani. In 1484 Jovan Konić and Stepan, son of Branko, both from Kratovo, paid an amazing 16,424,000 akçe for a rent of mints in Novo Brdo, Skopje. As a trade center Kratovo was also settled by Sephardic Jews, Kratovo was an important stop for Ottoman sultans, in 1455, before an attack on Novo Brdo, the Ottoman army regrouped here. In the 16th century Kratovo ranked among the most important mining towns in the European part of the Ottoman Empire. However, from 1520 to 1540 minting and mining were in crisis and many of the tenants, all of them local Christians. Also, between 1519 and 1530 the number of Christian households dwindled from 982 to 606, after the reform and codification of the craft, the mining and minting recovered around mid-century
25.
Republic of Macedonia
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Macedonia, officially the Republic of Macedonia, is a country in the Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the states of the former Yugoslavia. A landlocked country, the Republic of Macedonia has borders with Kosovo to the northwest, Serbia to the north, Bulgaria to the east, Greece to the south, the countrys geography is defined primarily by mountains, valleys, and rivers. The capital and largest city, Skopje, is home to roughly a quarter of the nations 2.06 million inhabitants, the majority of the residents are ethnic Macedonians, a South Slavic people. Albanians form a significant minority at around 25 percent, followed by Turks, Romani, Serbs, Macedonias history dates back to antiquity, beginning with the kingdom of Paeonia, a Thracian polity. In the late sixth century BCE the area was incorporated into the Persian Achaemenid Empire, the Romans conquered the region in the second century BCE and made it part of the much larger province of Macedonia. Macedonia remained part of the Byzantine Empire, and was raided and settled by Slavic peoples beginning in the sixth century CE. Following centuries of contention between the Bulgarian and Byzantine empires, it came under Ottoman dominion from the 14th century. Between the late 19th and early 20th century, a distinct Macedonian identity emerged, although following the Balkan Wars of 1912 and 1913, Macedonia remained a constituent socialist republic within Yugoslavia until its peaceful secession in 1991. Macedonia is a member of the UN and of the Council of Europe, since 2005 it has also been a candidate for joining the European Union and has applied for NATO membership. Although one of the poorest countries in Europe, Macedonia has made significant progress in developing an open, the countrys name derives from the Greek Μακεδονία, a kingdom named after the ancient Macedonians. The name is believed to have meant either highlanders or the tall ones. However, Robert S. P. Beekes supports that both terms are of Pre-Greek substrate origin and cannot be explained in terms of Indo-European morphology, the Republic of Macedonia roughly corresponds to the ancient kingdom of Paeonia, which was located immediately north of the ancient kingdom of Macedonia. In the late 6th century BC, the Achaemenid Persians under Darius the Great conquered the Paeonians, following the loss in the Second Persian invasion of Greece in 479 BC, the Persians eventually withdrew from their European territories, including from what is today the Republic of Macedonia. In 356 BC Philip II of Macedon absorbed the regions of Upper Macedonia, the Romans established the Province of Macedonia in 146 BC. Roman expansion brought the Scupi area under Roman rule in the time of Domitian, and it fell within the Province of Moesia. Whilst Greek remained the dominant language in the part of the Roman empire. Slavic peoples settled in the Balkan region including Macedonia by the late 6th century AD, during the 580s, Byzantine literature attests to the Slavs raiding Byzantine territories in the region of Macedonia, later aided by Bulgars. Historical records document that in c.680 a group of Bulgars, Slavs and Byzantines led by a Bulgar called Kuber settled in the region of the Keramisian plain, presians reign apparently coincides with the extension of Bulgarian control over the Slavic tribes in and around Macedonia
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Ottoman Empire
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District of Branković
Kingdom of Bosnia
