The Battle of Kosovo 1389: From Myth Making to Ideology

The battle of Kosova (in Ottoman Turkish), or Kosovo (in Slavic), which took place on June 28, 1389 between the Ottoman Sultan Murad I and his allies and the Serbian prince Lazar Hrebeljanovic, is a critical but also puzzling historical event taking place at the end of the middle ages in Europe. It was the first battle in which an Ottoman sultan met his death – this being the only certain fact about the battle. The details of the battle are were not accurately recorded and therefore subsequently left to the poetic imagination of those who wanted to make use of the battle according to the historical and political context in the region over the following centuries. To begin with, the battle served as a symbol of the conflict between Islam and Christianity until the 18th century. Then it became a symbol of rising nationalist ideology in the 19th century and nationalist revival at the end of the 20th century in the post-communist period. Right up to the beginning of the present century, the battle of Kosovo remains on open symbol for the future, reflecting the reality of powers and alliances in the Balkans.

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The battle of Kosova (in Ottoman Turkish), or Kosovo (in Slavic), which took place on June 28, 1389 between the Ottoman Sultan Murad I and his allies and the Serbian prince Lazar Hrebeljanovic, is a critical but also puzzling historical event taking place at the end of the middle ages in Europe. It was the first battle in which an Ottoman sultan met his death – this being the only certain fact about the battle. The details of the battle are were not accurately recorded and therefore subsequently left to the poetic imagination of those who wanted to make use of the battle according to the historical and political context in the region over the following centuries. To begin with, the battle served as a symbol of the conflict between Islam and Christianity until the 18th century. Then it became a symbol of rising nationalist ideology in the 19th century and nationalist revival at the end of the 20th century in the post-communist period. Right up to the beginning of the present century, the battle of Kosovo remains on open symbol for the future, reflecting the reality of powers and alliances in the Balkans.

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