The Battle of Kosovo (Turkish: Kosova Savaşı; Serbian: Косовска битка) took place on 15 June 1389 between an army led by the Serbian Prince Lazar Hrebeljanović and an invading army of the Ottoman Empire under the command of Sultan Murad Hüdavendigâr. The battle was fought on the Kosovo field in the territory ruled by Serbian nobleman Vuk Branković, in what is today Kosovo, about 5 kilometers (3.1 mi) northwest of the modern city of Pristina. The army under Prince Lazar consisted of his own troops, a contingent led by Branković, and a contingent sent from Bosnia by King Tvrtko I, commanded by Vlatko Vuković. Prince Lazar was the ruler of Moravian Serbia and the most powerful among the Serbian regional lords of the time, while Branković ruled the District of Branković and other areas, recognizing Lazar as his overlord.
Reliable historical accounts of the battle are scarce. The bulk of both armies were wiped out, and Lazar and Murad were killed. Both armies were effectively wiped out, however, Serbian manpower was depleted and had no capacity to field large armies against future Ottoman campaigns, which relied on new reserve forces from Anatolia. Consequently, the Serbian principalities that were not already Ottoman vassals, became so in the following years.
1989Jun, 28
On the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Kosovo, Slobodan Milošević delivers the Gazimestan speech at the site of the historic battle.
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Events on 1989
- 15Apr
Tiananmen Square protests of 1989
Upon Hu Yaobang's death, the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 begin in China. - 26Apr
Tiananmen Square protests of 1989
People's Daily publishes the April 26 Editorial which inflames the nascent Tiananmen Square protests - 27Apr
Tiananmen Square protests of 1989
The April 27 demonstrations, student-led protests responding to the April 26 Editorial, during the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. - 20May
Tiananmen Square massacre
The Chinese authorities declare martial law in the face of pro-democracy demonstrations, setting the scene for the Tiananmen Square massacre. - 5Jun
Tiananmen Square protests of 1989
The Tank Man halts the progress of a column of advancing tanks for over half an hour after the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.