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Miloš Obilić

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Miloš Obilić

Painting of Miloš Obilić by ?
Born unknown
Died June 28 (Gregorian calendar), 1389
Battle of Kosovo
Nationality Serbian
Other names Miloš Kobilac (first attested form), Miloš Kobilović (second attested form)
Known for assassination of Ottoman sultan Murad I
Title knight
Relatives Prince Lazar
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Miloš Obilić (Serbian Cyrillic: Милош Обилић) (died 1389, Gregorian calendar: June 28, Julian calendar: June 15) was a 14th-century Serbian knight in the service of Prince Lazar, ruler of Moravian Serbia. Little is known of the historical persona, but he features prominently in accounts of the Battle of Kosovo as the legendary assassin of the Ottoman sultan Murad I. Although Miloš remains anonymous in the extant sources until the late 15th century, the dissemination of the story of Murad's assassination in Florentine, Serbian, Ottoman and Greek sources suggests that it widely circulated across the Balkans within half a century after the event. Miloš became a major figure in Serbian epic poetry, in which he is elevated to the level of the most noble national hero of medieval Serbian folklore, and remains the symbol of personal courage and ultimate sacrifice in the service to the country.

Contents

[edit] Earliest sources

The earliest Serbian sources on the Battle of Kosovo, which generally favour the cult of Prince Lazar, do not mention Miloš or his assassination of the sultan.[1] The deed itself is first reported by Coluccio Salutati (died 1406), Chancellor of Florence, in his letter to King Tvrtko I of Bosnia (r. 1353-1391), dated 20 October 1389, on behalf of the Florentine Senate.[1][2] The killer is not named but he is described as one of twelve Serbian noblemen who managed to break through the Ottoman ranks:

"Fortunate, most fortunate are those hands of the twelve loyal lords who, having opened their way with the sword and having penetrated the enemy lines and the circle of chained camels, heroically reached the tent of Amurat [Murad] himself. Fortunate above all is that one who so forcefully killed such a strong vojvoda by stabbing him with a sword in the throat and belly. And blessed are all those who gave their lives and blood through the glorious manner of martyrdom as victims of the dead leader over his ugly corpse."[2][3]

The assassin's first appearance in Serbian sources is in the biography of Stefan Lazarevic, Lazar's son, by Constantine the Philosopher, written in the 1440s. The hero, still anonymous, is described as a man of noble birth whom envious tongues had sought to defame before the prince. To prove his loyalty and courage, he left the front line on the pretext of being a deserter, somehow grasped the opportunity to stab the sultan to death and was killed himself shortly afterwards.[1] The initial phase of ignominy and its redemption by a courageous plot of slaying the sultan are narrative ingredients which would become essential to the Serbian legend as it evolved in later times.[1]

[edit] Ottoman and Greek sources

The loss of a sultan made an impression on the earliest Ottoman sources. They usually describe how Murad was unaccompanied on the battlefield and an anonymous Christian who had been lying among the corpses seized the opportunity to stab him to death. In the early 15th century, for instance, the poet Ahmedi writes that "[s]uddenly one of the Christians, who was covered in blood and apparently hidden among the enemy dead, got up, rushed to Murad and stabbed him with a dagger."[4][1] One historian from Edirne, Oruc or Uruc, explains the lack of protection by saying that the army was preoccupied with pursuing the enemy in rear flight and introduces an element of deception: the Christian "had promised himself as a sacrifice and approached Murad, who was sitting alone on his horse. Pretending he wished to kiss the sultan's hand, he stabbed the sultan with a sharp dagger."[5] [1][2]

Since about the late 15th century, Greek sources also begin to record the event. The Athenian scholar Laonicus Chalcondyles (d. c. 1490) claims to draw on Greek traditions when he refers to Murad's killer as Miloes, "a man of noble birth [... who] voluntarily decided to accomplish the heroic act of assassination. He requested what he needed from Prince Lazar, and then rode off to Murad's camp with the intention of presenting himself as a deserter. Murad, who was standing in the midst of his troops before the battle, was eager to receive the deserter. Miloes reached the sultan and his bodyguards, turned his spear against Murad, and killed him."[1] Writing in the second half of the same century, John Ducas regarded the story as worthy of inclusion in his Historia Byzantina. He relates how the young nobleman pretended to desert the battle, was captured by the Turks and professing to know the key to victory, managed to gain access to Murad and kill him.[1]

In 1976, Miodrag Popovic suggested that the narrative elements of secrecy and stratagem in the Serbian tradition were introduced from Turkish sources. However, Thomas A. Emmert considers it more likely that the interpretation of events in the Serbian tradition, which was to give rise to further stages of development in the 16th century, had influenced the Ottoman accounts.[1]

[edit] Serbian traditions

The first author to refer to Murad's killer by his full name is Konstantin Mihailović, a Serbian Janissary from the village of Ostrovica, who wrote his Memoirs of a Janissary or Turkish Chronicle in c. 1497. In a passage intended to infer a moral lesson about disloyalty from the Serbian defeat at Kosovo, Mihailović identifies Miloš Kobilac as the knight who on the fateful last Friday of the battle slew Murad.[1] The next time a name is given in the sources is three decades later, in 1530, when the {Slovene) monk Benedikt Kuripešić (Curipeschitz) wrote memoirs of his travels through the Balkan Peninsula. His visit to Murad's tomb in Kosovo Polje provides the occasion for the story of the knight whom he names Miloš Kobilović.[1] Kuripešić elaborates on the humiliation and fall out favour which Miloš endured before the battle, his last dinner with Lazar and his nobles, his admittance to Murad's tent, the brutal murder and his own death on attempting to escape on horseback.[1] The monk, though not explicit about his sources, writes that Miloš was a celebrated figure in the popular traditions of Croats and "others in those regions", who sing about his heroic exploits on the border.[1]

According to the most popular version of the legend, during the first Battle of Kosovo, Miloš made his way into the Ottoman camp pretending that he wanted to surrender, and at an opportune moment forced his way into the Sultan's tent and stabbed him to death. Obilić was consequently "slashed to pieces" by the Sultan's bodyguards.[6]

[edit] Name

It is hard to separate the historical fact from the mythical figure of Miloš Obilić. Indeed many aspects of his life are still uncertain. It is even uncertain if Obilić represents a proper family name or a personal nickname, possibly derived from the name of his possible birthplace. To contribute to uncertainty there are several place names involving Obilić in some form scattered all over the Balkans. Indeed even his origin is a spot of many disputes between Slavs of Balkans, with several contradictory claims proposed over the centuries, even coming from national folklore of nations not immediately associated with Battle of Kosovo mythos. Montenegrins have theory that Miloš Obilić comes from Zeta region of Montenegro, Bosnians claim that he is from Bosnia, even Croats usually ambivalent to Serbian national mythology have at certain points proposed that his birthplace might be the city of Zadar on Adriatic coast. The aura of archetypal medieval hero and protector of Christianity, which transcends national divisions has contributed to these controversial claims. The most probable theory, however, is one associating the birthplace of Miloš Obilić with Pocerje on the Cer mountain. At the time of his life, this region was a battleground between the advancing Ottoman Empire and the still unconquered domains of Serbian feudal lords, especially Prince Lazar Hrebeljanović.[citation needed]

[edit] Later legends

Main article: Battle of Kosovo
A fresco of Miloš Obilić at Hilandar (only fresco showing Miloš as a saint), a Serbian Orthodox monastery on Mount Athos, a self-governing autonomous monastic state in Greece
  • An earlier episode of Miloš Obilić's career in the service of Prince Lazar is related to the Battle of Pločnik, in which he participated and survived an arrow wound. In many sources he is mentioned as a son-in-law of Prince Lazar, which would make him a brother-in-law to Vuk Branković, another Serbian high ranking nobleman and a prominent antagonist in epic traditions concerning the Battle of Kosovo. The characters of Obilić and Branković are usually contrasted in these legends. However, these claims cannot be confirmed with certainty.
  • Another legend tells about the treason of Vuk Branković, Serbian feudal lord and son-in-law of the Serbian Prince Lazar. According to this legend, Miloš was accused by Branković, at the eve of the Battle of Kosovo of intent to betray his lord Lazar and switch sides mid battle. The accusation was a result of alleged rivalry between the two. Branković, a nobleman of much higher rank, was intensely jealous of the reputation that Obilić enjoyed as the bravest of Serbian knights. In order to clear his name and prove his loyalty to Lazar and his country, Miloš made a solemn oath to slay the Ottoman Sultan during the battle.
  • Other variants of songs and legends state that Miloš was captured by a Baba Yaga, who advised the Turks how to kill Miloš's horse and find the keys of his armour, which were hidden in his moustaches. Miloš gained his revenge by killing the old woman on a bridge, which is presently called Babin Most (Old Woman's Bridge).
  • In folk epic and legends, Miloš was celebrated as the hero of supernatural birth and strength (his mother was a fairy, demonic creature or his father was a dragon; he had got his strength from the milk of the mare). He had an extraordinary horse called Ždral.
  • His blood brothers were Milan Toplica and Ivan Kosančić, prominent Serbian knights from Toplica region, both of whom, according to legend, sacrificed their lives in the Battle of Kosovo.
  • The heroic figure of Miloš was given national importance in the epic poem The Mountain Wreath (1847) by [[Petar II Petrović-Njegoš|Petar Petrovic Njegoš]], prince of Montenegro.

[edit] Today

This event and the Kosovo battle itself is deeply embedded in the Serbs' national consciousness, history, and poetry. This deed was proclaimed as Miloš Obilić's innermost desire to pay tribute to his people and to sacrifice himself in order to strike a blow against tyranny and the Christian fight against Islam. In Miloš's character, the popular tradition modelled the ideal hero type that encouraged further fights.

The Serbian football club FK Obilić, made infamous by its former owner the Serbian warlord Željko Ražnatović aka Arkan, is named after the legendary knight.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Emmert, "Milos Obilic and the Hero Myth." Journal of the North American Society for Serbian Studies 10 (1996).
  2. ^ a b c Emmert, "The Battle of Kosovo: Early Reports of Victory and Defeat." In Kosovo: Legacy of a Medieval Battle (1991). Repoduced online at De Re Militari. The Society for Medieval Military History.
  3. ^ Emmert cites V.V. Makušev, "Prilozi k srpskoj istoriji XIV i XV veka," Glasnik srpskog ucenog društva 32 (1871): pp. 174-5.
  4. ^ Ahmedi, ed. Olesnicki, "Turski izvori o Kosovskom bo ju." Glasnik skopskog naucnog drustva 14 (1934): 60-2, as cited by Emmert below.
  5. ^ Oruc, Tevarih I Al-i Osman, as cited by Emmert.
  6. ^ See also Roberta Strauss Feuerlicht, The Desperate Act: The Assassination of Franz Ferdinand at Sarajevo, p. 22

[edit] Secondary sources

[edit] Further reading

[edit] Secondary sources

  • Ivanova, Radost. "The Problem of the Historical Approach in the Epic Songs of the Kosovo Cycle." Études balkaniques 4 (1993). 111-22.
  • Khan, Mujeeb R. "The 'Other' in the Balkans. Historical constructions of Serbs and 'Turks'." Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs 16 (1996).
  • Kostic, Dragutin. "Milos Kopilic-Kobilic-Obilic." Revue Internationale des Etudes Balkaniques 1-2 (1934-1935): 232-54. A study of Miloš Obilić's name.
  • Olesnicki, A. "Turski izvori o Kosovskom bo ju." Glasnik skopskog naucnog drustva 14 (1934): 60-2.

[edit] Primary sources

Later narrations;

[edit] See also

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milo%C5%A1_Obili%C4%87"
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