Battle of Kosovo in the context of "Kosovo"

Christianity in Kosovo has a long-standing tradition dating to the Roman Empire. The entire Balkan region had been Christianized by the Roman, Byzantine, First Bulgarian Empire, Serbian Kingdom, Second Bulgarian Empire, and Serbian Empire till 13th century. After the Battle of Kosovo in 1389 until 1912, Kosovo was part of the Muslim Ottoman Empire, and a high level of Islamization occurred. During the time period after World War II, Kosovo was ruled by secular socialist authorities in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY). During that period, Kosovars became increasingly secularized. Today, 87% of Kosovo's population are from Muslim family backgrounds, most of whom are ethnic Albanians, but also including Slavic speakers (who mostly identify themselves as Gorani or Bosniaks) and Turks.

The Kosovo Maiden or Maiden of the Blackbird's Field (Serbian: Косовка девојка / Kosovka devojka) is the central figure of a poem with the same name, part of the Kosovo cycle in the Serbian epic poetry. In it, a young beauty searches the battlefield for her betrothed fiancé and helps wounded Serbian warriors with water, wine and bread after the Battle of Kosovo in 1389 between Serbia and the Ottoman Empire. She finally finds the wounded and dying warrior Pavle Orlović who tells her that her fiancé Milan Toplica and his blood-brothers Miloš Obilić and Ivan Kosančić are dead. Before the battle they had given her a cloak, golden ring and veil for the wedding as a promise of safe return, but they were slain and Pavle pointed to the direction of the bodies. The poem finishes with:

The poem became very popular as a symbol of womanly compassion and charity.

The Serbian Despotate (Serbian: Српска деспотовина / Srpska despotovina) was a medieval Serbian state in the first half of the 15th century. Although the Battle of Kosovo in 1389 is mistakenly considered the end of medieval Serbia, the Despotate, a successor of the Serbian Empire and Moravian Serbia, lasted for another sixty years, experiencing a cultural, economic, and political renaissance, especially during the reign of Despot Stefan Lazarević. After the death of Despot Đurađ Branković in 1456, the Despotate continued to exist for another three years before it finally fell under Ottoman rule in 1459.

After 1459, political traditions of the Serbian Despotate continued to exist in exile, in the medieval Kingdom of Hungary, with several titular despots of Serbia, who were appointed by kings of Hungary. The last titular Despot of Serbia was Pavle Bakić, who fell in the Battle of Gorjani in 1537.

Stefan Lazarević (Serbian Cyrillic: Стефан Лазаревић; c. 1377 – 19 July 1427), also known as Stefan the Tall (Serbian: Стефан Високи, romanized: Stefan Visoki), was a Serbian ruler as prince (1389–1402) and despot (1402–1427). He was also a diplomat, legislator, ktetor, patron of the arts, poet and one of the founding members of the Order of the Dragon. The son of Prince Lazar Hrebeljanović, he was regarded as one of the finest knights and military leaders of his time. After the death of his father at the Battle of Kosovo, he became ruler of Moravian Serbia and ruled with his mother Milica (a Nemanjić), until he reached adulthood in 1393. Stefan led troops in several battles as an Ottoman vassal, until asserting independence after receiving the title of despot from the Byzantines in 1402.

Becoming a Hungarian ally in 1403–04, he received large possessions, including the important Belgrade and Golubac Fortress. He also held the superior rank in the chivalric Order of the Dragon. During his reign, there was a long conflict with his nephew Đurađ Branković, which ended in 1412. Lazarević also inherited Zeta, and waged war against Venice. Since he was childless, he designated his nephew Đurađ as heir in 1426, a year before his death.

Kosovo Serbs (Serbian: Косовски Срби, romanized: Kosovski Srbi) are a recognized ethnic minority in Kosovo. According to the estimates, the population of ethnic Serbs is around 95,000, constituting 5% to 6% of the total population; they are the second-largest ethnic group in Kosovo after Albanians.

The medieval Kingdom of Serbia and the Serbian Empire included parts of the territory of Kosovo until its annexation by the Ottomans following the Battle of Kosovo in 1389, considered one of the most pivotal events in Serbian history. Modern Serbian historiography considers Kosovo in this period to be the political, religious, and cultural core of the medieval Serbian state. In the 16th century, the Serbian Patriarchate of Peć was re-established and its status strengthened. At the end of 18th century, the support of the Patriarchate to the Habsburgs during the Great Turkish War triggered a wave of Serb migrations to areas under the control of the Habsburg monarchy. After the independence of the Principality of Serbia to its north, Kosovo came increasingly to be seen by the mid-19th century as the "cradle of Serb civilization" and called the "Serbian Jerusalem".

Ottoman Serbia refers to the Ottoman period in the history of Serbia. Various regions of medieval Serbia came under Ottoman rule already at the end of the 14th century, while the Serbian Despotate fell in 1459. Northern regions of what is now the Republic of Serbia were incorporated into the Ottoman Empire during later conquests, from 1521 to 1552. Since the Habsburg expansion towards those northern regions, in 1699 and 1718, Ottoman rule was gradually reduced to Serbian territories south of the Sava and Danube rivers (1739). From 1804 to 1830, the Principality of Serbia was gradually restored, as a vassal state of the Ottoman Empire. It gained independence in 1878, and expanded into southern regions, thus reducing Ottoman control to the historical region of the Old Serbia, that was liberated in 1912, thus ending Ottoman rule in Serbian lands.

The Ottoman conquest of the Balkans was initiated in the middle of the 14th century, leding to consequent conflicts with various Serbian states. The Ottomans defeated the Serbs at the Battle of Maritsa in 1371, and again at the Battle of Kosovo in 1389, forcing several Serbian regional lords to became sultan's vassals. In 1439, the Serbian Despotate was conquered for the first time, but restored in 1444. In 1459, the Despotate was conquered again, this time finally. Similarly, the Principality of Zeta was conquered by the Ottomans for the first time in 1479, but restored in 1481, to be finally conquered in 1496. In the meantime, the Kingdom of Bosnia was conquered by the ottomans in 1463, and the Duchy of Saint Sava in 1482. Thus by the end of the 15th century, Ottoman rule was established firmly, by imposing new provincial administration in conquered lands.