House of Kosaca
Encyclopedia
The House of Kosača was a medieval Bosnian
noble family which ruled over various parts of Bosnia
, Croatia
and Dalmatia
between the 14th century and the 15th century. The land they controlled was mostly known as Hum or Zahumlje
. Today that land is known as Herzegovina, because of Stjepan Vukčić Kosača
who in 1448 dropped his title "Vojvode of Bosnia", assuming the title "Herceg [Duke] of Hum and the Coast". The House of Kosača were bearers of the titles Vojvode of Bosnia, Herceg of Hum and the Coast and Herceg of Saint Sava. Kosača family members belonged to the Bosnian Church
, Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church
They probably took the family name Kosača after the village of Kosač near Foča
.
Vlatko Vuković
is the member that brought the family to prominence, since he took part in the battles against the Ottomans. At the Battle of Bileća
he was victorious and the battle ended as the Bosnian victory. At the Battle of Kosovo
he commanded the troops that were sent by Tvrtko I (king of Bosnia). Mixed with Vuković's army was a contingent of Knights Hospitaller
s, whom the Croatian
knight Ivan Paližna
( John of Palisna) had led from Vrana in Croatia
. The battle was at first reported as a Christian victory, but it was an Ottoman one.
Stjepan Vukčić Kosača
in 1448 dropped his title "Vojvode of Bosnia", assuming the title "Herceg [Duke] of Hum and the Coast". He changed it again in 1449 to "Herceg of Saint Sava" in recollection of the Serbian saint. This title had considerable public relations value, because Sava's relics were consider miracle-working by people of all Christian faiths. His lands were known as Herzog's lands or later Herzegovina
.
Stjepan Tomaš
, King of Bosnia, married Katarina Kosača, a daughter of Stjepan Vukčić, in a Catholic ceremony in May of 1446 ensuring, at least for a short while, he had the support of the most powerful nobleman in the kingdom and a staunch supporter of the Bosnian Church
, Stjepan Vukčić
.
and Eastern Orthodox Church
Some buildings that were built by Kosača's:
Catholics from the region (mostly Bosnian Croats) often visit Katarina Kosača's tomb in the Roman church of Santa Maria in Aracoeli
.
Her tombstone features a life-size portrait with the emblems of the houses of Kotromanić and Kosača to each side. The inscription, originally written in Bosnian/Croatian Cyrillic
., but in 1590 replaced with a Latin
one, reads:
The memory of Queen Catherine (Katarina Kosača), who was beatified after her death, is still alive in Central Bosnia, where Catholics traditionally mark 25 October with a mass in Bobovac
'at the altar of the homeland'. Some of the artifacts belonging to the Queen and the Kotromanić family were taken in 1871 by Josip Juraj Strossmayer
from the Franciscan monastery in Kraljeva Sutjeska to Croatia
for safekeeping until 'Bosnia is liberated'. They have never been returned.
Bosnians
Bosnians are people who reside in, or come from, Bosnia and Herzegovina. By the modern state definition a Bosnian can be anyone who holds citizenship of the state. This includes, but is not limited to, members of the constituent ethnic groups of Bosnia and Herzegovina: Bosniaks, Bosnian Serbs and...
noble family which ruled over various parts of Bosnia
Bosnia (region)
Bosnia is a eponomous region of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It lies mainly in the Dinaric Alps, ranging to the southern borders of the Pannonian plain, with the rivers Sava and Drina marking its northern and eastern borders. The other eponomous region, the southern, other half of the country is...
, Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
and Dalmatia
Dalmatia
Dalmatia is a historical region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It stretches from the island of Rab in the northwest to the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. The hinterland, the Dalmatian Zagora, ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north to just a few kilometers in the south....
between the 14th century and the 15th century. The land they controlled was mostly known as Hum or Zahumlje
Zachlumia
Zachlumia or Zahumlje was a medieval principality located in modern-day regions of Herzegovina and southern Dalmatia...
. Today that land is known as Herzegovina, because of Stjepan Vukčić Kosača
Stjepan Vukcic Kosaca
Stjepan Vukčić Kosača was a Herzegovina nobleman. He was a member of the House of Kosača, a Grand Duke of Herzegovina, Lord of Zahumlje and Primorje and also Herzog of Serbian Saint Sava...
who in 1448 dropped his title "Vojvode of Bosnia", assuming the title "Herceg [Duke] of Hum and the Coast". The House of Kosača were bearers of the titles Vojvode of Bosnia, Herceg of Hum and the Coast and Herceg of Saint Sava. Kosača family members belonged to the Bosnian Church
Bosnian Church
The Bosnian Church is historically thought to be an indigenous branch of the Bogomils that existed in Bosnia during the Middle Ages. Adherents of the church called themselves simply Krstjani...
, Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
They probably took the family name Kosača after the village of Kosač near Foča
Foca
Foča is a town and municipality in southeastern Bosnia and Herzegovina on the Drina river, in the Foča Region of the Republika Srpska entity.-Early history:...
.
History
The founder, Vuk (by which the family is also called Vukovići), was a prominent military commander, mostly under Dušan of Serbia (r. 1331-1355) who took part in the conquests of southern Balkans. He was given lands around Upper Drina.Vlatko Vuković
Vlatko Vukovic
Vlatko Vuković Kosača was a medieval nobleman who ruled as Grand Duke of Hum.He was a son of Vuk Kosača, the founder of the medieval house of Kosača. He governed the province of Hum, which was part of the Banate of Bosnia. The Ottoman threat was building to the east, threatening neighboring...
is the member that brought the family to prominence, since he took part in the battles against the Ottomans. At the Battle of Bileća
Battle of Bileca
The Battle of Bileća was fought on 27 August 1388 between Bosnian forces led by Duke Vlatko Vuković and the Ottomans under the leadership of Lala Shahin Pasha...
he was victorious and the battle ended as the Bosnian victory. At the Battle of Kosovo
Battle of Kosovo
The Battle of Kosovo took place on St. Vitus' Day, June 15, 1389, between the army led by Serbian Prince Lazar Hrebeljanović, and the invading army of the Ottoman Empire under the leadership of Sultan Murad I...
he commanded the troops that were sent by Tvrtko I (king of Bosnia). Mixed with Vuković's army was a contingent of Knights Hospitaller
Knights Hospitaller
The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta , also known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta , Order of Malta or Knights of Malta, is a Roman Catholic lay religious order, traditionally of military, chivalrous, noble nature. It is the world's...
s, whom the Croatian
Croats
Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...
knight Ivan Paližna
John of Palisna
John of Palisna was a Croatian knight and warrior, prior of Vrana, and Ban of Croatia.-Prior of Vrana:It is unclear when John of Palisna became prior of Vrana. In May 1381 he was already prior, because the citizens of Zadar were complaining about him to the King of Hungary and Croatia...
( John of Palisna) had led from Vrana in Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
. The battle was at first reported as a Christian victory, but it was an Ottoman one.
Stjepan Vukčić Kosača
Stjepan Vukcic Kosaca
Stjepan Vukčić Kosača was a Herzegovina nobleman. He was a member of the House of Kosača, a Grand Duke of Herzegovina, Lord of Zahumlje and Primorje and also Herzog of Serbian Saint Sava...
in 1448 dropped his title "Vojvode of Bosnia", assuming the title "Herceg [Duke] of Hum and the Coast". He changed it again in 1449 to "Herceg of Saint Sava" in recollection of the Serbian saint. This title had considerable public relations value, because Sava's relics were consider miracle-working by people of all Christian faiths. His lands were known as Herzog's lands or later Herzegovina
Herzegovina
Herzegovina is the southern region of Bosnia and Herzegovina. While there is no official border distinguishing it from the Bosnian region, it is generally accepted that the borders of the region are Croatia to the west, Montenegro to the south, the canton boundaries of the Herzegovina-Neretva...
.
Stjepan Tomaš
Stephen Thomas
Stephen Thomas , manufacturer, politician, jurist, and Union Army officer. He was a recipient of the Medal of Honor for gallantry.-Early life:...
, King of Bosnia, married Katarina Kosača, a daughter of Stjepan Vukčić, in a Catholic ceremony in May of 1446 ensuring, at least for a short while, he had the support of the most powerful nobleman in the kingdom and a staunch supporter of the Bosnian Church
Bosnian Church
The Bosnian Church is historically thought to be an indigenous branch of the Bogomils that existed in Bosnia during the Middle Ages. Adherents of the church called themselves simply Krstjani...
, Stjepan Vukčić
Stjepan Vukcic Kosaca
Stjepan Vukčić Kosača was a Herzegovina nobleman. He was a member of the House of Kosača, a Grand Duke of Herzegovina, Lord of Zahumlje and Primorje and also Herzog of Serbian Saint Sava...
.
Religion legacy
By religion, the members of this noble house were mixed. Depending to the time period, they belonged to the Catholic Church, Bosnian ChurchBosnian Church
The Bosnian Church is historically thought to be an indigenous branch of the Bogomils that existed in Bosnia during the Middle Ages. Adherents of the church called themselves simply Krstjani...
and Eastern Orthodox Church
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
Some buildings that were built by Kosača's:
- Zagrađe Monastery, Serbian Orthodox monastery built by Stjepan Vukčić KosačaStjepan Vukcic KosacaStjepan Vukčić Kosača was a Herzegovina nobleman. He was a member of the House of Kosača, a Grand Duke of Herzegovina, Lord of Zahumlje and Primorje and also Herzog of Serbian Saint Sava...
. - Church of Saint Archdeacon Stephen, built by Sandalj Hranić
- Sopotnica-Kopaci, near GoraždeGoraždeGoražde , is a city and municipality in eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina on the Drina river. It is located between Foča, Sokolac and Višegrad, and is administratively part of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the center of the Bosnian Podrinje Canton.-Location:Goražde is situated on the...
, Serbian Orthodox Church to Great Martyr George (Donja Sopotnica) founded by Duke Stephen in 1446. Prominent Serb-Slavonic printing press from 1529 to 1531.
Catholics from the region (mostly Bosnian Croats) often visit Katarina Kosača's tomb in the Roman church of Santa Maria in Aracoeli
Santa Maria in Aracoeli
The Basilica of St. Mary of the Altar of Heaven is a titular basilica in Rome, located on the highest summit of the Campidoglio. It is still the designated Church of the city council of Rome, which uses the ancient title of Senatus Populusque Romanus...
.
Her tombstone features a life-size portrait with the emblems of the houses of Kotromanić and Kosača to each side. The inscription, originally written in Bosnian/Croatian Cyrillic
Bosnian Cyrillic
Bosnian Cyrillic or Croatian Cyrillic, widely known as Bosančica, is an extinct Cyrillic script, that originated in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was widely used in Bosnia and Croatia . Its name in Bosnian and Croatian is bosančica or bosanica, which can literally be translated as Bosnian script...
., but in 1590 replaced with a Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
one, reads:
- Catharinae Reginae Bosnensi
- Stephani ducis santi sabbae sorori
- et genere Helene et domo principis
- Stephani natae Thomae regis Bosane
- vsori Qvanrum vixit annorum LIIII
- et obdormivit Romae anno Domini
- MCCCCLXXVIII dei XXV oteobris
- monumentum ipsus scriptis positiv.
The memory of Queen Catherine (Katarina Kosača), who was beatified after her death, is still alive in Central Bosnia, where Catholics traditionally mark 25 October with a mass in Bobovac
Bobovac
Bobovac is a fortified city of medieval Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located near today's Vareš.The city was built during the reign of Stephen II, Ban of Bosnia, and was first mentioned in a document dating from 1349...
'at the altar of the homeland'. Some of the artifacts belonging to the Queen and the Kotromanić family were taken in 1871 by Josip Juraj Strossmayer
Josip Juraj Strossmayer
Josip Juraj Strossmayer was a Croatian politician, Roman Catholic bishop and benefactor.-Early life and rise as a cleric:...
from the Franciscan monastery in Kraljeva Sutjeska to Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
for safekeeping until 'Bosnia is liberated'. They have never been returned.
Members
- VukVuk KosacaVuk Kosača was a 14th-century military commander of Dušan the Mighty, the Emperor of Serbia . He is the founding father of a medieval Herzegovinian noble family known as the Kosačas, that would later rule a semi-independent realm under the Bosnian crown...
, military commander (voivode) - Vlatko VukovićVlatko VukovicVlatko Vuković Kosača was a medieval nobleman who ruled as Grand Duke of Hum.He was a son of Vuk Kosača, the founder of the medieval house of Kosača. He governed the province of Hum, which was part of the Banate of Bosnia. The Ottoman threat was building to the east, threatening neighboring...
, Duke of Hum, died 1392 - Hran Vuković
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- Sandalj Hranić, Duke of Hum, ca 1392–1435
- Vuk Hranić, Knez in the Bosnian court
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- Ivan VukovićIvan VukovicIvan Vuković is a Montenegrin football player currently playing for HNK Hajduk Split in the Croatian First League. He is best known for his abilities as a striker but can also play as a supporting striker.-Club career:Ivan 'Giga' Vukovic began his professional career at Montenegrin side FK Zeta...
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- Adam Vuković
- Ivan Vuković
- Vukac Hranić, Knez in the Bosnian court
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- Stjepan (Stefan) Vukčić, Duke of Saint Sava, 1435-1466
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- Vladislav Hercegović, Duke of Saint Sava, 1466-1483
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- Vlatko Hercegović
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- Stjepan HercegovićHersekli Ahmed PaşaHersekzade Ahmed Pasha or Hersekli Ahmed Pasha or Ahmed Hercegović was a Bosnian/Croatian Ottoman general and statesman from Herzegovina.-Family connections:...
, later Ahmed-paša Hercegović , Grand VizierGrand VizierGrand Vizier, in Turkish Vezir-i Azam or Sadr-ı Azam , deriving from the Arabic word vizier , was the greatest minister of the Sultan, with absolute power of attorney and, in principle, dismissable only by the Sultan himself... - Mara Hercegović
- Katarina Kosača-KotromanićKatarina Kosaca-KotromanicBlessed Catherine of Bosnia was the Queen consort of Bosnia as the wife of King Stephen Thomas. She was a daughter of Stjepan Vukčić Kosača, Duke of Saint Sava...
, Queen consort of Bosnia - wife of Stjepan TomašStjepan TomasStjepan Tomas is a Croatian football defender. He is currently a free agent following his release from Turkish side Bucaspor in November 2010....
, King of Bosnia
- Stjepan Hercegović
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