Prof. Dr. Muhamet Pirraku: Beteja e paqenë në Fushë të Mllenjave (Fushë Kosovë) më 1389 (Në shqip dhe anglisht)

THE INEXISTENT BATTLE AT THE FIELD OF BLACKBIRDS (KOSOVO POLJE) IN 1389

The truth: It never took place.

The episode near Llap river in the summer of 1389 was a historical moment without any changing
effect on the relations between dominions involved in that Incident. The event slowly penetrated the
written history, became known as the [First] Battle at the Field of Blackbirds (Kosovo Polje, in Serbian)
on 28 June 1389 and was recounted with surprising dimensions. Its publications, folkloristic records,
annals, and chronicles, compile many volumes, but they are controversial and absurd. The literary and
historical papers sprouting from Slavic, Ottoman, Persian, Byzantine, Latin, Albanian, Hungarian,
French, etc., sources deliberately got later composed of political drives.
One goal was to affirm steps toward the imperial Ottoman and Islamic occupation of the West and
Christian East; the other was to confirm the challenge of establishing and consolidating a pan-Christian
curtain wall against the Ottomans. Christian motives against Ottomans in the historical European
chronicles became stronger after century XVI because of new cultural movements in humanism,
renaissance, reformation, and contra-reformation. At that time, a massive conversion of Orthodox Saint

Sava and Saint Clementine Albanians to the Islamic faith resulted in the Roman and Byzantine ex-
provinces of Dardania and Macedonia. Its result was the diffusion of Islamic motives in the historical

memory of Albanians for that Incident in 1389.
This research paper shows oriental and occidental chronicles created from the late 80s of the
centuries XIV to the early 70s of century XVII. They prove the inexistence of the so-called “the Battle
at Kosovo Polje” in 1389. The first known source of Ottoman origin, from which the official Ottoman
version of the Battle at the Field of Blackbirds originated, is the poem “Iskender-name” by the poet
Ahmedie of Anatolia, written on 13 March 1390. However, the historical treatment of the Incident at the
Field of Blackbirds in 1389 began with the publication in 1398, in Persian, of the work “Bāzm u râzm”
by Azis ibn Ardäshira Astrābādija. He lived in the court of an independent emir and consequently had
no constraints of revealing the existence of a military coup d’état in the army of the Sultan Murad I.
As stated by Astrābādija, the Sultan’s son, Bayezid I, conspired and liquidated his father, Sultan
Murad I, and brother Jakub. Later, that information got fogged up by official versions about the murder
of Murad I that courtier historians wrote. It first appeared in the document “Menakib-name” by Jahshi
Fakih, who lived at the time of the Incident. Fakih was the son of Ilias, imam of the future Sultan Bayezid
I. Unfortunately, he died before the year 1413.
The work of Fakih became a dependable reference for other claims from the Ottoman

historiography about the Incident at the Field of Blackbirds in 1389. Then, the publication of “Behxhet-
ut Tevarih” by Mulla Shukrullah came out on 2 November 1459. The official Ottoman version also had

Enver’s chronicle recorder with his work “Düstür-name,” published in 1464. Three years later, the
excessive historical work “Tevarih-i al-i Osman” by Uruxh mostly cited the work by Fakih. Finally, the
renowned historian Ahmed Ashik-pasha Zade referred to the creation of Fakih in his publication in 1484,
known as “Menakib “or “Tevarih-i al-i Osman”. Pasha Zade lived in Shkup during the 30s – 50s of
century XV and thus supplemented his work with information from historical memories in the vicinity
of the Field of Blackbirds. However, the paperwork “Kitâb-i Cihan-nümâ” by Mehmet Neshri, written
during 1484-1493 and inflated with unlikely records, would become influential in world historiography.
The historical memory of Southeast Europe concerning the Incident at the Field of Blackbirds in
1389 finds a place in the work “Turkish Janissary Chronicles”, written in 1491-1492 by Mihail
Constantine Ostrovica on demand of the Hungarian King. Then came the critical historical work of
“Hesht behisht” by Idris Husam ed-Din – Bitlis, written in 1505, and “Tevàrih-i âl-i Osman” by Kemal
Pashazade, written in 1502-1510.

Illyria 20-06-2014, Albanian Daily News 27-06-2014, Tirana Times 27-06-2014

In 1490-1512, an anonymous author from Edirne adapted the history “Tevarih-i al-i Osman” by
Uruxh, expanded it with new motives, and somehow embroidered it. It had after a few other Ottoman
historical works, i.e., “Târih-i Nisancî” by Ramazan Zade Mehmet Çelebi – Nishanxhi, written before
the year 1561, and the significant paperwork “Tac-ut-tevârih” by Saaduddin Mehmet Hoxha Efendi,
written in 1575.
In the same year, Ahmed Ferîdûn published the work “Mejmūah-i nunshâāt-i Salâtîn”. It contained
the “Ferman of Sultan Bayezid I”. He sent it from the Field of Blackbirds to the Cadiz of Bursa
concerning the burying of the corpse of Murad I. He wrote that Sultan Murad I was sacrificed for Islam
to fulfill his wish in the magnificent month of Shaban in the lunar year 791. That was the Gregorian year
of 1389. The month of Shaban began on Monday, 26 July, and consisted of 29 days, ending on 23
August. Thus, it appears evident that the tragic comedy in “the place called the Field of Blackbirds”
occurred on 8 or 9 August 1389. Unfortunately, that date is not in any early Ottoman chronicles.
Furthermore, Turkish historiography has neglected it and even holds the 20 June 1389 as the First Battle
at the Field of Blackbirds.
Near the mid-1570s, the works “Badā’i’ ul-waqā’i” by Hoxha Hussein and “Nuhbet-üt-tevarih ve
‘L-abar” by Mehmed bin Mehmed appeared published. Also, Mustafa Ahmed – Ali, who served in
Bosnia in 1577 and wrote a vital chronicle “Künh-ül-ahbâr” between 1591 and 1599, communicated
more information about the Incident in 1389. Also, “Tāhih-i Sollakzâde” by Mehmet Handami –
Solakzade, written before 1657, is an extensive historical work with significant claims on the event.
Meanwhile, compelling data from the historical memory of Southeast Europe about the Incident at
the Field of Blackbirds in 1389 perpetuated into Ottoman memory and historiography by the famous
traveller Evlie Çelebi in his major work, “Sijaset-name”. From 1660-to 1662, he visited the Albanian

lands, including the Field of Blackbirds. Finally, the Dervish of Thessalonica Ahmet Dede Lutfullah-
Mynexhimbash, in his work “Müneccimbaşi Sahâif-ul-ahbar,” written after the year 1672, collected the

local Albanian tradition not far from the Field of Blackbirds about the Incident there in 1389. Herewith,
the official Ottoman historiography of literature and chronicles ends.
Along with time and parallel to the Ottoman chronicles, other accounts about the Incident in 1389
appeared from Southeast European sources. Since there were no known oriental sources before the
Ottoman registers, the European historiography about that Incident appeared later than pieces of
information written by specific individuals.
The first piece of information came from the assistant-priest Igniatie on 27 June 1389, who
accompanied the Russian metropolitan Pimen on his travels throughout the East. Ignatie wrote about
rumours surrounding the murder of Murad I, but he mentioned neither the killer nor the date. The King
of Bosnia, Tvrtko I, informed on 1 August 1389 the Communes of Trogir and Florentia that his army
had defeated Murad I’s Ottoman Army.
The Florentia’s Council replied on 20 October 1389, and it had also gathered information about “the
Battle at the Field of Blackbirds” from other sources. The Letter from Florentia’s Council greeted King
Tvrtko I for the victory. However, it also credited the murder of Murad I to twelve vowed knights, of
whom “one of them slaughtered him by the sword.”
Referring to documents of Serbian origin, the Russian empire and the church created by the end of
the century XVI the Cult of Lazar and the Serbian Myth of “Kosovo Polje” (the Field of Blackbirds).
The Serbian church in the Ottoman Empire dealt with the Incident at the Field of Blackbirds more than
two months later. The priest Pahomie, probably from the church of Saint Onufri of Shumica, a locality
near Ravanica in Shumadie, wrote: “…. In this year, Knez Lazar was murdered by Turks, whereas Murad
by Serbs”. And only ten years later, by the end of the century XIV, there was a memo from the Serbian
Church reporting without mentioning any names of “what a calamity happened in the country when the
Knez and the great Turkish king got murdered.”
For the next 100 years, Serbian Church did not mention the tragedy of Lazar and Murad I. A memo
in late century XV had the slaying of Lazar and Murad I and the defeat of a Christian army “because of

The Inexistent Battle at the Field of Blackbirds (Kosovo Polje) in 1389

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Muhamet Pirraku
desertion of some Serbs.” However, any documents of the Serbian Church relating to centuries XIV and
XV did not mention the name of Murad’s killer. The name of Murad’s killer was not discussed even by
Constantine the Philosopher in his “Biography of Stefan Lazar” in 1431 or by the author of the annual
“Cetinski letopis” (1516-1572).
Both references to the killer of Murad I only as “…such-and-such a nobleman”, though up to that
time, the Ottoman and European chronicles cited the killer Milosh (Mirosh) Nikola Kopiliç, a native
close to the Field of Blackbirds and a vassal well known by Murad I. Gjergj Brankoviç II, in his work
“Cronica Serbica,” published in 1704, ignored the role of Milosh Nikola Kopiliç in the tragedy at the
Field of Blackbirds in 1389 and did not give any sign of the existence of the Serbian Cult of Lazar nor
of the Serbian Myth of the Field of Blackbirds.
Concerning European sources for the “Battle” at the Field of Blackbirds in 1389, before October
1389, the French officer and governor of Cyprus, Filip Mezière, somehow informed France that the
Incident in which Murad I and his son were killed “together with other prominent Ottoman leaders
happened in the regions of Albania.” Some insight also comes from the Letter of Dimitrie Kidoni sent
to King Mihail II Paleolog in prison days after the Christian coalition “confronted” the Ottoman army.
No other reference to the Incident in 1389 appeared until the chronicle of a monk of Saint-Denis in 1395
that did not mention the name of Murad I’s killer. In 1396-1397, Filip Mezière again raised the topic of
the Incident at the Field of Blackbirds, adding that Sultan and Lazar had each suffered the loss of 20
thousand soldiers.
In 1402, an anonymous Byzantine writer published with Zoras his chronicles and an unknown writer
from Ragusa published his notes. Both books contained Bosnian recollections of the event. The
Anonymous of Ragusa put forth that in the Field of Blackbirds, in the middle of June 1389, there were
the Bosnians, Vuk Brankoviç, and Vojvoda Vllatko Vukoviç [of Croatia] standing by Lazar, whom he
called King of Bosnia. However, he did not mention the person who “delivered heart wound” to Murad
I. Finally, in the second decade of the century XV, the Anonymous Chronicler of Florentine (The
Chronicle of Friuli) covered events from the murder of Karl of Durrës in 1385 till the year 1409.
According to him, Murad suffered 70 thousand victims, while the Christian count was about 30
thousand.
The work “De origjine et rebus gestis Turcorum…” by Laonici Chalcondyle Atheniensis, written
before 1435 and published in 1556, was influential in European written history. The killer’s names varied
from Milo to Miloen and Michale in his account. Meanwhile, according to the Hungarian King Albrecht
information in 1438, “Murad and Lazar were killed in a duel.”
The information came from armoury tutor Jerga of Nurnberg, who served on the court of Stefan
Vukçiç – Kosaç before the year 1466. However, the chronicle by Johan Mihail Duka, published in Italian
at the beginning of century XVI, would become much more influential in European written history. The
Catholic historian Marin Barleti and a group of monks in a Letter to Pope in 1598 and the Archbishops
of Antivari (today, the town of Bar in Montenegro) Marin Bici 1610 and Pjetër Mazreku in 1623-1624
referred to that publication by Johan Mihail Duka. Marin Bici and Pjetër Mazreku also affirmed the
Albanian historical memory about the Incident at the Field of Blackbirds regarding the murder of Murad
and Milosh Kopiliç. At the beginning of century XVI, relevant information was documented by the
priest Martin Segoni of Ulcinium in his work “De itineribus in Turciam Libellus,” performed on behalf
of the Hungarian King in 1502; later, in 1522, the work reemerged in the notes of traveler Filice Petantio.
Detailed information on the participation of Albanians in the Christian coalition against the
Ottomans comes from the chronicle “Historia e generalogia della casa Musachia” by Gjon Muzaka,
written in 1510. Ludovik Cerva Tubero of Ragusa cited in his work “Comentario de rebus quae
temporibus eius…gestae funt” written before 1515 but published in 1590 under the title of “…De
Turcorum origjine…”. Benedikt Kuripeshiç covered the Incident at the Field of Blackbirds in 1389 in
his work “Itinerarium der Botschaftstreise…” published in 1530, followed in 1550 by the Ottoman
chronicle entitled “Girabi Tevarichi,” published in German. Then, the work “Gli Annali overo le vite

Illyria 20-06-2014, Albanian Daily News 27-06-2014, Tirana Times 27-06-2014

de’principi et signori della casa Othomana” by Francesco Sansovino came in 1571. Finally, the traveller
Jean Palerne Forensien visited the region of Dardania throughout the 90s years of the century XVI and
recorded the Albanian historical memory of both Scanderbeg and Milo Komnen (Milosh Nikola
Kopiliç).
The European humanist and historical treatment of the Incident in 1389 commenced at the
beginning of century XVII. The works “Il Regno degli Slavi…” by Mavro Orbini, published in 1601,
and “Ristretto de gli anali di Rausa” by Petro Lukar 1604, became influential. Those, along with some
other Ottoman chronicles, were mentioned by British historian Richard Knolles in his work “General
History of the Turks…” published in 1610 and 1710; Joanne Cuspiniano followed it with his book “De
Turcorum origjine…” published in 1673. Those publications marked the advent of scientific knowledge
about the Incident at the Field of Blackbirds in 1389 based upon Ottoman and European chronicles.
Also, they had significant effects on the written history of Southeast Europeans at the expense of
Albanian presence in the broad region that includes the Field of Blackbirds.
In summary, the science of history does not possess any document from the very day of the Incident,
and its exact date cannot be across using available resources. The Serbian religious holiday “Vidovdan,”
first observed on 28 June 1389 (Gregorian Calendar), was a by-product of the Serbian church and politics
by the end of century XVIII and the beginning of the century XIX, like the invention of the Cult of Lazar
and the Myth of “Kosovo Polje” (the Field of Blackbirds). By scrutinizing the information communicated
in Ottoman and European chronicles, it appears that Prince Lazar endevoured to form an alliance of
Christians in Southeast Europe against the Ottoman Sultan. At that time, Murad I and his army arrived
at the Field of Blackbirds to control and strengthen the loyalty of his vassals in Albania, Serbia, and
Bosnia.
The sources above exhibit unbelievable dimensions of the “Battle” in terms of infantry, cavalry, and
gunnery, or regarding human casualties. For example, 100’000 soldiers got killed and as many wounded,
of whom most “did not overcome their injuries”. The meticulous analysis of the facts exhibits that the
Incident was just a conspiracy of the Christian coalition commanders and the Ottoman army. From the
aspects of both armies, the event happened within two hours in great secrecy and got executed by small
groups of soldiers. The Incident did not affect regional social relations of the time, including the ties
between vassals and the Ottoman empire. No trace of the Battle was left behind, with no graves or
military artifacts.
The undamaged corpses of Sultan Murad I and Prince Lazar had burials with high religious and
military honors: Murad I beside a mosque in Bursa (a city in Turkey) and Prince Lazar beside the
Orthodox Church in Prishtina. Months after, the corpse of Prince Lazar was taken and reburied with
religious and military tributes in the monastery in Zhiça of Shumadia in central Serbia. Then, just after
“the Battle”, the new Sultan Bayezid I married the daughter Mileva of late Prince Lazar. While Stefan
Lazareviç, the brother of Mileva, joined the army of Sultan Bayezid I for the sake of his imperial
conquests.
What followed that event was preserved in the early historical epic of local Albanian people during
the Christian Orthodox period of Saint Sava. It focused on the tragic fate of Sultan Murad I and Mirosh
(Milosh) Nikola Kopiliç. The latter was a local man from Drenica, a vassal ruling the region that included
the Field of Blackbirds and intimately acquainted with Sultan Murad I. Thus, it resonates with the early
Bosnian, Croatian, and Serbian historical epics. However, imaginary actors and religious, mystic,
legendary, and political motives have amplified them. Those were with provenance from official
versions of the imperial Ottoman court, the Serbian orthodox church, and Serbian royal courts in
centuries XV – XIX.
The Incident at the Field of Blackbirds on 28 June 1389 was merely a coup d‘état (not a battle
between armies) that the son of Sultan Murad I, Bayezid I co-organized with Serbian lord Vuk
Brankoviç. Both Sultan Murad I and Prince Lazar got murdered in the Sultan tent. Immediately, Bayezid
I became the new Sultan and Vuk Brankoviç appeared like the most powerful Serbian vassal to the

The Inexistent Battle at the Field of Blackbirds (Kosovo Polje) in 1389

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Muhamet Pirraku
Sultan. Purposely later, the cohorts of the killer Vuk Brankoviç cleared the traces of the graves of
Albanian dignitaries, e.g., Theodor Muzaka II, killed in that complot and took care of preserving only

the tomb of Prince Lazar. Numerous publications in different languages and folk beliefs about the so-
called “Battle at the Field of Blackbirds in 1389” have deliberately created the myth (the lie) for that

event. The scientific evidence and analyses elucidate the truth and inform otherwise.
Serbs reaffirmed their vassal behaviour to the Sultan and not defenders of Christianity and the West
seven years later, on 25 September 1396, at the Battle of Nicopolis (northern Bulgaria, today). With
Serbs’ help, Sultan Bayezid I’s Ottoman army crushed a vast Christian European army composed of
Hungarian, Bulgarian, Wallachian, French, Burgundian, German, and mixed troops, and backed by
Venetian Navy. It was the last European crusade to drive the Ottomans out of Europe. In that Battle, the
Serbs did not stop their betrayal until they delivered the coup de grace to their “fellow” European
Christians by beheading thousands of prisoners. The Battle at Nicopolis set the conditions for an
Ottoman military presence in Europe for centuries afterward.
Prishtinë, Gusht 2006
Prof. Dr. Muhamet Pirraku (1944-2014)

(Translated by Saimir Lolja)