It is 628 years since the Battle of Kosovo, fought between the army led by the Serbian Prince Lazar Hrebeljanović, and the 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 Branković, in what is today Kosovo. Its site is about 5 kilometers (3.1 mi) northwest of the modern city of Prishtina.
Reliable historical accounts of the battle are scarce. The bulk of both armies were wiped out in the battle; both Lazar and Murad lost their lives in it. Although Ottomans managed to annihilate the Serbian army, they also suffered high casualties which delayed their progress. The Serbs were left with too few men to effectively defend their lands, while the Turks had many more troops in the east. Consequently, one after the other, the Serbian principalities that were not already Ottoman vassals became so in the following years.
Murad's army numbered from 27,000 to 40,000 fighters. These included no more than 2,000 Janissaries, 2,500 of Murad's cavalry guard, 6,000 sipahis, 20,000 azaps and akincis, and 8,000 troops from his vassals, although they did not participate in the battle. The Ottoman army was supported by the forces of the Anatolian Turkoman Beylik of Isfendiyar.
Lazar's army numbered from 12,000 to 30,000. According to a Yugoslav encyclopaedia (1972), there were approximately 30,000 fighters present; 12,000 to 15,000 were under Lazar's command, with 5,000 to 10,000 under Vuk Branković, a Serbian nobleman from Kosovo, and just as many under the nobleman Vlatko Vuković, who had been sent by the Bosnian king Tvrtko I Kotromanić. Also present were Knights Hospitaller led by the Croatian knight John of Palisna. Several thousand were knights. Furthermore, there have been several anachronistic accounts which have mentioned that the "Christian army" of Lazar was far greater, and that it also included contingents of other nations, although these cannot be verified.
