The House of Kosača ( sr-Cyrl, Косача, Kosače / Косаче), somewhere Kosačić ( sr-Cyrl, Косачић, Kosačići / Косачићи), was a Bosnian

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

noble family Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteris ...

which ruled over parts of modern-day

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = " Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capi ...

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = ...

, and

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia ( Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hu ...

between the 14th century and the 15th century. The land they controlled was known as '' Humska zemlja'' (Hum, for short), roughly corresponding to modern region of

Herzegovina Herzegovina ( or ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, Hercegovina, separator=" / ", Херцеговина, ) is the southern and smaller of two main geographical region of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being Bosnia. It has never had strictly defined geogra ...

, which itself was derived from the title "Herzog", which

Stjepan Vukčić Kosača Stjepan Vukčić Kosača ( sr-Cyrl, Стјепан Вукчић Косача; 1404–1466) was the most powerful Bosnian nobleman whose active political career spanned the last three decades of medieval Bosnian history, from 1435 to 1465. ...

adopted in 1448., with latin title "Dux Sancti Sabbae". Besides Hum, they ruled parts of

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see names in other languages) is one of the four historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of the Adriatic Sea, str ...

and Rascia. They were vassals to several states, including the

Kingdom of Bosnia The Kingdom of Bosnia ( sh, Kraljevina Bosna / Краљевина Босна), or Bosnian Kingdom (''Bosansko kraljevstvo'' / Босанско краљевство), was a medieval kingdom that lasted for nearly a century, from 1377 to 1463, and ...

and

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...

. Historians think the Kosača family is part of the Kőszegi family (House of Herceg), but there is a lack of evidence for this claim.

The religious confession of the Kosača family is uncertain. They were in contact with the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via ...

, the Church of Bosnia, the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...

. During the fall of the Bosnian Kingdom, the "Kosače" split into three branches: Venetian, Dalmatian and Ottoman. From then onward, these branches became accepting of the Roman Catholic faith, in the first two cases, and of Islam in the third.

History

The family name ''Kosača'' was probably taken after the village of Kosače near

Goražde Goražde ( cyrl, Горажде, ) is a city and the administrative center of Bosnian-Podrinje Canton Goražde of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated on the banks of Drina river. As of 2 ...

, in the

Upper Drina The Drina ( sr-Cyrl, Дрина, ) is a long Balkans river, which forms a large portion of the border between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. It is the longest tributary of the Sava River and the longest karst river in the Dinaric Alps wh ...

region of eastern Bosnia, where the Kosača family were originally estate owners. Др. Жељко Фајфрић, Београд, 7. децембар 2000
''Котроманићи''
"Како су Санковићи сишли са политичке сцене тако се почела издизати породица Косача. Њихово исходиште јесте негде око Фоче где се налазило село Косач, по коме су, могуће је, добили име. Родоначелник ове породице јесте Вук Косача, али породица захваљује свој успон његовом сину Влатку Вуковићу. Он је био од самог почетка један од најповерљивијих људи краља Твртка I. Ишао је у многе преговоре као његов представник, победио Турке код Билеће 1388. године, водио босанску војску на Косову 1389. године, и још доста тога што га је уздигло у односу на остале. Напад на Санковиће била му је и последња акција будући да је већ следеће године (1392.) умро. Наследио га је Сандаљ Хранић, син његовог брата Храње Вуковића. Осим земаља и утицаја, наследио је Сандаљ од стрица Влатка и титулу војводе. У то прво време Сандаљ Хранић нема одлучујући утицај у Босни, будући да су испред њега Павле Раденовић и Хрвоје Вукчић, али његово је време долазило." The founder, Vuk was a prominent military commander under Emperor Dušan the Mighty of Serbia (r. 1331–1359) who took part in the conquests of southern Balkans. He was given lands around Upper Drina, province of Rudine. Vlatko Vuković, the son of Vuk, brought the family to prominence after taking part in battles against the Ottomans. He commanded the victorious Bosnian army at the

Battle of Bileća The Battle of Bileća was fought in August 1388 between the forces of the Kingdom of Bosnia led by Grand Duke Vlatko Vuković, and the Ottoman Empire under the leadership of Lala Şahin Pasha. The Ottoman army broke into Hum, the kingdom's sout ...

(1388). At the

Battle of Kosovo The Battle of Kosovo ( tr, Kosova Savaşı; sr, Косовска битка) took place on 15 June 1389 between an army led by the Serbian Prince Lazar Hrebeljanović and an invading army of the Ottoman Empire under the command of Sultan ...

(1389) Bosnian King Tvrtko I sent him to command with his troops. Bosnian contingent under Vlatko was positioned at the left flank from the Serbian army led by Prince Lazar of Serbia. The battle was at first reported as a victory, also by Vlatko himself, however it has been concluded as inconclusive, with a long-term Ottoman victory.Fine 1994, p. 409–411 In 1448,

styled himself ''"By the Grace of God Herceg of Hum and Duke of Primorje, Bosnian Grand Duke, Knyaz of Drina and the rest"'', adding ''"Herceg of Hum and the Coast"'' to the style, and in 1450 he styled himself ''"By the Grace of God Stjepan Herceg of Saint Sava, Lord of Hum and Bosnian Grand Duke, Knyaz of Drina and the rest"'', adding "Herceg of Saint Sava". This title had considerable public relations value, because Sava's relics were consider miracle-working by people of all Christian faiths. The Kosačas themselves, however, were one of the few non-Orthodox noble families in Hum. His lands were known as Herzog's lands or later

.The first written document to mention "Herzegovina" is letter from Duke Isa-bey Ishakovic Hranic dated 01/02/1455 recommending to his subordinates his friend out from Dubrovnik merchant Franko to take him wherever he goes, to Pavlovic country, to Moravica or to Herzegovina It is written in "Bosancica" Source: State Archives of Dubrovnik, Historical letter out of Isa bey Ishakovic from 01.02.1455. King Stjepan Tomaš of Bosnia married

Katarina Kosača Catherine of Bosnia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=/, Katarina Kosača, Катарина Косача; 1424/1425 – 25 October 1478) was Queen of Bosnia as the wife of King Thomas, the penultimate Bosnian sovereign. She was born into the powerful ...

, daughter of Stjepan Vukčić, in a Catholic ceremony in May 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 The Bosnian Church ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=/, Crkva bosanska, Црква Босанска) was a Christian church in medieval Bosnia and Herzegovina that was independent of and considered heretical by both the Catholic and the Eastern Orthodo ...

, Stjepan Vukčić.

Members

Vuk Kosača Vuk ( cyrl, Вук; 1317–1359), sometimes also called ''Hran'' in sources, was the 14th century magnate and a powerful nobleman, who was in service to the Serbian king Stefan Dušan (r. 1331–55). Vuk is considered to be a progenitor of Bosnian ...

, military commander (''voivode'') :* Vlatko Vuković, ''

Grand Duke of Bosnia Grand Duke of Bosnia ( sh, veliki vojvoda rusaga bosanskog, la, Bosne supremus voivoda / Sicut supremus voivoda regni Bosniae), was a court title in the Kingdom of Bosnia, bestowed by the monarch to highest military commanders, usually reserved fo ...

'', died 1392 :* Hrana Vuković ::*

Sandalj Hranić Sandalj Hranić Kosača ( cyrl, Сандаљ Хранић Косача; 1370 – 15 March 1435) was the most powerful Bosnian nobleman whose primary possessions consisted of land areas between Adriatic coast, the Neretva and the Drina rive ...

, ''Grand Duke of Bosnia'', ca 1392–1435 ::* Vuk Hranić, ''

knyaz , or ( Old Church Slavonic: Кнѧзь) is a historical Slavic title, used both as a royal and noble title in different times of history and different ancient Slavic lands. It is usually translated into English as prince or duke, dependi ...

'' in the Bosnian court :::*Ivan Vuković, ''prince'' ::::*Adam Vuković ::*

Vukac Hranić Vukac Hranić Kosača ( sr-Cyrl, Вукац Хранић Косача; 1405–died in 1432) was powerful Bosnian magnate and nobleman from Kosača noble family with the title of '' knez'', during the reigns of Tvrtko II (r. 1404–1409, first reig ...

, ''knyaz'' in the Bosnian court :::*

, ''Grand Duke of Bosnia'' 1435–1466, also ''Herzog of Saint Sava'', 1450–1466 ::::* Vladislav Hercegović, ''Grand Duke of Bosnia'', ca. 1450–1463 :::::* Balša Hercegović (fl. 1455) :::::*Petar ::::*

Vlatko Hercegović Vlatko Hercegović (Cyrillic: Влатко Херцеговић), (born 1428 – died 1489), was the second and the last ''Herzog of Saint Sava'', succeeding his father Stjepan Vukčić in 1466. Succession After the fall of the kingdom in 146 ...

, ''Herzog of Saint Sava'', 1466–1482 ::::* Hersekzade Ahmed Pasha, ( tr, Hersekli Ahmed-Pasa; ), born Stjepan Hercegović, Ottoman

Grand Vizier Grand vizier ( fa, وزيرِ اعظم, vazîr-i aʾzam; ota, صدر اعظم, sadr-ı aʾzam; tr, sadrazam) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. The office of Grand Vizier was first ...

, married to Hundi Hatun, the daughter of

Sultan Bayezid II Bayezid II ( ota, بايزيد ثانى, Bāyezīd-i s̱ānī, 3 December 1447 – 26 May 1512, Turkish: ''II. Bayezid'') was the eldest son and successor of Mehmed II, ruling as Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1481 to 1512. During his reign, B ...

::::*Mara Hercegović ::::*

Katarina Kosača-Kotromanić Catherine of Bosnia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=/, Katarina Kosača, Катарина Косача; 1424/1425 – 25 October 1478) was Queen of Bosnia as the wife of King Thomas, the penultimate Bosnian sovereign. She was born into the powerful ...

, ''Queen consort of Bosnia'' - wife of Stjepan Tomaš, King of Bosnia :::::*Sigismund (Šimun) Kotromanić, later converted to Islam and changed his name to Isak-beg Kraljević ( tr, Ishak-bey Kraloglu) :::::*Katarina Kotromanić, later she converted to Islam and changed her name to Tahiri-hanuma, buried in Skopje in "turbe" (mausoleum)

Religious legacy

Orthodox

The Eastern Orthodox church building attributed as endowment of Stjepan Vukčić is the Church of Saint George in Sopotnica near

, which is believed to be finished during 1452. In the valley of Šćepan Polje, below the Soko fort ruins, also foundation remains of the small church of

Saint Stephen Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ''Stéphanos'', meaning "wreath, crown" and by extension "reward, honor, renown, fame", often given as a title rather than as a name; c. 5 – c. 34 AD) is traditionally venerated as the protomartyr or first ...

have been found but the results of archaeological research have never been published, however, it is believed to be endowment of

Catholic

Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

from the region often visit Katarina Kosača's tomb in the Roman church of

Santa Maria in Aracoeli The Basilica of St. Mary of the Altar of Heaven ( la, Basilica Sanctae Mariae de Ara coeli in Capitolio, it, Basilica di Santa Maria in Ara coeli al Campidoglio) is a titular basilica in Rome, located on the highest summit of the Campidoglio. ...

. Her tombstone features a life-size portrait and the coat of arms of the Kotromanići and Kosača at each side. The inscription, originally written in

Bosnian Cyrillic Bosnian Cyrillic, widely known as Bosančica is a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet that originated in medieval Bosnia. The term was coined at the end of the 19th century by Ćiro Truhelka. It was widely used in modern-day Bosnia and Herzegovin ...

Inscription, external link
but in 1590 replaced with a

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

one, which reads: : : : : : : : :

Islam

"Turbe" mausoleum in Skopje was destroyed in the 1963 Skopje earthquake. The mausoleum in memory of Princess Katherine Kotromanić, referred in Turkish sources as the "Tahiri-hanuma", was built by Isa beg Ishaković, a member of the Kosaca Ottoman branch. It was significant as being an example of very rare occurrence that a mausoleum is dedicated to a female person. After the quake, the mausoleum of the princess was reconstructed in 2014 by the Ministry of Culture of Macedonia with financial contributions from the Ministry of Culture and Sports of Bosnia and Herzegovina. A tradition of the locals has been maintained to this day by the visiting and burning of candles.

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * * А. Ивић: Родословне таблице српских династија и властеле, Нови Сад 1928. * Дио Сандаљевог депозита за побочну грану племена Косача, У: Српска проза данас : Косаче оснивачи Херцеговине / Ћоровићеви сусрети прозних писаца у Билећи, Научни скуп историчара у Гацку ; �риређивач Радослав Братић - Билећа : Просвјета ; Гацко : Просвјета ; Београд : Фонд "Светозар и Владимир Ћоровић", 2002, 261-268. * Родоначелник племена Косача – војвода Влатко Вуковић, У: Српска проза данас : Косаче оснивачи Херцеговине / Ћоровићеви сусрети прозних писаца у Билећи. Научни скуп историчара у Гацку / �риређивач Радослав Братић - Билећа : Просвјета ; Гацко : Просвјета ; Београд : Фонд “Светозар и Владимир Ћоровић”, 2002, 243-260. * Споредна грана племена Косача, У: Зборник за историју Босне и Херцеговине 3 (2002) 61-77. *Учешће Косача у ослобађању Јајца од Турака 1463. године, У: Српска проза данас : Косаче оснивачи Херцеговине / Ћоровићеви сусрети прозних писаца у Билећи, Научни скуп историчара у Гацку / �риређивач Радослав Братић - Билећа: Просвјета; Гацко: Просвјета; Београд: Фонд "Светозар и Владимир Ћоровић", 2002, 464-475. * Prof. Dr. Feridun Emecen,

TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi The h2g2 website is a British-based collaborative online encyclopedia project. It describes itself as "an unconventional guide to life, the universe, and everything", in the spirit of the fictional publication ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to t ...

, Turkish academic encyclopedia for Islamic studies, p. 524,525 * Prof. Tayyib Gökbilgin, Edirne ve Paşa Livası, Istanbul 1952. p. 333-334 * Dr. Ćiro Truhelka, Tursko-slovjenski spomenici dubrovačke arhive, Glasnik Zemaljskog muzeja BiH XXIII. 1911. Sarajevo p. 437-484 {{DEFAULTSORT:House Of Kosaca Kingdom of Bosnia Ottoman period in the history of Bosnia and Herzegovina