}; died ) was a 14th-century Bosnian

nobleman 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 ...

, Duke of Hum,

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 ...

( sh, Veliki vojvoda bosanski) and one of the best military commanders of

King Tvrtko I Stephen Tvrtko I ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Stjepan/Stefan Tvrtko, Стјепан/Стефан Твртко; 1338 – 10 March 1391) was the first king of Bosnia. A member of the House of Kotromanić, he succeeded his uncle Stephen II ...

, for whom he governed Hum (part of modern-day

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 was part of the

Banate of Bosnia The Banate of Bosnia ( sh, Banovina Bosna / Бановина Босна), or Bosnian Banate (''Bosanska banovina'' / Босанска бановина), was a medieval state based in what is today Bosnia and Herzegovina. Although Hungarian kings ...

and later

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 ...

. Vlatko was probably a son of duke

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 ...

, often regarded as founder of the

Kosača noble family The House of Kosača ( sr-Cyrl, Косача, Kosače / Косаче), somewhere Kosačić ( sr-Cyrl, Косачић, Kosačići / Косачићи), was a Bosnian medieval noble family which ruled over parts of modern-day Bosnia and Herzegovi ...

Military engagements

Battle of Bileća

The Ottoman threat was building to the east, threatening Bosnia and its southeastern regions in Hum. On 27 August 1388, Grand Duke Vlatko defeated an Ottoman raiding party (probably up to 18,000 strong) in 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 ...

. Bosnian heavy cavalry is typically credited with winning the battle as they broke the Ottoman ranks and pursued the retreating enemy. Celebrated Ottoman commander Lala Sahin Pasha ( tr, Lala Şahin Paşa, 1330 – cca 1382) barely managed to save himself with the small band of his soldiers.

Battle of Kosovo

In 1389, dispatched by his king Tvrtko I, he commanded a Bosnian army contingent as part of a Christian coalition that fought alongside Serbian prince

Lazar Hrebeljanović Lazar Hrebeljanović ( sr-cyr, Лазар Хребељановић; ca. 1329 – 15 June 1389) was a medieval Serbian ruler who created the largest and most powerful state on the territory of the disintegrated Serbian Empire. Lazar's state, ...

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 ...

against the

Ottomans The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922). Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...

. Vuković was one of few commanders who survived the battle. Although the battle is viewed now as tactically inconclusive, at the time the battle was viewed differently - Vuković reported the outcome of the battle as a victory, as the Ottomans suffered heavy losses and were forced to withdraw for a time.

Dispute with Radić Sanković over Konavle

A council was convoked by the king or noblemen who opposed the sale of Konavli by Radič Sanković to

Dubrovnik Dubrovnik (), historically known as Ragusa (; see notes on naming), is a city on the Adriatic Sea in the region of Dalmatia, in the southeastern semi-exclave of Croatia. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterranea ...

, He and Pavle Radenović later captured Konavli and divided it between themselves. Vlatko later died.

Death and burial

He died sometime between August 1392 - August 1393. His nephew

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 ...

succeeded him. It was thought that both Vlatko's and his wife's graves lie marked in

stećak Stećak (, ) or Stećci in plural form (, ) is the name for monumental medieval tombstones, that lie scattered across Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the border parts of Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia. An estimated 60,000 are found within the bo ...

necropolis near the village of Boljuni, not far from

Stolac Stolac is an ancient city located in Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located in the region of Herzegovina. Stolac is one of the oldest cities in Bosnia and Herzego ...

, in

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 ...

. 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 on that particular grave says: ''"Ase leži dobri junak i čovjek Vlatko Vuković"'' ( en, italic=yes, link=yes, "Here lies a good hero and good man, Vlatko Vuković"), however, neither grave belong to a famous duke and/or his wife.

References

Sources

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External links

Historijsko područje- nekropola stećaka I i II Boljuni - Komisija za očuvanje nacionalnih spomenika BiH

Vlatko Vuković's grave location in Panoramio

Šefik Bešlagić, Stećci - kataloško-topografski pregled
Bosnian magnates Grand Dukes of Bosnia Kingdom of Bosnia Kosača noble family 14th-century Bosnian people Year of birth missing 1392 deaths Vuković noble family {{BosniaHerzegovina-hist-stub