Lazar Hrebeljanovich

Lazar (Knez/Prince/Czar) was a ruling prince of Serbia, who united several allies to resist the Ottoman invasion of the Balkans in the 14th century. Lazar and his allies stood as the last bulwark against Islamic invasion of Europe, but they were defeated at the battle of Kosovo Polje, June 15, 1389 (St. Vitus Day - June 28 in the modern calendar, June 15 in the old Orthodox calendar). Lazar was wounded and captured during the battle, and executed by the victorious Turks. His body, including his decapitated head, was preserved at the Serbian Orthodox monasteries at Ravanica and Gracanica for many years, but it has recently been moved to Belgrade, Yugoslavia. The monument (shown in the photos) to Lazar and his men is on the Kosovo battlefield, near Pristina. Following the NATO war against Yugoslavia in the spring of 1999, Albanian Kosovars defaced and attempted to destroy this monument (bio by G. Walden).