Stefan Lazarević (; – 19 July 1427), also known as Stefan the Tall (), ruled as a Serbian prince (1389–1402) and despot (1402–1427). He was also a diplomat, legislator, ktetor, patron of the arts, poet, and one of the founding members of the Order of the Dragon. The son of Prince Lazar Hrebeljanović, he was regarded as one of the finest knights and military leaders of his time. After the death of his father in the Battle of Kosovo, he became ruler of Moravian Serbia and ruled with his mother, Milica (a Nemanjić), until he reached adulthood in 1393. Stefan led troops in several battles as an Ottoman vassal, until asserting independence after receiving the title of despot from the Byzantine Empire in 1402.
Becoming a Hungarian ally in 1403–04, he received possessions, such as Belgrade and the Golubac Fortress. He also held a superior rank in the Order of the Dragon. During his reign, he had a conflict with his nephew, Đurađ Branković, which ended in 1412. Lazarević also inherited Zeta and waged war against Venice. Since he was childless, he designated his nephew Đurađ as heir in 1426, a year before his death.
On the domestic front, he broke the resistance of the Serbian nobles and used the periods of peace to strengthen Serbia politically, economically, culturally, and militarily. In 1412, he issued the Code of Mines, with a section on governing Novo Brdo – the largest mine in the Balkans at the time. The code increased the development of mining in Serbia, which was the economic backbone of the Serbian Despotate. At the time of his death, Serbia was one of the largest silver producers in Europe. In the field of architecture, he continued the development of the Morava school. His reign and personal literary works are sometimes associated with early signs of the Renaissance in the Serbian lands. He introduced knightly tournaments, modern battle tactics, and firearms to Serbia. He was a great patron of the arts and culture by providing shelter and support to scholars and refugees from neighboring countries that had been taken by the Ottomans. In addition, he was himself a writer, his most notable work being A Homage to Love, which is characterized by Renaissance themes. During his reign, the Resava School of arts was formed.
On 1 August 1927, the 500th anniversary of his death, he was canonized by the Serbian Orthodox Church as Saint Despot Stefan of Serbia, and his relics are kept in the Koporin Monastery.
Background and family Stefan was the son of Lazar, the prince of Moravian Serbia, and his wife, Milica, who was a member of a collateral branch of the Nemanjić dynasty. Milica's father, Prince Vratko, was a direct descendant of Vukan, the eldest son of Stefan Nemanja. In addition to Stefan, they had seven other children.
Marriage On 12 September 1405, Stefan married Helena Gattilusio, the daughter of Francesco II of Lesbos. According to Konstantin the Philosopher, Stefan first saw his wife in Lesbos, where Francesco II offered him a choice among his daughters; the marriage was arranged "with the advice and participation" of Helena's sister, Empress Eirene. There is no mention of Helena after her marriage to Stefan; this led British historian Anthony Luttrell to remark that "apparently there were never any children; nothing is known of her death or burial; and, most unusually, she did not appear in any of the post-1402 fresco portraits of Stefan".Anthony Luttrell, "John V's Daughters: A Palaiologan Puzzle", Dumbarton Oaks Papers, 40 (1986), pg. 105 Luttrell concludes, "Maybe she was too young for the marriage to be consummated, and perhaps she stayed on Lesbos and never traveled to Serbia; possibly she died soon after her marriage."Luttrell, "John V Daughters", p. 106
Stefan's brothers and sisters Stefan's brothers Name Lifespan Title Dobrovoj (Died as a child) Vuk (c. 1380–1410) prince Stefan's sisters Name Lifespan Marriages Мara (?–1426) Vuk Branković, c. 1371 Jelena (1365/1366–1443) 1.Đurađ II Stracimirović Balšić (1385–1403), c. 13862.Sandalj Hranić (1392–1435), 1411 DraganaАндрија Веселиновић Радош Љушић, "Српске династије", Нови Сад, 2001. (1371–1395) Ivan (1371–1395) or his son Alexander, c. 1386 Teodora (Jelena) (?–before 1405) Nikola II Gorjanski, c. 1387 Olivera (c. 1378 – after 1443/1444) Bayezid I (1389–1403), 1390
Prince Early years and rise to the throne
Stefan Lazarević was born c. 1377 in Kruševac, Serbia. After his father was killed in the Battle of Kosovo on 15 June 1389, Stefan became the new Serbian prince; before he became of age, the state was ruled by his mother, Princess Milica.
Stefan's succession came about at an especially poor time for the state of Lazarević, which found itself surrounded by powerful neighbors. On one side was Bayezid I, who withdrew after the Battle of Kosovo to consolidate his power among the Ottomans, and on the other was Vuk Branković, the husband of Stefan's sister Mara, who became the most powerful of Serbian aristocrats after the battle. The neighbor to the west was Bosnian king Tvrtko I (1353–1377 ban, king 1377–1391), who was considered the legitimate successor of the Nemanjić crown, and he portrayed the Battle of Kosovo as his own victory over the Ottomans, while their possessions in the north bordered Hungary, ruled by King Sigismund.
On 7 July, three weeks after the Battle of Kosovo, Sigismund sent his palatine, Nicholas II Garay, to negotiate with Vuk Branković about things that were in his and the Serbians favor, where he confirmed in advance any agreements that they had made. Although both Nicholas and Vuk were married to sisters of Stefan, it was not uncommon at the time that strong neighbors, even relatives, to oppose legitimate, but juvenile, heirs to the throne. The outcome of these negotiations is not known, but already in the fall, Sigismund began an offensive against the young Serbian prince Stefan. His forces crossed the Sava River in October, and in early November, they occupied the fortresses of Borač and Čestin near present-day Kragujevac. In these circumstances, Milica, along with the state assembly, with the support of Serbian Patriarch Spyridon (1379–1389), decided on the conclusion of peace and acceptance of the supremacy of the sultan Bayezid I. Details this decision are not well known, but peace was certainly made before Patriarch Spirydon's death on 18 August 1389.
According to the terms of the peace, Prince Stefan pledged to send extra squads to the Ottoman sultan and pay tribute, and that he and his brother, Vuk Lazarević, had to appear annually at the Sultan's palace to confirm their allegiance. In addition, Bayezid I married the youngest daughter of Prince Lazar and Princess Milica, Olivera, and Vuk and Stefan had to personally take her to Sultan Bayezid in Bursa. The effects of this peace deal were immediately visible; already in summer 1390, Serbian forces reinforced with extra Ottoman detachments recaptured the lost cities. Stefan militarily supported various Ottoman campaigns, and in return, Bayazid I supported Stefan against his opponents and his restoration of Serbia, which would become a relatively strong state.
There is nothing on the activities of Vuk Branković during this period. It is certain that after the Battle of Kosovo, he sought to expand his domain (he had conquered part of Polimlje), and that he used the same title that was used by his father (Lord of Serbs and Podunavije). However, by early May 1390, Vuk felt threatened by Stefan, and he asked the Republic of Ragusa to facilitate his safety if it came to a conflict. There is no evidence of direct hostility between Stefan and Vuk, and the two families kept an uneasy peace during this period. Conflict at the Serbian-Hungarian border continued over the next two years. In the summer of 1392, Sigismund crossed near Kovin and marched to Ždrelo, then retreated and tried to take Golubac. At the same time, the land of Vuk Branković were under Ottoman attack. In early 1392, the Ottomans occupied Skoplje and continued marching north, forcing Vuk to make peace with Bayezid and become his vassal by the end of the year.
Battles of Rovine and of Nicopolis
In 1393, Stefan became an adult and took full possession of the throne. Milica became a nun and withdrew to her endowment, the monastery Ljubostinja. That same year, Bayezid I dealt with Bulgarian vassals for their alleged links with the Hungarian King Sigismund. Veliko Tarnovo was besieged, and Bulgaria was devastated; the Bulgarian ruler Ivan Shishman was Stefan's brother-in-law. After this, many Bulgarian scholars sought refuge in neighboring Christian countries, among which was Serbia.
During the autumn of 1394, Bayezid began gathering forces for a campaign against Mircea I of Wallachia, where Stefan personally led the largest Serbian heavy cavalry squadron, while Serbian nobles Marko, Konstantin Dejanović, and Konstantin Balšić led their own forces. Bayezid's army crossed the Danube, and the Battle of Rovine took place on 17 May 1395, near present-day Pitești, resulting in a Wallachian victory. In the battle, Marko and Konstantin were killed, and Bayezid annexed their lands, largely to boost his economy. According to Constantine the Philosopher in his Life of Stefan Lazarević, before the battle, Marko said to Konstantin: "I pray God to help the Christians and that I will be among the first dead in this war."
The Ottoman forces then took Vidin, and, reinforced by Serbian detachments, marched into Banat during the summer of 1396, after attacking the lands of Vuk Branković and conquering a large part of it, including Priština.
The Wallachian victory at Rovine sparked a crusade in which forces from France, Burgundy, Germany, and other European countries joined the Hungarian king Sigismund and Mircea I, with the Venetian fleet, which was to enter the Danube from the Black Sea and support the army on the mainland. The crusader forces gathered in Hungary, after which they crossed the Danube and took Vidin. After that, the march continued down the Danube. Nicopolis, which had a large Ottoman garrison, was besieged. The siege broke the blockade of Constantinople, forcing Bayezid to send troops towards the Danube, joining forces with Stefan Lazarević's heavy cavalry near Plovdiv. A great battle took place on 25 September 1396 in which the Crusader forces were destroyed. Although numerically superior, the Crusader army lacked a joint command and thus was poorly coordinated on the battlefield. Also, they were ignorant of the Ottoman army's methods. After an initial Crusader success, the Ottomans initiated a counterattack that ended with the entry of the Hungarian knights into the battle. In this turning point of the battle, the Serbian heavy cavalry, led by Stefan Lazarević himself, broke through the Hungarian lines and surrounded King Sigismund, attacking the Hungarian banner troops of Nicholas II Garay. Garay's troops were dispersed, which had a decisive effect, because some of the Crusaders thought that Sigismund had been killed and that the battle was lost, while the Hungarian commanders convinced Sigismund that the battle was practically lost and that it was better to withdraw. After that, the Crusader lines fell apart, and a carnage ensued. One of the participants in the battle, Johann Schiltberger, described the Serbian attack: