Tvrtko I of Bosnia
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Stephen Tvrtko I (Stefan, sometimes translated as Stjepan, Stevan,...) (1338–1391) was a ruler of medieval Bosnia. He ruled in 1353–1366 and again in 1367–1377 as Ban and in 1377–1391 as the first Bosnian King. He also took the Serbian crown. Tvrtko was a member of the House of Kotromanić.
Tvrtko I was an able Bosnian ruler and his state included most of Bosnia as well as the neighbouring territories. He transformed the country from an autonomous banate into an independent and prosperous kingdom. After he became the King, he added the title Stephanos (Stefan, the crowned one), and Miroslav or Mircea[citation needed].
Tvrtko's title was "King of Serbs and Bosnia".
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Family Connections
Tvrtko was the firstborn child of Vladislav of Kotroman and Jelena Šubić, who were married at the Šubić's stronghold of Klis in a summer long festivities open to the whole population. Tvrtko was a scion of the two most prominent families. Tvrtko was the first cousin of Elizabeth of Kotroman, the daughter of Vladislav's brother, ban Stephen II Kotromanić, and his third wife the Polish Princess Elizabeth of Kuyavia.
In the times when the plague was devastating the region, Tvrtko's mother Jelena Šubić was in charge of the household, which, among others, included her own family, including her ailing husband Vladislav, and the family of her ailing in-laws of Stephen II Kotromanić. Jelena brought up her own children, Tvrtko and his younger brother Vuk Kotromanić, and her nieces and adopted daughters Elizabeta Kotromanić and her older sister Katarina Kotromanić.
In 1350, Elizabeta Kotromanić was hand-picked to become, in 1353, the second wife of the king and later emperor Louis I of Hungary, king of Hungary, since 1370 of Poland, etc. In 1361, Katarina was married to Herman I of Celje. They became parents of Herman II of Celje and grandparents of Barbara of Cilli, Barbara Celjska, the future wife, queen and empress to the Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund of Luxemburg.
All House of Kotroman siblings, Tvrtko and Elizabeta in particular, were very close, calling themselves, even in official documents, as my beloved brother and my beloved sister, respectively. Thus, Tvrtko was, in fact, the brother-in-law, vassal and trusted ally of Louis I, and the brother-in-law of Hermann I of Celje. Tvrtko was also a descendant, on both paternal and maternal sides, from the Arpad dynasty that ruled Hungary and Croatia, and House of Nemanja, that ruled the Serbian Lands and at its peak the Greek lands. Tvrtko's paternal grandmother was Jelisaveta Nemanjic, the daughter of the Catholic Serb King Stefan Dragutin of Nemanja and his wife the Arpad Princess Katalin, the daughter of the Cuman Koteny Princess christened Elizabeth and her husband Istvan V who was the son of King Bela IV. Tvrtko's maternal great-grandmother was Ursa Nemanjic, Jelisaveta's sister.
Tvrtko's maternal uncle Mladen III Šubić was married to Jelena Nemanjić, the daughter of Stefan Decanski, from Nemanjić dynasty, and Maria Palaeologina, and a half-sister of Serbian Emperor Stefan Dušan.
Tvrtko's paternal aunt Marija was the wife of Nicolae Alexandru Basarab and the grandmother of Mircea I the Elder. Tvrtko's maternal uncle Pavao III Šubić was married to Catherina Dandolo, his maternal aunt Katarina Šubić was married to Ivan Jurišić, his grand-aunt was Elizabeta Krčka (later known as Frankopan), while his grand-uncle was Jacopo Tiepolo.
Ruler
Ban
Bosnian state during Ban Kulin 1180–1204
Bosnian state during king Tvrtko 1353–1391
Borders of Bosnian state in second part of 15th century
Bosnia in second part of 19th century
Tvrtko succeeded his uncle Ban Stephen II Kotromanić as Ban of Bosnia in the Hungarian King's name in 1353 at the age of 15. He was still young, so his father Vladislav Kotromanić ruled in his name. The first year of Tvrtko's reign passed mostly as confirming and issuing new edicts. In 1354, Tvrtko and his brother Vuk were declared as Bans of Bosnia, the Lower Edges, Zagorje and the Hum land. The same year Tvrtko's father and Bosnia's de fact ruler, Vladislav, died. Tvrtko's mother, Banass Jelena Šubić asserted to the throne, but she wasn't accepted in Bosnia because she was a woman, so much of the Bosnian nobility refused to obey her. The first one to rebel was Tvrtko's close cousin Pavle Kulišić. Tvrtko gathered a small force, defeated Pavle, took his Usora cities for himself and threw him in the dungeon, where he died.
Mladen III Šubić had died and his lands were being split. The Hungarian Kingdom and the Republic of Venetia quarraled over Klis and Skradin, the cities which where held by Jelena Nemanjić Šubić. The Hungarian King wanted Jelena Šubić Kotromanić to take over the cities with the Bosnians. So in 1355, Tvrtko and his mother moved with their forces to Duvno for the negotiations with the Croatian Prince, Ivan Nelipac. The Bosnian Ban managed to get a hold for himself over some of the former Šubićs' cities and forged a military alliance with Prince Ivan Nelipac ready to advance to Zadar if the cities didn't answer their side's demands. But, Skradin and Klis themselves were taken by the forces of Serbian Emperor Stefan Dušan.
In 1356–1358 the Hungarian King was at war with Venetia, so he had mustered Tvrtko's forces, but Ban Tvrtko was unwilling to assist him. In the middle of 1357, Tvrtko visited the King's court and the King had forced Tvrtko to relinquish Završje and the Hum as well as swear an oath of loyalty and promise to extirminate the Bogumil heresy. The last task was given to Bosnian Bishop Petar Šikloš, who unlike his predecessor Peregrin, wasn't loyal to the House of Kotromanić. In turn, the King confirmed Tvrtko and his brother Vuk as the Bans of Bosnia and Usora. The King also imposed a law that always, either Tvrtko or his brother had to be at the Hungarian court as hostages. The Hungarian King also took the rulers of the Lower Edges from Tvrtko's suzeiranity for himself and continued to rile up the rest of the Bosnian nobility against the Ban.
Ban Tvrtko desired to restore power. He threatened the nobility of the Lower Edges and mustered a side out of the nobility loyal to him, but his party began to crumble. The Hungarian King had finished his conquest of Dalmatia from Venetia by 1358 and even had put the Republic of Dubrovnik under his supreme rule, to which he issued an edict that totally undermined Tvrtko's authority. Tvrtko's plot against the Hungarian King and the Bosnian Bishop Petar Šikloš later that year utterly failed.
Serbian Prince Vojislav Vojinović counterattacked the Hungarian Kingdom at the Republic of Dubrovnik, which asked Ban Tvrtko for assistance as the Hungarian King recommended. Tvrtko amassed his forces, but the war was already over by the time he was prepared. In the peace treaty, the Hungarian King again undermined Tvrtko's authority. In 1361, the Dubrovnik Republic was attacked by Prince Vojislav again. After numerous pleas from the Republic's envoys, the Ban dispatched Prince Sanko Miltenović to negotiate. Prince Vojislav refused all negotiations, so Tvrtko claimed that nothing more could be done. The war was eventually over in 1362, so the Republic's pleas have stopped.
The Bosnian Bishop had the permission from the Pope to raise arms since 1360 and the Hungarian King was to supply them. In 1363, the Hungarian King attempted a double invasion of Tvrtko's Bosnia to resolve Tvrtko from his office. The first and primary target was the city of Soko on Pliva. Tvrtko's Duke Vukac Hrvatinić led a three-day defence against the siege of the city from 8 July to 10 July. The Hungarian Palatine MIklós Kont was sent later to renew the invasion. He attacked Srebrenik in Usora. The Hungarians suffered heavy losses and someone even stole the royal seal from the its guardian the Archbishop of Esztergom from the Hungarian camp. After this triumph, by 1364 Tvrtko called himself Ban of All Bosnia by the mercy of God instead of by the mercy of the Hungarian King. The Republic of Venetia, Hungary's old enemy nominated Tvrtko as its honorary citizen. The war strengthened the Bosnian nobility. Prince Sanko Miltenović and the Dabišić brothers have stopped recognizing the Ban's supreme rule and numerous Venetian and Ragusan trade caravans have been raided by the lesser nobility. Anarchy ruled in Tvrtko's Bosnia.
In February 1366 opened conflicts emerged. The Bosnian nobility deposed Tvrtko from his throne and brought his brother, Vuk. Tvrtko had to flee to Hungary. By the end of March 1366, Tvrtko managed to return to Bosnia and take one part of it. Tvrtko again inserted the Hungarian King in his title. With the help of the Hungarian King and the Republic of Dubrovnik, Tvrtko restored control and defeated the rebels by the middle of 1367. Tvrtko tricked the nobility, bribed some, some punished and gave privileges to some and managed to regain support from the Bosnian nobility. Ban Tvrtko fograve Prince Pavle Vukoslavić for the betrayal. Tvrtko again forgot about his loyalty to the Hungarian King and asserted the throne with the title by the mercy of God Lord of many lands, Bosnia, and Soli and Usora and the Lower Edges and the Drina and the Hum Lord. His brother Vuk fled to the Dubrovnik Republic. The Ragusians and the brothers' mother, Jelena Kotromanić invited Tvrtko to make peace with his brother, but Tvrtko came to the Republic with an army in July 1367. Although he feasted in Dubrovnik, Vuk escaped from the city.
The new Serbian nobleman, Prince Nikola Altomanović attacked the widow of Prince Vojislav Vojinović. Tvrtko assisted her by helping her to flee to Albania. Out of revenge, Prince Nikola attacked the Drina area of Tvrtko. Prince Altomanović assisted Tvrtko's brother, Vuk and then mustered Prince Sanko Miltenović against him. Prince Sanko was on egde, so he made peace with Tvrtko in the summer of 1367, but rebelled against him again the following 1368. In 1369, Tvrtko went to the Hum Land and raided Sanko's land with his army. Prince Sanko had to flee to the Dubrovnik Republic. Tvrtko again made peace with Sanko, whom he gave his army to lead. Sanko leading Tvrtko's forces raided the lands of Prince Nikola Altomanović, although was killed in a trap set for him when he entered Trebinje.
Tvrtko's brother Vuk appealed to Pope Urban V accusing Tvrtko for heresy and stating that he supports the Bosnian Bogomils. The Pope asked then the Hungarian King to restore control over Bosnia and give the authority to Vuk. In 1370 Vuk raised an army and assaulted Tvrtko's capital, Bobovac. Bobovac was defended by Stipan Rajković, who managed to convince Vuk to give up his military attempts against Tvrtko for the sake of the brotherhood.
In the Spring of 1370, Tvrtko led Bosnia's nobility to a war against Prince Nikola Altomanović. Negotiations were initiated already in the Summer. In Serbia Nikola's power was rapidly decreasing and that of the House of Mrnjavčević rapidly increasing. Tvrtko negotiated with Serb King Vukašin Mrnjavčević to marry a cousin, the daughter of Grgur II Šubić to Vukašin's son, Young Serb King Marko. Marko was Orthodox Christian, so the Pope wasn't supportive of the marriage and Vuk had mettled around the affair, so Tvrtko gave up of the idea. In 1371, Tvrtko prepared a joint offensive against Nikola Altomanović with two Serbian noblemen, Vukašin Mrnjavčević and Đurađ Balšić. The move was stopped as the Mrnjavčević brothers attacked the Ottoman Turks at the famous Battle of Marica. The Serbian Emperor Stefan Uroš V himself died very soon. Tvrtko sought help in the remaining Serbian lords that still didn't recognize supreme Ottoman rule. He forged an alliance with Lazar Hrebeljanović, the Prince of Moravian Serbia. The decisive conflict was in 1373. Ban Tvrtko raised his army and the Hungarian King sent a thousand pikeman under Srem's Ban Miklós Garai. Tvrtko attacked from the west, while Prince Lazar attacked from the east. Very soon, the two armies met at Užice, where they forced Nikola Altomanović to surrender. Nikola was blinded and banished to a monastery, while his demesne was split. Tvrtko gained the Upper Drina area and the Lim area with Mileševa as well as Gacko. Konavle, Trebinje and Dračevica; other lands in which was Tvrtko interested, were seized by Đuraš Balšić of Zeta. The other lands were given to Prince Lazar.
In 1374, Tvrtko finally made peace with his brother Vuk. By the end of the same year, he married the daughter of Bulgarian Prince Ivan Stracimir of Vidin, Dorrothea upon the appeal of the Hungarian King. The ceremony took place in December 1374 in Saint Ilija (today's Ilinci) near Šid. Tvrtko soon raised his armies and occupied Trebinje, Konavle and Dračevica. Đurađ Balšić died before he could counterattack. Tvrtko took the remaining Serbian lands from the Adriatic to the Mileševa monastery, a pilgrimage site with the remains of Saint Sava, the founder of the Serbian Orthodox Church. He also subjected the Vlachs that lived there.
King
Tvrtko had, parallel with Prince Lazar, plans to rebuild the Serbian Realm. He fulfilled three key conditions to become the Serbian ruler:
- Tvrtko was the remaining heir of the sacronist House of Nemanjić
- Tvrtko's subjects were Serbs
- Tvrtko ruled numerous lands which were the demesne of the House of Nemanjić
Tvrtko crowned himself on 26 October 1377 as Stefan Tvrtko I by the mercy of God King of Serbs, Bosnia and the Seaside and the Western Lands. Today, some historians consider that he was crowned in Monastery of Mileševa, even there is no evidence of that [1]. Another possibility, supported by archaeological evidences, is that he was crowned in Mile near Visoko in the church which was built in time of Stephen II Kotromanić's reign, where he was also buried alongside his uncle Stjepan II.[2][3]
