Vlatko Vuković, Grand Duke of Hum

Vlatko Vuković Kosača (Serbian Cyrillic: Влатко Вуковић Косача) (died 1392) was a medieval nobleman who ruled as Grand Duke of Hum.

He was a son of Vuk Kosača, the founder of the medieval house of Kosača. He governed the province of Hum, which was part of the Banate of Bosnia. The Ottoman threat was building to the east, threatening neighboring Herzegovina. On August 27, 1388, Grand Duke Vlatko defeated an Ottoman raiding party (some 18,000 strong) that had invaded Hum in the Battle of Bileća. Bosnian heavy cavalry are typically credited with winning the battle as they broke the Ottoman ranks and pursued the retreating enemy. It has been cited that "Ottoman leader Shain barely managed to save himself with the small band of his soldiers".^[1] In 1389, he commanded an army that fought alongside Serbian Prince Lazar Hrebeljanović at the Battle of Kosovo against the Ottomans. Vuković is one of the few leaders on the Christian side who survived the battle. Although the battle is viewed now as a decisive defeat and the end of Serbian independence, 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. He died in 1392.

Vuković's grave lies marked near the village of Boljuni near Stolac, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Inscription on the grave was written in Bosnian Cyrillic Script (bosančica), among other inscriptions written in ikavian accent.^[2]

See also

• History of Bosnia and Herzegovina (958–1463)

External links

• Vlatko Vuković's grave
• Jezik Boljunskih natpisa

References