Stefan Vukcic

Duke of St. Sava Stefan Vukcic Kosaca. Master of the upper Podrinje, Dabar and the whole of Herzegovina. Serbian knight and defender of the Principality of Herzegovina. A member of the noble Serbian family Kosaca. At the head of the Kosaca family in the period from 1435 to 1466.

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Year of birth: 1404

Place of birth: Soko Grad

Father’s name: Serbian prince Vukac Hranic Kosaca

Mother’s name: Katarina

Wives: Jelena Balsic, Barbara de Payro, Cecilie

Offspring: Katarina Vukcic Kosaca, Vladislav Hercegovic Kosaca, Vlatko Hercegovic Kosaca, Stjepan Hercegovic Kosaca, Mara Hercegovic Kosaca

Religious affiliation: Orthodox Christian

Year of death: 1466

Duke of St. Sava Stefan Vukcic Kosaca was born in 1404 in Kosaca as the first child of the Serbian prince Vukac Hranic Kosaca. Herceg grew up with his father, the prince, the uncle of the Serbian duke Sandalj Hranic Kosaca and the uncle of the Serbian prince Vuk Hranic Kosaca. With them, he learned negotiation and management skills. His childhood along the Drina River and trade routes gave him the opportunity to learn from the experiences of foreign traders who brought ideas and news.

The religious affiliation of the Duke of St. Sava Stefan Vukcic Kosaca was unequivocally the Orthodox Christian faith. This is supported by the fact that during his life, the Duke of St. Sava, Stefan Vukcic Kosaca, built a lot of temples of the Byzantine type and financed a lot of founding works. He built the temple-tomb of Zagrade and the church of John the Baptist on Scepan Polje for himself. The iconostasis depicts the Kosaca family as a family and as founders. On the left are the brothers of the Serbian duke Sandalj Hranic Kosaca with the Serbian prince Vukc Hranic Kosaca. In the middle is the duke with his uncle’s brother, the Serbian prince Ivan Vukovic Kosaca, and on the left are his sons Vladislav Hercegovic Kosaca and Vlatko Hercegovic Kosaca. During his life, he built many Orthodox churches.

Zagrade Monastery with the Church of St. John the Baptist on Scepan Polje, Church of St. George Sopotnica in Kopači, Monastery of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin in Dobrun, Savina Monastery in Herceg Novi, Church of St. Sava in Herceg Novi, Church on Podima above Herceg Novi, Church of the Holy Trinity in Kuti above Zelenika, the Church of St. Luke in Smokovac above Risan.

All these are clear proofs of his religious affiliation with the Serbian Orthodox Church. The religious monuments left behind by his time clearly tell us that.

In 1419, in the charter to Dubrovnik regarding the sale of Konavle, written by the Serbian duke Sandalj Hranic Kosaca, the duke of Saint Sava Stefan Vukcic Kosaca is mentioned for the first time. He is mentioned here as the fourth holder of the throne after the Serbian duke Sandalj Hranic Kosaca, the Serbian prince Vukac Hranic Kosaca and the Serbian prince Vuk Hranic Kosaca. He was 15 that year, which was considered adulthood and maturity at that time. The period of growing up and maturing of the duke from Saint Sava Stefan Vukcic Kosaca is shrouded in a veil of secrecy. Until the takeover of the throne in 1435, there are not many historical documents.

In July 1420, it is mentioned in the will of the Serbian duke Sandalj Hrnic Kosaca. He is listed as one of the heirs of the material assets that the duke deposited in Dubrovnik. The deposit was made by his uncle, Serbian Duke Sandalj Hranic Kosaca.

The year 1424 is related to her marriage to Jelena Balsic. He married Jelena and had three children. The marriage existed in interruptions because there was a conflict between the spouses.

Jelena Balsic was the great-granddaughter of the Serbian Emperor Lazar. Daughter of Durad Balsic III.

In 1424, his first child was born, Katarina Vukcic Kosaca, the last queen of Bosnia and the wife of Stjepan Tomas Kotromanic. Katarina Vukcic Kosaca was raised and educated in the Orthodox spirit and according to Orthodox and Serbian customs. Brave and steadfast until the last day of his life. She gave up her children because they changed their religious affiliation. Katarina Vukcic Kosaca gave birth to three children. Sigismund Tomasevic Kotromanic and Katarina Tomasevic Kotromanic. The name is not known for the third child. After the fall of the Kingdom of Bosnia, Queen Catherine fled to Italy, where she died on October 25, 1948. years. She died alone and abandoned by all. She was buried in the church of Santa Maria in Rome. She spent the rest of her life in solitude and poverty. The interesting thing about Katarina Vukcic Kosaca is that both of her ancestors led the Serbian army in the battle on Kosovo Polje. The right wing of the Serbian army was led by the Serbian duke Vlatko Vukovic Kosaca, and the center of the army by the Serbian prince Lazar Hrebeljanovic.

In 1427, his son Vladislav Hercegovic Kosaca was born. His life passed in constant conflict with his father. Vladislav managed to secure the title of Duke of Bosnia as an ally of the Kingdom of Bosnia in the conflict with his father. He was very angry with his father because the duke stole his fiancée who had been arranged for marriage. He used his father’s war with Dubrovnik to attack him, so weakened and occupied by the conflict. His allies were King Stjepan Tomas, Petar Vojsalic and the Venetian Republic. His mother Jelena Balsic was also on his side.

In 1428, his second son Vlatko Hercegovic Kosaca was born. Unlike his older brother, he was always with his father as his ally. He fought on his father’s side and, according to some testimonies, secretly after his death on horseback, he took him to the Zagrade monastery, where he was buried.

In 1435, the Serbian duke Sandalj Hranic Kosaca died. It was a signal for all opponents of the Kosaca clan to unite and launch an attack on the territories of the Kosaca clan. Immediately after taking the throne, the Duke of St. Sava, Stefan Vukcic Kosaca, faced great problems. Hungarian King Sigismund of Luxembourg, with the help of his vassal King Company II, launched an attack on Hum and Drijevo because it was a large shopping center. The Pavlovics also joined him in that attack. The old enemies of the Kosaca family were gathered and united as allies. Attacked from all sides, the Duke of St. Sava, Stefan Vukcic Kosaca, received help from the mercenary army and won.

In 1346, he banished the Hungarian king from Hum forever. He defeated the Bosnian king as well as Pavlovic. Because of those victories, he received recognition as the successor of the Serbian duke Sandalj Hranic Kosaca from Dubrovnik and the Venetian Republic. He made a peace treaty with King Tvrtko II. However, it remained in a silent conflict with the Pavlovics until the death of Radoslav Pavlovic.

In 1437, he attacked the territories of the Pavlovics and occupied the town of Trebinje, Klobuk and other territories ruled by the Pavlovics. Pavlovic’s country was devastated and looted after those attacks. That was the beginning of the decline of the power of the Pavlović family. After that, they never recovered.

In 1439, the Turkish invaders attacked the territories of the Kosaca family and they therefore withdrew from Trebinje and its surroundings.

In 1440, due to the debt to the Turkish conquerors, the Pavlovics became weakened and easy prey for conquest. The Duke of St. Sava, Stefan Vukcic Kosaca, used it again and recaptured Trebinje, Klobuk and other cities. Encouraged by Pavlović’s conquests, the territory moved to the upper Zeta.

In 1441 he occupied the upper Zeta. Territories ruled by the Crnojevics. With the conquest of Lower Zeta, he entered into a squabble with the Venetian Republic. There was no success.

In 1442, he entered into a conflict with the Venetians, in which the Serbian prince Ivan Vukovic Kosaca joined, who was dissatisfied after he was not given the right to take over the throne of the Kosaca family. He came before the Venetian parliament and offered an alliance with the Venetians, so that after the defeat of the duke of St. Sava Stefan Vukcic Kosaca, he took over the throne of the Kosaca family, which belonged to him by right of birth. We record his testimony before the Venetian Parliament.

“Que l’heritage de Sandali devait lui revenir, a lui et non a Etiene”

Herceg from Saint Sava Stefan Vukcic Kosaca captured the town of Bar while Budva and Drivast surrendered to the Venetian Republic. The Venetians also occupied the city of Omis and successfully defended Kotor, so that they were no longer interested in an alliance with the pretender to the throne of the Kosaca family, the Serbian prince Ivan Vukovic Kosaca. At that time, the Kingdom of Bosnia was weak and powerless and was in a vassal relationship with Hungary. Due to the conflict in Hungary itself, Bosnia has become even more vulnerable. King Tvrtko II tries to sell the kingdom of Bosnia to the Venetian Republic, but these negotiations fail because the Venetians were not interested.

In 1443, King Tvrtko II died and was succeeded by Stejpan Tomas, the illegitimate son of Ostoja Kotromanic. King Stjepan Tomas became a great enemy of the duke of St. Sava Stefan Vukcic Kosaca because the duke did not support him in his election to the throne of Bosnia.

In 1444, Stjepan Tomas attacked and occupied Drijevski Square. It was a big blow for the duke. There are big conflicts. Herceg sought help in alliance with the Italian king of Aragon. Durad Brankovic received the Serbian despotism from the Turkish invaders. He then attacked and captured Srebrenica. There is a conflict with the Kingdom of Bosnia, where a half-government agreement is concluded.

05/26/1446. The marriage between King Stjepan Tomas and Serbian Princess Katarina Vukcic Kosaca took place in It was a political move to calm tensions. Katarina was accompanied by her father to Milodraz near Fojnica for the wedding. She then accepted Catholicism and renounced Orthodoxy, which was the religion of her family, and accepted the religion of her husband. Then a truce was concluded between King Stjepan Tomas and the Duke of St. Sava Stefan Vukcic Kosaca. After that, peace came for two years. Ivanis Pavlovic and Petar Vojsalic were the only ones who were not satisfied with this peace.

In 1448, the Turkish conquerors attacked the kingdom of Bosnia and Croatia. These attacks ravaged the said countries and their weakening and collapse occurred. This results in an attack on Srebrenica by Tomo Kantakuzin and he captures the city. The Duke of St. Sava, Stefan Vukcic Kosača, is helping him in that attack. Herceg realized that Bosnia practically no longer exists and is turning to its state, the Principality of Herzegovina. Aware of responsibility and statehood, it takes the last step towards independence.

In 1450, he was crowned in Mileseva and took the title of Herceg. He also changes his name from Stjepan to Stefan, which means crowned in Greek. It was the custom of all Serbian rulers to add the name Stefan after the coronation. This meant a final break with the Kingdom of Bosnia. Since he had Mileseva in his possession and nurtured the cult and religious path of Saint Sava, he took the title of Duke of Saint Sava for himself. This is a clear and unequivocal proof of the religious and national affiliation of the Duke of St. Sava Stefan Vukcic Kosaca. That tells us that he was a Serb and an Orthodox. He often flirted with the Vatican for political reasons, but he remained a sincere believer in the Byzantine teachings and the eastern province. Proof temples that he built and built for his life. The first step he took as a duke and independent ruler was to open new saltworks and salt squares in Sutorina. He opened weaving mills in Novi Grad and planned to turn the city of Novi into a large seaport. This provoked the anger of Dubrovnik, which banned all trade on his land. Nevertheless, he managed to maintain trade with Venice. He still sold silver, lead and wax and bought fabrics.

In 1451, the second Konavle War began. It was inevitable because Dubrovnik’s dissatisfaction was great with the duke’s moves and his trade policy. It was at that time that a girl was sent from Italy (Siena) who was to become the wife of the eldest son of the Duke Vladislav Hercegovic Kosaca. The beautiful Italian woman liked the duke and he kept to himself what would produce the revolt of his son and wife. Due to the conflict with Dubrovnik, the duke weakened the defense of other territories.

In 1452, Vlatko Hercegovic Kosaca gathered his army and with the allies: Dubrovnik, Petar Vojsalic and King Stjepan Tomas, attacked the duke’s land. They all attacked him together and the heretic was in big trouble. They conquered almost all of Hum. Cities in the Neretva valley, Vratar, Todevac and even Jelec. At that moment, the duke was in big trouble, but he was saved by the conflict between the allies themselves. There was a conflict over the division of the occupied territories. Tomas was busy in the war with Durad around Srebrenica. Herceg attacked Dubrovnik and caused great damage to the territories of Dubrovnik. However, all that stopped the peace between Turkey and Hungary. That agreement returned everything to the state before the war. Due to the defeat, Vladislav tried to take refuge in Dubrovnik, but he was not allowed to do so.

In 1453, his wife Jelena Balsic died. Until the last day, she was with her son Vladislav Hercegovic Kosaca and remained an enemy to her husband.

In 1454, a peace treaty was reached with Dubrovnik. That agreement returned everything to its previous state. The losers in that agreement were Vladislav and Pavlovic because they had to return all the conquered territories.

In 1455, the Duke of St. Sava, Stefan Vukcic Kosaca, married Barbara De Payo. From that marriage, three children were born, Mara Hercegovic Kosaca and Stjepan Hercegovic Kosaca. The third child died very early and there is no information about his name. In the same year, his son Vladislav Hercegovic Kosaca married Ana Kantakuzin. Vlatko Hercegovic Kosaca also married him to Margarita, the daughter of Urlih Celjski. That year was full of a lot of weddings.

In 1458, peace was made with Stjepan Tomas. At the urging of the pope, Tomas carried out the action of the pattern, which lasted for two years. In that action, many patterns were converted to Catholicism. Some fled to the duke’s country because there was no persecution there. The Duke of St. Sava himself, Stefan Vukcic Kosaca, was an Orthodox and did not support the orders from the Vatican.

In 1459 his second wife Barbara died. In the same year, there was a large attack by Turkish invaders who plundered Mileseva and occupied the northern cities. They then occupied Srebrenica, Zvornik and Teocak. These are the first signs of significant and permanent occupation of the territory by the Turkish invaders. Instructed by the team, the Duke of St. Sava, Stfean Vukcic Kosaca, writes to Venice that the time is coming when the Turkish conquerors will devour all rulers and territories.

In 1460 he married Cecilia. There were no descendants from her marriage.

In 1461, there was a new conflict with the son of the Bosnian duke Vladislav Hercegovic Kosaca. The clashes lasted until the duke’s death. Vladislav spent that period in Dubrovnik. As early as mid-March 1462, the conflict flared up. The reason for the conflict was that the duke promised to give his son the three towns of Ostrog, Susjed and Budos to manage. Bosnian Duke Vladislav Hercegovic Kosaca asked for the help of the Turkish conquerors and promised them 100,000 ducats if they would help him in the attack on his father. They attacked the duke’s land in a desire to plunder and ravage the land.

In 1463, the first attack took place. The Turkish invaders divided the army into three columns. Part of the army was given to Vladislav to attack his father in Breznica. In that battle, the duke was defeated. Turkish invaders entered Bosnia in the town of Ustikolina on the river Drina. They entered in three columns. One column went north to stop the Hungarian army. The middle column went to Bosnia and Jajce to take it, and the southern one was given to Vladislav to defeat his father. The shameful move of the duke’s son led to the beginning of the end of the Principality of Herzegovina. The duke therefore expelled him from his will, claiming that he had brought the Turkish invaders to Herzegovina. After these conquests, the places were looted and deserted. Then the duke’s younger son, Vlatko Hercegovic Kosaca, took over the leadership of the duke’s army. He gradually cleansed the cities of Turkish invaders and returned them to the control of the Duke of St. Sava, Stefan Vukcic Kosaca. In mid-October, everything was returned under control, so even the cities under Pavlović’s control were occupied. A small town near Srebrenica is also occupied. The Sultan was angry that the city of Kljuc had been conquered yen because of the duke and not because of the Hungarian army.

In 1464, in the whole process of removing the duke from St. Sava Stefan Vukcic Kosaca from the throne, Vladislav included his brother from the uncle of the Serbian prince Adam Vukovic Kosaca, who was interested in taking the throne in the northern territories in the valley of the upper Drina river. These negotiations took place in Dubrovnik. According to the plan, the Principality of Herzegovina was to be divided into three parts. Hum would belong to the Bosnian duke Vladislav Hercegovic Kosaca, Sutorina and the town of Novi would belong to the Duke of St. Sava Vlatko Hercegovic Kosaca, and the northern territories with the town of Foča to the Serbian prince Adam Vukovic Kosaca. Plans failed due to attacks by Turkish invaders. In the end, however, an agreement was reached between the Duke of St. Sava, Stefan Vukcic Kosaca, and the Duke of Bosnia, Vladislav Hercegovic Kosaca. Vladislav received 1/4 of the territories that belonged to the duke. Unfortunately, there was a new invasion in 1464 by the Turkish conquerors. The younger son of the Duke of St. Sava, Vlatko Hercegovic Kosaca, was wounded and took refuge in the territory of the Republic of Dubrovnik in order to be treated and recovered. This time there was enormous destruction and devastation from which the Principality of Herzegovina never recovered.

In 1465, there was a new incursion where northern cities such as Samobor, Foca, Gorazde, Ustikolina were devastated. During the attack on Foca, Serbian prince Sladoje Vukovic Kosaca was also captured. After that, his man Radin paid money in Dubrovnik for the prince’s freedom and ransom. Herceg from Saint Sava, Stefan Vukcic Kosaca, retreated to the southern territories of Sutorina and Novi, where he spent his last days. The Duke of Bosnia, Vladislav Hercegovic Kosaca, with his sister, the Queen of Bosnia, Katarina Kosaca Kotromanic, is hiding from the Turkish invaders on the island of Mljet. At his call, the conquerors came to help him, but they deceived him and attacked him. Aware of his defeat, he tries to hide and save his family.

In March 1466, the duke of St. Sava, Stefan Vukcic Kosaca, fell ill and died of that disease. He divided his land to his sons Vlatko and Stjepan. Herceg from St. Sava Vlatko Hercegovic Kosaca defended Novi until 1483, but he was still defeated. After the defeat, he retired to the island of Rab, where he died in 1489. The third son of the Duke of St. Sava, Stjepan Hercegovic Kosaca, became a vassal of the Turkish conquerors, attacked his brother, the Duke of St. Sava Vladislav Hercegovic Kosaca, and defeated him. He occupied the Principality of Herzegovina and that was the end of the Principality of Herzegovina. The irony of fate is that the Mowers defeated themselves and extinguished the Principality of Herzegovina.

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