Serbia, Kingdom. Two 500Th Anniversary Of The Battle Of Kosovo Medals 1389-1889

First medal in bronze, obverse illustrating the Serbian crown lying upon a sword, with a broken staff in the foreground, mountains and clouds in the sky in the background, inscribed "ПОМЕНУ ВИДОВА ДАНА" above and dated "1389" below, reverse illustrating the two-headed eagle Serbian coat-of-arms above a building, mountains and a sun with emanating rays in the sky below the arms, inscribed "ОБНОВЉЕНА СРБИЈА" above and dated "1889" below, measuring 41 mm in diameter, edge nicks, bruised. Second medal in brass, obverse illustrating the bust of Serbian Prince Lazar Hrebeljanović, surrounded by a circle inscribed "КНЕЗ ЛАЗАР ЦАР СРНСКИ" above and dated "1389" below, reverse illustrating the Ravanica, the Serbian Orthodox monastery, dated "15 ЈУНА 1889" (June 15, 1889) above and inscribed "РАВАНИЦА" (Ravanica) below the monastery, surrounded by a circle inscribed "ЗА УСПОМЕНУ 500 ТОДИНА" above and "Ј.Д.М.и Л.К.А." below, measuring 28.3 in diameter, spotting, contact marks. Fine.

Footnote: The Battle of Kosovo took place on June 15, 1389 between an army led by the Serbian Prince Lazar Hrebeljanović and an invading army of the Ottoman Empire under the command of Sultan Murad Hüdavendigâr. The army under Prince Lazar consisted of his own troops, a contingent led by Serbian nobleman Vuk Branković, and a contingent sent from Bosnia by King Tvrtko I, commanded by Vlatko Vuković. Prince Lazar was the ruler of Moravian Serbia and the most powerful among the Serbian regional lords of the time, while Vuk Branković ruled District of Branković located in Kosovo and other areas, recognizing Lazar as his overlord. The battle was fought on the Kosovo field in the territory ruled by Branković, in what is today Kosovo. Its site is about 5 kilometers (3.1 mi) northwest of the modern city of Pristina. Reliable historical accounts of the battle are scarce. The bulk of both armies were wiped out in the battle, and both Lazar and Murad were killed. Although the Ottomans managed to annihilate the Serbian army, they also suffered huge casualties that delayed their progress. The Serbs were left with too few men to effectively defend their lands, while the Turks had many more troops in the east. Consequently, one after the other, the Serbian principalities that were not already Ottoman vassals became so in the following years.