The House of Kosača ( sr-Cyrl, Косача, Kosače / Косаче), somewhere Kosačić ( sr-Cyrl, Косачић, Kosačići / Косачићи), was a Bosnian

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

noble family Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the rea ...

which ruled over parts of modern-day

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

, and

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

between the 14th century and the 15th century. The land they controlled was known as ''

Humska zemlja The Humska ''Zemlja'', also Hum (), is a historical ''Zemlja (feudal Bosnia), zemlja'' that arose in the Middle Ages as well-defined administrative unit of medieval Bosnia ruled by the Kosača noble family, Kosača dynasty. It included most of to ...

'' (Hum, for short), roughly corresponding to modern region of

Herzegovina Herzegovina ( or ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, Hercegovina, separator=" / ", Херцеговина, ) is the southern and smaller of two main geographical Regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being Bosnia (reg ...

, which itself was derived from the title "Herzog", which

Stjepan Vukčić Kosača Stjepan Vukčić Kosača (1404–1466) was a powerful Bosnian Nobility, nobleman who was politically active from 1435 to 1466; the last three decades of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Middle Ages, Bosnian medieval history. During this period, ...

adopted in 1448., with latin title "Dux Sancti Sabbae". Besides Hum, they ruled parts of

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; ; ) is a historical region located in modern-day Croatia and Montenegro, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. Through time it formed part of several historical states, most notably the Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Croatia (925 ...

and Rascia. They were vassals to several states, including the

Kingdom of Bosnia The Kingdom of Bosnia ( / Краљевина Босна), or Bosnian Kingdom (''Bosansko kraljevstvo'' / Босанско краљевство), was a medieval kingdom that lasted for nearly a century, from 1377 to 1463, and evolved out of the ...

and

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. Historians think the Kosača family is part of the

Kőszegi family The Kőszegi () was a noble family in the Kingdom of Hungary and the Kingdom of Croatia in the 13th and 14th centuries. The ancestor of the family, Henry the Great, descended from the ''gens'' ("clan") Héder. Henry's paternal great-grandfathe ...

(House of Herceg), but there is a lack of evidence for this claim.

The religious confession of the Kosača family is uncertain. They were in contact with the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...

, the Church of Bosnia, the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

. During the fall of the Bosnian Kingdom, the "Kosače" split into three branches: Venetian, Dalmatian and Ottoman. From then onward, these branches became accepting of the Roman Catholic faith, in the first two cases, and of Islam in the third.

History

The family name ''Kosača'' was probably taken after the village of Kosače near

Goražde Goražde ( sr-cyrl, Горажде, ) is a city and the administrative center of the Bosnian-Podrinje Canton Goražde of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated on the banks of the Drina rive ...

, in the

Upper Drina The Drina ( sr-Cyrl, Дрина, ) is a long river in the Balkans, which forms a large portion of the border between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. It is the longest tributary of the Sava River and the longest karst river in the Dinaric Al ...

region of eastern Bosnia, where the Kosača family were originally estate owners. Др. Жељко Фајфрић, Београд, 7. децембар 2000
''Котроманићи''
"Како су Санковићи сишли са политичке сцене тако се почела издизати породица Косача. Њихово исходиште јесте негде око Фоче где се налазило село Косач, по коме су, могуће је, добили име. Родоначелник ове породице јесте Вук Косача, али породица захваљује свој успон његовом сину Влатку Вуковићу. Он је био од самог почетка један од најповерљивијих људи краља Твртка I. Ишао је у многе преговоре као његов представник, победио Турке код Билеће 1388. године, водио босанску војску на Косову 1389. године, и још доста тога што га је уздигло у односу на остале. Напад на Санковиће била му је и последња акција будући да је већ следеће године (1392.) умро. Наследио га је Сандаљ Хранић, син његовог брата Храње Вуковића. Осим земаља и утицаја, наследио је Сандаљ од стрица Влатка и титулу војводе. У то прво време Сандаљ Хранић нема одлучујући утицај у Босни, будући да су испред њега Павле Раденовић и Хрвоје Вукчић, али његово је време долазило." The founder,

Vuk VUK or Vuk may refer to: *Vuk (name), South Slavic given name ** Vuk, Ban of Bosnia (), a member of the Kotromanić dynasty ** Vuk Karadžić (1787–1864), Serbian language reformer and folklorist, often referred to simply as Vuk * ''Vuk'' (film) ...

was a prominent military commander under Emperor Dušan the Mighty of Serbia (r. 1331–1359) who took part in the conquests of southern Balkans. He was given lands around Upper Drina, province of Rudine.

Vlatko Vuković }; died between August 1392 and August 1393) was a 14th-century Bosnian nobleman who held the titles of the '' vojvoda humski'' (duke of Hum) and Grand Duke of Bosnia. He distinguished himself as one of the best military commanders of King Tvrtko ...

, the son of Vuk, brought the family to prominence after taking part in battles against the Ottomans. He commanded the victorious Bosnian army at the

Battle of Bileća The Battle of Bileća was fought in August 1388 between the forces of the Kingdom of Bosnia, led by Grand Duke Vlatko Vuković, and the Ottoman Empire under the leadership of Lala Shahin Pasha. The Ottoman army broke into Hum, the kingdom's so ...

(1388). At the

Battle of Kosovo The Battle of Kosovo took place on 15 June 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 I. It was one of the largest battles of the Late Middl ...

(1389) Bosnian King

Tvrtko I Stephen Tvrtko I ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Stjepan/Stefan Tvrtko, Стјепан/Стефан Твртко; 1338 – 10 March 1391) was the king of Bosnia, first king of Kingdom of Bosnia, Bosnia. A member of the House of Kotromanić, h ...

sent him to command with his troops. Bosnian contingent under Vlatko was positioned at the left flank from the Serbian army led by Prince

Lazar of Serbia Lazar Hrebeljanović ( sr-Cyrl, Лазар Хребељановић; – 15 June 1389) was a medieval Serbian ruler who created the largest and most powerful state on the territory of the disintegrated Serbian Empire. Lazar's state, referre ...

. The battle was at first reported as a victory, also by Vlatko himself, however it has been concluded as inconclusive, with a long-term Ottoman victory.Fine 1994, p. 409–411 In 1448,

styled himself ''"By the Grace of God Herceg of Hum and Duke of Primorje, Bosnian Grand Duke, Knyaz of Drina and the rest"'', adding ''"Herceg of Hum and the Coast"'' to the style, and in 1450 he styled himself ''"By the Grace of God Stjepan Herceg of Saint Sava, Lord of Hum and Bosnian Grand Duke, Knyaz of Drina and the rest"'', adding "Herceg of Saint Sava". This title had considerable public relations value, because Sava's relics were consider miracle-working by people of all Christian faiths. The Kosačas themselves, however, were one of the few non-Orthodox noble families in Hum. His lands were known as Herzog's lands or later

.The first written document to mention "Herzegovina" is letter from Duke Isa-bey Ishakovic Hranic dated 01/02/1455 recommending to his subordinates his friend out from Dubrovnik merchant Franko to take him wherever he goes, to Pavlovic country, to Moravica or to Herzegovina It is written in "Bosancica" Source: State Archives of Dubrovnik, Historical letter out of Isa bey Ishakovic from 01.02.1455. King

Stjepan Tomaš Stephen Thomas ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=/, Stefan Tomaš, Стефан Томаш, sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=/, label=none, Stjepan Tomaš, Стјепан Томаш; 1411 – 10 July 1461), a member of the House of Kotromanić, reigned from ...

of Bosnia married

Katarina Kosača Catherine of Bosnia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=/, Katarina Kosača, Катарина Косача; 1424/1425 – 25 October 1478) was Queen of Bosnia as the wife of King Thomas, the penultimate Bosnian sovereign. She was born into the powerful ...

, daughter of Stjepan Vukčić, in a Catholic ceremony in May 1446 ensuring, at least for a short while, he had the support of the most powerful nobleman in the kingdom and a staunch supporter of the

Bosnian Church The Bosnian Church ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=/, Crkva bosanska, Црква босанска) was an autonomous Christian church in medieval Bosnia and Herzegovina. Historians traditionally connected the church with the Bogomils, although this ...

Stjepan Vukčić Stjepan is a Croatian masculine given name, variant of Stephen. Historically it was found among ijekavian South Slavs, and it was also used as a honorific. In Croatia, the name Stjepan was among the top ten most common masculine given names in th ...

Members

Vuk Kosača Vuk ( sr-cyrl, Вук; 1317–1359), sometimes also called ''Hran'' in sources, was a 14th century magnate and a powerful nobleman in service to the Serbian king Stefan Dušan (r. 1331–55). Vuk is considered to be a progenitor of Bosnian noble f ...

, military commander (''voivode'') :*

, ''

Grand Duke of Bosnia Grand Duke of Bosnia (, ) was a court title in the Bosnian medieval state, with its first holders being recorded around the middle of the 14th century. The title was bestowed by the monarch to its highest military commander, rarely two, usually ...

'', died 1392 :*

Hrana Vuković Hrana Vuković ( sr-Cyrl, Храна Вуковић) was a Bosnian magnate who ruled the area between Neretva and Drina rivers in Bosnia with the title ''Grand Duke of Bosnia'' prior to 1380. He was the father of Sandalj Hranić and brother of Vl ...

::*

Sandalj Hranić Sandalj Hranić Kosača ( cyrl, Сандаљ Хранић Косача; 1370 – 15 March 1435) was a powerful Bosnian nobleman whose primary possessions consisted of Hum, land areas between Adriatic coast, the Neretva and the Drina rivers ...

, ''Grand Duke of Bosnia'', ca 1392–1435 ::*

Vuk Hranić VUK or Vuk may refer to: *Vuk (name), South Slavic given name ** Vuk, Ban of Bosnia (), a member of the Kotromanić dynasty ** Vuk Karadžić (1787–1864), Serbian language reformer and folklorist, often referred to simply as Vuk * ''Vuk'' (film) ...

, ''

knyaz A , also , ''knjaz'' or (), is a historical Slavs, Slavic title, used both as a royal and noble title in different times. It is usually translated into English language, English as 'prince', 'king' or 'duke', depending on specific historical c ...

'' in the Bosnian court :::*Ivan Vuković, ''prince'' ::::*Adam Vuković ::*

Vukac Hranić Vukac Hranić Kosača ( sr-Cyrl, Вукац Хранић Косача; 1405–died in 1432) was powerful Bosnian magnate and nobleman from Kosača noble family with the title of ''Knez (title), knez'', during the reigns of Tvrtko II of Bosnia, Tv ...

, ''knyaz'' in the Bosnian court :::*

, ''Grand Duke of Bosnia'' 1435–1466, also ''Herzog of Saint Sava'', 1450–1466 ::::*

Vladislav Hercegović Vladislav Hercegović ( sr-Cyrl, Владислав Херцеговић; 1426 or 1427 – 1489) was oldest son of Stjepan Vukčić. The Kosača noble family held lands in the region known as Humska zemlja, later named Herzegovina. Unlike hi ...

, ''Grand Duke of Bosnia'', ca. 1450–1463 :::::*

Balša Hercegović Balša Petar Hercegović ( sr-cyr, Балша Петар Херцеговић, 1458 - 1514) was the titular " Duke of St. Sava" (), as son of duke Vladislav Hercegović and Byzantine princess Anna Kantakouzene. He was born before the Ottoman co ...

(fl. 1455) :::::*Petar ::::*

Vlatko Hercegović Vlatko Hercegović ( sr-Cyrl, Влатко Херцеговић; –1489), was the second and the last ''Duchy of Saint Sava, Herzog of Saint Sava'', succeeding his father Stjepan Vukčić in 1466. Succession After the fall of the Bosnian king ...

, ''Herzog of Saint Sava'', 1466–1482 ::::*

Hersekzade Ahmed Pasha Hersekzade or Hersekli Ahmed Pasha ("Ahmed Pasha, son of the Herzog"; Serbo-Croatian: ''Ahmed-paša Hercegović''; Aхмед-паша Херцеговић; 1456 – 21 July 1517), born as Stjepan Hercegović, was an Ottoman Bosnian general and ...

, (; ), born Stjepan Hercegović, Ottoman

Grand Vizier Grand vizier (; ; ) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. It was first held by officials in the later Abbasid Caliphate. It was then held in the Ottoman Empire, the Mughal Empire, the Soko ...

, married to Hundi Hatun, the daughter of

Sultan Bayezid II Bayezid II (; ; 3 December 1447 – 26 May 1512) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1481 to 1512. During his reign, Bayezid consolidated the Ottoman Empire, thwarted a pro-Safavid rebellion and finally abdicated his throne to his son, Selim ...

::::*Mara Hercegović ::::*

Katarina Kosača-Kotromanić Catherine of Bosnia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=/, Katarina Kosača, Катарина Косача; 1424/1425 – 25 October 1478) was Queen of Bosnia as the wife of King Thomas, the penultimate Bosnian sovereign. She was born into the powerful ...

, ''Queen consort of Bosnia'' - wife of

, King of Bosnia :::::*Sigismund (Šimun) Kotromanić, later converted to Islam and changed his name to Isak-beg Kraljević () :::::*Katarina Kotromanić, later she converted to Islam and changed her name to Tahiri-hanuma, buried in Skopje in "turbe" (mausoleum)

Religious legacy

Orthodox

The Eastern Orthodox church building attributed as endowment of Stjepan Vukčić is the Church of Saint George in Sopotnica near

, which is believed to be finished during 1452. In the valley of

Šćepan Polje Šćepan Polje ( sr-cyrl, Шћепан Поље, ) is the name of a small settlement and the region in Plužine Municipality, northwestern Montenegro. It is the border crossing point between Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, where the Tara r ...

, below the Soko fort ruins, also foundation remains of the small church of

Saint Stephen Stephen (; ) is traditionally venerated as the protomartyr or first martyr of Christianity."St ...

have been found but the results of archaeological research have never been published, however, it is believed to be endowment of

Catholic

Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

from the region often visit Katarina Kosača's tomb in the Roman church of

Santa Maria in Aracoeli Santa Claus (also known as Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle or Santa) is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Chris ...

. Her tombstone features a life-size portrait and the coat of arms of the Kotromanići and Kosača at each side. The inscription, originally written in

Bosnian Cyrillic Bosnian Cyrillic, widely known as Bosančica, is a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet that originated in medieval Bosnia. The term was coined at the end of the 19th century by Ćiro Truhelka. It was widely used in modern-day Bosnia and Herzegovin ...

Inscription, external link
but in 1590 replaced with a

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

one, which reads: : : : : : : : :

Islam

"Turbe" mausoleum in Skopje was destroyed in the 1963 Skopje earthquake. The mausoleum in memory of Princess Katherine Kotromanić, referred in Turkish sources as the "Tahiri-hanuma", was built by Isa beg Ishaković, a member of the Kosaca Ottoman branch. It was significant as being an example of very rare occurrence that a mausoleum is dedicated to a female person. After the quake, the mausoleum of the princess was reconstructed in 2014 by the Ministry of Culture of Macedonia with financial contributions from the Ministry of Culture and Sports of Bosnia and Herzegovina. A tradition of the locals has been maintained to this day by the visiting and burning of candles.

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * А. Ивић: Родословне таблице српских династија и властеле, Нови Сад 1928. * Дио Сандаљевог депозита за побочну грану племена Косача, У: Српска проза данас : Косаче оснивачи Херцеговине / Ћоровићеви сусрети прозних писаца у Билећи, Научни скуп историчара у Гацку ; �риређивач Радослав Братић - Билећа : Просвјета ; Гацко : Просвјета ; Београд : Фонд "Светозар и Владимир Ћоровић", 2002, 261-268. * Родоначелник племена Косача – војвода Влатко Вуковић, У: Српска проза данас : Косаче оснивачи Херцеговине / Ћоровићеви сусрети прозних писаца у Билећи. Научни скуп историчара у Гацку / �риређивач Радослав Братић - Билећа : Просвјета ; Гацко : Просвјета ; Београд : Фонд “Светозар и Владимир Ћоровић”, 2002, 243-260. * Споредна грана племена Косача, У: Зборник за историју Босне и Херцеговине 3 (2002) 61-77. *Учешће Косача у ослобађању Јајца од Турака 1463. године, У: Српска проза данас : Косаче оснивачи Херцеговине / Ћоровићеви сусрети прозних писаца у Билећи, Научни скуп историчара у Гацку / �риређивач Радослав Братић - Билећа: Просвјета; Гацко: Просвјета; Београд: Фонд "Светозар и Владимир Ћоровић", 2002, 464-475. * Prof. Dr. Feridun Emecen,

TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi TDV may refer to: * TDV 2200, a 1980s computer * ''TDV Encyclopedia of Islam'', first published in 1988 * The Digital Village, the precursor to British website H2g2#History, h2g2 * "Truth Duty Valour", the motto of the Royal Military College of Can ...

, Turkish academic encyclopedia for Islamic studies, p. 524,525 * Prof. Tayyib Gökbilgin, Edirne ve Paşa Livası, Istanbul 1952. p. 333-334 * Dr. Ćiro Truhelka, Tursko-slovjenski spomenici dubrovačke arhive, Glasnik Zemaljskog muzeja BiH XXIII. 1911. Sarajevo p. 437-484 {{DEFAULTSORT:House Of Kosaca Kingdom of Bosnia Ottoman period in the history of Bosnia and Herzegovina