Uglješa Vlatković (

Serbian Cyrillic The Serbian Cyrillic alphabet (, ), also known as the Serbian script, (, ), is a standardized variation of the Cyrillic script used to write the Serbian language. It originated in medieval Serbia and was significantly reformed in the 19th cen ...

: Угљеша Влатковић) (c. 1359 – after 1427) was a Serbian nobleman. He had the title of ''kesar'' (

caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war. He ...

) and ruled over the area of Inogošt (today

Surdulica Surdulica ( sr-cyr, Сурдулица) is a town and municipality located in the Pčinja District of southern Serbia. As of 2022, the population of the town is 9,242, while the municipality has 16,991 inhabitants. History Massacre during World W ...

Preševo Preševo ( sr-Cyrl, Прешево, ; , ) is a town and municipality located in the Pčinja District of southern Serbia. As of the 2022 census, the municipality has a population of 33,449 inhabitants. It is the southernmost town in Central Serbia a ...

and

Vranje Vranje ( sr-Cyrl, Врање, ) is a city in Southern Serbia and the administrative center of the Pčinja District. According to the 2022 census, the city itself has a population of 55,214 while the city administrative area has 74,381 inhabitan ...

. His grandfather Knez

Paskač Paskač (; 1365) was a Serbian nobleman that served the Serbian Empire, with the title of '' knez''. Together with his son, ''sevastokrator'' Vlatko, he founded the Psača Monastery, in which the ''ktetor'' fresco of his family (of three generat ...

and his father

Sevastokrator ''Sebastokrator'' (, ; ; ), was a senior court title in the late Byzantine Empire. It was also used by other rulers whose states bordered the Empire or were within its sphere of influence (Bulgarian Empire, Serbian Empire). The word is a compound ...

Vlatko Paskačić Vlatko Paskačić () was a 14th-century Serbian feudal lord (''sebastokrator'') of Slavište region around Kriva Palanka under the Mrnjavčevići (1366-1395), in modern North Macedonia. His father was Paskač, a noble during the time of Stefa ...

( House of Paskačić) were both nobles of Emperor

Dušan the Mighty Dušan ( sr-Cyrl, Душан) is a Slavic given name primarily used in the former Yugoslavia and the former Czechoslovakia. The name is derived from the Slavic noun ''duša'' "soul". Occurrence In Serbia, it was the 29th most popular name fo ...

and ruled over the border areas between what are now the countries of the

Republic of 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 ...

and

North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

, including

Slavište Slavište, also known as the Kriva Palanka Plain, is a historical region around Kriva Palanka, in the northeastern part of North Macedonia, once by the medieval fortified town of ''Slavište'', also known as Gradište, west of the modern town. The n ...

župa A župa, or zhupa, is a historical type of administrative division in Southeast Europe and Central Europe, that originated in medieval South Slavs, South Slavic culture, commonly translated as "county" or "parish". It was mentioned for the first t ...

. His family built Psača monastery with the church of Saint Nicholas, around 1354. One of the boys portrayed on the fresco could be Uglješa. Uglješa received the title of caesar when he was a boy from the Emperor

Uroš the Weak __NOTOC__ Uroš ( sr-Cyrl, Урош) is a South Slavic masculine given name used primarily by Slovenes and Serbs. This noun has been interpreted as "lords", because it usually appears in conjunction with ''velmõžie'' () "magnates", as in the phra ...

, and after his father's death most of his lands were usurped by the Dejanović brothers. After the

Battle of Rovine The Battle of Rovine took place on 17 May 1395. The Wallachian army led by Voivod Mircea the Elder opposed the Ottoman invasion personally led by Sultan Bayezid I the Thunderbolt. The Turkish force heavily outnumbered the Wallachian troops. ...

in 1395, he probably managed to retake his father's land and became a vassal of the

Ottoman Sultan The sultans of the Ottoman Empire (), who were all members of the Ottoman dynasty (House of Osman), ruled over the Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental empire from its perceived inception in 1299 to Dissolution of the Ottoman Em ...

. It is mentioned that at the beginning of the 15th century he gave one church to the

Hilandar The Hilandar Monastery (, , , ) is one of the twenty Eastern Orthodox monasteries in Mount Athos in Greece and the only Serbian Orthodox monastery there. It was founded in 1198 by two Serbs from the Grand Principality of Serbia, Stefan Neman ...

monastery. It is not known whether he participated in the

Battle of Ankara The Battle of Ankara or Angora () was fought on 28 July 1402, at the Çubuk plain near Ankara, between the forces of the Ottoman sultan Bayezid I and the emir of the Timurid Empire, Timur. The battle was a major victory for Timur, and it led to ...

, but he joined Ottoman forces sent by

Süleyman Çelebi Süleyman Çelebi (also Emir Süleyman; – 17 February 1411) was an Ottoman prince and a co-ruler of the Ottoman Empire for several years during the Ottoman Interregnum. There is a tradition of western origin, according to which Suleiman th ...

. Their goal was to merge with forces of Branković and prevent the return of

Stefan Lazarević Stefan Lazarević ( sr-Cyrl, Стефан Лазаревић, 1377 – 19 July 1427), also known as Stefan the Tall (), was a Serbian ruler as prince (1389–1402) and Despot (court title), despot (1402–1427). He was also a diplomat, legislat ...

in Serbia. On 21 November 1402, the

Battle of Gračanica The Battle of Tripolje ( sr-cyr, битка код Трипоља/бој на Трипољу), also known as the Battle of Gračanica (), was fought in November 1402 between the Serbian Despotate, ruled by the Lazarević dynasty, and the Brankov ...

took place. Caesar Uglješa, who was the vassal of the Ottomans, knew about their battle plans and informed Stefan Lazarević. At the very beginning of the battle, Vlatković defected to Lazarević's side and contributed considerably to his victory. As a reward for his conduct, Lazarević confirmed his authority over his father's lands and became Stefan's vassal. Over the years, Vlatković was a faithful vassal of Stefan Lazarević and with his forces participated in the Battle of Kosmidion on 15 June 1410. Byzantine sources mentioned him as part of Lazarević's delegation which went to

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

at the Emperor Manuel II's invitation. In 1412, Vlatković's lands were attacked by the forces of

Musa Çelebi Musa Çelebi ( 1402 – 5 July 1413) was an Ottoman dynasty, Ottoman prince and a co-ruler of the Ottoman Empire, empire for three years during the Ottoman Interregnum. Background Musa was one of the sons of Bayezid I, the fourth Ottoman su ...

. Çelebi's forces marched across the

Čemernik Čemernik (Serbian Cyrillic: Чемерник) is a mountain in southeastern Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem ...

, sacked Vranje and attacked

Novo Brdo Novo Brdo ( sr-Cyrl, Ново Брдо) or Novobërda and Artanë ( Albanian indefinite form: ''Novobërdë'' or ''Artanë''), is a town and municipality located in the Pristina district of Kosovo. According to the 2011 census, it has a populati ...

, and Vlatković himself barely managed to stay alive. After Stefan's death,

Constantine of Kostenets Constantine of Kostenets (; – after 1431), also known as Constantine the Philosopher ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Константин Филозоф, Konstantin Filozof, separator=" / "), was a medieval Bulgarian scholar, writer and chronicler, who spent mo ...

moved to the court of Uglješa Vlatković and lived there for some time. He had a son Stefan, who died c. 1400 and was buried in

Ljubostinja The Ljubostinja Monastery ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Манастир Љубостиња, Manastir Ljubostinja, separator=" / ", ) is a Serbian Orthodox monastery near Trstenik, Serbia. Located in the small mountain valley of the Ljubostinja river, the mo ...

monastery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vlatkovic, Ugljesa 14th-century Serbian nobility Medieval Macedonia People from the Serbian Empire People from the Serbian Despotate