Kosovo, << KOH soh voh >>, Battle of, was fought in June 1389 in Kosovo. It is also called the Battle of Kosovo Polje (Field of Blackbirds).
In the battle, an army of Serbs, Bosnians, Albanians, and others faced Ottoman invaders. Both the Serb ruler, Lazar, and the leader of the Ottomans, Murad I, were killed. The smaller Serb force was almost destroyed, and the battle is usually described as an Ottoman victory. But the Ottoman army suffered many losses in addition to its leader, and it withdrew after the battle. For that reason, some historians call the battle a draw. However, the Ottomans later returned with reinforcements and conquered Serbia.
A second battle was fought on the site in October 1448. An Ottoman army under Murad II defeated a Hungarian force led by the Hungarian nobleman John Hunyadi.
