Kosača noble family


The Kosača, somewhere Kosačić, was a Bosnian medieval noble family which ruled over parts of modern-day Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, and Serbia between the 14th century and the 15th century. The land they controlled was known as Zachlumia, roughly corresponding to modern region of Herzegovina, which itself was derived from the title "Herzog", which Stjepan Vukčić Kosača adopted in 1448. Besides Zachlumia, they ruled parts of Dalmatia and Rascia. They were vassals to several states, including the Kingdom of Bosnia and Ottoman Empire.
There is no document or evidence that the family "Kosače" belonged to any confession. They were in contact with the Church of Bosnia, the Roman Catholic Church, the Orthodox Church and Islam, but it was not recorded that anyone belonged to them. They married women of these confessions, respected their faith and supported them, they even built religious buildings but were not personally believers or practiced any religion. During the fall of the Bosnian Kingdom, the "Kosače" split into three branches: Venetian, Dalmatian and Ottoman. At that moment, these branches are accepting the confessions of the Roman Catholic Church and Islam.

History

The family name Kosača was probably taken after the village of Kosače near Goražde, in the Upper Drina region of eastern Bosnia, where the Kosača family were originally estate owners.
The founder, Vuk was a prominent military commander under Emperor Dušan the Mighty of Serbia who took part in the conquests of southern Balkans. He was given lands around Upper Drina, province of Rudine.
Vlatko Vuković, 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. At the Battle of Kosovo Bosnian King Tvrtko I 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. 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.
Stjepan Vukčić Kosača in 1448 dropped his title "Vojvoda of Bosnia", assuming the title "Herceg of Hum and the Coast". He changed it again in 1449 to "Herceg of Saint Sava" in recollection of the Serbian Orthodox saint. 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 Herzegovina.
King Stjepan Tomaš of Bosnia married Katarina Kosača, 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, Stjepan Vukčić.

Members

Orthodox

Some Eastern Orthodox buildings that were built by Kosača's:
from the region often visit Katarina Kosača's tomb in the Roman church of Santa Maria in Aracoeli.
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 but in 1590 replaced with a Latin one, which reads:

Islam

"Turbe" mausoleum in Skopje which 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. It is a very rare occurrence that a mausoleum is dedicated to a female person. After the quake, the mausoleum of the princess was never restored, but the tradition of the locals has been maintained to this day by visiting and burning candles.