Milica Nemanjić Hrebeljanović Милица Немањић Хребељановић | |
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| Tsaritsa Milica | |
| Born | 1335 |
| Died | November 11, 1405 |
| Venerated in | Eastern Orthodox Church |
| Burial | |
| Spouse | Lazar of Serbia |
| Issue | Stefan Lazarević |
| House | Nemanjić dynasty |
| Father | Vratko Nemanjić |
| Religion | Serbian Orthodox |
PrincessMilica Hrebeljanović néeNemanjić (Serbian:Милица Немањић Хребељановић· ca. 1335 – November 11, 1405) also known asEmpress (Tsaritsa) Milica, was aroyal consort of Serbia by marriage toPrince Lazar, who fell in theBattle of Kosovo. After her husband's death, she took the role asqueen regent of Serbia from 1389 to 1393, until her son,despotStefan Lazarević came of age.
She later became aSerbian Orthodox nun under the nameJevgenija. She is the author of "A Mother's Prayer" (Serbian:Молитва матере) and a famous poem of mourning for her husband,My Widowhood's Bridegroom (Serbian:Удовству мојему женик).
She was the daughter of PrinceVratko Nemanjić (known inSerb epic poetry asJug Bogdan), who as a great-grandson ofVukan Nemanjić,Grand Prince of Serbia (ruled 1202–1204), was part of the collateral, elder branch of theNemanjić dynasty.[1] She was the fourth cousin once removed ofDušan the Mighty, Emperor of Serbia.[2] She was married toPrinceLazar Hrebeljanović.Through female lineage, her children with Prince Lazar, members of theLazarević dynasty, are direct descendants ofNemanjić dynasty.
Tsaritsa Milica was particularly known for her strong personality.[3]
After the death of her husband at theBattle of Kosovo in 1389, Milica ruled Serbia until 1393 when her son,Stefan Lazarević, came of age to take the throne.[4] The aftermaths of the Battle in Kosovo were considered very turbulent times for Serbia. Almost immediately in her reign, in November 1389, she was attacked by the Hungarians underSigismund, who hoped to take advantage of Serbia's weakness after theBattle of Kosovo. The Hungarians took a series of the Serbs’ northern fortresses and penetrated as far south asKragujevac. Scholars disagree on the results of this attack and of the further fighting that occurred between Hungary and Serbia in the ensuing years. It is possible that Hungarians abandoned those lands, making it possible for Milica to regain some of it.[5]
Vuk Branković, one of the leaders led by Prince Lazar in the Battle of Kosovo, became an issue for Milica's reign. Branković had prior to the battle accepted Lazar as his overlord, and now that Lazar was dead and his son wasn't of age, he attempted to overthrow Milica. As a result, the queen regent found herself caught between two ambitious enemies, the Hungarians and Branković, who were now negotiating together and on the verge of forging an alliance. The pressure continued when Ottomans had reached Milica's border in the summer of 1390, in which she saw no other choice than accepting Ottoman suzerainty and allowed the Turks free passage through her lands.[6]
This quarrel between Branković and Milica, though very short-lasting, seems to have led Milica to unleash a propaganda campaign of slander. Therefore, it has made scholars to believe it might have influenced the early sources about Battle of Kosovo, in which Branković is accused of alleged treachery against Prince Lazar by having secret negotiations with Sultan Murad.[6]
She founded theLjubostinja monastery around 1390 and later tookmonastic vows at her monastery and became the nunEugenia (Јевгенија, later abbessEuphrosine, Јефросина) around 1393.[7]
In later diplomatic negotiations with Sultan Bayezid I, Eugenia andEuphemia, the former Vasilissa ofSerres, both travelled to the Sultan's court in 1398/99.[8]
In 1403, Eugenia went to the Sultan at Serres, arguing in favour of her son Stefan Lazarević in a complicated dispute that had emerged between her two sons and Branković.[7]
Princess Milica was also a writer. She wrote severalprayers and religious poems. In 1397 she issued the "A Mother's Prayer" together with her sons at theDečani monastery.[9] She commissioned the repairing of thebronze horos of Dečani.[7]
She was buried in Ljubostinja, her monastery. She wascanonized by theSerbian Orthodox Church.
With Prince Lazar she had eight children, three sons and five daughters:
Several streets throughout Central Serbia are named after the Princess. In the once thriving industrial city ofTrstenik, Serbia, the main street that runs directly through city center is named Kneginje Milice.Trstenik, Serbia, is the closest major city to her burial site atLjubostinja Monastery.
There is a Kneginje Milice street also located inLazarevac, in the neighbourhood ofLukavica. The street is about 250 m long.
Po svemu izgleda da je Jelena bila snažna ličnost, vjerovatno slična svojoj majci, kneginji Milici. Način kako Dubrovčani o njoj govore mogao bi to da potvrdi.
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