Why is the medieval Battle of Kosovo such an important event for Serbs today?
Many Serbs today regard Kosovo as the cradle of their civilization, and this explains to a great extent their reluctance to abandon it to the area s Albanian majority. One of the main reasons for Serbian attachment to Kosovo relates to their perceptions of an event that took place there in 1389 the Battle of Kosovo Polje. To most Serbs, this battle is a defining moment in their epic national saga, despite the fact that it resulted in the defeat of the army of Serbian Prince Lazar at the hands of his Ottoman foes, led by Sultan Murad I. The 600th anniversary of the battle on June 28, 1989, was marked by a huge rally of Serbs from Yugoslavia and beyond. They gathered there in the hundreds of thousands to commemorate their defeat and commit themselves to the cause of avenging the battle by maintaining their hold on Kosovo. Slobodan Milosevic was the main speaker at this demonstration, and he used it to consolidate his power within Serbia. In the wake of this rally, Milosevic also imposed
