Hrebeljanovich, Lazar [cenotaph] d. June 15, 1389 Lazar (Knez/Prince/Czar) was a ruling prince of Serbia, who united several allies to resist the Ottoman invasion of the Balkans in the 14th century. Lazar and his allies stood as the last bulwark against Islamic invasion of Europe, but they were defeated at the battle of Kosovo Polje, June 15, 1389 (St. Vitus Day - June 28 in the modern calendar, June 15 in the old Orthodox calendar). Lazar was wounded and captured during the battle, and executed by the victorious Turks. His body, including his...[Read More] Cause of death: executed by beheading Gazemistan, Prishtine, Pristina, Kosovo
Nemanjic III., Stefan Uros b. 1275 d. November 11, 1331 Serbian king from 1321 to 1331 and Saint. Son of King Stefan Uros Milutin II. A tragic but significant figure of the Nemanjic dynasty. Sent at an early age by his father as a hostage ensuring Tatar neutrality, he managed an escape much later and was granted a traditional appanage in Zeta. Despite his father Milutin's long reign, succession issues were left murky for a long time, exacerbated by the fact that Milutin himself was technically perhaps just a regent for his elder brother, and had at...[Read More] (Bio by: Jelena) Monastery Visoki Decani, Decani, Kosovo
Rugova, Ibrahim b. December 2, 1944 d. January 21, 2006 President of Kosovo. He was born in Cerrcė, Kosovo and died in the capital city of Pristina. He was a founding member and leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo and was a former member of the Communist Party. He was educated in Paris, France and earned a doctorate in the history of literary criticism and Albanian literature. He was the recipient of the 1998 Prize for Freedom of Thought. He was an advocate for peaceful change and Albanian self determination in Kosovo against Serbian...[Read More] (Bio by: Nils M. Solsvik Jr.) Martyrs Cemetery, Prishtine, Pristina, Kosovo
d. June 15, 1389