Miloš Obilić

Miloš Obilić (Serbian Cyrillic: Милош Обилић, pronounced [mîloʃ ôbilit͡ɕ]) is a legendary Serbian knight traditionally said to have served Prince Lazar during the Ottoman invasion of Serbia in the late 14th century. Although absent from contemporary records, he features prominently in later accounts of the 1389 Battle of Kosovo as the assassin of Sultan Murad I. The assassin remains unnamed in historical sources until the late 15th century, but the widespread circulation of the story in Florentine, Serbian, Ottoman, and Greek sources suggests that versions of it were known across the Balkans within decades of the battle.

His original name is believed to have been Miloš Kobilić, though multiple variations exist in historical sources, and his actual existence remains uncertain. The Lazar dynasty, consolidating its power, gave birth to the Kosovo Myth, which incorporated the legend of Obilić. Jelka Ređep notes that Obilić's legend significantly evolved through oral tradition, reflecting Serbian cultural ideals of heroism, loyalty and sacrifice. Over time, he became a central figure in Serbian epic poetry, where he was elevated to the status of a national hero embodying medieval Serbian folklore. Alongside Prince Lazar’s martyrdom and the alleged treachery of Vuk Branković, Miloš's deed became integral to Serbian narratives surrounding the Battle of Kosovo. By the 19th century, he was also venerated as a saint in the Serbian Orthodox Church.

Miloš Obilić also appears in Albanian epic poetry, where he is remembered as Millosh Kopiliqi, with his birthplace traditionally linked to the Drenica region in modern-day Kosovo, where villages named Kopiliq still exist. However, there is no definitive evidence confirming the identity of Murad’s assassin.