Lazar Hrebeljanović

On the grounds of the crumbling Serbian Empire, Lazar Hrebeljanović (1329–15 June 1389), a medieval Serbian king, established the greatest and most powerful empire. The Great Morava, West Morava, and South Morava river basins made up Lazar's state, which historians describe as Moravian Serbia. Lazar ruled Moravian Serbia between 1373 and 1389, when he passed away. He claimed to be the direct descendant of the Nemanjic dynasty, which ruled over Serbia for two centuries before dissolving in 1371, and he sought to revive the Serbian Empire and install himself at its helm. The Serbian Orthodox Church fully endorsed Lazar's plan, but the nobles did not regard him as their supreme leader. Although he only held the rank of prince, he is frequently referred to as Tsar Lazar Hrebeljanović.

Assembled to fight the Ottoman Empire's invasion, led by Sultan Murad I, Lazar was murdered at the Battle of Kosovo in June 1389. Both sides suffered significant losses as the conflict came to a close without a clear winner. In the summer of 1390, Lazar's widow, Milica, who served as the guardian for their young son Stefan Lazarevi, Lazar's successor, acceded to Ottoman rule. Lazar is valued highly in Serbian history, culture, and tradition and is revered as a martyr and saint by the Orthodox Christian Church.

With Lazar's passing, Serbia lost its most powerful regional leader and perhaps its last line of defense against the encroaching Ottomans. This setback might have caused pessimism and a sense of hopelessness. The authors of the cultic texts saw Lazar's and the hundreds of his soldiers' deaths in the Kosovo Field as a martyrdom for Serbia and the Christian faith. Prince Lazar's martyrdom ensures that he will always be remembered by the Serbs as the good shepherd. His religion was associated with the other important Nemanji cults of medieval Serbia, Saint Simeon's and his son Saint Sava's. The cults helped the Serbs come together as a powerful religious and political group.