Medieval Balkans · 1371-1389

Kosovo 1389: battle and memory

On the Field of Blackbirds in 1389 a Serbian-led army meets the Ottoman sultan Murad I, and both leaders die. Students place the battle in the Ottoman advance into the Balkans and explore how one battle became a powerful story of memory.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
50 minutes
Ages
13–16
On the map
3 steps, AD 1300 to AD 1389
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

On the Field of Blackbirds in 1389 a Serbian-led army meets the Ottoman sultan Murad I, and both leaders die. Students place the battle in the Ottoman advance into the Balkans and explore how one battle became a powerful story of memory.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Describe the Ottoman advance into the Balkans between 1354 and 1400.
  • Explain what happened at the battle of Kosovo in 1389 and why its result is debated.
  • Analyze how the battle has been remembered differently by different peoples.
2

Explore the map

15 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

AD 1300

The Balkans in 1300

Open the map in 1300 on the Balkans. Find Raška, the Serbian kingdom, and the Byzantine Empire. Who are the main powers in the region?

Open this view on the map
b

AD 1400

A new power

Move to 1400. Which new empire now covers much of the Balkans? Find Edirne, its capital in Europe. How far is it from the Field of Blackbirds?

Open this view on the map
c

AD 1389

Three battles

Set the year to 1389 and turn on Historical Events (Battles). Find Maritsa (1371), Kosovo (1389) and Nicopolis (1396). What story do these three battles tell together?

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

15 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. After Tsar Stefan Dusan died in 1355, the Serbian empire split among rival lords. How did that help the Ottomans?
  2. Both the sultan and the Serbian prince died in the battle. Why is it hard to say who won?
  3. Within a few years Serbia became an Ottoman vassal, and its prince fought for the sultan. What does that tell us about the result?
  4. Serbian epic songs turned the battle into a story of sacrifice and faith. Why do defeats sometimes become central to a people's identity?
  5. Today the battlefield lies in a land where most people are Albanian. How can a place carry different meanings for different peoples?
4

Game round

10 min

Play Rule History as Suleiman the Magnificent, a later Ottoman sultan who ruled the Balkans at the height of the empire. Afterwards, compare his choices with those of Murad I, who led the first Ottoman conquests in Europe.

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

€19 per month unlocks every worksheet, every live lesson and the class workspace. The free lesson prints without a subscription.