kremlins 429Press, 1984); Michael Angold, Church and Society in
Byzantium under the Comneni, 1081–1261 (Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1995); Charles M. Brand,
Byzantium Confront the West, 1180–1204 (Cambridge,
Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1968); A. Harvey, Eco-
nomic Expansion in the Byzantine Empire 900–1200(Cam-
bridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989); Paul
Magdalino, The Empire of Manuel I Komnenos, 1143–1180
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993).
Konrad of Marburg SeeCONRAD OFMARBURG.
Koran SeeQURAN.
Kosovo, Battles of (Kosovo Pulje, Field of Blackbirds)
Kosovo is a great plain in the valley of the rivers Sitnica
and Lab in southern SERBIA, where important battles took
place. On June 23, 1389, in a battle between the Serbs and
the OTTOMANEmpire, Prince Lazar (r. 1371–89), ruler of
the Serbs, and Sultan MURADI were killed, with their
armies suffering devastating losses. Its immediate conse-
quence was the now permanent establishment of the
OTTOMANSin the Balkans, leading to their further expan-
sion into central Europe. Serbia became a vassal state of
the Turkish Empire. Celebrated in epic poetry legends,
glorifying the exploits of the Serbs, their defeat became
into a moral victory that lives on to this day. A second bat-
tle was fought by the Hungarians under John HUNYADI
and the army of MURADII between October 17 and 20,
- The Ottomans won a great victory, which allowed
them almost uncontested control of the Balkans and
brought them right into central Europe.
Further reading: The Battle of Kosovo,trans. John
Matthias and Vladeta Vuckovic (Athens, Ohio: Swallow
Press/Ohio University Press, 1999); T. A. Emmert, Ser-
bian Golgotha: The Battle of Kosovo(New York: Columbia
University Press, 1990); W. S. Vucinich and T. A.
Emmert, eds., Kosovo: Legacy of a Medieval Battle(Min-
neapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1991).
Krak des Chevaliers(Ar Hisn al-Akhrad) This is the
strongest and best preserved of the crusader CASTLESin
the Levant. It lies to the northeast of TRIPOLI. Situated on
a high plateau in what is now northwestern SYRIA,the
castle of Krak des Chevaliers commanded the important
roads running to the south and from the towns of Hama
and Homs to the Mediterranean coast. It was first occu-
pied by the crusaders after the conquest of JERUSALEMin
1099 but had to be recaptured in 1110. In 1144, it was
given to the Knights of Saint John of Jerusalem (HOSPI-
TALLERS) by the count of Tripoli, to defend his eastern
border. The Hospitallers rebuilt the fortress into a power-
ful stronghold over the next century, a key to defense
from attacks by the ASSASSINS. In 1163, NUR AL-DIN
attacked the castle but was routed. Unlike other castles
maintained by the military orders, the Krak des Cheva-
liers survived the fall of Jerusalem and the victorious
campaigns of SALADINafter 1187.
It remained in Christian hands even after the MAM-
LUKsultan BAYBARSI captured much Christian-held terri-
tory, including ANTIOCH, between 1263 and 1268. LOUIS
IX of FRANCEfor a second time took up the cross, but at
the last moment, in June 1270, he decided to detour to
TUNISon his way to EGYPTinstead. For the Krak this fail-
ure was fatal. By the time Prince EDWARDI PLANTAGENET
of ENGLAND arrived with help in 1271, Baybars had
defeated the Hospitallers and taken the castle. It was later
restored and expanded by the MAMLUKS. Fourteenth-
century pilgrims, praised its strength and mourned its
passage into Muslim hands.
Further reading: Hugh Kennedy, Crusader Castles
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994); Denys
Pringle, Secular Buildings in the Crusader Kingdom of
Jerusalem(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997).Kraków SeeCRACOW.kremlins Kremlins were fortresses at the centers of
old Russian towns. The term kremlin(Russian kreml)
was attested in Russian texts only after 1331 to desig-
nate the fortified core of the towns of old Russia,
fortresses, citadels, or burgs. Before then, it meant a
“place to hide.”MOSCOW
Most early Russian towns had a detinecor kremlin, in
some cases from the ninth century. Originally simple
earth walls, they were later surmounted by wooden pal-
isades and later by stone or brick walls. The best-known
kremlin was that of MOSCOW. Situated on a high point
on the Moskova River, it evolved through several stages.
Initial earth banks were surmounted by stakes from the
12th to the early 14th century. It was surrounded by
stone walls in the late 14th century. Its present famous
brick walls with their distinctive Italian swallowtail
crenellations were erected in the late 15th. It housed the
residence of the grand princes of Moscow and their
households, as well as churches, monasteries, an armory,
workshops, barracks, and storehouses.NOVOGOROD
The Kremlin of NOVGORODhad its first stone walls in
1044 and housed the beautiful Cathedral of Saint Sophia,
built between 1045 and 1050, and a palace. It too was
later surrounded by brick walls but by then it was not
occupied by a ruling prince.
Further reading:Kathleen Berton Murrell, Moscow:
An Architectural History (London: I. B. Tauris, 1990);