Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Anniversary of Death of Katarina Vukčić-Kosaća, Last Queen of Bosnia Hercegovina
Katarina Vukčić-Kosaća was the last queen of Bosnia-Hercegovina. She was born in Buna to Knez Stjepan Vukčić-Kosaća of what then was called 'Zahumlje' or 'Hum' now Hercegovina and Jelena Balsić from what then was called 'Zeta' and what now is a part of Montenegro.
Katarina Vukčić-Kosaća was noted for her learning, she was able to read and write in Latin, her own language, which then included two alphabets, Latin characters and Glagolithic characters.
She was noted also for her love of music. They no longer exist but before leaving Dubrovnik for Rome she left many books of music with the library in Dubrovnik.
Those manuscripts were lost in a terrible earthquake that destroyed the city.
She and her husband the second to last king of Bosnia, Stjepan Tomas, a member of the house of Kotramanic had two children. Katarina and Simun.
When Bosnia fell to the Ottoman forces under Mehmet II, her husband was killed, Mehmet II had him beheaded. He was buried in the Kings Grave. Her children were taken to Turkey and converted to Islam, as did a younger half brother of hers. The daughter, Katarina died in Skoplje, Macedonia and her tomb was destroyed by the 1963 earthquake that destroyed so much of Skoplje, the son lived to govern a province in Turkey and marry a daughter of the next Sultan. The half brother served several times as Grand Vizier and Admiral of the Turkish navy, he lived to a great age. One of his daughters, Huma, returned to Hercegovina, and it was this brother that preserved the name 'Hercegovina' given to that area by Stjepan Vukčić-Kosaća
She died in Rome after five days illness and is buried in Rome. Two portraits of her are extant, one is in the Capitoline Museum in Rome and the other is in the church where she is buried, the Aracoeli.
It has been customary that the Ambassador of BiH leaves flowers at her burial place on this date.
# posted by Katja R. @ 6:17 AM 
