Hrebeljanovi

The Hrebeljanović (often rendered Hrebeljanović or Hrebeljanovići) were a medieval Serbian noble family that rose to prominence in the Moravian Serbia region in the late 14th century. The family held influence around Kruševac and formed a ruling line within the broader Serbian state during a period of fragmentation and external pressure from the Ottoman Empire.

The most famous member of the house was Lazar Hrebeljanović, commonly known as Prince Lazar (c. 1329–1389). He governed Moravian Serbia from the 1370s until his death at the Battle of Kosovo in 1389. Lazar is a central figure in Serbian medieval history and the Kosovo myth, associated with the defense of the territory against Ottoman expansion.

Lazar’s son, Stefan Lazarević (c. 1377–1427), continued the family line and ruled as Despot of Serbia after 1402. Stefan’s reign marked a period of cultural flourishing, fortification-building, and fluctuating alignments with neighboring powers, including Hungary, as the Serbian despotate navigated a challenging political landscape amid Ottoman dominance.

After Lazar’s death, the Hrebeljanović line gradually lost its sovereign authority as Ottoman power expanded. The Branković and other noble houses displaced or absorbed their possessions, and the dynasty did not survive as an independent ruling house into the later medieval period. Nonetheless, the Hrebeljanović remain a significant symbol in Serbian historiography for their role in late medieval statehood and resistance to Ottoman conquest.

Today, the name persists as a surname in Serbia, and the family’s legacy is referenced in historical and literary contexts as part of the broader narrative of medieval Serbia.