Milica je podigla manastir Ljubostinju blizu Kruševca, u kome je i sahranjena Milica built Ljubostinja Monastery near Kruševac, where she was also buried
ing of the Serbian nation.
In that challenge, Milica once again paid the highest price any woman can pay. She sent her youngest daughter, Olivera, to the harem of Sultan Bayezid. Historians say that she cried for a long time before escorting her to Edirne, with which she actually accepted the vassal position of the Serbian state. Wise as she was, she saved what she could save: she asked the Sultan to transfer from Pris- tina the remains of Prince Lazar for Ravan- ica Monastery, his endowment, with which she wanted to strengthen faith in the fore- fathers in a country that was under foreign domination. Olivera became one of Bayezid’s four le- gitimate wives. Very beautiful and young, she was also very educated. Apart from the Ser- bian language, she knew Greek, was literate and aristocratically raised, and with all those attributes she captured men’s hearts. She re- ceived her sophisticated manners from her mother, Milica, and had a sincere love for art. The princess showed true spirituality in her unusual choice of wishes from her son- in-law Bayezid. - He offered her to choose whatever she wants, thinking she would choose something with material value - notes Moravčević. But in- stead of gold and silver, silk and cotton, Milica chose the bones of Saint Petka. Transferring these saintly remains from Vidin to Kruševac was for Milica a pledge for the spiritual sav-
cess became a nun and withdrew to Ravani- ca, which was in accordance with the customs of the aristocracy. But few of them from their monastic days left literary works of such range as she did. This incredible woman also ex- pressed devotion to her lineage and her faith by building and donating to monasteries. - It is reliably known that she built Lju- bostinja Monastery near Kruševac, where she was also buried, and that she donated richly to Ravanica, as well as Hilandar on the Holy Mount Athos – says Moravčević. There is no doubt that she also often donated to many other churches and monasteries in Moravi- an Serbia, which she ruled from the time of the Battle of Kosovo until the coming of age of her firstborn, despot Stefan the Tall, who was responsible for the subsequent transfer of the remains of Saint Petka from Kruševac to Belgrade, and also for the famous poetic prose work“Letter of love”, which was prob- ably devoted to his Brother Vuk, with whom he had a conflict. Milica also dedicated part of her life to reconciling her estranged sons. But the princess is the most beloved pri- marily because she took over the helm of the state at the most difficult of times. She died in 1405, in Ljubostinja, and was posthumous- ly proclaimed a saint. Now, according to Ser- bian Orthodox dogma, she sits on the right side of Christ, together with her husband, the holy emperor Lazar.
Actually, the princess first intended to ask Bayezid to tell her something about the fate of her converted daughter Dragana, mar- ried to the son of Bulgarian king Ivan Shish- man, but she reconsidered at the last mo- ment. - She didn’t want the sultan to think she was exaggerating the requests related to her children, since her main mission was to convince Bayezid of the faithfulness of her son Stefan - says Moravčević. And Bayezid al- ready intended to kill Stefan. Milica also had to be paid military tribute, as she managed, with Turkish help, to repel the Hungarians from her northern borders, all the way back to Pannonia. She ruled in a manly fashion, autocratically, like other feu- dal rulers of that time throughout Europe. The Moravian part of Serbia under her ad- ministration was richer than other parts of the dismantled Serbian empire that had been formed by emperor Dušan (1308-1355). The inhabitants, focused on agriculture, suffered under increasing pressure from the Turkish conquerors. How they managed to pay trib- utes in silver and gold, to send their warriors on the Sultan’s orders to participate in oth- er Turkish military endeavours, is difficult to imagine, because there was no household without men who’d fallen in Kosovo. As soon as her son Stefan grew up enough to take over the throne, the prin-
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