eeded in bringing the south of Bosnia under his
control, but the then Ban Stefan Tvrtko (1353) joined with the
Venetians and Hungarians against him. Nor was Bosnia as a whole
added to Serbia. Tsar Dushan died in 1356 and Tvrtko at once
reclaimed his lands, but held them only as a vassal state to
Hungary.

The Serb peoples, divided into many small rival principalities,
fought each other continuously, though the enemy which was to
overwhelm them all was already advancing upon them. The Turk who, be
it remembered, had entered Europe at the invitation of the Greeks,
to aid them against the attack of Tsar Dushan, had firmly
established themselves in the peninsula. Nevertheless the rival
native princelings intrigued one against the other, and some even
enlisted the help of the Turk instead of banding together against
him. The Balkans were an easy prey for any strong foe.

Even after the Turks had beaten the Serbs severely, Stefan Tvrtko,
King of Bosnia, seems only to have regarded this as an advantage to
himself. He continued extending his realm; had himself crowned "King
of Bosnia, Serbia and the coastland" in 1375, and was then the most
powerful of the Balkan rulers. As an ally of King Lazar, who ruled
over a much reduced Serbia, he, too, sent an army to Kosovo when,
far too late, the Balkan people at last united against the Turk. But
they lost the day. Union Was impossible to them, and a large part of
the Serb Army deserted to the enemy.

Even then the Balkan princelings failed to recognize their danger.
Tvrtko, still bent on extending his realm, Instead of opposing the
Turks, who did not follow up their victory, gave all his energies to
waging war against the Croats and Dalmatians, who at that time were
under the King of Hungary. Tvrtko died in 1391, bequeathing a big
Bosnia to his heir. But all mediaeval Balkan States were big only
during the lifetime of their creator. Tvrtko's brother soon lost the
newly acquired Croatian and Dalmatian districts, and Bosnia was
further weakened by the breaking off of what is now known as the
Herzegovina. It had for long had its own chiefs. One stronger than
usual now arose, Sandalj Ranitch. The Turk was almost at the gate,
but Sandalj's only object was to make himself a state independent of
Bosnia. Kosovo had indeed taught the South Slavs nothing.

The advancing Turk began raiding Bosnia and employed Serbian troops.
The Ragusa archives record: "In January 1398, the son of Bajazet,