Olivera Lazarević was born between 1373 and 1376 at the Serbian court in Krusevac, as the youngest daughter of Prince Lazar and Princess Milica.
After the Battle of Kosovo, in which the Turkish sultan was killed first, and then Prince Lazar was executed, the Serbian state fell on the shoulders of the widow, Princess Milica. The militia decided to stay in Serbia and reconcile with the Turks, accepting the vassalship of Bayezid, the son of Sultan Murat and the ruler of the Ottoman Empire. In that peace, Serbia, as a vassal state, had an obligation to Turkey to pay a high monetary tax and provide assistance to humanity for the needs of the Ottoman army. As a pledge to fulfill these obligations, Princess Milica was forced to hand over her youngest and only unmarried daughter Oliver Bayazita.
The Serbian people were aware of the weight of Princess Milica's mother's decision, as well as the courage and patience of young Olivera, so, according to tradition, a large number of people waited for the procession with Oliver and sprinkled roses on the road from Krusevac to Jedren.
Olivera was taken from Krusevac to Jedrene by her brother Stefan. There he handed him over to Sultan Bayezid and promised him obedience to Serbia as a Turkish vassal.
Coming to the harem and a new living environment, for an Orthodox girl of about 16, was certainly a great stress, notes theologian Nikola Giljen. But since the young princess was extremely intelligent, educated and brought up, she managed, with the help of natural resourcefulness, not only to accept a new life, but also to fight for her country.
According to Turkish sources, Olivera Lazarević was extraordinarily beautiful and smart and had a great influence on the sultan. In their records, they call her a Serbian girl, and some Turkish chroniclers, such as Ashik-pasha Zade, attribute the sultan's negative behavior to her, because she writes that she "whispered in his ear" about all state affairs.
Oliver's spiritual strength is also evidenced by the fact that, despite being the sultan's lawful wife, she retained her Orthodox faith. Even during her stay in the harem, she maintained contacts with Serbian monasteries, and in due time she sent the Shroud for Life from the harem with the relics of Stefan the First-Crowned to the Studenica monastery.
In 1402, the Ottoman Empire entered the war with the Mongols. The Turkish army was commanded by Sultan Bayezid, and the Mongol by Khan Tamerlane. Tamerlane's army was twice as strong, and on the side of Turkey, apart from the armored vehicles that Prince Stefan Lazarevic brought as vassals, there was no army that could oppose the Mongols. Stefan's armor was covered with black lambrequins with gold embroidered crosses, in memory of the Battle of Kosovo and the death of Prince Lazar, and as such caused a sense of admiration in Tamerlane. Therefore, after the battle, which was disastrous for the Turks, Tamerlane, crushed by Serbian military skill, let all Serbian soldiers led by Stefan return to Serbia, and the Turks remained captured. Stefan also took with him Sultana Oliver, who was in Bursa with a harem, during this battle at Angora. According to legend, Bayezid died in Mongol captivity.
Olivera comes with Stefan to Belgrade, Stefan then becomes a despot, because all the lands of Branković, after Vuk's death, in 1398 were under the patronage of Lazarević, and Olivera continues to live in Serbia. After the death of her brother, the despot Stefan Lazarević, who died in the Lord in 1427, we find in old writings that Olivera went to visit Dubrovnik. They treated her with the utmost respect, they even had a support fund during their stay in their city.
After 1443, Oliver's name is no longer mentioned in documents. Historians agree that she was alive the following year as well, because Konstantin Jiricek claims that her name is mentioned in an unnamed Dubrovnik document next year.
The Serbian Orthodox Church, guided by the assessment of Constantine the Philosopher, accepted Oliver's sacrifice as a sacrifice for the salvation of the Christian homeland and people. Despite this, Olivera, unlike some members of her family, was not canonized.
Towards the end of her life, Olivera came to live with her sister Jelena Balšić Hrebeljanović, who built a church dedicated to the Mother of God on the island of Beška on Skadar Lake. They are both buried there. Part of Jelena's relics was returned to her native Kruševac, and her life in silver is the life of the holy prince Lazar in the church of Lazarica.
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