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Order of Dragon
On June 15, 1389, the most important battle in the history of medieval Serbia took place, which went down in history as the Battle of Kosovo. According to legend, before the battle, 12 Serbian princes led by the Holy Prince Lazarus vowed to destroy the main persecutor of Christians - Sultan Murad. They, united by one goal, founded the first Orthodox Knightly Order - the Order of the Conquered Dragon of St. George the Victorious or the Order of the Dragon. The name was not chosen by chance: under the dragon was meant the sultan who threatened enslavement to Christian countries. As is known from history, one of the members of the Order managed to kill the Sultan. This hero was Milos Obilic, who, pretending to be a traitor, fell into the tent of the Sultan and dealt him a crushing blow. During the battle, the parties suffered significant losses. And although the Turks turned back, it is difficult to judge who won. Of the twelve knights, only the son of Prince Lazarus, Stephen, survived. According to legend, he accepted the Order of the Hungarian King Sigismund I. Some historians believe that Sigismund himself founded the Order, and the story of 12 Serbian knights is nothing more than a beautiful legend invented by the king himself. It is only known for certain that the Charter of the Order was developed by Chancellor Eberhard, Bishop of Oradea. The text of the charter was preserved in a copy of 1707 and was published in the Codex Diplomaticus Hungariae ecclesiasticus ac civilis in 1841. Pope Gregory XII approved the establishment of the Order, and on the initiative of Sigismund, a magnificent ritual of admission to knights and meetings was developed. A distinctive sign for the knights were medallions and pendants with images of a golden dragon, curled into a ring and burdened with a scarlet cross. In the family coat of arms of the nobles, who were knights of the order, the image of the dragon framed the shield. It is clear that the order was purely Catholic, he was engaged in the fight against hussites and taborites, and after the death of Sigismund in 1437 he quickly fell into decay and lost its significance. Among the members of the Order were many famous rulers of that time: Herman II, Count of Celsky and the ban of Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia, Miklos II Garay, the Palatine of Hungary, Lackfi Jakab, governor of Triansilvania, Hrvoj Vukčić Horvatinić, duke of Split, the great governor of Bosnia and the prince of Lower Krai , Vitovt, Grand Duke of Lithuania, Ernst Zhelezny, Duke of Inner Austria, Vlad II Dracul, ruler of Wallachia (father of Vlad Tepes nicknamed "Dracula"). On June 15, 2016, on the 625th anniversary of the Battle of Kosovo, the Head of the Dynasty established the Order of the Dragon, which became the successor to the legendary Order, in memory of his ancestor, Holy Prince Lazar (through the wife of Vasilevs John Kantakuzen, Irina Asen, and the daughter of despot Dimitry I, Irina, the wife of the despot of Serbia Georgy Brankovich) and all the soldiers who died for their homeland.The badge of the Order is a golden dragon twisted into a ring. Sometimes the sign is complemented by a cross. Sash of yellow color. A member of the Order has the right to decorate his family coat of arms, while the dragon, according to tradition, wraps around a shield.