Stjepan Tomaš Kotromanić
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Stjepan Tomaš Kotromanić (Cyrillic:Томашь), first name also rendered Stipan, Stefan, and Stephen, from Latin Stephanus, ruled from 1443 to 1461 as King of Bosnia.
After the death of king Tvrtko II, Tomaš took the throne. He is known to have had a wife Vojača, a commoner he had promised to marry. After his enthronement, it became clear that she was unsuited to be a queen. Because of this he sought out Pope Eugene IV, who absolved the marriage and declared Tomaš to be the legitimate king of Bosnia on May 29, 1445.
Tomaš soon made peace with Stjepan Vukčić Kosača, a powerful noble ruling today's Herzegovina region. The king was now searching for a new wife, and decided to marry Vukčić's daughter Katarina Kosača-Kotromanić, which brought some political stability to the kingdom. They were married on May 26, 1446 in Milodraža near Fojnica.
As queen, Katarina had a very illustrious reign, building Catholic churches, supporting her husband in the war against the Ottoman Empire, and eventually achieving sainthood. The couple had three children: Katarina, Sigismund, and another son about whom very little is known.
Stjepan Tomaš died in 1461. He was succeeded by his son from his first marriage, Stjepan Tomašević. Tomašević recognized Katarina as queen and his mother, and she continued to live at the royal dwellings at Bobovac and Kraljeva Sutjeska.
| Preceded by Stjepan Tvrtko II |
King of Bosnia 1443–1461 |
Succeeded by Stjepan Tomašević |
