The Battle of Bileća was fought in August 1388 between the forces of the Kingdom of Bosnia, led by Grand Duke Vlatko Vuković, and the Ottoman Empire under the leadership of Lala Shahin Pasha.

The Kingdom of Bosnia was thought far enough to be safe from an Ottoman incursion and in the east it was shielded by a belt of independent states that rose after the fall of the Serbian Empire.

The hostility between King Tvrtko I of Bosnia and Đurađ II Balšić, ruler of Zeta (one of the Serbian statelets) and vassal of Murad, led to clashes between Bosnians and Turks earlier than would have been expected.

[2] In 1388 Đurađ contacted the Ottoman commander Lala Shahin Pasha, then waging war in Epirus, hoping to slight Tvrtko.

[2][3] The Ragusans were intent on securing themselves in face of the imminent clash,[2] and the emissary sent to the Ottoman commander was probably meant to both negotiate and provide intelligence.

[3] King Tvrtko's army, led by his most capable and trusted general, Grand Duke of Bosnia Vlatko Vuković, allowed the Turks to penetrate as far as the town of Bileća.

Already on 26 August, however, Ragusans informed King Sigismund of Hungary of the outcome and decided to release the captured Zetans and Albanians, who had been in the Ottoman army.