According to the Ottoman sources, Murad I's titles included Bey, Emîr-i a’zam (Great Emir), Ghazi, Hüdavendigâr, Khan, Padishah, Sultânü’s-selâtîn (Sultan of sultans), Melikü’l-mülûk (Malik of maliks), while in Bulgarian and Serbian sources he was referred to as Tsar.

In particular, a Serb expedition to expel the Turks from Adrianople led by the Serbian brothers King Vukašin and Despot Uglješa, was defeated on September 26, 1371, by Murad's capable second lieutenant Lala Şâhin Paşa, the first governor (beylerbey) of Rumeli.

The existing evidence of the additional stories and speculations as to how Murad I died were disseminated and recorded in the 15th century and later, decades after the actual event.

One Western source states that during the first hours of the battle, Murad I was assassinated by Serbian nobleman and knight Miloš Obilić by knife.

In a letter from the Florentine senate (written by Coluccio Salutati) to the King Tvrtko I of Bosnia, dated 20 October 1389, Murad I's (and Yakub Bey's) killing was described.

[8][page needed] Murad's internal organs were buried in Kosovo field and remain to this day on a corner of the battlefield in a location called Meshed-i Hudavendigar which has gained a religious significance for the local Muslims.