Katarina, niece of Hrvoje Vukčić Hrvatinić* Jelena Balšić Sandalj Hranić Kosača (Cyrillic: Сандаљ Хранић Косача; 1370 – 15 March 1435) was a powerful Bosnian[2] nobleman whose primary possessions consisted of Hum, land areas between Adriatic coast, the Neretva and the Drina rivers in Bosnia, and served the court as the Grand Duke of Bosnia sometime between 1392 and his death in 1435, although the first mention as a Grand Duke in sources comes from 16 June 1404.

[11] Jelena went to live with her husband in Bosnia, and although she was in her forties, Sandalj left a deposit in Dubrovnik, in May 1413, for children he hoped they would have, while Balša was entrusted with governing of Zeta.

[12] He took part in a conspiracy to kill Pavle Radinović in 1415, and the assassination must have been hatched in the background of the stanak, held in Sutjeska in August 1415 and attended by all the major noblemen except for Hrvoje Vukčić.

[13][14] During a walk, at the location called Parena Poljana, somewhere in the canyon of Bukovica between the royal court and the city-fortress Bobovac, a brawl erupted and Sandalj drew his sword which was a cue to King Ostoja, who jumped on Pavle's son Petar and bound him, and Vukmir Zlatonosović, who immediately attacked Pavle who tried to escape but was caught by Sandalj's men, led by his brother, Vuk Hranić, and decapitated on site.

Pavle's lands were promptly divided between the conspirators,[13][16] but Petar and his brother Knez Radosav Pavlović will successfully repel all attempts of takeover from happening.

Duke Sandalj justified the murder to an astonished witness, a Ragusan diplomat Ivan Gundulić who had written account of this whole affair, by accusing Pavle of bringing much misfortune to the Bosnian kingdom, saying: [13][17][18]Afterwards, Hranić's came into conflict with Pavlović family.

This is confirmed by Giunio Resti (Junije Restić), known as Restius, who in his chronicle points out that Sandalj was born and died in the bosom of the Bosnian Church.

Like his contemporaries, Hrvoje Vukčić, Pavle Radinović and his son Radislav Pavlović, Sandalj was closely linked to the philosophy and "moral politology" of his time, represented by the shadowy patarens, or Kristjani as the members of the Bosnian Church called themselves, and whose organized structure was deeply interwoven with all aspects of human everyday life, protecting the rights, morals and elements of the state-building in its time.