Battle of Maritsa explained

Conflict:Battle of Maritsa
Partof:the Ottoman wars in Europe and the Serbian-Ottoman Wars
Date:26 September 1371
Place:Maritsa River (near Chernomen; present-day Ormenio, Greece)
Result:Ottoman victory[1]
Combatant2: Ottoman Empire
Commander1: Vukašin Mrnjavčević
Uglješa Mrnjavčević
Alexander Komnenos Asen
Commander2: Lala Shahin Pasha
Evrenuz
Strength1:50,000–70,000[2] [3] [4] [5]
Strength2:800–4,000
Casualties1:Heavy combat losses[6]
thousands drowned[7]
Casualties2:Unknown

The Battle of Maritsa or Battle of Chernomen (Serbian: Marička bitka / Маричка битка; Turkish: Çirmen Muharebesi, İkinci Meriç Muharebesi in tr. Second Battle of Maritsa) took place at the Maritsa River near the village of Chernomen (present-day Ormenio, Greece) on 26 September 1371 between Ottoman forces commanded by Lala Şahin Pasha and Evrenos, and Serbian forces commanded by King Vukašin Mrnjavčević and his brother Despot Jovan Uglješa.[8] [9] [10] [11]

Background

In 1354, the Ottomans acquired Gallipoli. From there, they expanded into Thrace, taking the important city of Adrianople in 1369. They reached the borders of Uglješa's lands. Uglješa tried to create a coalition against them, but failed to secure support from the Byzantines and the Bulgarians. Most of the Serbian lords were occupied fighting each other and the only Serbian lord who supported Uglješa's ideas was his brother Vukašin.

In the summer of 1371, Vukašin marched to Zeta, to support his relative Đurađ Balšić in his war against Nikola Altomanović. His army was in Skadar, waiting for naval support from the Republic of Ragusa. Uglješa received information that the majority of Ottoman forces left Europe and marched to Anatolia. He decided it was a good time to execute his offensive plans and asked Vukašin for help. Vukašin left Skadar with his army and joined Uglješa. They marched against Adrianople.[9]

Battle

The Serbian army numbered between 50,000[12] and 70,000[12] [13] [14] [15] [16] men. Despot Uglješa wanted to make a surprise attack on the Ottomans in their capital city, Edirne, while Murad I was in Asia Minor. The Ottoman army was much smaller,[17] Byzantine Greek scholar Laonikos Chalkokondyles[12] and different sources[18] give the number of 800 up to 4,000 men,[19] but due to most of the Serbian soldiers becoming intoxicated, Şâhin Paşha conducted a night raid on the Serbian camp, slaughtering a large part of the Serbian Army, killing King Vukašin and despot Uglješa. Thousands of Serbs were killed, and thousands drowned in the Maritsa river when they tried to flee. After the battle, it was said, the Maritsa ran scarlet with blood.[7] [20]

Aftermath

South Serbia fell under Ottoman power after this battle. The battle was a part of the Ottoman campaign to conquer the Balkans and was preceded by the Ottoman capturing of Sozopol (today in Bulgaria) in 1353 and succeeded by the capture of the cities of Drama, Kavala, and Serrai (today in Greece) in the 1380s. The battle also preceded the later 1389 Battle of Kosovo, and was one of many in the Serbian–Turkish wars.

See also

References

External links

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Notes and References

  1. Sedlar, Jean W., East Central Europe in the Middle Ages, 1000–1500, (University of Washington Press, 1994), 385.
  2. Book: The New Encyclopædia Britannica: Micropaedia. registration. 1993. Encyclopædia Britannica. 978-0-85229-571-7. 855 .
  3. Book: Grumeza, Ion. The Roots of Balkanization: Eastern Europe C.E. 500–1500. 2010. University Press of America. 978-0-7618-5134-9. 93 .
  4. DeVos, Julius Emil. Fifteen hundred years of Europe. O'Donnell Press, 1924, p. 110.
  5. Kaemmel, Otto. Spamer's Illustrierte Weltgeschichte: mit besonderer Berücksichtigung der Kulturgeschichte, O. Spamer, 1902, p. 740
  6. Rossos, Andrew, Macedonia and the Macedonians. Hoover Institution Press Publications, 2008. p. 40.
  7. Hertzberg, Gustav Friedrich. Geschichte Griechenlands: Th. Vom lateinischen Kreuzzuge bis zur Vollendung der osmanischen Eroberung (1204–1740). F.A. Perthes, 1877, p. 323
  8. Jirecek, Konstantin. History of the Bulgarians, p. 382
  9. Fine, J. V. A. The Late Mediaeval Balkan's, p. 379
  10. Stavrianos, L. S., The Balkans since 1453, p. 44
  11. Jirecek, Konstantin. Geschichte der Serben, pp. 437–438
  12. Book: Boskovic, Vladislav. King Vukasin and the disastrous Battle of Marica. 2009. GRIN Verlag. 978-3-640-49264-0. 11 .
  13. Book: The New Encyclopædia Britannica: Micropaedia. registration. 1993. Encyclopædia Britannica. 978-0-85229-571-7. 855 .
  14. Book: Grumeza, Ion. The Roots of Balkanization: Eastern Europe C.E. 500–1500. 2010. University Press of America. 978-0-7618-5134-9. 93 .
  15. DeVos, Julius Emil. Fifteen hundred years of Europe. O'Donnell Press, 1924, p. 110.
  16. Kaemmel, Otto. Spamer's Illustrierte Weltgeschichte: mit besonderer Berücksichtigung der Kulturgeschichte, O. Spamer, 1902, p. 740
  17. Book: The New Encyclopædia Britannica: Micropaedia. 1993. Encyclopædia Britannica. 978-0-85229-571-7. 855 .
  18. Book: (missing name), (missing first name). (missing essay title). Veiter. Theodor. Volkstum zwischen Moldau, Etsch und Donau: Festschrift für Franz Hieronymus Riedl: Dargeboten zum 65. Lebensjahr. https://books.google.com/books?id=MlMeAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA294 . 1971. W. Braumüller. 978-3-7003-0007-6. 294 .
  19. Donald MacGillivray Nicol, The Last Centuries of Byzantium, 1261–1453; Hart-Davis, 1972, p. 286.
  20. Temperley, Harold William Vazeille. History of Serbia, H. Fertig, 1917, p. 97.