Battle of Maritsa

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The Battle of Maritsa, or Battle of Chernomen (Serbian: Маричка битка, бој код Черномена, Bulgarian: Битката при Марица, битката при Черномен, Turkish: Çirmen Muharebesi, İkinci Meriç Muharebesi in tr. Second Battle of Maritsa) took place at the Maritsa River near the village of Chernomen (today Ormenio in Greece) on September 27, 1371 between the forces of Ottoman commanders Lala Şâhin Paşa and Gazi Evrenos and Serbian commanders King Vukašin Mrnjavčević and his brother Despot Jovan Uglješa [1][2][3][4] who also wanted to get revenge after the First Battle of Maritsa.

Background

Before the Battle of Maritsa, Vukašin had the intention to recapture Skadar (now Shkodër) for the Serbian Empire. The army led by King Vukašin and his son Prince Marko came under Skadar in June 1371, but when they were informed about a large Ottoman army advancing from the east they headed east to prepare for the Battle of Maritsa.[5]

Battle

The Serbian army numbered 20,000[6]–70,000[6][7][8][9][10] men. Most sources agree on the higher number. 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[11] Byzantine Greek scholar Laonikos Chalkokondyles[6] and other sources[12] give the number of 800 men, but due to superior tactics, by conducting a night raid on the Serbian camp, Şâhin Paşa was able to defeat the Serbian army and kill King Vukašin and despot Uglješa. Thousands of Serbs were killed, and thousands drowned in the Maritsa river when they tried to flee.[13][14] After the battle, the Maritsa ran scarlet with blood.[14]

Aftermath

Macedonia and parts of Greece 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 and succeeded by the capture of the cities of Drama, Kavála and Serrai in modern Greece. The battle preceded the later 1389 Battle of Kosovo, and was one of many in history of the Serbian-Turkish wars.

Notes

  1. ↑ K.Jirecek,History of the Bulgarians,p.382
  2. ↑ J.V.A Fine, The Late Mediaeval Balkans, p. 379
  3. ↑ L.S Stavrianos, The Balkan since 1453, p.44
  4. ↑ Jirecek, Konstantin, Geschichte der Serben, pp. 437-438
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named boskovic
  7. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named newbritannica
  8. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named grumeza
  9. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named devos
  10. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named otto
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named veiter
  13. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named gustav
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Harold William Vazeille Temperley: History of Serbia, H. Fertig, 1917, page 97.

References

  • Rossos, Andrew, Macedonia and the Macedonians, Hoover Institution Press Publications, 2008.
  • Sedlar, Jean W., East Central Europe in the Middle Ages, 1000-1500, University of Washington Press, 1994.
  • Stavrianos, L. S. The Balkans Since 1453, C. Hurst & Co. Publishers, 2000.
  • Turnbull, Stephen R. The Ottoman Empire 1326-1699, Osprey Publishing, 2003.

External links

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