The Battle of Varna took place on 10 November 1444 near Varna in what is today eastern

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

. The

Ottoman army The Military of the Ottoman Empire () was the armed forces of the Ottoman Empire. It was founded in 1299 and dissolved in 1922. Army The Military of the Ottoman Empire can be divided in five main periods. The foundation era covers the years ...

under Sultan

Murad II Murad II (, ; June 1404 – 3 February 1451) was twice the sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1421 to 1444 and from 1446 to 1451. Early life Murad was born in June 1404 to Mehmed I, while the identity of his mother is disputed according to v ...

(who did not actually rule the sultanate at the time) defeated the

Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding ...

commanded by King

Władysław III of Poland Władysław III of Poland (31 October 1424 – 10 November 1444), also known as Ladislaus of Varna, was King of Poland and Union of Horodło, Supreme Duke of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania from 1434 as well as King of Hungary and List of duk ...

and

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

John Hunyadi John Hunyadi (; ; ; ; ; – 11 August 1456) was a leading Kingdom of Hungary, Hungarian military and political figure during the 15th century, who served as Regent of Hungary, regent of the Kingdom of Hungary (1301–1526), Kingdom of Hungary ...

(acting as commander of the combined Christian forces) and Mircea II of Wallachia. It was the final battle of the unsuccessful

Crusade of Varna The Crusade of Varna was an unsuccessful military campaign mounted by several European leaders to check the expansion of the Ottoman Empire into Central Europe, specifically the Balkans between 1443 and 1444. It was called by Pope Eugene IV ...

, a last-ditch effort to prevent further Ottoman expansion into the Balkans.

Background

The Hungarian Kingdom fell into crisis after the death of King

Sigismund Sigismund (variants: Sigmund, Siegmund) is a German proper name, meaning "protection through victory", from Old High German ''sigu'' "victory" + ''munt'' "hand, protection". Tacitus latinises it ''Segimundus''. There appears to be an older form of ...

in 1437. His son-in-law and successor, King Albert, ruled for only two years and died in 1439, leaving his widow Elizabeth with an unborn child,

Ladislaus the Posthumous Ladislaus V, more commonly known as Ladislaus the Posthumous (; ; ; ; 22 February 144023 November 1457), was Duke of Austria and King of Hungary, King of Croatia, Croatia and King of Bohemia, Bohemia. He was the posthumous birth, posthumous son ...

. The Hungarian noblemen then called the young King

to the throne of Hungary, expecting his aid in defense against the Ottomans. After his Hungarian coronation, he never went back to his homeland again, assuming rule of the Hungarian Kingdom next to the influential nobleman

. After failed expeditions in 1440–1442 against

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

and

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

and the defeats of the Turks during Hunyadi's " long campaign" in 1442–1443, the Ottoman sultan

signed a ten-year truce with Hungary. After he had made peace with the Karaman Emirate in

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

in August 1444, he resigned the throne to his twelve-year-old son

Mehmed II Mehmed II (; , ; 30 March 14323 May 1481), commonly known as Mehmed the Conqueror (; ), was twice the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from August 1444 to September 1446 and then later from February 1451 to May 1481. In Mehmed II's first reign, ...

. Cesarini insisted that the Hungarian King Władysław III should break the treaty, arguing that it was not valid due to the fact that it had been made with infidels. Hungary co-operated with

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

and

Pope Eugene IV Pope Eugene IV (; ; 1383 – 23 February 1447), born Gabriele Condulmer, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 March 1431 to his death, in February 1447. Condulmer was a Republic of Venice, Venetian, and a nephew ...

to organize a new crusader army led by Hunyadi and Władysław III. On receipt of this news, Çandarlı Halil Pasha recalled Murad II against the Christian Coalition, even though Mehmed II did not accept this and wanted to fight himself. As a result, Murad II commanded the

Preparations

The mixed Papal army was composed mainly of Hungarian, Polish, Bohemian (whose combined armies numbered 16,000) and

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ; : , : ) is a historical and geographical region of modern-day Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians. Wallachia was traditionally divided into two sections, Munteni ...

n (4,000) forces, with smaller detachments of papal troops,

Teutonic Knights The Teutonic Order is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem was formed to aid Christians on their pilgrimages to t ...

Bosnians Bosnians (Serbo-Croatian language, Serbo-Croatian: / ; / , / ) are people native to the country of Bosnia and Herzegovina, especially the region of Bosnia (region), Bosnia. The term ''Bosnian'' refers to all inhabitants/citizens of the coun ...

Croats The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...

Bulgarians Bulgarians (, ) are a nation and South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and its neighbouring region, who share a common Bulgarian ancestry, culture, history and language. They form the majority of the population in Bulgaria, ...

Lithuanians Lithuanians () are a Balts, Baltic ethnic group. They are native to Lithuania, where they number around 2,378,118 people. Another two million make up the Lithuanian diaspora, largely found in countries such as the Lithuanian Americans, United Sta ...

, and

Ruthenians A ''Ruthenian'' and ''Ruthene'' are exonyms of Latin language, Latin origin, formerly used in Eastern and Central Europe as common Ethnonym, ethnonyms for East Slavs, particularly during the late medieval and early modern periods. The Latin term ...

. Troops from

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

and

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

were led by Croatian nobleman Franko Talovac. Papal, Venetian and Burgundian ships under Alvise Loredan had blockaded the

Dardanelles The Dardanelles ( ; ; ), also known as the Strait of Gallipoli (after the Gallipoli peninsula) and in classical antiquity as the Hellespont ( ; ), is a narrow, natural strait and internationally significant waterway in northwestern Turkey th ...

as the Hungarian army was to advance on Varna, while a second flotilla comprising six ships (two Burgundian, two Ragusan and two Byzantine) blockaded the Bosphorus. Both failed, and the main Ottoman force from Asia, including the sultan, crossed the Bosphorus on 18 October 1444. The Hungarian advance was rapid, Ottoman fortresses were bypassed, while local Bulgarians from

Vidin Vidin (, ) is a port city on the southern bank of the Danube in north-western Bulgaria. It is close to the borders with Romania and Serbia, and is also the administrative centre of Vidin Province, as well as of the Metropolitan of Vidin (since ...

, Oryahovo, and

Nicopolis Nicopolis () or Actia Nicopolis was the capital city of the Roman province of Epirus (Roman province), Epirus. Its site, near Preveza, Greece, still contains impressive ruins. The city was founded in 29 BC by Octavian in commemoration of his ...

joined the army ( Fruzhin, son of Ivan Shishman, also participated in the campaign with his own guard). On 10 October near Nicopolis, some 7,000 Wallachian cavalrymen under Mircea II, one of Vlad Dracul's sons, also joined. Armenian refugees in the Kingdom of Hungary also took part in the wars of their new country against the

Ottomans Ottoman may refer to: * Osman I, historically known in English as "Ottoman I", founder of the Ottoman Empire * Osman II, historically known in English as "Ottoman II" * Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empir ...

as early as the battle of Varna in 1444, when some Armenians were seen amongst the Christian forces.

Deployment

Late on November 9, a large

of around 40,000 or 60,000 men approached Varna from the west. At a supreme military council called by Hunyadi during the night, the

papal legate 300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the Pope's legate. A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title '' legatus'') is a personal representative of the Pope to foreign nations, to some other part of the Catho ...

, cardinal Julian Cesarini, insisted on a quick withdrawal. However, the Christians were caught between the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

, Lake Varna, the steep wooded slopes of the Franga Plateau (356 m high), and the enemy. Cesarini then proposed a defense using the Wagenburg of the Hussites until the arrival of the Christian fleet. The Hungarian magnates and the Croatian and Czech commanders backed him, but the young (20-year-old) Władysław and Hunyadi rejected the defensive tactics. Hunyadi declared: "To escape is impossible, to surrender is unthinkable. Let us fight with bravery and honor our arms." Władysław accepted this position and gave him the command. Andreas del Palatio states that Hunyadi commanded the "Wallachian army" indicating a large Romanian component in Hunyadi's personal army. In the morning of 10 November, Hunyadi deployed the army of some 20,000

crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding ...

as an arc between Lake Varna and the Franga plateau; the line was about 3.5 km long. Two

banners A banner can be a flag or another piece of cloth bearing a symbol, logo, slogan or another message. A flag whose design is the same as the shield in a coat of arms (but usually in a square or rectangular shape) is called a banner of arms. Also, ...

with a total of 3,500 men from the king's Polish and Hungarian bodyguards, Hungarian royal mercenaries, and banners of Hungarian nobles held the center. The Wallachian cavalry was left in reserve behind the center. The right flank that lined up the hill towards the village of Kamenar numbered 6,500 men in 5 banners. Dalmatian John de Dominis, Bishop of Varadin with his personal banner led the force; Cesarini commanded a banner of German mercenaries and a Bosnian one. The Bishop of Eger Simon Rozgonyi led his own banner, and the military governor of

Slavonia Slavonia (; ) is, with Dalmatia, Croatia proper, and Istria County, Istria, one of the four Regions of Croatia, historical regions of Croatia. Located in the Pannonian Plain and taking up the east of the country, it roughly corresponds with f ...

, ban Franko Talovac, commanded one Croatian banner. The left flank, a total of 5,000 men in 5 banners, was led by

Michael Szilágyi Michael Szilágyi de Horogszeg (; c. 1400 – 1460) was a Hungarian general who was Regent of Hungary, Count of Beszterce and Head of Szilágyi–Hunyadi Liga. Family He was born in the early 15th century as vice-ispán of Bács County, ...

, Hunyadi's brother in law, and was made up of Hunyadi's Transylvanians, Bulgarians, German mercenaries and banners of Hungarian

magnate The term magnate, from the late Latin ''magnas'', a great man, itself from Latin ''magnus'', "great", means a man from the higher nobility, a man who belongs to the high office-holders or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or ot ...

s. Behind the Hungarians, closer to the Black Sea and the lake, was the Wagenburg, defended by 300 or 600 Czech and Ruthenian mercenaries under hetman Ceyka, along with Poles, Lithuanians and Wallachians. Every wagon was crewed with 7 to 10 soldiers and the Wagenburg was equipped with bombards. The Ottoman center included the

Janissaries A janissary (, , ) was a member of the elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman sultan's household troops. They were the first modern standing army, and perhaps the first infantry force in the world to be equipped with firearms, adopted du ...

and levies from

Rumelia Rumelia (; ; ) was a historical region in Southeastern Europe that was administered by the Ottoman Empire, roughly corresponding to the Balkans. In its wider sense, it was used to refer to all Ottoman possessions and Vassal state, vassals in E ...

deployed around two

Thracian The Thracians (; ; ) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Southeast Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied the area that today is shared between north-eastern Greece, ...

burial mounds. Murad observed and directed the battle from one of them. The Janissaries dug in behind ditches and two palisades. The right wing consisted of Kapikulus and

Sipahi The ''sipahi'' ( , ) were professional cavalrymen deployed by the Seljuk Turks and later by the Ottoman Empire. ''Sipahi'' units included the land grant–holding ('' timar'') provincial ''timarli sipahi'', which constituted most of the arm ...

s from

, and the left wing was made up by Akıncıs, Sipahis from

, and other forces. Janissary archers and Akıncı light cavalry were deployed on the Franga plateau.

Battle

The light Ottoman cavalry assaulted the Croats of ban Franco Talotsi. Christians from the left riposted with bombards and

firearms A firearm is any type of gun that uses an explosive charge and is designed to be readily carried and operated by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see legal definitions). The first firearms originated ...

and stopped the attack. Christian soldiers chased the Ottomans in a disorderly pursuit. The Anatolian cavalry ambushed them from the flank. The Christian right wing attempted to flee to the small fortress of Galata on the other side of Varna Bay, but most of them were slain in the marshland around Varna Lake and the River Devnya, where Cesarini also met his end. Only ban Talotsi's troops managed to withdraw behind the Wagenburg. Varna 1444 Polski Kronika from 1564

The other Ottoman flank assaulted the Hungarians and Bulgarians of Michael Szilagyi. Their push was stopped and turned back; then Sipahis attacked again. Hunyadi decided to help and advised Władysław to wait until he returned; then advanced with two cavalry companies. The young king, ignoring Hunyadi's advice, rushed 500 of his Polish knights against the Ottoman center. They attempted to overrun the Janissary infantry and take Murad prisoner, and almost succeeded, but in front of Murad's tent Władysław's horse either fell into a trap or was stabbed, and the king was beheaded by mercenary Kodja Hazar. The remaining coalition cavalry were demoralized and defeated by the Ottomans. On his return, Hunyadi tried frantically to salvage the king's body, but all he could accomplish was to organize the retreat of the remains of his army; it suffered thousands of casualties in the chaos, and was virtually annihilated. Neither the head nor body of the king were ever found. The

minnesinger (; "love song") was a tradition of German lyric- and song-writing that flourished in the Middle High German period (12th to 14th centuries). The name derives from '' minne'', the Middle High German word for love, as that was ''Minnesangs m ...

Michael Beheim wrote a song based on the story of Hans Mergest, who spent 16 years in Ottoman captivity after the battle.

Aftermath

Hunyadi reached the Danube but was captured by Vlad Dracul in Wallachia and imprisoned as insurance in case of Ottoman retaliation or for a high ransom. He was released in exchange for a large amount of money when Hungarian nobles loyal to Hunyadi began to threaten Vlad Dracul with a campaign against him. Another version of the story is that he was mistakenly captured by Wallachian border guards, who didn't recognize him, and released by Vlad Dracul once they met face to face. After the death of Władysław III, Hunyadi became one of the most important and powerful members of the Hungarian nobility, becoming the Governor of Hungary on 5 June 1446. He was later made a Duke by the Pope in 1447. Hungarian nobles found it hard to believe that both their king and Cesarini had died, leading to spies being sent south of the Danube, but no information was found other than what was already known. The death of Władysław III left Hungary in the hands of the four-year-old Ladislaus Posthumous of Bohemia and Hungary. He was succeeded in Poland by

Casimir IV Jagiellon Casimir IV (Casimir Andrew Jagiellon; ; Lithuanian: ; 30 November 1427 – 7 June 1492) was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1440 and King of Poland from 1447 until his death in 1492. He was one of the most active Polish-Lithuanian rulers; under ...

after a three-year interregnum. Murad's casualties at Varna were so heavy, it was not until three days later that he realized he was victorious.Kenneth Meyer Setton, ''The Papacy and the Levant, 1204–1571: The Fifteenth Century'', Vol. II, (American Philosophical Society, 1978), p. 90. Nevertheless, the Ottoman victory in Varna, followed by the Ottoman victory in the Second Battle of Kosovo in 1448, deterred the European states from sending any substantial military assistance to the Byzantines during the Ottoman siege of Constantinople in 1453. Hunyadi signed a three-year truce with the Ottoman central government in 1451. Only the European victory at Belgrade would stop the Ottomans from conquering large parts of Europe. Hungary would be safe for another 70 years after this victory until the Hungarian army was crushed by the Ottomans at the

Battle of Mohács The Battle of Mohács (; , ) took place on 29 August 1526 near Mohács, in the Kingdom of Hungary. It was fought between the forces of Hungary, led by King Louis II of Hungary, Louis II, and the invading Ottoman Empire, commanded by Suleima ...

in 1526, which would lead to the end of Hungary as an independent united kingdom for almost 400 years.

Legacy

In the aftermath, the Ottomans had removed a significant opposition to their expansion into central and eastern Europe; subsequent battles forced a large number of Europeans to become Ottoman subjects. The fallen Polish king was named Ladislaus of Varna (''Władysław III Warneńczyk'') in memory of the battle. The Battle of Varna is commemorated on the

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Warsaw The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier () is a monument in Warsaw, Poland, dedicated to the unknown soldiers who have given their lives for Poland. It is one of many such national tombs of unknowns that were erected after World War I, and the most imp ...

, with the inscription "WARNA 10 XI 1444". The ''Rise of the Ottomans'' bookmark of the grand strategy game '' Europa Universalis IV'' is intentionally set one day after the battle.

Footnotes

References

* Ervin Liptai (1984), ''Magyarország hadtörténete I''. Zrínyi Katonai Kiadó, Budapest. – * *

External links

Oszk.hu: Battle map of the Battle of Varna
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