The Battle of Maritsa or Battle of Chernomen (; in tr. ''Second Battle of Maritsa'') took place at the

Maritsa River Maritsa or Maritza ( ), also known as Evros ( ) and Meriç ( ), is a river that runs through the Balkans in Southeast Europe. With a length of ,

near the village of Chernomen (present-day

Ormenio Ormenio (; ; ) is the northernmost place in all of Greece. It is part of the municipal unit of Trigono in the Evros regional unit of Thrace. It is situated near the right bank of the river Evros, which forms the border with Bulgaria here. On the ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

) on 26 September 1371 between Ottoman forces commanded by

Lala Shahin Pasha Lala Shahin Pasha (; 1330 – after 1388), was an Ottoman military commander and first Beylerbey of Rumelia. He was instrumental in the early Ottoman expansion into the Balkans, serving as a key commander under Sultan Murad I. He played a lead ...

and

Evrenos Evrenos or Evrenuz (1288–1417, Yenice-i Vardar) was an Ottoman military commander. He served as a general under Süleyman Pasha, Murad I, Bayezid I, Süleyman Çelebi and Mehmed I. Legends stating that he lived for 129 years and had an incr ...

, and

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

n forces commanded by King

Vukašin Mrnjavčević Vukašin () is an old Slavic name of Serbian origin. It is composed from two words: Vuk (wolf) and sin ( son), so it means sin vuka (son of wolf). In some places in Croatia and Bosnia it can be found as a surname. The name Vukašin can be foun ...

and his brother Despot Jovan Uglješa.Fine, J. V. A. ''The Late Mediaeval Balkan's''
p. 379
/ref>

Background

In 1354, the Ottomans acquired

Gallipoli The Gallipoli Peninsula (; ; ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles strait to the east. Gallipoli is the Italian form of the Greek name (), meaning ' ...

. From there, they expanded into

Thrace Thrace (, ; ; ; ) is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe roughly corresponding to the province of Thrace in the Roman Empire. Bounded by the Balkan Mountains to the north, the Aegean Sea to the south, and the Black Se ...

, taking the important city of

Adrianople Edirne (; ), historically known as Orestias, Adrianople, is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the Edirne Province, province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, Edirne was the second c ...

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 Nikola Altomanović ( sr-Cyrl, Никола Алтомановић; died after 1395) was a 14th-century Serbian župan of the House of Vojinović. He ruled the areas from Rudnik, over Polimlje, Podrinje, east Herzegovina with Trebinje, reach ...

. His army was in Skadar, waiting for naval support from the

Republic of Ragusa The Republic of Ragusa, or the Republic of Dubrovnik, was an maritime republics, aristocratic maritime republic centered on the city of Dubrovnik (''Ragusa'' in Italian and Latin; ''Raguxa'' in Venetian) in South Dalmatia (today in southernmost ...

. 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.

Battle

The Serbian army numbered between 50,000 and 70,000DeVos, Julius Emil. ''Fifteen hundred years of Europe''. O'Donnell Press, 1924, p. 110.Kaemmel, Otto. ''Spamer's Illustrierte Weltgeschichte: mit besonderer Berücksichtigung der Kulturgeschichte'', O. Spamer, 1902, p. 740 men. Despot Uglješa wanted to make a surprise attack on the Ottomans in their capital city,

Edirne Edirne (; ), historically known as Orestias, Adrianople, is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the Edirne Province, province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, Edirne was the second c ...

, while

Murad I Murad I (; ), nicknamed ''Hüdavendigâr'' (from – meaning "Head of state, sovereign" in this context; 29 June 1326 – 15 June 1389) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1362 to 1389. He was the son of Orhan Gazi and Nilüfer Hatun. Mura ...

was in

Asia Minor 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 ...

. The Ottoman army was much smaller,

Byzantine Greek Medieval Greek (also known as Middle Greek, Byzantine Greek, or Romaic; Greek: ) is the stage of the Greek language between the end of classical antiquity in the 5th–6th centuries and the end of the Middle Ages, conventionally dated to the F ...

scholar

Laonikos Chalkokondyles Laonikos Chalkokondyles (; – ), also latinized as Laonicus Chalcocondyles, was a Byzantine Greek historian from Athens. He is known for his '' Demonstrations of Histories'' in ten books, which record the last 150 years of the Byzantine Empi ...

and different sources give the number of 800 up to 4,000 men,Donald MacGillivray Nicol, The Last Centuries of Byzantium, 1261–1453; Hart-Davis, 1972, p. 286. but due to most of the Serbian soldiers becoming intoxicated, Şahin Paşa 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.Temperley, Harold William Vazeille. ''History of Serbia'', H. Fertig, 1917, p. 97.

Aftermath

South Serbia fell under Ottoman power after this battle. The battle was a part of the Ottoman campaign to conquer the

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

and was preceded by the Ottoman capturing of

Sozopol Sozopol ( ; ) List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, is an ancient seaside town located 35 km south of Burgas on the southern Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. One of the major seaside resorts in the country, it is known for the ''Apollonia'' art and film ...

(today in Bulgaria) in 1353 and succeeded by the capture of the cities of

Drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

Kavala Kavala (, ''Kavála'' ) is a city in northern Greece, the principal seaport of eastern Macedonia and the capital of Kavala regional unit. It is situated on the Bay of Kavala, across from the island of Thasos and on the A2 motorway, a one-and ...

, and Serrai (today in

) in the 1380s. The battle also preceded the later 1389

Battle of Kosovo The Battle of Kosovo took place on 15 June 1389 between an army led by the Serbian Prince Lazar Hrebeljanović and an invading army of the Ottoman Empire under the command of Sultan Murad I. It was one of the largest battles of the Late Middl ...

, and was one of many in the Serbian–Turkish wars.

Notes

References

* Rossos, Andrew, ''Macedonia and the Macedonians'',

Hoover Institution The Hoover Institution (officially The Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace and formerly The Hoover Institute and Library on War, Revolution, and Peace) is an American public policy think tank which promotes personal and economic ...

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

Battle of the Maritsa River ''Encyclopædia Britannica''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maritsa, Battle Of 1371 in Europe Conflicts in 1371 Battles involving the Ottoman Empire Battles of the Ottoman–Serbian Wars Mrnjavčević family Serbian Empire 14th century in Bulgaria 14th century in Serbia Ottoman Serbia History of Edirne Province 1370s in the Ottoman Empire Maritsa