Battle of Nicopolis

Battle of Nicopolis
	Part of the Ottoman wars in Europe; and the Crusades
	; miniature by Jean Colombe (c. 1475)
Date	25 September 1396
Location	Nicopolis, Ottoman Empire43°42′21″N 24°53′45″E / 43.70583°N 24.89583°E
Result	Ottoman victory
Territorial; changes	Crusader failure to capture Nicopolis from the Ottomans
Belligerents
Ottoman Empire; Moravian Serbia	Crusade: Holy Roman Empire; Kingdom of France Duchy of Burgundy; ; Kingdom of Hungary Voivodship of Transylvania; ; Kingdom of Croatia; Principality of Wallachia; Knights Hospitaller; Republic of Venice; Republic of Genoa; Bulgarian Empire; Teutonic Knights; Byzantine Empire; County of Cilli; District of Branković;
Commanders and leaders
Bayezid I; Çandarlı Ali Pasha; Evrenos; Stefan Lazarević	Sigismund, King of Hungary and Croatia; Stibor of Stiboricz; Nicholas II Garai; Philip, Count of Eu (POW); Jean II Le Maingre (POW); John, Count of Nevers (POW); Enguerrand de Coucy (POW); Jean de Vienne †; Jean de Carrouges †; Mircea the Elder; Stephen II Lackfi; Ivan Sratsimir ; Philibert de Naillac; Vuk Branković (POW);
Strength
10,000–20,000	17,000–20,000
Casualties and losses
Considerable Ottoman losses	Most of the Crusader army destroyed or captured; 3,000 prisoners executed;
	Nicopolis class=notpageimage\| Location within Europe

The Battle of Nicopolis took place on 25 September 1396 and resulted in the rout of an allied Crusader army of Hungarian, Croatian, Bulgarian, Wallachian, Polish, French, Burgundian, German, English, Knights Hospitaller, Iberian, Italian, Bohemian, Serbian and Byzantine troops (assisted by the Venetian navy) at the hands of an Ottoman force, raising the siege of the Danubian fortress of Nicopolis and leading to the end of the Second Bulgarian Empire. It is often referred to as the Crusade of Nicopolis as it was one of the last large-scale Crusades of the Middle Ages, together with the Crusade of Varna in 1443–1444. By their victory at Nicopolis, the Turks discouraged the formation of future European coalitions against them. They maintained their pressure on Constantinople, tightened their control over the Balkans, and became a greater threat to Central Europe.^[15]

^ Alexandru Madgearu, The Wars of the Balkan Peninsula: Their Medieval Origins, ed. Martin Gordon, (Scarecrow Press, 2008), 90.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Cite error: The named reference Tuchman548 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ The Crusades and the military orders: expanding the frontiers of latin christianity; Zsolt Hunyadi page 226
^ Valerii︠a︡ Fol, Bulgaria: History Retold in Brief, (Riga, 1999), 103.
^ Nicolle, David (2000). Constantinople 1453: The End of Byzantium. Osprey Publishing. p. 19. ISBN 978-1-84176-091-9. Ali Pasha Candarli, who served Bayazit I so well (see Campaign 64, Nicopolis 1396).^{[permanent dead link]}
^ (Djokić 2023, p. 128)
Not all Serb magnates fought and died as Ottoman vassals. Vuk Branković, who survived the Kosovo battle, and who continued to rule over his realm that included Kosovo, joined a large Christian coalition led by Hungary, which now represented the 'bulwark of Christianity' and included Wallachian, Venetian, Bulgarian, Croatian, French and English troops. The Christian coalition was defeated by Ottomans at Nicopolis, Bulgaria in 1396. Branković died as an Ottoman prisoner the following year, but is ironically portrayed in the Serbian folklore as a Judas-like figure.
^ (Cerović 2002, p. 228)
Вук Бранковић, син Бранков, оженио се Маром, кћерком кнеза Лазара. Његови поседи протезали су се од Скопља до Копаоника и Сјенице, до горњих токова Таре и Мораче. После битке на Косову, примио је вазални однос према Турској. У бици код Никопоља учествовао је на страни Угарске, када га је заробио султан Бајазит и одвео га у заробљеништво, где је умро, 1397. године.
^ ^a ^b Nicolle, p. 37. "In fact the Crusaders probably numbered some 17,000 men. Traditional Turkish sources give the number of Ottoman troops as 10,000 but when their Balkans vassals were included they may have numbered around 15,000."
^ Cite error: The named reference Tuchman554 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ ^a ^b Cite error: The named reference Grant was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Rogers, Clifford (2010). The Oxford Encyclopedia of Medieval Warfare and Military Technology.
^ ^a ^b "Battle of Nicopolis". Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-18.
^ Tuchman 562
^ Grant, p 122
^ "Battle of Nicopolis". Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009. Retrieved 2023-06-20.

[Madgearu90-1] Alexandru Madgearu, The Wars of the Balkan Peninsula: Their Medieval Origins, ed. Martin Gordon, (Scarecrow Press, 2008), 90.

[Tuchman548-2] Cite error: The named reference Tuchman548 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Hunyadi-3] The Crusades and the military orders: expanding the frontiers of latin christianity; Zsolt Hunyadi page 226

[4] Valerii︠a︡ Fol, Bulgaria: History Retold in Brief, (Riga, 1999), 103.

[5] Nicolle, David (2000). Constantinople 1453: The End of Byzantium. Osprey Publishing. p. 19. ISBN 978-1-84176-091-9. Ali Pasha Candarli, who served Bayazit I so well (see Campaign 64, Nicopolis 1396).^{[permanent dead link]}

[Dejan-6] (Djokić 2023, p. 128)
Not all Serb magnates fought and died as Ottoman vassals. Vuk Branković, who survived the Kosovo battle, and who continued to rule over his realm that included Kosovo, joined a large Christian coalition led by Hungary, which now represented the 'bulwark of Christianity' and included Wallachian, Venetian, Bulgarian, Croatian, French and English troops. The Christian coalition was defeated by Ottomans at Nicopolis, Bulgaria in 1396. Branković died as an Ottoman prisoner the following year, but is ironically portrayed in the Serbian folklore as a Judas-like figure.

[Ljubivoje-7] (Cerović 2002, p. 228)
Вук Бранковић, син Бранков, оженио се Маром, кћерком кнеза Лазара. Његови поседи протезали су се од Скопља до Копаоника и Сјенице, до горњих токова Таре и Мораче. После битке на Косову, примио је вазални однос према Турској. У бици код Никопоља учествовао је на страни Угарске, када га је заробио султан Бајазит и одвео га у заробљеништво, где је умро, 1397. године.

[Nicolle37-8] Nicolle, p. 37. "In fact the Crusaders probably numbered some 17,000 men. Traditional Turkish sources give the number of Ottoman troops as 10,000 but when their Balkans vassals were included they may have numbered around 15,000."

[Tuchman554-9] Cite error: The named reference Tuchman554 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Grant-10] Cite error: The named reference Grant was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Rogers_2010-11] Rogers, Clifford (2010). The Oxford Encyclopedia of Medieval Warfare and Military Technology.

[Britannica-12] "Battle of Nicopolis". Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-18.

[Tuchman562-13] Tuchman 562

[Grant122-14] Grant, p 122

[15] "Battle of Nicopolis". Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009. Retrieved 2023-06-20.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]