Battle of Maritza

the battle of Maritza took place close to the Maritza beside the village of Chernomen (today Ormenio in Greece) the September 26th 1371 between the Turkish forces of Lala Şâhin Paşa and the Serb king of Macedonia Vukašin Mrnjavčević.

Origin of the conflict

Othoman Turkish had settled recently in Thrace, which it named Roumélie, ground of the Romans, they admitted with the Byzantines the honor to be the representatives of the Roman Empire of the East, contrary to Latin who not regarded the Byzantines for reasons of religious authority on Christendom Romans but as a Greek Empire. The capital of Turkish since, 1361, was Europe Edirne in the past Andrinople.

Sultant Murat 1st was not in its capital. It had joined the Asia Mineure, or it occupied with was organized its territory the great majority of the territory Turkish was still in minor Asia. It had left the care to defend its fraiches possession of Europe to its general Lala Sahin Pasa.

The Turks was a threat for Constantinople and the Bulgarian ones but especially for the Serb ones which since the Bataille of Velbazhd imposed their authority on the area. After the death of the Serb emperor Dusan, the Serb Empire had been divided into several Kingdom and principality.

the family of the Balšić which controlled Zeta and the coast of the south of Kotor until Ulcij,
the Despot Vuk Branković which controlled current the Kosovo and the north of the Macedonia,
Radenović was to him the Master of the town of Trebije, Cavtat as well as the grounds in the neighborhoods,
the Duke Sandaljhranič who controlled all the grounds of the Neretva until Konjic in the west, until Gorazde in the north and the east of the Monastère of Mileševa to Budva.
the prince Lazar who had the largest territory which gathered the Serb grounds of the the Danube in north in the south Novo brdo (city to 20 km in the east of Pristina), the Drina in the west until Nis.
Tvrtko Ier of Bosnia, which had authority on part of the Serb grounds of Rascie.
the king Vukašin Mrnjavčević who was the sovereign on all the remainder of the Macedonia, western south of current Bulgaria, like on the Greek Macedonia without Thessalonique.

King Vukasin was in " war froide" with Murat Ier about the town of Plovdiv. King Vukašin Mrnjavčević with the assistance of his brother the Despot Ugljesa decided benefits from the absence of Murat Ier for attack, the Capital Turkish of Edirne. And driven out thereafter Turkish of Europe.

Preparations of the armies

Vukašin and its brother knew that to drive out Turkish of Europe they were gathers powerful an army, the catch of their capital was to be only one stage. They did not find assistance near the other Serb lords, either because they had already been in war with them, or they did not have succeeds in convincing them of the importance of the threat Turkish, as with Lazar Hrebeljanović and Branković.

On the other hand, the Byzantines and the Bulgarian ones who suffered already from the Othoman occupation on part of their grounds united of number with the army of the Serb king. Moreover, according to the Turkish authors, the Serb army counted also troops Hungarian woman.

Turkish, on their side, gathered a maximum of soldier as fast as possible when they learned the threat which weighed on their capital. But they were quite conscious of being very in difficulty because they were found to 4 against 1. Whereas the Serb sure one of their victory with Edirne to project itself already over the following objectives.

Strategic movements of the armies

The Christian army progressed slowly in Othoman territory, it establishes its camp with less than 40 km of Edirne, at the edge of the Greek Maritza just at sides of the city of Orménio. Knowing that they were not any more far from Edirne, they decided to settle here for established the plan of Turkish seat of the capital. On their forces, the Serb ones installed the camps without much vigilance and surtourt the come evening the camp was not supervised any more because the army Christians thought that Turkish, Moslems, not to go not to fight of night because they was interdict for a Moslem to do that.

Turkish seeing the numerical superiority of their adversary decided of attack the camp of night. They knew that differently, it were not likely any to overcome. And that if they awaited the movement of their enemy towards their capital, they could not stop them during a battle arranging.

The battle

Turkish the very same day attacked the camp of the Serb king some hours before the paddle or this one had envisaged to make movement towards them. Nobody on the Christian sides had envisaged that the surprise was total. The battle which of followed was closer to the massacre than of a battle. Othomans to penetrate in all the parties of the camp and killed soldiers in their sleep. The only alarm which was set off was that of shout of the men who fled in front of advancing it Turkish. The Serb king and his brother trouverèrent both death during the battle.

signature of peace

After the Othoman victory, the kingdom of Vukasin was without army to defend it his/her son Marko Mrnjavčević, accepted an unconditional surrender and became the vassal one of Mourat Ist.

Developments and Consequences

For the Empire Othoman this battle is a splendid success, the Empire was attack by a force 4 times more. And it had succeeds in overcoming, better, it more than had doubled its possessions on the continent of Europe. Until then the majority of the Othoman power was with its territories of Asia Mineure. After this battle, the proportion of richness rocked towards Europe. Indeed, the not-Moslems were to pay a tax capacity practices their religion, the Europe being populated Christians the cases of the empire Turkish to fill very quickly. The military power of Turkish increased also considerably because all the not-Moslems families owed " offrir" with the empire their first born of male sex so that they are useful like Janissaires in the army Turkish. Before this battle, it was still possible for the Christians to overcome " the threat turc" , according to the name of Rome and Constantinople. After the defeat of the Maritza which saw disappearing the Serb kingdom from macedoine, the advantage was not any more of the dimensions of the Serb lords. The Serb ones never again started aggressive war via with screw of the Ottoman Empire, they made only this defend.

Songs and poems on the battle of Maritza

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