The expansion of the Ottoman Empire into the Balkans (1365-1389)
In 1365, the Ottoman ruler Murad I made the fateful decision to move the capital of his state to Edirne. This move clearly signaled the Ottomans’ intentions to expand their possessions in the Balkan Peninsula. The reaction of Christian rulers to the growing Ottoman threat was mixed. Some city-states, such as Ragusa (present-day Dubrovnik), sought to secure themselves through treaties with the sultan. Their primary goal was to maintain trade privileges and economic prosperity.
However, not all Christian rulers were willing to compromise with the Ottomans. In the same year of 1365, a conflict broke out between the heirs to the Bulgarian throne. One of the claimants, dissatisfied with the division of his father’s lands, turned for help to the Turks in the fight against his brother Shishman. The situation was complicated by the invasion of Bulgaria by the Hungarians. To top it all, the Byzantine emperor John V Paleologos, passing through Bulgarian lands on his way to Hungary, was captured in the city of Vidin.
These events attracted the attention of the Pope, who in 1366 called for a crusade against the Turks in the Balkans. However, his call did not find a wide response among European monarchs. The only ruler who responded to the pope’s call was Duke Amadeus VI of Savoy, a cousin of the captured Byzantine emperor. He organized a maritime expedition that reached the Dardanelles through the Aegean Sea. Amadeus managed to win back the strategically important city of Gallipoli (Gelibola) from the Ottomans. However, the main achievement of the Duke of Savoy was the liberation of John V from Bulgarian captivity.
The release of the Byzantine emperor considerably weakened the position of the Bulgarian tsar Shishman. He was forced to conclude an unfavorable agreement with Sultan Murad I. However, this alliance was short-lived. In 1371, at the Battle of Samokov, the Ottomans inflicted a crushing defeat on the Bulgarians, which effectively ended the independence of the Bulgarian kingdom.
Meanwhile, in Serbia, after the death of the powerful ruler Stefan Dushan, power passed to his young son Uros. Taking advantage of the weakness of central authority, many Serbian vassals renounced allegiance to the young heir and proclaimed themselves independent princes. One of these leaders, Vukasin, who ruled in Serres, decided to fight back against the Ottoman expansion. He gathered a considerable force and marched north to the Maritza River valley, intending to drive the Turks out of Europe.
However, on September 26, 1371, the Serbian army suffered a crushing defeat by the Ottomans at the Battle of Chernomen. All Serbian leaders, including Vukasin, died in the battle. This battle, also known as the Second Battle of Maritsa, was called «Syrf sondygı» (destruction of the Serbs) in Turkish chronicles. The victory at Chernomen opened the way for the Ottomans to go deep into the Balkan Peninsula.
After this victory, Sultan Murad I showed political wisdom. Instead of fully annexing the conquered territories, he left most of Macedonia and Serbia under local rulers, but as his vassals. Among them was Prince Lazar Hrebeljanović, who, despite his family ties to the Nemanjić dynasty, did not claim the royal title.
In the following years, the Ottomans continued to expand their influence in the Balkans. In 1385 they intervened in the internal conflicts in Albania, taking advantage of the invitation of the ruler of Durres. The price for their help was the vassal dependence of the Albanian lands. The fortresses of Kruja and Shkoder, which were of strategic importance, came under Ottoman control. In 1387, Thessalonica, an important trade and cultural center on the Aegean coast, fell.
The Ottomans’ successes in the Balkans caused concern for Serbian Prince Lazar. The loss of Sofia in 1385 and the occupation of the important Serbian city of Nis in 1386 spurred him into action. Lazar formed an anti-Ottoman coalition that included forces from Serbia, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Wallachia, Albania and Hungary. The combined Christian army managed to defeat the local Ottoman warlord.
However, Sultan Murad I was quick to respond to this threat. He managed to diplomatically separate Bulgaria from the anti-Ottoman alliance. Murad then personally led a campaign against Serbia. As the Ottoman army advanced northward, it was joined by many Serbian nobles dissatisfied with Prince Lazar’s rule.
This confrontation culminated in the famous Battle of Kosovo, which took place on June 15, 1389. This battle still occupies an important place in the historical memory of the Balkan peoples. Despite the many legends and myths surrounding the battle, three key facts can be emphasized: the Ottomans were victorious, ensuring their dominance in the Balkans; Sultan Murad I was killed by Serbian warrior Milos Obilic; Prince Lazar was captured and executed by the Ottomans. Lazar’s son, Stefan Lazarevic, inherited the Serbian throne, but as an Ottoman vassal.
The Triumph of Bayezid the Lightning (1389-1396)
After the death of Murad I on the Kosovo field, power passed to his son Bayezid, who went down in history under the nickname «Lightning». Bayezid I became the first Ottoman ruler to adopt the title of sultan not only as a symbol of military valor, but also as a sign of legitimate supreme authority. He proved to be the most ambitious of the Ottoman leaders of the time, seeking to expand the empire’s borders both west and east.
Bayezid departed from the policies of his predecessors, choosing to wage war against the rival Turkish principalities in Anatolia as vigorously as he did against the Christian states in the Balkans. His grandiose plans included the conquest of Hungary and even Italy. According to legend, Bayezid boasted that he would give his horse water from the fountain in front of St. Peter’s Cathedral in Rome.
Realizing such large-scale plans required a secure base, so Bayezid I began his reign with a series of military campaigns aimed at strengthening Ottoman influence in Anatolia and the Balkans. In Asia Minor, he faced uprisings that erupted after the news of Murad I’s death. Bayezid acted decisively and effectively, suppressing the rebellions and annexing the remnants of independent Turkic beyliks in western Anatolia.
In the Balkans, the Ottomans’ advance was more gradual but steady. In 1391, Bosnia came under Bayezid’s rule. Bulgaria, despite the support of the Hungarian king Sigismund, resisted until 1393. Sigismund’s intervention proved insufficient — he was forced to withdraw the Hungarian army for fear of encirclement. With the fall of the last pockets of resistance in Bulgaria, the era of independence of this Slavic state came to an end.
Having removed the main obstacles in the Balkans, Bayezid in 1395 for the first time turned his gaze to the main target of Ottoman expansion — Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire. This ancient city, protected by powerful walls, was a serious obstacle even for the strong Ottoman army. Realizing the difficulty of a direct assault, Bayezid chose the tactic of forcefulness, establishing a blockade of the city from the Straits.
In the same year 1395 Bayezid defeated Mircea I, the ruler of Wallachia. Mircea fled to Hungary, where he turned to King Sigismund for help. This led to the organization of a major crusade against the Ottomans, culminating in the Battle of Nikopol in 1396.
The Battle of Nikopol was the first major clash between the Ottoman army and a knightly army from Western Europe. For Mircea of Wallachia, the purpose of the campaign was to regain his throne; for Sigismund, it was to defend Hungary from the Ottoman threat. However, for most of the European nobles who joined the expedition, it was a true crusade. Contingents from Hungary, France, Germany, and England formed the backbone of the Christian army. The campaign was blessed by the Pope, and one of its leaders was the Duke of Burgundy.
The Crusaders’ plan was simple: to make a direct march on Constantinople to lift the Ottoman siege of the city. The army gathered in the Hungarian capital Buda and moved along the Danube. The crossing of the river near the Iron Gate took a whole week. Once on the territory of the Orthodox states, the crusaders behaved badly, engaging in looting and pillaging. This reminded the local population of the infamous Fourth Crusade of 1204, when the Western Knights sacked Constantinople.
The first serious obstacle in the way of the Crusaders was the well-fortified city of Nikopol (modern Nikopol in Bulgaria). Confident of their superiority, the Crusaders had not bothered to bring siege machines with them. As a result, they were stranded under the walls of the city. Instead of preparing for battle, the knights spent their time in idleness and tournaments, confident that Sultan Bayezid was far away in Egypt.
In fact, Bayezid was not far from the still blockaded Constantinople. Upon learning of the Crusaders’ approach, he made a swift march to Nicopolis, fully justifying his nickname «Lightning». Contrary to the account of the French chronicler Froissart, who portrayed the knights as being taken by surprise in their tents, Bayezid did not attack the Crusader camp. Instead, he chose a favorable position and lined up his army in battle order on familiar terrain.
The Sultan skillfully exploited the terrain, placing some of his troops in ravines on the flanks and hiding a reserve on the reverse hillside. Among the hidden troops were Serbian horsemen under the command of Stefan Lazarevic, the son of Prince Lazar, who had died on the Kosovo field and was now a loyal vassal of the Ottomans.
The delay in starting the battle allowed the Christian army to discuss a plan of attack. King Sigismund, familiar with Ottoman tactics, suggested sending forward Hungarian mounted archers to probe the enemy’s forces. Then it was planned to strike the main blow with heavily armed knights. This plan was supported by Mircea of Wallachia, but it raised objections from the French and Burgundian knights, who considered such tactics cowardly.
Ignoring the need for coordination, the French knights, eager to be the first to fight the infidels, rushed to the attack. Their onslaught was initially successful — the Ottoman vanguard was overturned. However, carried away by the pursuit, the knights found themselves in front of well-fortified positions of the main forces of Bayezid. Heavy cavalry crusaders, tired of the long climb up the hill, became easy prey for the Ottoman archers and light cavalry.
King Sigismund and his Hungarians were unable to support the French in time. When the main Crusader forces finally moved to attack, it was too late. Bayezid brought his reserves into the battle, including Stefan Lazarevic’s Serbian cavalry. The blow of fresh forces in the flank and rear of the Christian army decided the outcome of the battle. The Crusader army turned in disorderly flight to the Danube, where ships were waiting for them.
The retreat quickly turned into a disaster. Thousands of warriors tried to escape on a small number of ships, leading to a crush and the death of many in the waters of the Danube. King Sigismund narrowly escaped capture by making it onto a Venetian galley. Most of the knights, including the color of the French and Burgundian nobility, were captured by the Ottomans.
The victory at Nicopolis was the greatest triumph of Bayezid I. However, the joy of success was overshadowed by the huge losses suffered by the Ottoman army. Angered by this, as well as by news of the massacres of Muslims in the territories captured by the crusaders, Bayezid ordered the execution of most of the captives. Only a few high-ranking nobles were kept alive for ransom. Among them were Jean de Nevers, son of the Duke of Burgundy and future «John the Fearless,» and a young Bavarian named Johann Schiltberger, whose memoirs became a valuable source of information about these events.
Schiltberger described the gruesome scene of the massacre of the prisoners as follows: «Then everyone was ordered to kill their prisoners, and for those who did not want to do so, the king appointed others to take their place. Then they took my companions and cut off their heads, and when it came to my turn, the king’s son saw me and ordered me to be let alive, and I was taken to the other boys, for no one under 20 years of age was killed, and I was scarcely 16 years old.»»
The defeat at Nicopolis had far-reaching consequences for Europe. It demonstrated the inability of Western chivalry to stand up to a disciplined and well-organized Ottoman army. The loss of a significant portion of the military elite weakened the defensive capabilities of the Christian states. Hungary, which served as the main barrier to Ottoman expansion into Central Europe, found itself in a vulnerable position.
For Constantinople the situation became critical. The city remained under siege, and hopes for help from the West had all but vanished. In 1399, the Byzantine Emperor Manuel II personally went on a tour of European courts, begging for help. However, his appeals found no response among the rulers still recovering from the shock of the defeat at Nicopolis.
An unexpected turn: a clash with Timur
While Bayezid celebrated his victories in the Balkans, a new threat was brewing on the eastern borders of his empire. The rapid expansion of Ottoman possessions in Anatolia led to a clash of interests with another rising power, the empire of Timur (Tamerlane).
Timur, descended from the Turkic-Mongol nobility, by the early 15th century had created a vast empire stretching from India to Asia Minor. In 1400, his troops captured the important strategic point of Sivas in eastern Anatolia. This was a direct challenge to Ottoman domination of the region.
Timur’s policy was aimed at weakening potential rivals. He played an active diplomatic game, maintaining contacts with Christian states bordering the Ottoman possessions. Among his allies was even the Emperor of Trebizond, who preferred to recognize Timur’s supremacy, fearing the Ottoman threat.
Bayezid could not ignore Timur’s actions. The capture of Sivas was perceived as a direct insult. The situation was aggravated by Timur’s demand to extradite several noble refugees from Baghdad who had taken refuge at the Ottoman court. Bayezid, confident in his strength after a series of victories, refused to fulfill this demand.
Realizing the inevitability of conflict, Bayezid began to prepare for war. He lifted the siege of Constantinople and withdrew significant forces from the Balkans. To ensure maritime communications, the sultan deployed nine ships at Gelibolu and another 20 in the Aegean Sea. Bayezid’s goal was to prevent Timur’s army from penetrating deep into Anatolia.
The key point in Bayezid’s strategy was Ankara, an important city at the crossroads from Syria and Armenia. The sultan planned to give a decisive battle in this area, taking advantage of the familiar terrain. However, his advisors recommended waiting for Timur in a well-watered area near Ankara. Bayezid, perhaps over-confident in his strength, rejected this advice and continued to move towards the enemy.
Timur, receiving accurate information about the movements of the Ottomans from his scouts, moved southwest from Sivas along the Kizilirmak River. After a six-day march, his army reached Kayseri without encountering resistance. After resting there for four days, Timur’s troops crossed Cappadocia in the next four days and reached the vicinity of Kırşehir, where the first clash with Ottoman reconnaissance units took place.
After another three days, Timur’s army approached a recently abandoned Ottoman encampment northeast of Ankara. Timur immediately began a siege of the city, cutting off the water supply and proceeding to undermine the walls. When the Mongol troops had already begun to climb the fortifications, news came of the approach of Bayezid’s main forces.
The decisive battle of Ankara (1402)
On July 28, 1402, the two great armies came together in battle under the walls of Ankara. The Ottoman army, which had made a long march in the height of summer, was in dire straits. The only source of water in the area, a small stream, had been poisoned on Timur’s orders. Exhausted by thirst and fatigue, Bayazid’s warriors could not fully realize their combat potential.
Timur, on the other hand, had ample time to prepare his positions. He skillfully positioned his troops using the peculiarities of the terrain. The presence in the front ranks of Timur’s army of war elephants brought from India made a special impression on the enemy.
The battle began with the success of the Ottomans. Serbian cavalry under the command of Stefan Lazarevic attacked and crushed the left flank of Timur’s army. However, this localized success could not turn the tide of the battle. Trouble began to brew in the ranks of the Ottoman army. A significant part of Anatolian contingents, ethnically close to Timur’s warriors, went over to the enemy’s side.
Facing a blow from the front and rear, the Ottoman army began to disintegrate. Lazarević’s Serbs held out to the last, covering the retreat of other units. In the end, only Bayezid and his elite corps of Janissaries remained on the battlefield. The Sultan fought until darkness fell, and then tried to break through with the remnants of the army, which numbered no more than 300 men. However, Timur’s forces pursued the fugitives on their heels. During the chase, Bayezid’s horse was killed, and the sultan himself was captured.
The fall of Bayezid marked the complete defeat of the Ottoman army. Ankara capitulated almost immediately after the battle. Timur’s army moved westward, pursuing the remnants of the Ottoman forces and capturing cities. The campaign culminated in the sacking of Bursa, one of the ancient capitals of the Ottomans. Among the spoils of the victors were the famous bronze gates of the city.
The scale of the disaster for the Ottomans was enormous. Bayezid’s son, Suleiman, barely managed to save himself by fleeing across the Sea of Marmara on a Genoese galley. It is interesting to note that the inhabitants of Constantinople, despite the recent enmity, helped many Turks to cross the Bosphorus to safety. True, this help was rendered at considerable cost.
Bayezid Lightning, who had recently threatened to water his horse with water from the fountain of St. Peter in Rome, was now a prisoner of Timur. He was led through the whole of Anatolia in fetters, demonstrating the triumph of the victor. In March 1403, Bayezid died in captivity. There are various versions of his death, but the most likely is that he was executed on Timur’s orders.
Timur’s victory had far-reaching consequences. His army devastated much of Asia Minor, reaching the shores of the Aegean Sea. Timur’s last major success was the capture of Izmir (Smyrna), a city that the Ottomans had unsuccessfully besieged for decades. This Christian enclave, held by the Knights Hospitallers, fell to Timur’s troops.
It seemed that the Ottoman Empire had finally collapsed. Bayezid was a prisoner, his sons fled to different ends of his father’s former domains. Timur triumphed, having destroyed, as it seemed to him, the main rival in the struggle for dominance over the Islamic world. However, history has shown that this triumph was temporary. The Ottoman Empire, having survived a period of infighting, managed to revive and continue its expansion. But this is another story, which is beyond the scope of our narrative.