Battle of Kosovo (1448)
Second Battle of Kosovo | |
---|---|
Part of the Kosovo Field, Serbian Despotate | |
Result | Ottoman victory |
Karamanids[1]
Kingdom of Hungary
Holy Roman Empire
Kingdom of Bohemia
Moldavia
Grand Duchy of Lithuania[2]
Prince Mehmed
Franko Talovac †
Michael Szilágyi
The Second Battle of Kosovo (Hungarian: második rigómezei csata, Turkish: İkinci Kosova Muharebesi) was a land battle between a Hungarian-led Crusader army and the Ottoman Empire at Kosovo field that took place from 17–20 October 1448. It was the culmination of a Hungarian offensive to avenge the defeat at Varna four years earlier. In the three-day battle the Ottoman army under the command of Sultan Murad II defeated the Crusader army of regent John Hunyadi.
After that battle, the path was clear for the Turks to conquer Serbia and the other Balkan States, it also ended any hopes of saving
Background
In 1444, the Hungarian king,
In September 1448, Hunyadi led his forces across the Danube and camped them in Serbia next to Kovin, just outside the Serbian capital of Smederevo. For a full month the Hungarians stayed encamped awaiting their German, Wallachians, Bohemian and Albanian allies.[19] The Albanian army under Skanderbeg was delayed as it was prevented from linking with Hunyadi's army by the Ottomans and their allies.[19][20] It is believed that the Albanian army was delayed by Serbian despot Đurađ Branković, whose army occupied the mountain passes on the Serbian-Albanian border and by a Venetian attack on northern Albania.[18] The Serbs had declined joining Hunyadi's forces following an earlier truce with the Turks.[21] Branković's exact role is disputed.[22][23][24] As a result, Skanderbeg ravaged and pillaged Branković's domains as punishment for deserting the Christian cause.[20][25] Hunyadi decided not to wait for Skanderbeg and his reinforcements to open the battle.[3]
Battle
The Crusaders, numbering 22,000-30,000
Having failed to locate the main Ottoman army, whom he believed to still be at their capital in
When Hunyadi saw the defeat of his flanks, he attacked with his main force, composed of knights and light infantry. The janissary corps were not successful; the cavalry made progress through the Turkish centre but were stopped at the Turkish camp. When the main attack was halted, the Turkish infantry regrouped and successfully drove the Hungarian knights back. The light cavalry, who were now without the knights' support, was also overcome. Much of the Crusader army then retreated to their camp. On 20 October, the Wallachians deserted to the Ottoman side after being offered terms from Murad, leaving Hunyadi mostly defenceless.[3]
With Murad II personally observing the struggle, the
Aftermath
The Christian Balkan states were unable to resist the Ottomans after this defeat, eventually falling one after the others under control of the
Notes
- ^ Switched to the Ottoman side on day 3 of the battle[3][4][5][6][7]
- ^ a b The losses suffered by the two sides differ in the contemporary accounts.[33] According to Laonikos Chalkokondyles 4,000 Turks dead against 17,000 enemies.[11] According to Franz Babinger of the Hungarians around 17,000 died against 34,000 Turks.[12] Antonio Bonfini offers the figure of 8,000 crusaders killed against 30,000 Turks.[11] According to the anonymous of Constantinople the losses of the crusading army, including prisoners, were around 6,000–7,000 men.[34]
References
Citations
- ^ Koçu, Reşad Ekrem. Fatih Sultan Mehmed. p. 39.
- ^ Osmanlı Devleti'nin Kuruluş Tarihi (1299-1481) Müneccimbaşı Ahmed B. Lütfullah
- ^ a b c Bury, p. 1814.
- ^ Treadgold 1997, p. 797.
- ^ a b Bánlaky, József. "A rigómezei csata 1448 október 17-től 19-ig" [The Battle of Kosovo at 17–19 October in 1448]. A magyar nemzet hadtörténelme [The Military History of the Hungarian Nation] (in Hungarian). Budapest.
- ^ Mesut Uyar Ph.D., Edward J. Erickson (2009). A Military History of the Ottomans: From Osman to Ataturk (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-02-27. Retrieved 2022-04-08.
- ^ Chalkokondyles, Laonikos (1464). The Histories of Laonikos Chalkokondyldes, Volume I (Translated by Anthony Kaldellis, 2014).
- ^ Mufassal Osmanlı Tarihi 1.cilt Mustafa Cezar
- ^ Babinger, Franz. Fatih Sultan Mehmed ve Zamanı. Alfa Yayınevi. p. 98.
- ^ Babinger, Franz. Fatih Sultan Mehmed ve Zamanı. Alfa Yayınevi. p. 96.
- ^ a b c d Antoche 2017, p. 273.
- ^ a b c Babinger, Manheim & Hickman 1978, p. 55.
- ^ a b Mikaberidze 2011, p. 373.
- ^ a b c Turnbull 2012, p. 34.
- ^ Turnbull 2012, p. 35.
- ^ a b Phillips & Axelrod 2005, p. 20.
- ^ Bradford 2004, p. 733.
- ^ a b c d Sedlar 2013, p. 393.
- ^ a b Rogers, Caferro & Reid 2010, p. 1-PA471.
- ^ a b Frashëri 2002, pp. 160–161
- ^ Sedlar 2013, p. 248.
- ISBN 9780404563325. Archivedfrom the original on 2023-04-09. Retrieved 12 September 2012.
- ISBN 9780295972909. Archivedfrom the original on 9 April 2023. Retrieved 12 September 2012.
- ^ Babinger, Manheim & Hickman 1978, p. 40.
- ISBN 978-0-87169-127-9. Archivedfrom the original on April 9, 2023. Retrieved December 8, 2010.
Scanderbeg intended to go "peronalmente" with an army to assist Hunyadi, but was prevented from doing so by Branković, whose lands he ravaged as punishment for the Serbian desertion of the Christian cause.
- ^ Antoche 2017, p. 253.
- ^ Turnbull 2012, p. 36.
- ^ Connolly, Gillingham & Lazenby 2016, p. 182.
- ^ Connolly, Gillingham & Lazenby 2016, p. 182: "Hunyadi led 24,000 - 30,000 men including 10,000 Wallachians, but should have waited to join Scanderbeg's troops before confronting Murad's force of 40,000.".
- ^ Molnár, Miklós & Magyar 2001, p. 65.
- ^ Pálosfalvi 2018, p. 362.
- ^ Àgoston & Masters 2010, p. 518.
- ^ Housley 2017, p. 264.
- ^ (PDF) Hunyadi's campaign of 1448.
Bibliography
- Àgoston, G.A.; Masters, B.A. (2010). Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire. Facts on File Library of World History. Facts On File, Incorporated. ISBN 978-1-4381-1025-7.
- Phillips, C.; Axelrod, A. (2005). Encyclopedia of Wars: G-R. Facts On File. ISBN 978-0-8160-2853-5. Retrieved 2022-01-17.
- Antoche, E.C. (2017). "Hunyadi's Campaign of 1448 and the Second Battle of Kosovo Polje (October 17–20)". In Housley, Norman (ed.). Reconfiguring the Fifteenth-Century Crusade. ISBN 978-1-137-46280-0.
- Babinger, F.; Manheim, R.; Hickman, W.C. (1978). Mehmed the Conqueror and His Time. Bollingen Series (General) Series. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-01078-6.
- Bury, J.B. The Cambridge Medieval History volumes 1-5. Plantagenet Publishing.
- Bradford, J.C. (2004). International Encyclopedia of Military History. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-135-95034-7.
- Connolly, P.; Gillingham, J.; Lazenby, J. (2016). The Hutchinson Dictionary of Ancient and Medieval Warfare. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-135-93681-5.
- Frashëri, Kristo (2002), Gjergj Kastrioti Skënderbeu: jeta dhe vepra, 1405–1468 (in Albanian), Botimet Toena, ISBN 99927-1-627-4
- Housley, N. (2017). Reconfiguring the Fifteenth-Century Crusade. Palgrave Macmillan UK. ISBN 978-1-137-46281-7.
- Mikaberidze, A. (2011). Conflict and Conquest in the Islamic World: A Historical Encyclopedia [2 volumes]: A Historical Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-59884-337-8.
- Molnár, M.; Miklós, M.; Magyar, A. (2001). A Concise History of Hungary. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-66736-4.
- Pálosfalvi, T. (2018). From Nicopolis to Mohács: A History of Ottoman-Hungarian Warfare, 1389-1526. The Ottoman Empire and its Heritage. Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-37565-9.
- Rogers, C.J.; Caferro, W.; Reid, S. (2010). The Oxford Encyclopedia of Medieval Warfare and Military Technology. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-533403-6.
- Sedlar, J.W. (2013). East Central Europe in the Middle Ages, 1000-1500. A History of East Central Europe (HECE). University of Washington Press. ISBN 978-0-295-80064-6.
- Treadgold, W.T. (1997). A History of the Byzantine State and Society. History e-book project. Stanford University Press. ISBN 978-0-8047-2630-6.
- Turnbull, S. (2012). The Ottoman Empire 1326–1699. Essential Histories. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-78200-422-6.
External links
- Second Battle of Kosovo – The Encyclopædia Britannica
- Antoche, Emanuel Constantin (January 2017). "(FULL PDF) Hunyadi's campaign of 1448 and the second battle of Kosovo polje (17-20 october) - Emanuel Constantin Antoche". Reconfiguring the Fifteenth-Century Crusade (Ed. By Norman Housley), Palgrave Macmillan. .