The battle of Nicopolis took place on 25/9/1396 between the Hungarian King Sigismund and the Turks, led by Sultan Bayezid. Sigismund’s army was made up of soldiers from France, Burgundy, Germany, England, Italy, Bohemia, Poland and other countries. In all it was 10 to 15 thousand strong. The Ottomans, who at the end of the 14th century controlled the entirety of the Balkans, numbered almost 20 thousand.
The experienced Turkish combatants routed the Christian knights completely, largely because the Russian and French knights disobeyed orders, attacked the Turkish vanguard under the misconception that it was the main force and were subsequently crushed. Those who didn’t die on the battlefield were brutally put to death, reportedly up to 3,000 men. The wealthiest were taken prisoner and saved only by paying a ransom, which they paid over decades. When news of the defeat reached Paris, no one believed it, and those who had initially spread the news were put to death by drowning for spreading malicious lies.
The Ottoman victory was a triumph of Islam over Christendom. The Turkish army represented a real threat to European countries, especially Hungary.
The battle of Nicopolis took place on 25/9/1396 between the Hungarian King Sigismund and the Turks, led by Sultan Bayezid. Sigismund’s army was made up of soldiers from France, Burgundy, Germany, England, Italy, Bohemia, Poland and other countries. In all it was 10 to 15 thousand strong. The Ottomans, who at the end of the 14th century controlled the entirety of the Balkans, numbered almost 20 thousand.
The experienced Turkish combatants routed the Christian knights completely, largely because the Russian and French knights disobeyed orders, attacked the Turkish vanguard under the misconception that it was the main force and were subsequently crushed. Those who didn’t die on the battlefield were brutally put to death, reportedly up to 3,000 men. The wealthiest were taken prisoner and saved only by paying a ransom, which they paid over decades. When news of the defeat reached Paris, no one believed it, and those who had initially spread the news were put to death by drowning for spreading malicious lies.
The Ottoman victory was a triumph of Islam over Christendom. The Turkish army represented a real threat to European countries, especially Hungary.