FATAL NIGHT ON THE MARITSA: The slaughterhouse where two Serbian rulers died, and which opened the doors of the Balkans to the Turks!

It was the beginning of the cold autumn, in the year 1371. Near the village of Černomen, on the Maritsa River, the two despots of Mrnjavčević, brothers Vukašin and Uglješa, led their army to war against the Ottoman Turks. The opposing commander, the Ottoman pasha Lala Şahin, would ultimately win, with a morning raid on the undefended Serbian camp. With a bloody massacre of sleeping drunk soldiers, the entire eastern Balkans, from the Black Sea to Niš, fell into the hands of the Turks.

A few years earlier, the Ottoman Empire was practically divided into two parts. The European, called Rumelia, with its capital in Edirne, and the Asian, in Anatolia. While Murat was busy with affairs in Asia Minor, the European part of the empire was ruled by various military commanders, called ghazis. The main one among them was Lala Şahin. As a talented commander, he was also Murat’s teacher. With limited resources, he managed to secure a Turkish stronghold on the European continent.

SERBIAN DESPOTS

After the death of Tsar Dušan in 1355, the Serbian Empire began to collapse. Its vast territories in Macedonia and Greece were divided by numerous regional lords. Some of them sought independence from the fragile central authority. The strongest among them, the Mrnjavčevićs, Vukašin and Uglješa, ruled territories in modern-day Macedonia. Vukašin proclaimed himself King of “all Serbs and Greeks.”

BACKGROUND OF THE BATTLE

After crushing the resistance of Duke Momčilo in Thrace and the Rhodopes, the Turks continued their push west. The state of the two Serbian despots stood in their way. Faced with the impending threat, they decided to gather an army and strike first. They wanted to destroy the Turkish force and completely drive it out of Rumelia.

After Amadeo of Savoy conquered Gallipoli in 1364, the Turkish position in Europe worsened, and there was a good chance they would be expelled. The Serbian brothers knew this well and chose the right time for the attack.

SERBIAN ARMY

The exact data on the size of the Serbian army are not known. Historians debate numbers ranging from 20,000 to 70,000. Considering the territory from which the army was collected and the tactics of its use, the smaller number is probably closer to the truth.

OTTOMAN ARMY

The Turkish army was significantly smaller, although its exact number is also unknown. Contemporary sources speak of a force no larger than 800 men. Realistic estimates determine the Turkish troops as half the size of the Serbian ones.

THE DIFFERENCE

Quality, not quantity, was crucial in determining the final outcome of the battle. The Ottoman army was composed of seasoned warriors, veterans of many battles, sieges, and raids. In contrast, the Serbian army was undisciplined and had a small number of horses.

Confident in their numerical superiority, the Serbian brothers began their march east. The primary goal was to drive the Ottomans out of Edirne. Moving down the Maritsa valley, they prepared a surprise attack on the Turkish European capital. However, Lala Şahin knew their plan.

Taking advantage of his tactical superiority, he regularly sent scouts to monitor the Serbian advance. Vukašin and Uglješa did not try to do anything similar on their part.

Thus, Lala Şahin patiently waited until the right time for an attack presented itself. This happened in the early morning hours of September 26. In setting up their camp along the Maritsa, the Serbs made one last major mistake. They decided to celebrate the upcoming victory with a grand feast. By morning, the camp was unguarded, and most of the soldiers were asleep or drunk.

THE SLAUGHTER

Lala Şahin’s troops attacked the camp in the morning. They slaughtered their sleeping enemies with knives. In the massacre that followed, both Serbian rulers were brutally killed. Whoever did not succumb to the Turkish knife drowned in the nearby Maritsa while fleeing.

With one decisive blow, the Serbian army was wiped out. Lala Şahin’s victory made it impossible to gather a new army from the territory of Macedonia. The ego of the two despots and the alcohol in the blood of their soldiers decided the fate of the entire Balkans. For the next decade and a half, the Ottomans spread across the Balkans practically without resistance.

It would not be until 1386 that Murat would suffer his first defeat in the war with Moravian Serbia. However, it was too late for Bulgaria. After the Battle of Nicopolis, it fell under Turkish slavery, which would last for the next 500 years.