Battle of Maritsa
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| Battle of Maritsa | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Ottoman wars in Europe | |||||||
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| Combatants | |||||||
| Bulgaria, Serbia | Ottoman Empire | ||||||
| Commanders | |||||||
| King Vukašin Mrnjavčević † Despot Uglješa † |
Haji Ilbeyi | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| ~ 60,000 to 70,000 | ~ 10,000 | ||||||
| Casualties | |||||||
| Very high | Unknown, probably low | ||||||
The Battle of Maritsa or Battle of Chernomen took place at the Maritsa River near the village of Chernomen (today Ormenio in Greece) on September 26, 1371 between the forces of the Ottoman sultan Murad I's lieutenant Lala Şâhin Paşa and the allied Balkan forces (including Serbs, Bulgarians, Hungarians, Wallachians and Moldavians) numbering between 60,000 and 70,000 men under the command of the Serbian king of Prilep Vukašin Mrnjavčević and his brother despot Uglješa.
Despot Uglješa wanted to make a surprise attack on the Ottomans in their capital city, Edirne, while Murad I was in Asia Minor. The Ottoman army was much smaller, but due to superior tactics (night raid on the allied camp), Şâhin Paşa was able to defeat the Christian army and kill King Vukasin and despot Uglješa. Macedonia and parts of Greece fell under Ottoman power after this battle.
The battle was a part of the Ottoman campaign to conquer the Balkans and was preceded by the Ottoman capturing of Sozopol and succeeded by the capture of the cities of Drama, Kavála and Serres (Serrái) in modern Greece.
