Battle of Kruševac
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Kruševac was fought in 1454 between the forces of the Serbian Despotate
, allied with the Kingdom of Hungary
, and the Ottoman Empire
.
In 1454 the Ottomans launched a major invasion against Serbia, at the helm of which was the Sultan himself, Mehmed the Conqueror. On the Morava River, sultan Mehmed II
left Firuz Bey and 32,000 of his troops to resist any possible counter attacks by the Serbs
. The Serbs did not hesitate to make the first move and the two armies met.
The battle allowed John Hunyadi
and the Serbs to launch a major offensive against the Turks, ravaging Nis and Pirot, and burning down Vidin. Nikola Skobalić continued his forays against the Ottomans, operating in southern Serbia and the Leskovac
area, and won several major victories against the armies of the sultan until Mehmed himself and to confront the Serbs at the Battle of Trepalje, where Skobalić and his men fought to the last man, inflicting massive casualties on the much larger Ottoman force.
Serbian Despotate
The Serbian Despotate was a Serbian state, the last to be conquered by the Ottoman Empire. Although the Battle of Kosovo in 1389 is generally considered the end of the medieval Serbian state, the Despotate, a successor of the Serbian Empire and Moravian Serbia survived for 70 more years,...
, allied with the Kingdom of Hungary
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary comprised present-day Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia , Transylvania , Carpatho Ruthenia , Vojvodina , Burgenland , and other smaller territories surrounding present-day Hungary's borders...
, and the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
.
In 1454 the Ottomans launched a major invasion against Serbia, at the helm of which was the Sultan himself, Mehmed the Conqueror. On the Morava River, sultan Mehmed II
Mehmed II
Mehmed II , was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire for a short time from 1444 to September 1446, and later from...
left Firuz Bey and 32,000 of his troops to resist any possible counter attacks by the Serbs
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
. The Serbs did not hesitate to make the first move and the two armies met.
The battle allowed John Hunyadi
John Hunyadi
John Hunyadi John Hunyadi (Hungarian: Hunyadi János , Medieval Latin: Ioannes Corvinus or Ioannes de Hunyad, Romanian: Iancu (Ioan) de Hunedoara, Croatian: Janko Hunjadi, Serbian: Сибињанин Јанко / Sibinjanin Janko, Slovak: Ján Huňady) John Hunyadi (Hungarian: Hunyadi János , Medieval Latin: ...
and the Serbs to launch a major offensive against the Turks, ravaging Nis and Pirot, and burning down Vidin. Nikola Skobalić continued his forays against the Ottomans, operating in southern Serbia and the Leskovac
Battle of Leskovac
The Battle of Leskovac took place on September 24, 1454. After the successful route of the Ottomans under Firuz Bey at the Battle of Kruševac at the hands of the Serbian despot and his allies, two Serbian armies were set up, one in Kosovo, and the other in Dubočica, which is now known as Leskovac...
area, and won several major victories against the armies of the sultan until Mehmed himself and to confront the Serbs at the Battle of Trepalje, where Skobalić and his men fought to the last man, inflicting massive casualties on the much larger Ottoman force.