The Battle of Demotika was a battle that took place during the Byzantine civil war which began in 1352 between the forces of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

and those of the

Serbian Empire The Serbian Empire ( sr, / , ) was a medieval Serbian state that emerged from the Kingdom of Serbia. It was established in 1346 by Dušan the Mighty, who significantly expanded the state. Under Dušan's rule, Serbia was the major power in the ...

and Second Bulgarian Empire.

Background

John Palaiologos obtained the help of

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

, while

John Kantakouzenos John VI Kantakouzenos or Cantacuzene ( el, , ''Iōánnēs Ángelos Palaiológos Kantakouzēnós''; la, Johannes Cantacuzenus; – 15 June 1383) was a Byzantine Greek nobleman, statesman, and general. He served as grand domestic under And ...

sought help from

Orhan I Orhan Ghazi ( ota, اورخان غازی; tr, Orhan Gazi, also spelled Orkhan, 1281 – March 1362) was the second bey of the Ottoman Beylik from 1323/4 to 1362. He was born in Söğüt, as the son of Osman I. In the early stages of his r ...

, the Ottoman bey. Kantakouzenos marched into

Thrace Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to ...

to rescue his son, Matthew, who was attacked by Palaiologos shortly after being given this appanage and then refusing to recognize John Palaiologos as heir to the throne. Ottoman troops retook some cities that had surrendered to John Palaiologos, and Kantakouzenos allowed the troops to plunder the cities, including Adrianople. Thus it seemed that Kantakouzenos was defeating John Palaiologos, who now retreated to Serbia.

Battle

Emperor

Stefan Dušan Stefan Uroš IV Dušan ( sr-Cyrl, Стефан Урош IV Душан, ), known as Dušan the Mighty ( sr, / ; circa 1308 – 20 December 1355), was the King of Serbia from 8 September 1331 and Tsar (or Emperor) and autocrat of the Serbs, Gre ...

sent Palaiologos a cavalry force of 4,000 or 6,000 under the command of Gradislav Borilović; while Orhan I provided Kantakouzenos 10,000 horsemen. Also Bulgarian tsar Ivan Alexander sent an unknown number of troops to support Palaiologos and Dušan. The two armies met at an open-field battle near Demotika (modern

Didymoteicho Didymoteicho ( el, Διδυμότειχο, Didymóteicho ) is a city located on the eastern edge of the Evros regional unit of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, in northeastern Greece. It is the seat of the municipality of the same name. The town ...

) in October 1352, which would decide the fate of the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

, without the direct involvement of the Byzantines. The more numerous Ottomans decisively defeated the Serbs and Bulgarians, and Kantakouzenos retained power, while Palaiologos fled to Venetian

Tenedos Tenedos (, ''Tenedhos'', ), or Bozcaada in Turkish, is an island of Turkey in the northeastern part of the Aegean Sea. Administratively, the island constitutes the Bozcaada district of Çanakkale Province. With an area of it is the third l ...

. According to Kantakouzenos about 7,000 Serbs fell at the battle (deemed exaggerated), while

Nikephoros Gregoras Nicephorus Gregoras (; Greek: , ''Nikephoros Gregoras''; c. 1295 – 1360) was a Greek astronomer, historian, and theologian. Life Gregoras was born at Heraclea Pontica, where he was raised and educated by his uncle, John, who was the Bisho ...

(1295–1360) gave the number as 4,000.

Aftermath

The battle was the first major battle of the Ottomans on European soil, and it made Stefan Dušan realize the major threat of the Ottomans to

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whic ...

References

Sources

* *, chapter 40 * * {{Wars and battles involving Serbs 1350s in the Byzantine Empire 1352 in the Ottoman Empire Serbian Empire Demotika Demotika Demotika Demotika Demotika History of Didymoteicho