The Battle of Kruševac was fought on October 2, 1454 between the forces of the

Serbian Despotate The Serbian Despotate () was a medieval Serbian state in the first half of the 15th century. Although the Battle of Kosovo in 1389 is mistakenly considered the end of medieval Serbia, the Despotate, a successor of the Serbian Empire and Moravi ...

, allied with the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

, and the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. In 1454 the Ottomans launched a major invasion against Serbia, at the helm of which was the Sultan himself,

Mehmed the Conqueror Mehmed II (; , ; 30 March 14323 May 1481), commonly known as Mehmed the Conqueror (; ), was twice the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from August 1444 to September 1446 and then later from February 1451 to May 1481. In Mehmed II's first reign, ...

. The Ottoman army managed to capture two castles and

disperse Disperse was a Christian rock band from Southern Indiana active from 1996 to 2004. The band was formerly known, with an adjusted roster, as "Stuff." Members (as of 2004 dispersion) :Chelsey Pieratt - Vocals :Chris Billings - Lead Guitar :And ...

a Serbian cavalry force of 9,000 sent against them, before putting the Serbian capital

Smederevo Smederevo ( sr-Cyrl, Смедерево, ) is a list of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Podunavlje District in eastern Serbia. It is situated on the right bank of the Danube, about downstream of the Serbian capital, ...

under siege. The siege was lifted when the Ottomans received reports of a relief force approaching under the command of

John Hunyadi John Hunyadi (; ; ; ; ; – 11 August 1456) was a leading Kingdom of Hungary, Hungarian military and political figure during the 15th century, who served as Regent of Hungary, regent of the Kingdom of Hungary (1301–1526), Kingdom of Hungary ...

. Mehmed marched back to his domains, returning to Sofia by August.Elizabeth A. Zachariadou, Romania and the Turks Pt. XIII p. 837-840, “First Serbian Campaigns of Mehemmed II (1454-1455)” He left behind a powerful rear guard in Serbia under the command of Firuz Bey, in anticipation of an attack on Ottoman territories by Hunyadi. Serbian forces led by

Nikola Skobaljić Nikola Skobaljić ( sr-cyr, Никола Скобаљић; 1430 – 16 November 1454) was a Serbian Voivode of Dubočica (region around Leskovac, Southern Serbia), during the rule of despot Đurađ Branković (1427–1456). He was seated at Zelen ...

scored a

victory The term victory (from ) originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal duel, combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitutes a strategic vi ...

against Ottoman forces in Serbia on the 24th of September in Vranje, near

Leskovac Leskovac ( sr-Cyrl, Лесковац, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Jablanica District in Southern Serbia (Geographical Region), southern Serbia. According to the 2022 census, the city itself has a p ...

. The victory at Leskovac allowed John Hunyadi and

Đurađ Branković Đurađ Vuković Branković ( sr-Cyrl, Ђурађ Вуковић Бранковић, ; 1377 – 24 December 1456) served as the Serbian Despot from 1427 to 1456, making him one of the final rulers of medieval Serbia. In 1429, Branković was form ...

to decisively strike at the now isolated army of Firuz Bey, defeating it on the 2nd of October and capturing its commander, after which they launched a major offensive, ravaging

Niš Niš (; sr-Cyrl, Ниш, ; names of European cities in different languages (M–P)#N, names in other languages), less often spelled in English as Nish, is the list of cities in Serbia, third largest city in Serbia and the administrative cente ...

and

Pirot Pirot ( sr-Cyrl, Пирот) is a city and the administrative center of the Pirot District in southeastern Serbia. According to 2022 census, the urban area of the city has a population of 34,942, while the population of the city administrative are ...

, and burning down

Vidin Vidin (, ) is a port city on the southern bank of the Danube in north-western Bulgaria. It is close to the borders with Romania and Serbia, and is also the administrative centre of Vidin Province, as well as of the Metropolitan of Vidin (since ...

in northern Bulgaria.

continued his forays against the Ottomans, operating between Leskovac and Priština, before being defeated in battle near Tripolje on the 16th of November, where he was captured and impaled by Ottoman forces.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Krusevac Krusevac Krusevac 1454 in Europe

Kruševac Kruševac ( sr-Cyrl, Крушевац, ) is a list of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Rasina District in central Serbia. It is located in the valley of West Morava, on Rasina (river), Rasina river. According to the 202 ...

1450s in the Ottoman Empire Krusevac Krusevac