The Battle of Nish (early November 1443) was fought between the

Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding ...

led by

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

led by

Kasım Pasha Kasım Pasha or Kasim Pasha (; 1442–43) was an Ottoman general and governor, the ''beylerbey'' of Rumelia and one of the commanders of the Ottoman forces during the Crusade of Varna (1443–44). When Rumelian beylerbey and vizier Hadım Şeha ...

. It saw the Crusaders capture the Ottoman stronghold of Nish (Niš) in

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

, and defeat two armies of the Ottoman Empire. The Battle of Nish was part of Hunyadi's expedition known as the '' long campaign''. Hunyadi, at the head of the vanguard, crossed the

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

through the

Gate of Trajan The Gate of Trajan or Trajan's Gate () is a historic mountain pass near Ihtiman, Bulgaria. In antiquity, the pass was called Succi. Later it was named after Roman Emperor Trajan, on whose order a fortress by the name of ''Stipon'' was constructe ...

, captured Nish, defeated three Ottoman

pasha Pasha (; ; ) was a high rank in the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, generals, dignitary, dignitaries, and others. ''Pasha'' was also one of the highest titles in the 20th-century Kingdom of ...

s, and after taking

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

from the Ottomans, united with the royal army and defeated

Sultan Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...

Murad II Murad II (, ; June 1404 – 3 February 1451) was twice the sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1421 to 1444 and from 1446 to 1451. Early life Murad was born in June 1404 to Mehmed I, while the identity of his mother is disputed according to v ...

at Snaim (Kustinitza). The impatience of the king and the severity of the winter then compelled him (in February 1444) to return home.

Background

In 1440

became the trusted adviser and most highly regarded soldier of king

Władysław III of Poland Władysław III of Poland (31 October 1424 – 10 November 1444), also known as Ladislaus of Varna, was King of Poland and Union of Horodło, Supreme Duke of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania from 1434 as well as King of Hungary and List of duk ...

. Hunyadi was rewarded with the captaincy of the fortress of

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

and was put in charge of military operations against the Ottomans. King Władysław recognized Hunyadi's merits by granting him estates in Eastern Hungary. Hunyadi soon showed and displayed an extraordinary capacity to marshal his defences with the limited resources at his disposal. He was victorious in Semendria over Ishak-Beg in 1441. Not far from Nagyszeben in Transylvania he annihilated an Ottoman force and recovered for Hungary the suzerainty of

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ; : , : ) is a historical and geographical region of modern-day Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians. Wallachia was traditionally divided into two sections, Munteni ...

. The Crusader army consisted of 25,000 or more troops and 600

war wagon A war wagon is any of several historical types of early fighting vehicle involving an armed or armored animal-drawn cart or wagon. China One of the earliest example of using conjoined wagons in warfare as fortification is described in the Chine ...

s. Hunyadi took 12,000 cavalry to locate and defeat

. Władysław and Brankovic were left in camp with the war wagons.

Battle

The battle for Nish was not one, but five different battles. The first engagement was a battle against a small garrison in Nish and the Crusaders captured, pillaged, and burned the town. This was followed by three battles against three different Ottoman armies advancing on Nish. Finally there was one against the remnants of the three Ottoman armies. The last battle took place on the plain between Bolvan and Nish on 3 November 1443. Ottoman forces were led by

, the beglerbeg of

Rumelia Rumelia (; ; ) was a historical region in Southeastern Europe that was administered by the Ottoman Empire, roughly corresponding to the Balkans. In its wider sense, it was used to refer to all Ottoman possessions and Vassal state, vassals in E ...

, Turahan Beg and Ishak-Beg. After the Ottoman defeat, the retreating forces of Kasım Pasha and Turahan Beg burned all of the villages between Nish and

. The Ottoman sources explain the Ottoman defeat as due to a lack of cooperation between the different Ottoman armies which were led by different commanders.

Aftermath

According to Chalcocondyles, "Weary after Hunyadi forced the Ottomans to retreat in the Balkans in 1443, the old lords hurried on all sides to regain possession of their fathers' fields". One of them was Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg who deserted the Ottoman army along with his nephew

Hamza Kastrioti Hamza Kastrioti () was a 15th-century Albanian nobleman and the nephew of Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg. Probably born in Ottoman territory, after the death of his father Stanisha he was raised by Skanderbeg, who took him in his military expediti ...

and 300 Albanians and after capturing

Krujë Krujë ( sq-definite, Kruja; see also the etymology section) is a town and a municipality in north-central Albania. Located between Mount Krujë and the Ishëm River, the city is 20 km north of the capital of Albania, Tirana. Krujë was ...

started a twenty-five-year-long struggle against the Ottoman Empire.

signed a treaty for ten years, and abdicated in favour of his son

Mehmed II 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, ...

. When the peace was broken the next year, Murad returned to the Balkans and won the

Battle of Varna The Battle of Varna took place on 10 November 1444 near Varna in what is today eastern Bulgaria. The Ottoman army under Sultan Murad II (who did not actually rule the sultanate at the time) defeated the Crusaders commanded by King Władysła ...

in November 1444.The Historians' History of the World By Henry Smith Williams - Page 439

Background

Battle

Aftermath

Citations

References

Further reading