MURAD II (born – not known; died – 03.02.1451)
Ottoman sultan Murad II (1421-1451) besieged Constantinople in July – August of 1424 and organised campaigns against Wallachia, Serbia and Pelopones. In 1431 and 1442 Murad II besieged Constantinople. On March 29, 1430 Murad overtook Tsessaloniki. In 1427 – 1428 the Ottoman armies devastated Serbian territories and defeated Golubats, while despot George Brankovich claimed himself an Ottoman liegeman. In 1428 a three-year peace treaty was concluded between Hungary and the Ottoman state. After the death of Hungarian king Sigizmund in 1437 Murad II launched the campaigns against Transylvania (1438) and Serbia (1438-1439), and on August 29 conquered Smederevo after three months’ siege. In winter 1443 fought the Christian army, led by Vladislav III Yagello and John Hunyadi. Murad’s army was defeated in the battles at the Yalomitsa (1442), Hish and Sofia (1443). In May 1444 Murad ii initiated peace negotiations in Odrin. In 1444 the Christian army of Vladislav III Yagello began its second campaign against the Ottomans, and was completely defeated in the battle near Varna on November 11, 1444. In 1446 – 1447 Murad II launched campaigns against Athens dukedom and Moreisko despotstvo. In 1448 stopped John Hunyadi and Skenderbeg from uniting. Exercised his power over Central and Southern Epir. Died on February 3, 1451.
The first step of the Ottoman Empire on European land was capturing of Galiopolis citadel of Tsimpe in 1352. At the beginning the Ottoman Turks didn’t have large armies in Europe. They experienced difficulties in transporting people to the Balkans, as they had no fleet. However, Byzantine was so weak in military respect, that it couldn’t resist even the initially scarce in numbers Ottoman detachments. Ottoman invasions in Thrace became more dangerous, when sultan Murad I (1357-1389) inherited the throne. In about 15 years the Turks conquered the bigger part of Byzantine Thrace and in 1369 defeated Odrin. Byzantine territory found itself cut into three: Constantinople and its vicinity, Tsessaloniki and Pelopones. In 1370 The Ottomans began to conquer Bulgarian citadels in Thrace. It was then that Plovdiv, Yambol, Borui (Stara Zagora) went to their hands. The young king of Turnovo Ivan Shishman (about 20 years old) opposed the Ottomans most stubbornly of all Bulgarian rulers of the time. He resisted the invaders for almost 7 years and claimed himself a vassal only in 1378, when he realized he had no opportunities of resistance any longer. Exploiting the fact that all the Bulgarian rulers had already become vassals, the Ottomans headed their troops to Sofia and Nish in the 80s of the century. After a prolonged resistance Sofia citadel was defeated in 1385 and Nish fell the following year. Sultan Bayazid I felt himself strong enough ant intended to launch a great attack against all the Christian rulers, even vassals, that remained independent. His first stroke happened to beat Bulgaria. It was the last hour of Middle Age Bulgarian State. In the summer of 1402 an enormous army of Mongolian ruler Timur (Tamerlan) appeared in Asia Minor. Sultan Bayazid I was forced to raise the siege of Constantinople and to rush towards the Mongolians, who defeated him near the town of Ankara. The defeat led to dissolution of the Ottoman state. Bayazid I’s sons set themselves independent rulers and fought among themselves for the right to inherit the whole power in the Ottoman state of their father’s time. The first anti-Ottoman rebel burst out in Bulgarian lands, led by Konstantin and Fruzhin. In 1421, however, Murad II climbed the Ottoman throne and renewed Ottomans’ aggressive politics. For Byzantine and the other Balkan Christian states there were no other way but to challenge west European rulers into the struggle.
