 In early March 1442, the marcher lord Mezid Bey led 16,000 "akinji" cavalry raiders into Transylvania, crossing the Danube to Wallachia at Nicopolis and marching north in formation.On March 18 bishop György Lépes' forces (2,000 men) clashed with Mezid near Sântimbru.The Ottomans won by forces of numbers and Hunyadi was forced to retreat, but Mezid did not pursue Hunyadi.