The Battle of Varna

11 Nov

572 years from the Great Battle of Varna of 1444 — one of the last attempts of the European civilisation to stop the Ottoman conquest of the Balkans. Done by the united powers of crusaders, led by Władysław III Warneńczyk, the King of Poland, Hungary, Dalmatia, Croatia, Rascia (Serbia) and Supreme Prince of Lithuania, Lord and Heir of Pomerania and Ruthenia; Hunyadi János, the Voivode of Hungarian Transylvania and impeccable military leader who also led the Second Battle of Kosovo in 1448 with the hope to free the conquered lands on the Balkans; Fruzhin, the Bulgarian knaz and titular tsar of Tarnovo Bulgaria, who also fought together with his cousin, tsar Konstantin II of Vidin Bulgaria, for the same cause; Mircea II of Wallachia, who continued the loyal support for Bulgaria of his grand-father Mircea the Elder and persuaded his father Vlad II Dracul, the ruling Voivode of Wallachia, to send him an auxiliary unit of 4,000 horsemen for the battle against the Ottoman troops lead by Sultan Murad II himself.

The war started at the Diet of Buda on Palm Sunday 1443 despite the long advocating of the Roman Catholic Church lead by Pope Eugenius IV at that time due to internal unrest in Hungary and Constantinople and saw the temporary freedom of Nish and Sofia as well as other battles like the ones at Zlatitsa and Kunovica before the culmination at Varna where numerous Magyars, Poles, Romano- and Slavobalkan people as well as many other Europeans, supported by the Holy Roman Empire and the Crown of Bohemia, the Papal states and the Teutonic Knights in addition to the aforementioned states, lost their lives. This includes all innocent citizens of Bulgarian villages and towns that got burned down when the Ottomans retreated back to Edirne to give the news to their ruler.

They fought for our freedom. Let us always remember their names.
Те се биха за нашата свобода. Нека завинаги помним имената им.
Oni walczyli za naszą wolność. Będziemy zawsze pamiętać ich imiona.
S-au luptat pentru libertatea noastră. Ne vom aminti mereu numele lor.
(the same in Hungarian; ugyanez magyarul, nagyon sajnálom.)

Got inspired to write this text by the Bulgarian publication of Andrey Andreev:

Днес се навършват 572 години от огромната битка при Варна, последен и решителен сблъсък на християните с османците за Балканите, в който обединените сили на кръстоносците, предвождани от краля на Полша и Унгария и велик княз на Литва Владислав III Ягело, унгарския пълководец Янош Хунияди, българския княз Фружин (син на цар Иван Шишман) и влашкия престолонаследник Влад Дракул, загубват от османците, предвождани лично от султан Мурад II.