On November 10, 1444, the fate of the last major crusade against the Ottomans in the Balkans was decided near Varna. The Christian army, led by the Polish-Hungarian king Władysław III Jagiellon and the Transylvanian military commander John Hunyadi, suffered defeat at the hands of Sultan Murad II’s forces. The king himself, who was just 20 years old, was also killed in the battle.
The Campaign Toward Varna
The battle was the culmination of a campaign that had begun a year earlier. In 1443, Władysław III and Hunyadi led a multinational army through Serbia and the Bulgarian lands. The crusaders defeated the Ottomans at Niš and Pirot, but the harsh winter forced them to halt their advance.
In 1444, a ten-year peace treaty was concluded between Władysław III and Murad II. However, the papal legate Giuliano Cesarini persuaded the king to renew the campaign. On September 18, the Christian forces crossed the Danube at Orșova, captured several fortresses, and headed toward the Black Sea. The army numbered around 20,000 men – Hungarians, Poles, Czechs, Vlachs, Croats, Bulgarians, and Western knights.
Against an Army Many Times Larger
On November 9, the crusaders reached Varna. The expected assistance from the Venetian fleet did not arrive, while the Ottoman army had already occupied the heights near the Varna plain. Its strength is estimated at 55,000–60,000 soldiers, or at least twice as many as the forces of Władysław and Hunyadi.
Initially, individual Christian units managed to repel Ottoman detachments. As the battle progressed, however, the battle formation broke apart, and the advantage of the larger Ottoman army gradually prevailed. According to historical accounts, Władysław decided to personally attack the sultan’s position with around 500 knights from his guard.
The king reached the Janissary ranks, but his horse fell. Władysław III was killed, and his death sparked panic among the Christian troops. John Hunyadi attempted to organize the retreat, but the crusader army was routed. According to the Vladislav Varnenchik Park-Museum, around 10,000 Christian warriors died on the battlefield.
The Memory of Varnenchik
After the battle, local residents marked the site of the king’s death with crosses. In 1935, a mausoleum was erected there, and in 1964 the Vladislav Varnenchik Park-Museum was opened, preserving the memory of the battle and its participants.
“This was a grand battle that marked the end of the last crusade,” museum director Marin Kostov told the Bulgarian National Radio. Władysław III went down in history by the nickname Varnenchik, while the Battle of Varna is remembered as one of the decisive clashes between the united Christian forces and the Ottoman Empire in the 15th century.
Sources: nationalgeographic.bg, old-news.bnr.bg, bnt.bg