Battle of Nicopolis

The Battle of Nicopolis, fought on 25 September 1396, was an important event in the history of the Crusades. The campaign, sometimes called the Nicopolis Crusade, was the penultimate major crusade before the Varna Crusade of 1443–1444.

There were many reasons for the campaign. Under Bayezid I, the Ottomans had already conquered much of the Balkans, while the sieges of Constantinople in 1390, 1395, 1397, 1400 and 1422 made clear the serious threat to the Byzantine Empire. King Sigismund of Hungary recognised the gravity of the situation and began working to build an anti-Ottoman coalition.

In 1394, Pope Boniface IX proposed a new crusade against the Turks. The French and English kings were prepared to support the initiative despite the papacy's division during the Western Schism. Philip II the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, played an active role in organising and financing the campaign.

The fierce battle began with a cavalry charge by heavily armed French knights under John of Nevers, also known as John the Fearless. Despite their initial advantage, the crusaders fell victim to a strategic error. The arrival of Serbian knights on the Ottoman side contributed to their defeat.

After the battle, the Byzantine Empire remained exposed to Ottoman aggression, and European hopes of saving it gradually faded. The crusade failed to halt the Ottoman advance and inflicted enormous human and material losses on the Europeans.