| Battle of Ostrvica | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Mount Ostrvica | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Ottoman Empire | Serbian Despotate | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Mehmed the Conqueror | Đurađ Branković | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 10,000 cavalry [1] [ page needed ] | 9,000 cavalry [2] | ||||||
The Battle of Ostrvica was Mehmed the Conqueror's successful attack on the Ostrvica Fortress in 1454 during his first Serbian campaign.
After the death of Sultan Murad II and the conquest of Istanbul, the Serbian despot Đurađ Branković sent a delegation to the Ottoman ruler Mehmed II who was in Edirne. He was presented with the keys to some castles that had formerly belonged to the Ottomans, as well as being congratulated for his success in taking Constantinople. At the same time, with the encouragement of the Pope, the Despot was in negotiations with the Hungarians to participate in a new Crusade, which was intended to be against the Ottomans. The Ottomans learned about the Hungarian contacts of the Serbian despot aimed against them through their spies and prepared accordingly. [3]
After the Ottoman court asked the Serbian delegation for the keys to other castles which had belonged to the Ottomans but were passed onto the Serbs, they were refused. Thereupon, a campaign was made against Serbia in the spring of 1454. [3]
Mehmed led the expedition in 1454. His intention was to cross into enemy territory and destroy everything on his path. During this quick expedition, thousands of prisoners were taken and settled in Istanbul as a new Christian population for the city. The cavalry (9,000 strong as per a Venetian visiting John Hunyadi) sent against the Ottoman army by the Serbian despot trapped in Smederevo was easily repulsed. [2] Mehmed the Conqueror then arrived at the Ostrvica Fortress, [2] [note 1] where the Serbian Despot had left his kingdom's treasury to prevent it from falling into Ottoman hands. [4] After the Ottoman cannoneers took their positions, they started firing upon the castle's walls. [4] Initially, the city's garrison put up resistance, even launching a number of sorties against the besieging forces which were unsuccessful. [4] However, after heavy Ottoman bombardment resulted in the destruction of the city walls, the inhabitants decided that their situation had become untenable, agreeing to surrender in exchange for their lives being spared. [5] The inhabitants of the city were left untouched, however the city's garrison which had resisted the Ottomans were turned into prisoners. [4] Mehmed had been able to easily capture the castle, alongside with Đurađ's assets present inside it. [2]
Mehmed II, commonly known as Mehmed the Conqueror, was twice the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from August 1444 to September 1446 and then later from February 1451 to May 1481.
The siege of Belgrade, or siege of Nándorfehérvár was a military blockade of Belgrade that occurred 4–22 July 1456 in the aftermath of the fall of Constantinople in 1453 marking the Ottomans' attempts to expand further into Europe. Led by Sultan Mehmed II, the Ottoman forces sought to capture the strategic city of Belgrade, which was then under Hungarian control and was crucial for maintaining control over the Danube River and the Balkans.
The Second Battle of Kosovo was a land battle between a Hungarian-led Crusader army and the Ottoman Empire at Kosovo field that took place from 17–20 October 1448. It was the culmination of a Hungarian offensive to avenge the defeat at the Battle of Varna four years earlier. In the three-day battle the Ottoman army under the command of Sultan Murad II defeated the Crusader army of regent John Hunyadi.
Koca Sinan Pasha was an Albanian-born Ottoman Grand Vizier, military figure, and statesman. From 1580 until his death he served five times as Grand Vizier.
The Serbian Despotate was a medieval Serbian state in the first half of the 15th century. Although the Battle of Kosovo in 1389 is mistakenly considered the end of medieval Serbia, the Despotate, a successor of the Serbian Empire and Moravian Serbia, lasted for another sixty years, experiencing a cultural, economic, and political renaissance, especially during the reign of Despot Stefan Lazarević. After the death of Despot Đurađ Branković in 1456, the Despotate continued to exist for another three years before it finally fell under Ottoman rule in 1459.
The siege of Negroponte was fought between the forces of the Ottoman Empire, led by Sultan Mehmed II in person, and the garrison of the Venetian colony of Negroponte (Chalcis), the capital of the Venetian possession of Euboea in Central Greece. The Ottoman sultan Mehmed II laid siege to the fortress at Negroponte. It lasted for almost a month, and despite great Ottoman casualties ended in the capture of the city and the island of Euboea by the Ottomans.
The Battle of Kruševac was fought on October 2, 1454 between the forces of the Serbian Despotate, allied with the Kingdom of Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire.
Kruševac Fortress or City of Prince Lazar was a medieval fortified town in Kruševac, Serbia, former capital of Prince Lazar. The city housed the court church, Lazarica. Today, all that remains of the town are ruins.
Piri Mehmed Pasha was an Ottoman statesman, and grand vizier of the Ottoman Empire from 1518 to 1523.
Derviş Mehmed Pasha, an Ottoman Bosnian statesman, served briefly as the Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire between 21 June 1606 and 9 December 1606.
Nikola Skobaljić was a Serbian Voivode of Dubočica, during the rule of despot Đurađ Branković (1427–1456). He was seated at Zelen Grad, a fortified town just above modern town of Vučje.
Sarı Süleyman Pasha was the grand vizier of the Ottoman Empire from 18 November 1685 to 18 September 1687. He was executed after the defeat of the Ottoman forces in the Second Battle of Mohács.
This is a list of campaigns personally led by Mehmed II was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire twice, first for a short time from 1444 to September 1446, and later from February 1451 to 1481. At the age of 21, he conquered Constantinople and brought an end to the Byzantine Empire, transforming the Ottoman state into an empire. Mehmed continued his conquests in Asia, with the Anatolian reunification, and in Europe, as far as Bosnia and Croatia. Mehmed II is regarded as a national hero in Turkey, and Istanbul's Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge is named after him.
The siege of Amasra was the land and sea besiegement that resulted in the Ottoman Army, under the command of Fatih Sultan Mehmed, and the Ottoman Navy, under the command of Grand Vizier Veli Mahmud Pasha, capturing the Genoese colony of Amasra, and annexing it into Ottoman lands in 1460.
The siege of Novo Brdo was a successful siege led by Mehmed the Conqueror and Ishak Bey on Novo Brdo, defended by Demetrios Jakšic, during the Second Serbian campaign in 1455.
The siege of Smederevo was Mehmed II's assault on the Smederevo Fortress during his fourth Serbian campaign.
Battle of Zvornik or siege of Zvornik took place during the second Bosnian campaign of Mehmed the Conqueror in 1464.
The Battle of Kljuc is a pitched battle which took place during the conquest of Bosnia in 1463.
The Battle of Tahtalu/Užice was a land battle that took place between the forces of the Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in 1458.
The Aegean Expedition of 1456 was the expedition in which the Ottoman army under the command of Mehmed the Conqueror captured Enez, Lemnos and the island of Samothrace.