The Battle of Varna (1444 AD)

By the early 15th Century after the disaster of the Battle of Nicopolis, Bulgaria had tumbled down under oppressive domination of Ottomans invading Europe under the banner of Islam. The once mighty Byzantine Empire struggled desperately against the sultan Murad II, nicknamed the Conqueror.

The young King of Poland, Ladislaus IV Jagelo (WŁADYSŁAW WARNEŃCZYK in Polish) was the last European leader who dare to fight against the assault of Islam invading Europe. He leaded a large Christian army consisting mainly of Hungarian and of Polish forces, but with detachments of Bulgarians, Czechs, papal knights, Bosnians, Croatians, Romanians and Routeni (Old Russians).

The small European army of 30'000 Crusaders marched to the relief of Christians abysmally oppressed by the Islamic Ottoman dynasty. At Varna (Bulgarian fortress on the Black Sea) they met with a numerically superior force of 120'000 Ottoman Turks and their Serbian and Arab vassals. The Hungarians were ill-equipped, and promised support from Wallachia, Albania and Constantinople did not arrive.

On 10 November 1444 near Varna, ignoring the advice of his Transylvanian ally Janos Hunyadi, the young Wladyslaw leaded Polish Chivalry and charged impulsively the Turks. The Polish cavalry  leaded by the courageous King of Poland was slaughtering the Ottoman infantry. It almost looked like the Christians might win the day when the young Polish King Wladyslaw III attempted precipitously to take prisoner the malicious Sultan Murad II. Then an Islamic fanatic killer paid by the Sultan assassinated the young King with a knife in his back.

Thus the Polish cavalry was disorganized and in turn smashed by the Ottoman heavy cavalry. Janos Hunyadi could only organized the retreat of the remains of the Christian army assaulting by Ottomans and their vassals.

In the Battle of Varna, the mixed Christian army of Polish and Hungarian forces, Bulgarians, Czechs, papal knights, Bosnians, Croatians, Romanians and Routeni (Old Russians) under the young King of Poland Wladyslaw III Jagelo was defeated by the Ottoman Turks under Sultan Murad II. The small European army of 30,000 was overwhelmed by 120,000 Turks and their Serbian and Arab vassals. Over half of the soldiers from the united army perished. The European prisoners were mercilessly slaughtered by Ottomans or were sold to Islamic traders as slaves.

King Wladyslaw III Jagelo died during the battle at the age of 21 and in honour of his courage and boldness he was called Varnenchik. He has two graves: first in Varna, Bulgaria and second in the cathedral on the Wawel (castle) hill in Cracow. But both graves are symbolic graves only. After the battle of Varna in 1444 the body of King Wladyslaw has never been found. The Turks had cut off his head in order to show it in their capital. The King's body has probably remained unknown and he has been buried together with the other killed knights. A legend says that he has been buried in the Greek church in Varna.

The defeat ended any serious attempts to prevent the conquest of eastern Europe by Turks for several decades. The last hope of Bulgarian and other Christians for delivery has been blown away for almost 5 Centuries.

After the Battle of Varna, the son of Murad - Mehmed II brought an end to the Byzantine Empire by capturing Constantinople in 1453 (during the well-known Siege of Constantinople), and other Christian cities left in the Balkans and Anatolia. The invasion of Constantinople and successful campaigns against small kingdoms in the Balkans and Anatolia bestowed immense glory and prestige on the country and the Ottoman State started to be recognized as an empire by the West European monarchies for the first time.

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Other Resources

Letter of Janos Hunyadi to the pope with a brief description of the Battle of Varna

Why is King Wladislav III of Poland buried in Bulgaria?

Park - Museum Wladyslaw Varnencek
In 1924, on a Thracian hill, in the centre of the battlefield, where in 1444 Christian military troops, led by Wladyslaw III Jagelo and Janos Hunyadi, met in a cruel battle the 120 000 army of the Ottoman ruler Mourad II, was erected a modest monument. In 1935 was opened The Mausoleum of Wladiszlaw Warnencek, under authority of the Ministry of War. In connection with 520 th anniversary of the battle was opened a museum exhibition. The Park - Museum is a branch of the Bulgarian National Museum of Military History since 1968.

WŁADYSŁAW WARNEŃCZYK (1424-1444) - King of Poland

Ladislaus (in Polish, WŁADYSŁAW III WARNEŃCZYK, 31 October 1424 - 10 November 1444), son of king Ladislaus II of Poland, was the second Jagiellonian king of Poland, reigning from 1434 until his death in the Battle of Varna. He also reigned as king of Hungary from 1440 under the name Ulászló I. He died fighting the Ottoman Turkish army at Varna, in eastern Bulgaria. He was succeeded in Poland by his younger brother Casimir.