A quick explanation as to why did the balkans fell to the Ottoman Empire?
- Thread starter Lonkut
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bob bobato
L'imparfait
Well, I don't know that much on the subject, but logically, I think a large empire with a massive army was kind of stronger than a few little kingdoms.
Traitorfish
The Tighnahulish Kid
The Ottomans were a powerful and advanced military power, the Balkans were a disunified group of minor states.. In short, after the fall of the Byzantines there was simply no power in South-Eastern Europe capable of combating the Turks (and even the Byzantines weren't very good at).
SeleucusNicator
Diadoch
Southeastern Europe ran out of Hunyadis.
sydhe
King of Kongs
Part of the reason: If you were a Muslim in the Middle East in the 13th - 16th Centuries and wanted to fight the hated infidel, you'd go to the Ottoman Empire. If you were a Christian in the Western Europe and wanted to crusade, you went to Spain.
A second is that the Ottomans were relatively open to military innovation, and caught on early to the possibilities of gunpowder.
Another is that from 1281 through 1566, the Ottoman Empire had perhaps the greatest sustained series of rulers of any nation. Until the siege of Malta, they suffered only one major setback (at Ankara, to Tamerlane), and one lesser turnback (Vienna), which really didn't hurt the Empire.
Finally, the opposition was fragmented, particularly after the death of Stephen Dushan.
A second is that the Ottomans were relatively open to military innovation, and caught on early to the possibilities of gunpowder.
Another is that from 1281 through 1566, the Ottoman Empire had perhaps the greatest sustained series of rulers of any nation. Until the siege of Malta, they suffered only one major setback (at Ankara, to Tamerlane), and one lesser turnback (Vienna), which really didn't hurt the Empire.
Finally, the opposition was fragmented, particularly after the death of Stephen Dushan.
MadScotsMan
The Ruler of Cattle
big good, trained military vs bad fragmented crappy military.
GoodSarmatian
Jokerfied Western Male
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Serbian military was far from being crappy, but the Serbs prefered to fight the Byzantine empire or each other over supremacy on the Balkans.
The main reason for the fall of the Balkans was that then there were many small aoutonomous kingdom(about more than 20 i think) and each of this kingdoms had it's own politics and usually it was an agressive one, but agressive against it's balkan neighbours. None of this kingdoms were capable to resist the ottoman invasion alone, and none aliances were formed. We can add that some of this states became allies and vassals of the turks to keep their land or get more from the other balkan states.
I don't think that the ottoman military was more advanced or the balkan military "crappy".
I don't think that the ottoman military was more advanced or the balkan military "crappy".
Wrong.
Ottoman military formed new units and used advanced arms and tactics.
Let's see 3. ruler of Ottoman Empire:
Murad I (nick-named Hüdavendigâr, "the God-like One") (Turkish:I.Murat Hügavendigâr) (1319 or 1326 – 1389) (Arabic: مراد الأول
was the ruler of the Ottoman Empire from 1359 to 1389. He was the son of Orhan I and the Byzantine princess Helen (Nilüfer) who was of ethnic Greek descent[1][2][3], and became the ruler following his father's death in 1359.He established the Empire by building up a society and government in the newly conquered city of Adrianople (Edirne in Turkish) and by expanding the realm in Europe, bringing most of the Balkans under Ottoman rule and forcing the Byzantine emperor to pay him tribute. It was Murad who established the former Osmanli tribe into an empire. He established the title of sultan in 1383 and the corps of the janissaries and the devşirme recruiting system. He also organised the government of the Divan, the system of timars and timar-holders (timariots) and the military judge, the kazasker. He also established the two provinces of Anadolu (Anatolia) and Rumeli (Europe).
Murad fought against the powerful emirate of Karamanid in Anatolia and against the Serbs, Bulgarians and Hungarians in Europe. His moves in the Balkans brought together a Christian coalition under the king of Hungary, but they were defeated at the Battle of Maritsa on September 26, 1371 by Murad's capable second lieutenant Lala Şâhin Paşa, the first governor (beylerbey) of Rumeli. In 1366 the Serbian king was forced to pay tribute to the Sultan and in 1385 Sofia fell to the Ottomans. In 1389 Murad's army indecisively defeated a Balkan Christian army at the first Battle of Kosovo. After the battle, Murad I was assassinated by Milos Obilic, a Serbian noble who earlier swore that it would be his sword that would kill Murad. (see the conquests of Murad I).
The Battle of Maritsa
The Battle of Maritsa or Battle of Chernomen (also known as the Second Battle of Maritsa) took place at the Maritsa River near the village of Chernomen (today Ormenio in Greece) on September 26, 1371 between the forces of the Ottoman sultan Murad I's lieutenant Lala Şâhin Paşa and the Serbs (including their Bulgarian allies) numbering some 70,000 men under the command of the Serbian king of Prilep Vukašin Mrnjavčević and his brother despot Uglješa.
Despot Uglješa wanted to make a surprise attack on the Ottomans in their capital city, Edirne, while Murad I was in Asia Minor. The Ottoman army was much smaller, but due to superior tactics (night raid on the allied camp), Şâhin Paşa was able to defeat the Christian army and kill King Vukašin and despot Uglješa. Macedonia and parts of Greece fell under Ottoman power after this battle.
The battle was a part of the Ottoman campaign to conquer the Balkans and was preceded by the Ottoman capturing of Sozopol and succeeded by the capture of the cities of Drama, Kavála and Serrai in modern Greece.
Later on
Now that the Serbian coalition was weakened by such a blow, Murad was quick to advance further into Bulgaria and capture the cities of Dráma, Kavála and Seres (Serrái).
In 1383 Murad declared himself sultan of the Ottoman Empire. Shortly thereafter he began a new campaign in Europe. Sofia fell in 1385 and the city of Niš the year after. The Ottoman Conquest halted in 1387 when the Serbs won the Battle of Plocnik but two years later Murad marched anew into the west. The Ottomans won a great victory over the Serbs in the Battle of Kosovo but the sultan himself was killed on the end of battle . His son Bayezid stands after his murder.
ref: wiki
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