The Holy Wars of King Wladislas and Sultan Murad

The Ottoman-Christian Conflict from 1438-1444
Erscheinungsjahr 2012
ISBN: 978-90-04-21904-5
Verlag: Brill

Buch, Englisch, Band 76, 514 Seiten, Format (B × H): 159 mm x 244 mm, Gewicht: 900 g

Reihe: History of Warfare

The Holy Wars of King Wladislas and Sultan Murad comprises the first detailed treatment of the pivotal conflict between the Ottomans and Christendom from 1438-1444. Beginning with the Council of Florence and renewed Ottoman expansion it covers the election of Wladislas, the rise of John Hunyadi and the factional politics of the Porte. "The author recounts the major campaigns including Hunyadi's victories in 1442 as well as the Long March and Varna expeditions of 1443/44. He also gives a thorough description of the armies, their tactics and strategy. Dr. Jefferson's work is the first to make full use of both Ottoman and Christian sources, and not only corrects persistent misconceptions but provides the fullest picture of this conflict to date.

Zielgruppe

All those interested in fifteenth-century crusading and Ottoman history, specifically the Varna crusade, John Hunyadi, the reign of King Wladislas III of Poland, Sultan Murad II and the Council of Florence.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Jefferson, John

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Europäische Geschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Militärgeschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Religionswissenschaft Allgemein Religiöser Fundamentalismus

Inhaltsverzeichnis

List of Maps and Tables. xi
Acknowledgements. xiii

Introduction. 1
The Final Charge. 1
The Historiography of the Conflict. 8
Purpose and Scope. 16

PART ONE: THE CONFLICT TO 1440 AND ITS CONTEXT
1. The Church, the Council and the Crusade. 25
Defining Crusade. 25
Eugene IV, Cardinal Cesarini and the Council of Basel. 28
The Contest to Achieve Union. 38
The Crusade Project at the Council of Florence. 55
2. The Reign of Murad II and Renewed Ottoman Expansion. 69
The Reign of Murad II. 70
The Ottoman Porte at the Time of Murad II. 76
The Kul/Slave Institution. 82
The Timar System and the Provincial Government. 94
The Marcher Lords. 96
The Transition in Ottoman Expansionist Policy. 102
Ottoman Relations with Karaman. 111
3. Three Kings of Hungary—Sigismund, Albert and Wladislas. 119
Familiaritas—The Lord and His Retinue. 119
Sigismund of Luxembourg. 130
The Ottoman-Hungarian Conflict to 1437. 134
The Bufffer States. 139
Serbia. 140
Wallachia. 142
Bosnia. 143
The Raid on Kruševac. 144
Albert II, the Bohemian Wars, and the Politicization of the
Ottoman Threat. 146
The Ottoman Campaigns of 1438–39. 157
The Election of Wladislas. 168

PART TWO: THE CAMPAIGNS OF 1440–1444
4. Strategy, Tactics and Order of Battle. 181
Ottoman Order of Battle. 181
The Timarli Sipahis or Provincial Landed Cavalry. 183
Slaves of the Porte. 188
Enlisted Troops. 193
Mobilization. 199
Christian Forces. 200
Tactics. 209
Intelligence and Reconnaissance. 216
The Crusader Fleet. 222
Gunpowder. 227
Siege Warfare. 230
5. The Rise of Hunyadi, 1440–1442. 235
The 1440 Siege of Belgrade. 235
The Hungarian Civil War. 246
The Rise of Hunyadi. 255
Hungarian Civil War—Phase Two. 259
The Church and the Crusade—1442. 263
Attempts to End

Über Autor(innen)

Jefferson, John
John Jefferson received his M.A. from the Jagiellonian University in Krakow (2002), and his Ph.D. from Mainz University (2011) where he is a guest lecturer. He works as a consultant and translator in several languages, including Polish, Arabic and Turkish.