Twenty-five years after the slaughter at Chernomen in 1371, an epic battle took place. The army of the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid the Thunderbolt routed the Crusaders’ forces. Those forces were the allied armies of Hungary, Germany, and Croatia, all led by their king, Sigismund of Luxemburg.
It is the early autumn of 1396. Near the city of Nicopolis, an armed clash of two faiths would determine the future of the Second Bulgarian Empire. After this battle, the Ottomans would cement their position in Europe and a year later the Bulgarians would suffer five hundred years of horrific slavery. The Anti-Ottoman coalition would cost the life of Ivan Strazimir, the last Bulgarian Emperor.
For the West, the defeat at Nicopolis would be hugely significant. For almost 50 years the old continent would not be able to make a new Crusade against the Ottomans. The Battle of Ankara in 1402 and the wars between 1419-1437 would hinder the efforts of the biggest military forces in Southeast Europe to fight each other to a permanent outcome.
