1.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
Geographic coordinate system
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Longitude lines are perpendicular and latitude lines are parallel to the equator.
2.
French Invasion of Egypt (1798)
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It was the primary purpose of the Mediterranean campaign of 1798, a series of naval engagements that included the capture of Malta. On the scientific front, the led to the discovery of the Rosetta Stone. At the time of the invasion, the Directoire had assumed power in France. The notion of annexing Egypt as a French colony had been discussion since François Baron de Tott undertook a secret mission to the Levant in 1777 to determine its feasibility. Baron de Totts report was favorable, but no action was taken. Nevertheless, Egypt became a topic of debate between Talleyrand and Napoleon, which continued in their correspondence during Napoleons Italian campaign, in early 1798, Bonaparte proposed a military expedition to seize Egypt. Bonaparte wished to establish a French presence in the Middle East, with the dream of linking with Frances ally Tipu Sultan. At the time, Egypt had been an Ottoman province since 1517, but was now out of direct Ottoman control, in France, Egyptian fashion was in full swing – intellectuals believed that Egypt was the cradle of western civilization and wished to conquer it. French traders already based on the River Nile were complaining of harassment by the Mamluks and he assured the Directoire that as soon as he had conquered Egypt, he will establish relations with the Indian princes and, together with them, attack the English in their possessions. The Directoire agreed to the plan in March 1798, though troubled by its scope, however, they saw that it would remove the popular and over-ambitious Napoleon from the center of power, though this motive long remained secret. Rumors became rife as 40,000 soldiers and 10,000 sailors were gathered in French Mediterranean ports, a large fleet was assembled at Toulon,13 ships of the line,14 frigates, and 400 transports. To avoid interception by the British fleet under Nelson, the target was kept secret. It was known only to Bonaparte himself, his generals Berthier and Caffarelli, Bonaparte was the commander, with subordinates including Thomas Alexandre Dumas, Kléber, Desaix, Berthier, Caffarelli, Lannes, Damas, Murat, Andréossy, Belliard, Menou, and Zajączek. His aides de camp included his brother Louis Bonaparte, Duroc, Eugène de Beauharnais, Thomas Prosper Jullien, and the Polish nobleman Joseph Sulkowski. The fleet at Toulon was joined by squadrons from Genoa, Civitavecchia and Bastia and was put under the command of Admiral Brueys and Contre-amirals Villeneuve, Du Chayla, Decrès and Ganteaume. The fleet was about to set sail when a crisis developed with Austria, the crisis was resolved in a few weeks, and Bonaparte received orders to travel to Toulon as soon as possible. It is claimed that, in a meeting with the Directoire, Bonaparte threatened to dissolve them and directeur Reubell gave him a pen saying Sign there. Bonaparte arrived at Toulon on 9 May 1798, lodging with Benoît Georges de Najac, grand Master von Hompesch replied that only two foreign ships would be allowed to enter the port at a time
French Invasion of Egypt (1798)
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Battle of the Pyramids
French Invasion of Egypt (1798)
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Napoleon's arrival in Malta
French Invasion of Egypt (1798)
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French Campaign in Egypt, 1798–99
3.
Antoine-Jean Gros
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Antoine-Jean Gros, also known as Baron Gros, was both a French history and neoclassical painter. Born in Paris, Gros began to learn to draw at the age of six from his father, Jean-Antoine Gros, who was a miniature painter, and showed himself as a gifted artist. The death of his father, whose circumstances had been embarrassed by the French Revolution, threw Gros, in 1791 and he now devoted himself wholly to his profession, and competed in 1792 for the grand prix. He supported himself at Genoa by the means, producing a great quantity of miniatures and fixes. He visited Florence, but returned to Genoa where he made the acquaintance of Joséphine de Beauharnais and he followed her to Milan, where he was well received by her husband, Napoleon Bonaparte. On 15 November 1796, Gros was present with the army near Arcola when Bonaparte planted the French tricolor on the bridge, Gros seized on this incident, and showed by his treatment of it that he had found his vocation. In 1799, having escaped from the city of Genoa, Gros made his way to Paris. Les Pestiférés de Jaffa was followed by The Battle of Aboukir,1806, at the Salon of 1804, Gros debuted his painting Bonaparte Visiting the Plague Victims of Jaffa. The painting launched his career as a successful painter and it depicts Bonaparte in Jaffa visiting soldiers infected with the bubonic plague. He is portrayed reaching out to one of the sick, unfazed by the illness, while Bonaparte did actually visit the pesthouse, later, as his army prepared to withdraw from Syria, he ordered the poisoning of about fifty of his plague-infected men. The painting was commissioned as damage control when word spread of his actions, the painting is in the Neo-Classical style, though it shows elements such as the lighting and a taste for the exotic that are precursors to the upcoming Romantic ideals. In 1810, his Madrid and Napoleon at the Pyramids show that his star had deserted him, again citing Britannica, Exasperated by criticism and the consciousness of failure, Gros sought refuge in the gros pleasures of life. On 25 June 1835, he was drowned on the shores of the Seine at Meudon. From a paper which he had placed in his hat, it known that tired of life. Gros was decorated and named Baron of the Empire by Napoleon, after the Salon of 1808, the number of Gross pupils was very great, and was considerably augmented when, in 1815, David quit Paris and gave over his own classes to him. He became a member of the Institute, professor at the École des Beaux Arts, Gros had also been an inspiration to Eugene Delacroix, especially with his work in lithography. The two both worked in the time period, and both did portraits of Napoleon. Though at one point, Gros had referred to Delacroixs Chios, G. Dargenty produced a book titled Les Artistes Celebres Le Baron Gros GILBERT WOOD & Co
Antoine-Jean Gros
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Antoine-Jean Gros, by
François Gérard (1791)
Antoine-Jean Gros
Antoine-Jean Gros
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Equestrian portrait of prince
Boris Yusupov, 1809
Antoine-Jean Gros
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Bonaparte at the pont d'Arcole, 1796
4.
Abu Qir
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Abu Qir, formerly also spelled Abukir or Aboukir, is a town on the Mediterranean coast of Egypt, near the ruins of ancient Canopus and 23 kilometers northeast of Alexandria by rail. It is located on Abu Qir Peninsula, with Abu Qir Bay to the east, the towns present name is Arabic for Father Cyrus, an Egyptian Christian martyr. Near the village are remains of ancient buildings, Egyptian, Greek. About 3 kilometers southeast of the village are the ruins of Canopus, a little farther east, the now-dry Canopic branch of the Nile entered the Mediterranean. The latter title is applied properly to an engagement between the French expeditionary army and the Turks fought on 25 July the following year, see Battle of Abukir of 1799. The town contains a castle that was used as a prison by Muhammad Ali in the early 19th century. In 2000, an Italian archeologist discovered the remains of British officers, sailors, marines, women, and children on Nelsons Island, köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as hot desert, but it lies at the northern coast of Egypt, moderating its temperatures. Due to its proximity to Alexandria, it has a similar climate. The wettest places in Egypt are Rafah, Alexandria, Abu Qir, Rosetta, Baltim, Kafr El Dawwar, Mersa Matruh. Abu Qir Bay Alexandria Cyrus and John Nelsons Island HMS Aboukir Baynes, T. S. ed. Canopus, Encyclopædia Britannica,5, New York, Charles Scribners Sons, p.23. Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Aboukir, Encyclopædia Britannica,1, Cambridge University Press, griffith, Francis Llewellyn, Canopus, in Chisholm, Hugh, Encyclopædia Britannica,5, Cambridge University Press, p.203
Abu Qir
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Specialized hospital at Abu Qir
5.
Egypt
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Egypt, officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia by a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. Egypt is a Mediterranean country bordered by the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Gulf of Aqaba to the east, the Red Sea to the east and south, Sudan to the south, and Libya to the west. Across the Gulf of Aqaba lies Jordan, and across from the Sinai Peninsula lies Saudi Arabia, although Jordan and it is the worlds only contiguous Afrasian nation. Egypt has among the longest histories of any country, emerging as one of the worlds first nation states in the tenth millennium BC. Considered a cradle of civilisation, Ancient Egypt experienced some of the earliest developments of writing, agriculture, urbanisation, organised religion and central government. One of the earliest centres of Christianity, Egypt was Islamised in the century and remains a predominantly Muslim country. With over 92 million inhabitants, Egypt is the most populous country in North Africa and the Arab world, the third-most populous in Africa, and the fifteenth-most populous in the world. The great majority of its people live near the banks of the Nile River, an area of about 40,000 square kilometres, the large regions of the Sahara desert, which constitute most of Egypts territory, are sparsely inhabited. About half of Egypts residents live in areas, with most spread across the densely populated centres of greater Cairo, Alexandria. Modern Egypt is considered to be a regional and middle power, with significant cultural, political, and military influence in North Africa, the Middle East and the Muslim world. Egypts economy is one of the largest and most diversified in the Middle East, Egypt is a member of the United Nations, Non-Aligned Movement, Arab League, African Union, and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. Miṣr is the Classical Quranic Arabic and modern name of Egypt. The name is of Semitic origin, directly cognate with other Semitic words for Egypt such as the Hebrew מִצְרַיִם, the oldest attestation of this name for Egypt is the Akkadian
Egypt
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The
Giza Necropolis is the oldest of the
ancient Wonders and the only one still in existence.
Egypt
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Flag
Egypt
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The Greek Ptolemaic queen
Cleopatra VII and her son by Julius Caesar,
Caesarion at the
Temple of Dendera.
Egypt
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The 1803
Cedid Atlas, showing
Ottoman Egypt.
6.
France
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France, officially the French Republic, is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European, or metropolitan, area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. France spans 643,801 square kilometres and had a population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017. It is a unitary republic with the capital in Paris. Other major urban centres include Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Nice, Toulouse, during the Iron Age, what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls, a Celtic people. The area was annexed in 51 BC by Rome, which held Gaul until 486, France emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages, with its victory in the Hundred Years War strengthening state-building and political centralisation. During the Renaissance, French culture flourished and a colonial empire was established. The 16th century was dominated by civil wars between Catholics and Protestants. France became Europes dominant cultural, political, and military power under Louis XIV, in the 19th century Napoleon took power and established the First French Empire, whose subsequent Napoleonic Wars shaped the course of continental Europe. Following the collapse of the Empire, France endured a succession of governments culminating with the establishment of the French Third Republic in 1870. Following liberation in 1944, a Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of the Algerian War, the Fifth Republic, led by Charles de Gaulle, was formed in 1958 and remains to this day. Algeria and nearly all the colonies became independent in the 1960s with minimal controversy and typically retained close economic. France has long been a centre of art, science. It hosts Europes fourth-largest number of cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites and receives around 83 million foreign tourists annually, France is a developed country with the worlds sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest by purchasing power parity. In terms of household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world. France performs well in international rankings of education, health care, life expectancy, France remains a great power in the world, being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and an official nuclear-weapon state. It is a member state of the European Union and the Eurozone. It is also a member of the Group of 7, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organization, originally applied to the whole Frankish Empire, the name France comes from the Latin Francia, or country of the Franks
France
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One of the
Lascaux paintings: a horse –
Dordogne, approximately 18,000 BC
France
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Flag
France
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The
Maison Carrée was a temple of the
Gallo-Roman city of Nemausus (present-day
Nîmes) and is one of the best preserved vestiges of the
Roman Empire.
France
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With
Clovis ' conversion to Catholicism in 498, the
Frankish monarchy,
elective and
secular until then, became
hereditary and of
divine right.
7.
French First Republic
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In the history of France, the First Republic, officially the French Republic, was founded on 21 September 1792 during the French Revolution. The First Republic lasted until the declaration of the First Empire in 1804 under Napoleon, under the Legislative Assembly, which was in power before the proclamation of the First Republic, France was engaged in war with Prussia and Austria. The foreign threat exacerbated Frances political turmoil amid the French Revolution and deepened the passion, in the violence of 10 August 1792, citizens stormed the Tuileries Palace, killing six hundred of the Kings Swiss guards and insisting on the removal of the king. A renewed fear of action prompted further violence, and in the first week of September 1792, mobs of Parisians broke into the citys prisons. This included nobles, clergymen, and political prisoners, but also numerous common criminals, such as prostitutes and petty thieves, many murdered in their cells—raped, stabbed and this became known as the September Massacres. The resulting Convention was founded with the purpose of abolishing the monarchy. The Conventions first act, on 10 August 1792, was to establish the French First Republic, the King, by then a private citizen bearing his family name of Capet, was subsequently put on trial for crimes of high treason starting in December 1792. On 16 January 1793 he was convicted, and on 21 January, throughout the winter of 1792 and spring of 1793, Paris was plagued by food riots and mass hunger. The new Convention did little to remedy the problem until late spring of 1793, despite growing discontent with the National Convention as a ruling body, in June the Convention drafted the Constitution of 1793, which was ratified by popular vote in early August. The Committees laws and policies took the revolution to unprecedented heights, after the arrest and execution of Robespierre in July 1794, the Jacobin club was closed, and the surviving Girondins were reinstated. A year later, the National Convention adopted the Constitution of the Year III and they reestablished freedom of worship, began releasing large numbers of prisoners, and most importantly, initiated elections for a new legislative body. On 3 November 1795, the Directory was established, the period known as the French Consulate began with the coup of 18 Brumaire in 1799. Members of the Directory itself planned the coup, indicating clearly the failing power of the Directory, Napoleon Bonaparte was a co-conspirator in the coup, and became head of the government as the First Consul. He would later proclaim himself Emperor of the French, ending the First French Republic and ushering in the French First Empire
French First Republic
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Napoleon Bonaparte seizes power during the Coup of 18 Brumaire
French First Republic
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Flag
8.
Ottoman Empire
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After 1354, the Ottomans crossed into Europe, and with the conquest of the Balkans the Ottoman Beylik was transformed into a transcontinental empire. The Ottomans ended the Byzantine Empire with the 1453 conquest of Constantinople by Mehmed the Conqueror, at the beginning of the 17th century the empire contained 32 provinces and numerous vassal states. Some of these were later absorbed into the Ottoman Empire, while others were granted various types of autonomy during the course of centuries. With Constantinople as its capital and control of lands around the Mediterranean basin, while the empire was once thought to have entered a period of decline following the death of Suleiman the Magnificent, this view is no longer supported by the majority of academic historians. The empire continued to maintain a flexible and strong economy, society, however, during a long period of peace from 1740 to 1768, the Ottoman military system fell behind that of their European rivals, the Habsburg and Russian Empires. While the Empire was able to hold its own during the conflict, it was struggling with internal dissent. Starting before World War I, but growing increasingly common and violent during it, major atrocities were committed by the Ottoman government against the Armenians, Assyrians and Pontic Greeks. The word Ottoman is an anglicisation of the name of Osman I. Osmans name in turn was the Turkish form of the Arabic name ʿUthmān, in Ottoman Turkish, the empire was referred to as Devlet-i ʿAlīye-yi ʿOsmānīye, or alternatively ʿOsmānlı Devleti. In Modern Turkish, it is known as Osmanlı İmparatorluğu or Osmanlı Devleti, the Turkish word for Ottoman originally referred to the tribal followers of Osman in the fourteenth century, and subsequently came to be used to refer to the empires military-administrative elite. In contrast, the term Turk was used to refer to the Anatolian peasant and tribal population, the term Rūmī was also used to refer to Turkish-speakers by the other Muslim peoples of the empire and beyond. In Western Europe, the two names Ottoman Empire and Turkey were often used interchangeably, with Turkey being increasingly favored both in formal and informal situations and this dichotomy was officially ended in 1920–23, when the newly established Ankara-based Turkish government chose Turkey as the sole official name. Most scholarly historians avoid the terms Turkey, Turks, and Turkish when referring to the Ottomans, as the power of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum declined in the 13th century, Anatolia was divided into a patchwork of independent Turkish principalities known as the Anatolian Beyliks. One of these beyliks, in the region of Bithynia on the frontier of the Byzantine Empire, was led by the Turkish tribal leader Osman, osmans early followers consisted both of Turkish tribal groups and Byzantine renegades, many but not all converts to Islam. Osman extended the control of his principality by conquering Byzantine towns along the Sakarya River and it is not well understood how the early Ottomans came to dominate their neighbours, due to the scarcity of the sources which survive from this period. One school of thought which was popular during the twentieth century argued that the Ottomans achieved success by rallying religious warriors to fight for them in the name of Islam, in the century after the death of Osman I, Ottoman rule began to extend over Anatolia and the Balkans. Osmans son, Orhan, captured the northwestern Anatolian city of Bursa in 1326 and this conquest meant the loss of Byzantine control over northwestern Anatolia. The important city of Thessaloniki was captured from the Venetians in 1387, the Ottoman victory at Kosovo in 1389 effectively marked the end of Serbian power in the region, paving the way for Ottoman expansion into Europe
Ottoman Empire
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Battle of Nicopolis in 1396. Painting from 1523.
Ottoman Empire
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Flag (1844–1923)
Ottoman Empire
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Battle of Mohács in 1526
Ottoman Empire
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Barbarossa Hayreddin Pasha defeats the
Holy League of
Charles V under the command of
Andrea Doria at the
Battle of Preveza in 1538.
9.
Joachim Murat
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Joachim-Napoléon Murat was a Marshal of France and Admiral of France under the reign of Napoleon. He was also the 1st Prince Murat, Grand Duke of Berg from 1806 to 1808 and he received his titles in part by being Napoleons brother-in-law through marriage to his younger sister, Caroline Bonaparte, as well as personal merit. He was noted as a daring, brave, and charismatic cavalry officer as well as a flamboyant dresser and was known as the Dandy King. In 1789, an affair forced him to resign, and he returned to his family, by 1790, he had joined the National Guard, and when the Fête of the Nation was organized on 14 July 1790, the Canton of Montaucon sent Murat as its representative. Then he became reinstated into his old regiment, an ardent Republican, Murat wrote to his brother in 1791 stating he was preoccupied with revolutionary affairs and would sooner die than cease to be a patriot. This garnered for him the support of the Republicans, for he rejoined his regiment and was promoted to Corporal in April of that year. By 19 November 1792, he was 25 years old and elated at his latest promotion. As a sous-lieutenant, he thought, his family must recognize that he had no tendency for the priesthood. One of the Ministers had accused him of being an aristocrat, confusing him with the family of Murat dAuvergne. In the autumn of 1795, three years after King Louis XVI of France was deposed, royalist and counter-revolutionaries organised an armed uprising, on 3 October, General Napoleon Bonaparte, who was stationed in Paris, was named commander of the French National Conventions defending forces. This constitutional convention, after a period of emergency rule, was striving to establish a more stable. Bonaparte tasked Murat with the gathering of artillery from a suburb outside the control of the governments forces, Murat managed to take the cannons of the Camp des Sablons and transport them to the centre of Paris while avoiding the rioters. The use of these cannons – the famous whiff of grapeshot – on 5 October allowed Bonaparte to save the members of the National Convention, for this success, Joachim Murat was made chef de brigade and thereafter remained one of Napoleons best officers. Murat then went with Bonaparte to northern Italy, initially as his aide-de-camp and these forces were waging war on France and seeking to restore a monarchy in revolutionary France. Thus, Murats skills in no small part helped establish Bonapartes legendary fame, Murat commanded the cavalry of the French Egyptian expedition of 1798, again under Bonaparte. The expeditions strategic goal was to threaten Britains rich holdings in India, however, the overall effort ended prematurely because of lack of logistical support with the defeat of the French fleet due to British sea power. After the sea battle, Napoleon led his troops on land toward Europe, the remaining non-military expedition staff officers, including Murat, and Bonaparte returned to France, eluding various British fleets in five frigates. A short while later, Murat played an important, even pivotal, role in Bonapartes coup within a coup of 18 Brumaire, along with two others, Napoleon Bonaparte set aside the five-man directory government, establishing the three-man French Consulate government
Joachim Murat
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Joachim Murat
Joachim Murat
–
Joachim Murat as a
sous-lieutenant of the 12th
Chasseur-à-cheval; portrait by
Jean-Baptiste Paulin Guérin
Joachim Murat
–
General Murat at the
battle of Abukir, where 11,000 Ottoman soldiers drowned in the
Nile
Joachim Murat
–
Murat leads a charge at the
Battle of Jena, 14 October 1806.
10.
Prisoner of war
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A prisoner of war is a person, whether combatant or non-combatant, who is held in custody by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the prisoner of war dates to 1660. The first Roman gladiators were prisoners of war and were named according to their ethnic roots such as Samnite, Thracian, typically, little distinction was made between enemy combatants and enemy civilians, although women and children were more likely to be spared. Sometimes, the purpose of a battle, if not a war, was to capture women, a known as raptio. Typically women had no rights, and were legally as chattel. For this he was eventually canonized, during Childerics siege and blockade of Paris in 464, the nun Geneviève pleaded with the Frankish king for the welfare of prisoners of war and met with a favourable response. Later, Clovis I liberated captives after Genevieve urged him to do so, many French prisoners of war were killed during the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. In the later Middle Ages, a number of religious wars aimed to not only defeat, in Christian Europe, the extermination of heretics was considered desirable. Examples include the 13th century Albigensian Crusade and the Northern Crusades, likewise, the inhabitants of conquered cities were frequently massacred during the Crusades against the Muslims in the 11th and 12th centuries. Noblemen could hope to be ransomed, their families would have to send to their captors large sums of wealth commensurate with the status of the captive. In feudal Japan there was no custom of ransoming prisoners of war, in Termez, on the Oxus, all the people, both men and women, were driven out onto the plain, and divided in accordance with their usual custom, then they were all slain. The Aztecs were constantly at war with neighbouring tribes and groups, for the re-consecration of Great Pyramid of Tenochtitlan in 1487, between 10,000 and 80,400 persons were sacrificed. During the early Muslim conquests, Muslims routinely captured large number of prisoners, aside from those who converted, most were ransomed or enslaved. Christians who were captured during the Crusades, were either killed or sold into slavery if they could not pay a ransom. The freeing of prisoners was highly recommended as a charitable act, there also evolved the right of parole, French for discourse, in which a captured officer surrendered his sword and gave his word as a gentleman in exchange for privileges. If he swore not to escape, he could gain better accommodations, if he swore to cease hostilities against the nation who held him captive, he could be repatriated or exchanged but could not serve against his former captors in a military capacity. Early historical narratives of captured colonial Europeans, including perspectives of literate women captured by the peoples of North America. The writings of Mary Rowlandson, captured in the fighting of King Philips War, are an example
Prisoner of war
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Austro-Hungarian POWs in Russia, 1915
Prisoner of war
Prisoner of war
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An Iranian soldier watching Iraqi prisoners of war sitting in a pickup truck during
Iran-Iraq war.
Prisoner of war
–
American prisoners captured in
Ardennes in December 1944
11.
Murad Bey
–
Murad Bey Mohammed was an Egyptian Mamluk chieftain, cavalry commander and joint ruler of Egypt with Ibrahim Bey. He is often remembered as being a cruel and extortionate ruler, Murad was of Georgian origin from Tiflis, or Circassian. In 1768 he was sold to the Mamluk Muhammad Bey Abu al-Dhahab in Egypt, after the death of his master Muhammad Bey Abu al-Dhahab, Murad Bey was in command of the Mamluk army, whereas Ibrahim Bey was in charge of administrative duties of Egypt. They survived through the persistent Ottoman attempts at overthrowing the Mamluk regime and they served as kaymakams in Egypt on occasion, although they effectively held de facto power for decades, even over the appointed Ottoman governor of Egypt. In 1786, the Ottoman sultan Abdülhamid I sent Kapudan Pasha and Cezayirli Gazi Hasan Pasha to drive out Ibrahim, Hasan Pasha was fervent and thorough in his efforts and succeeded in the short term, reestablishing direct Ottoman Empire control over Egypt. Ismail Bey was appointed as new Mamluk leader and Shaykh al-Balad, however, in 1791, only five years after their expulsion by Hasan Pasha, the duumvirate returned to Cairo from hiding in southern Egypt and took back de facto control. At this time, Murad Bey served as Amir al-Hajj and he commanded the Mamluk cavalry and Janissaries infantry in the Battle of Shubra Khit on 13 July 1798, but he was defeated by the French Armée and withdrew from the fight. Eight days later, on 21 July, he commanded the Mamluk cavalry during the Battle of the Pyramids, alongside Ibrahim Bey, and was defeated at the hands of Napoleons armies. While Ibrahim Bey fled towards Sinai, Murad had fled to Cairo first and then to Upper Egypt and it was while pursuing Murad Bey into Upper Egypt that the French discovered the monuments at Dendera, Thebes, Edfu and Philae. Murad had reportedly offered money to the French forces to leave Egypt and offered to himself with the British in exchange for allowing the British to occupy Alexandria. In 1800, Murad made peace with Jean Baptiste Kléber, and agreed to garrison Cairo, Ibrahim Bey, his career-long partner in ruling Egypt
Murad Bey
–
Murad Bey by Dutertre in
Description de l'Egypte, 1809.
12.
French campaign in Egypt and Syria
–
It was the primary purpose of the Mediterranean campaign of 1798, a series of naval engagements that included the capture of Malta. On the scientific front, the led to the discovery of the Rosetta Stone. At the time of the invasion, the Directoire had assumed power in France. The notion of annexing Egypt as a French colony had been discussion since François Baron de Tott undertook a secret mission to the Levant in 1777 to determine its feasibility. Baron de Totts report was favorable, but no action was taken. Nevertheless, Egypt became a topic of debate between Talleyrand and Napoleon, which continued in their correspondence during Napoleons Italian campaign, in early 1798, Bonaparte proposed a military expedition to seize Egypt. Bonaparte wished to establish a French presence in the Middle East, with the dream of linking with Frances ally Tipu Sultan. At the time, Egypt had been an Ottoman province since 1517, but was now out of direct Ottoman control, in France, Egyptian fashion was in full swing – intellectuals believed that Egypt was the cradle of western civilization and wished to conquer it. French traders already based on the River Nile were complaining of harassment by the Mamluks and he assured the Directoire that as soon as he had conquered Egypt, he will establish relations with the Indian princes and, together with them, attack the English in their possessions. The Directoire agreed to the plan in March 1798, though troubled by its scope, however, they saw that it would remove the popular and over-ambitious Napoleon from the center of power, though this motive long remained secret. Rumors became rife as 40,000 soldiers and 10,000 sailors were gathered in French Mediterranean ports, a large fleet was assembled at Toulon,13 ships of the line,14 frigates, and 400 transports. To avoid interception by the British fleet under Nelson, the target was kept secret. It was known only to Bonaparte himself, his generals Berthier and Caffarelli, Bonaparte was the commander, with subordinates including Thomas Alexandre Dumas, Kléber, Desaix, Berthier, Caffarelli, Lannes, Damas, Murat, Andréossy, Belliard, Menou, and Zajączek. His aides de camp included his brother Louis Bonaparte, Duroc, Eugène de Beauharnais, Thomas Prosper Jullien, and the Polish nobleman Joseph Sulkowski. The fleet at Toulon was joined by squadrons from Genoa, Civitavecchia and Bastia and was put under the command of Admiral Brueys and Contre-amirals Villeneuve, Du Chayla, Decrès and Ganteaume. The fleet was about to set sail when a crisis developed with Austria, the crisis was resolved in a few weeks, and Bonaparte received orders to travel to Toulon as soon as possible. It is claimed that, in a meeting with the Directoire, Bonaparte threatened to dissolve them and directeur Reubell gave him a pen saying Sign there. Bonaparte arrived at Toulon on 9 May 1798, lodging with Benoît Georges de Najac, grand Master von Hompesch replied that only two foreign ships would be allowed to enter the port at a time
French campaign in Egypt and Syria
–
Battle of the Pyramids
French campaign in Egypt and Syria
–
Napoleon's arrival in Malta
French campaign in Egypt and Syria
–
French Campaign in Egypt, 1798–99
13.
French Revolutionary Wars
–
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of sweeping military conflicts, lasting from 1792 until 1802, resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted the French First Republic against Britain, Austria and several other monarchies and they are divided in two periods, the War of the First Coalition and the War of the Second Coalition. Initially confined to Europe, the fighting gradually assumed a global dimension as the political ambitions of the Revolution expanded, French success in these conflicts ensured the spread of revolutionary principles over much of Europe. The Revolutionary Wars began from increasing political pressure on King Louis XVI of France to prove his loyalty to the new direction France was taking. In the spring of 1792, France declared war on Prussia and Austria, the victory rejuvenated the French nation and emboldened the National Convention to abolish the monarchy. A series of victories by the new French armies abruptly ended with defeat at Neerwinden in the spring of 1793, by 1795, the French had captured the Austrian Netherlands and knocked Spain and Prussia out of the war with the Peace of Basel. A hitherto unknown general called Napoleon Bonaparte began his first campaign in Italy in April 1796, in less than a year, French armies under Napoleon decimated the Habsburg forces and evicted them from the Italian peninsula, winning almost every battle and capturing 150,000 prisoners. With French forces marching towards Vienna, the Austrians sued for peace and agreed to the Treaty of Campo Formio, the War of the Second Coalition began with the French invasion of Egypt, headed by Napoleon, in 1798. The Allies took the opportunity presented by the French strategic effort in the Middle East to regain territories lost from the First Coalition. The war began well for the Allies in Europe, where they pushed the French out of Italy and invaded Switzerland—racking up victories at Magnano, Cassano. However, their efforts largely unraveled with the French victory at Zurich in September 1799, meanwhile, Napoleons forces annihilated a series of Egyptian and Ottoman armies at the battles of the Pyramids, Mount Tabor, and Abukir. These victories and the conquest of Egypt further enhanced Napoleons popularity back in France, however, the Royal Navy had managed to inflict a humiliating defeat on the French fleet at the Battle of the Nile in 1798, further strengthening British control of the Mediterranean. Napoleons arrival from Egypt led to the fall of the Directory in the Coup of 18 Brumaire, Napoleon then reorganized the French army and launched a new assault against the Austrians in Italy during the spring of 1800. This latest effort culminated in a decisive French victory at the Battle of Marengo in June 1800, another crushing French triumph at Hohenlinden in Bavaria forced the Austrians to seek peace for a second time, leading to the Treaty of Lunéville in 1801. With Austria and Russia out of the war, the United Kingdom found itself increasingly isolated and agreed to the Treaty of Amiens with Napoleons government in 1802, concluding the Revolutionary Wars. The lingering tensions proved too difficult to contain, however, in 1789–1792, the entire governmental structure of France was transformed to fall into line with the Revolutionary principles of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity. As a result, one of the first major elements of the French state to be restructured was the army, the transformation of the army was best seen in the officer corps. Before the revolution 90% had been nobility, compared to only 3% in 1794, Revolutionary fervour was high, and was closely monitored by the Committee of Public Safety, which assigned Representatives on Mission to keep watch on generals
French Revolutionary Wars
–
The
Battle of Valmy
French Revolutionary Wars
–
Anonymous caricature depicting the treatment given to the
Brunswick Manifesto by the French population
French Revolutionary Wars
–
While the
First Coalition attacked the new Republic, France faced civil war and counterrevolutionary
guerrilla war. Here, several insurgents of the
Chouannerie have been taken prisoner.
French Revolutionary Wars
–
General Jourdan at the
battle of Fleurus, 26 June 1794
14.
Battle of the Pyramids
–
The Battle of the Pyramids, also known as the Battle of Embabeh, was a major engagement fought on July 21,1798 during the French Invasion of Egypt. The French army under Napoleon Bonaparte scored a victory against the forces of the local Mamluk rulers. It was the battle where Napoleon employed one of his significant contributions to military tactics, actually a rectangle, the deployment of the French brigades into these massive formations repeatedly threw back multiple cavalry charges by the Egyptians. The victory effectively sealed the French conquest of Egypt as Murad Bey salvaged the remnants of his army, French casualties amounted to roughly 300, but Egyptian casualties soared into the thousands. Napoleon entered Cairo after the battle and created a new administration under his supervision. The battle exposed the fundamental military and political decline of the Ottoman Empire throughout the past century, Napoleon named the battle after the Egyptian pyramids because they were faintly visible on the horizon when the battle took place. In July 1798, Napoleon was marching from Alexandria toward Cairo after invading and capturing the former and he met the forces of the ruling Mamluks nine miles from the Pyramids, and only four miles from Cairo. The Mamluk forces were commanded by two Georgian mamluks Murad Bey and Ibrahim Bey and had powerful and highly developed cavalry and this fight was known as The Battle of Chobrakit. Napoleon realized that the only Egyptian troops of any worth on the battlefield were the cavalry and he exhorted his troops, saying, Forward. Remember that from those monuments yonder forty centuries look down upon you, Napoleon ordered an advance on Murads army with each of the five divisions of his army organized into hollow rectangles with cavalry and baggage at the center and cannon at the corners. The French divisions advanced south in echelon, with the right flank leading, from right to left, Napoleon posted the divisions of Louis Charles Antoine Desaix, Jean Reynier, Dugua, Vial and Louis André Bon. In addition, Desaix sent a detachment to occupy the nearby village of Biktil. Murad anchored his right flank on the Nile at the village of Embabeh and his Mamluk cavalry deployed on the desert flank. Ibrahim, with a army, watched helplessly from the east bank of the Nile, unable to intervene. Chandler asserts that Napoleons 25, 000-strong army outnumbered Murads 6,000 Mamluks and 15,000 infantry, at about 3,30 pm, the Mamluk cavalry hurled itself at the French without warning. The divisional squares of Desaix, Reynier and Dugua held firm and repelled the horsemen with point-blank musket, unable to make an impression on the French formations, some of the frustrated Mamluks rode off to attack Desaixs detached force. Meanwhile, nearer the river, Bons division deployed into attack columns, breaking into the village, the French routed the garrison. Trapped against the river, many of the Mamluks and infantry tried to swim to safety, Napoleon reported a loss of 29 killed and 260 wounded
Battle of the Pyramids
–
The Battle of the Pyramids, Louis-François, Baron Lejeune, 1808.
Battle of the Pyramids
–
A map of the battle.
Battle of the Pyramids
–
The Battle of the Pyramids,
François-Louis-Joseph Watteau, 1798-1799.
15.
Battle of the Nile
–
The British fleet was led in the battle by Rear-Admiral Sir Horatio Nelson, they decisively defeated the French under Vice-Admiral François-Paul Brueys dAigalliers. Bonaparte sought to invade Egypt as the first step in a campaign against British India and he chased the French for more than two months, on several occasions only missing them by a matter of hours. Bonaparte was aware of Nelsons pursuit and enforced absolute secrecy about his destination and he was able to capture Malta and then land in Egypt without interception by the British naval forces. With the French army ashore, the French fleet anchored in Aboukir Bay,20 miles northeast of Alexandria, Commander Vice-Admiral François-Paul Brueys dAigalliers believed that he had established a formidable defensive position. The British fleet arrived off Egypt on 1 August and discovered Brueyss dispositions and his ships advanced on the French line and split into two divisions as they approached. One cut across the head of the line and passed between the anchored French and the shore, while the other engaged the seaward side of the French fleet. Trapped in a crossfire, the leading French warships were battered into surrender during a fierce battle, while the centre succeeded in repelling the initial British attack. As British reinforcements arrived, the centre came under renewed assault and, at 22,00, the battle reversed the strategic situation between the two nations forces in the Mediterranean and entrenched the Royal Navy in the dominant position that it retained for the rest of the war. It also encouraged other European countries to turn against France, and was a factor in the outbreak of the War of the Second Coalition. Bonapartes army was trapped in Egypt, and Royal Navy dominance off the Syrian coast contributed significantly to its defeat at the Siege of Acre in 1799 which preceded Bonapartes return to Europe. Nelson had been wounded in the battle, but he was proclaimed a hero across Europe and was subsequently made Baron Nelson—although he was dissatisfied with his rewards. His captains were highly praised and went on to form the nucleus of the legendary Nelsons Band of Brothers. The legend of the battle has remained prominent in the popular consciousness, despite significant efforts, British control of Northern European waters rendered these ambitions impractical in the short term, and the Royal Navy remained firmly in control of the Atlantic Ocean. However, the French navy was dominant in the Mediterranean, following the withdrawal of the British fleet after the outbreak of war between Britain and Spain in 1796. During the spring of 1798, Bonaparte assembled more than 35,000 soldiers in Mediterranean France and Italy and he also formed the Commission des Sciences et des Arts, a body of scientists and engineers intended to establish a French colony in Egypt. On 9 June, the fleet arrived off Malta, then under the ownership of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, Bonaparte demanded that his fleet be permitted entry to the fortified harbour of Valletta. When the Knights refused, the French general responded by ordering a large invasion of the Maltese Islands. While Bonaparte was sailing to Malta, the Royal Navy re-entered the Mediterranean for the first time in more than a year and this squadron, consisting of three ships of the line and three frigates, was entrusted to Rear-Admiral Sir Horatio Nelson
Battle of the Nile
–
"The Destruction of
L'Orient at the Battle of the Nile"
George Arnald, 1827,
National Maritime Museum, in
Greenwich,
London,
England
Battle of the Nile
–
Rear-Admiral Sir Horatio Nelson,
Lemuel Francis Abbott, 1800,
National Maritime Museum. Visible on his cocked hat is the
aigrette presented by the Ottoman Sultan as a reward for the victory at the Nile
Battle of the Nile
–
François-Paul Brueys d'Aigalliers artist unknown,
Palace of Versailles
Battle of the Nile
–
Battle of the Nile, Augt 1st 1798,
Thomas Whitcombe, 1816,
National Maritime Museum. The British fleet bears down on the French line.
16.
Revolt of Cairo
–
The revolt of Cairo occurred on 21 October 1798 against the French occupation of Egypt led by Napoleon Bonaparte. In 1798, Napoleon led the French army into Egypt, swiftly conquering Alexandria, however, in October of that year, an uprising by the people of Cairo surprised the French forces. While Bonaparte was in old Cairo, the population was spreading weapons around the streets and fortifying strongpoints. The French commander, General Dupuy, was murdered, as well as Bonapartes Aide-de-camp Joseph Sulkowski, excited by the sheikhs and imams, the Egyptians swore by the Prophet to exterminate all Frenchmen and any Frenchman they met — at home or in the streets — was mercilessly killed. Crowds rallied at the city gates to keep out Bonaparte, who was repulsed and forced to take a detour to get in via the Boulaq gate. The Arabs and the Egyptian peasants had common cause with those rising against the French in Cairo — the whole desert was in arms. A manifesto of the Great Lord was published widely throughout Egypt, stating, The French responded by setting up cannons in the Citadel and firing them at Azhar, during the night, the French had forces go into the area and destroy the barricades. The cavalry forced their way into the Azhur and killed a number of people. Via Napoleons orders the Arabs were beaten back into the desert, Bonaparte personally hunted down the rebels from street to street and forced them to concentrate in the Great Mosque. Bonaparte said that He is too late — youve begun, now I will finish and he then immediately ordered his cannon to open fire on the Mosque. The French broke down the gates and stormed into the building, massacring the Egyptians inside, back in absolute control of Cairo, Bonaparte sought out the authors and instigators of the revolt. Several sheikhs and many Turks or Egyptians were convicted of participation in the plot, to complete his punishment, the city was hit by a high tax and its divan was replaced by a military commission
Revolt of Cairo
–
Revolt in Cairo on 21 October 1798,
Girodet-Trioson, 1810
17.
Siege of El Arish
–
In the Siege of El Arish French forces under Napoleon Bonaparte defeated Ottoman forces in the fortress in an eleven-day siege. It fell on February 19,1799, French,2,160 under General Jean Reynier. Turkish,15,500 soldiers in fort and relief, commanded by Abdullah Pasha, january 2,1799, Jezzar Pasha sent 4000 soldiers and 3 cannons, under the command of Abdullah Pasha of Damascus, to secure Kalaat El Arish. Upon reaching the village, the took a position in the village. At the same time, Reynier and his forces were in Katieh Fort, February 8,1799, Reyniers division reached Masoodiah, where French soldiers captured a Mamluk runner who told them that El Arish was now under Turkish control. Reynier sent a courier to Bonaparte calling for reinforcements and took position on a sand hill near El Arish. In response, the Turkish army moved into a nearby palm forest and their cavalry begin attacking the French. After half an hour of fire, Reynier sent the 85th demi-brigade to take the village El Arish. The Turkish defenders of the village escaped into their fort, French losses,200 killed and 300 wounded. Turkish losses,500 killed wounded or captured, at around 11, 00pm the main Turkish forces took a position on the right side of the defile. February 12,1799, Klebers division reached Kalaat El Arish, Reyniers division moved into position in the palm forest near the defile. February 14,1799, Reyniers forces began an assault on the Turkish camp, French losses,3 killed and 20 wounded. Turkish losses, About 500 killed and 900 prisoners of war,1,000 soldiers under Turkish commander Ibrahim Nizam were still inside the fort. After clearing captured material Reynier established a camp from which he blockaded the fort, meanwhile, the main French forces arrived in Kalaat El Arish. February 17,1799, General Louis Caffarelli started engineering work. February 18–19,1799, French began artillery fire on the Turkish fortification. February 20,1799, after capturing the fort, the French repaired the fortification. Turkish losses,400 killed or wounded, around 300 joined the French army, most of the rest moved to Baghdad, however around 40 settled in Great Britain with the help of British military commanders sympathetic to their cause
Siege of El Arish
–
Arish is the capital of the North Sinai Governorate in north-east Egypt
18.
Siege of Jaffa
–
The Siege of Jaffa was fought from 3 to 7 March 1799 between France and the Ottoman Empire. The French were led by Napoleon Bonaparte, and they captured the city, Jaffa was surrounded by high walls, flanked by towers. Ahmed al-Jazzar entrusted its defence to his troops, including 1,200 artillerymen. All the exterior works could be besieged and a breach was feasible, when Bonaparte sent a Turk to the commander to order its surrender. He was pushed back and as early as the evening of the same day, according to some sources, the French messengers who brusquely told the city of Napoleons ultimatum had been arrested, tortured, castrated and decapitated, and their heads impaled on the city walls. This harsh treatment led Napoleon, when the city fell, to allow his soldiers two days and nights of slaughter and rape and he also executed the Turkish governor Abdallah Bey. Napoleon also allowed hundreds of Egyptians to leave, hoping that the news they would carry of Jaffas fall would intimidate the defenders of the cities in Syria. This backfired, since their news instead made these defenders fight all the more fiercely, meanwhile, a plague epidemic caused by poor hygiene in the French headquarters in Ramla decimated the local population and the French army alike. Overcome in the north of the country by the Turks, Napoleon abandoned Palestine, after his departure the British, allied to the Turks and commanded by William Sidney Smith, rebuilt Jaffas city walls. In the years 1800 to 1814, after a new siege, Jaffa was again taken over by Napoleons former opponent, Ahmed al-Jazzar, Acres governor
Siege of Jaffa
–
The painting
Napoleon visiting the plague victims of Jaffa, by
Antoine-Jean Gros depicts the aftermath of this battle.
Siege of Jaffa
–
The monument to Napoleon's soldiers at
Stella Maris Monastery.
19.
Siege of Acre (1799)
–
The Siege of Acre of 1799 was an unsuccessful French siege of the Ottoman-defended, walled city of Acre and was the turning point of Napoleons invasion of Egypt and Syria. It was one of Napoleons few defeats, Acre was a site of significant strategic importance due to its commanding position on the route between Egypt and Syria. Bonaparte wanted to capture it following his invasion of Egypt and he hoped to incite a Syrian rebellion against the Ottomans and threaten British rule in India. After the Siege of Jaffa, which was followed by two days and nights of massacre and rape by the French forces, the defenders of the citadel were even more fierce, the French attempted to lay siege on 20 March using only their infantry. Napoleon believed the city would capitulate quickly to him, however, the troops of the capable Jezzar Pasha, refusing to surrender, withstood the siege for one and a half months. Haim Farhi, al-Jazzars Jewish adviser and right-hand man, played a key role in the citys defense and these facts were well known to the townspeople and defending troops in Acre, and the prospect is likely to have stiffened their resistance. A Royal Navy flotilla under Commodore Sidney Smith helped to reinforce the Ottoman defences and supplied the city with cannon manned by sailors. Smith used his command of the sea to capture the French siege artillery being sent by a flotilla of gunboats from Egypt, an artillery expert from the fleet, Antoine Le Picard de Phélippeaux, then redeployed against Napoleons forces the artillery pieces which the British had intercepted. Smith anchored the line-of-battle ships Tigre and Theseus so their broadsides could assist the defence, the gunboats, which were of shallower draft, could come in closer, and together they helped repel repeated French assaults. On 16 April a Turkish relief force was fought off at the Mount Tabor, by early May, replacement French siege artillery had arrived overland and a breach was forced in the defences. At the culmination of the assault, the forces managed to make a breach in the walls. Discovery of this new construction convinced Napoleon and his men that the probability of their taking the city was minimal, moreover, after the assault was again repelled, Turkish reinforcements from Rhodes were able to land. Plague had struck the French camp as a result of the condition of the men. Throughout the siege, both Napoleon and Jezzar sought in vain the assistance of the Shihab leader, Bashir—ruler of much of present-day Lebanon. As things turned out, it was the French side which suffered most from the attitude of Bashir, Napoleon Bonaparte retreated two months later on 21 May after a failed final assault on 10 May, and withdrew to Egypt. I would have made them into a Sacred Battalion--my Immortals, I would have finished the war against the Turks with Arabic, Greek, and Armenian troops. Instead of a battle in Moravia, I would have won a Battle of Issus, I would have made myself emperor of the East, whether this is true or not, Farhi defended the city with the rest of the Turks. Whatever Napoleons actual intentions, these stories and rumors are considered to be among the earliest harbingers of what would become the Zionist Movement
Siege of Acre (1799)
–
The general outlook of Old Acre, seen here in a present-day view from above, has changed little since 1799
Siege of Acre (1799)
–
A painting reflecting a British view, assigning the main heroic role at the Acre siege to Admiral Smith and relegating the Turks to a secondary role
Siege of Acre (1799)
–
The remains of the internal fortification line erected by Farhi and De-Phelipoux within the walls of Acre, during Napoleon's siege, May 1799.
Siege of Acre (1799)
–
Cemetery for Napoleon's soldiers in Acre, including the grave of General
Caffarelli.
20.
Battle of Mount Tabor (1799)
–
Not to be confused with the Battle of Mount Tabor. In the Battle of Mount Tabor, or Skirmish of Mount Tabor, Napoleon Bonaparte was besieging Acre, and Damascus sent its army to relieve the siege. Operating to the south of Acre in Palestine and he hoped this action would hold him in good stead with Napoleon. He must have believed that he had at least a few chances of victory, with his peers and himself being outnumbered and he decided upon a night attack on 15 April, he would circle the northern side of Mount Tabor and raid the Ottoman camp. With Kléber’s headquarters was General Verdier’s wife, Verdier commanding a brigade during the forthcoming battle, Kléber sent dispatches to Napoleon about the forthcoming action which would reach him around the time of the battle but not give him a chance to intervene beforehand. Kléber marched east from Nazareth, circling Mount Tabor, keeping west of the Jordan River, unfortunately Kléber badly estimated how long it would take him to reach the Ottoman camp, and at the break of dawn he was at the southern base of Mount Tabor. The Ottoman forces spotted Klébers soldiers in the daylight. Another option would have been to attempt to climb Mount Tabor as high as possible in his limited amount of time, from 6am to 4pm the French withstood repeated Ottoman charges. They suffered few casualties and easily held their square, but as the day wore on their ammunition ran low, the Ottomans suffered substantial losses, but they could easily replace their casualties and keep up with good supplies and strength to continue repeated strikes throughout the day. Just when all seemed to be lost, and Kléber prepared for a last-ditch breakout towards the Jordan, Kléber tried to verify their report, which could be a relief column under Napoleon, but he saw nothing but the open desert and a monstrous enemy force. However a moment later Kléber saw the column, at the first moment Kléber had looked. Although Kléber saw and his men began to feel relief, their opponent still had many more men than Napoleon. Napoleon found himself between the Ottomans and their camp, he decided to distract them by detaching 300 men to pillage and this succeeded far more than Napoleon could have imagined, upon seeing the destruction of their belongings, the Ottomans assumed they were surrounded. In response, the Ottoman army began to retreat to the south, overall Kléber’s casualties were two dead and seventeen wounded but had Napoleon arrived just an hour later their casualties would have been far more serious. On the other hand, the Ottomans, although estimates can not be relied upon, had lost a proportion of their overall force. The Greenhill Napoleonic Wars Data Book, Napoleonic guide - description of the battle
Battle of Mount Tabor (1799)
–
Mount Tabor
Battle of Mount Tabor (1799)
–
Location of battle, as given on map by
Pierre Jacotin, 1826.
21.
Battle of Mandora
–
The Battle of Mandora was fought on 13 March 1801 between the French Armée dOrient and the British expeditionary corps, during the French campaign in Egypt and Syria. The British corps, under the command of Lieutenant-General Sir Ralph Abercromby, had sent to Egypt to remove the French garrison from the region. Having established a depot and field hospital on the beach, the British besieged and captured Aboukir Castle from the French, on 12 March, the British began their cautious advance towards Alexandria along a narrow isthmus between the Mediterranean and Lake Maadie. When they reached a feature called Mandora Tower, they camp for the night. Accordingly, the British began their advance at first light, in two lines, few of the French cavalry reached the British line, most being driven off by an effective volley of musketry. General Hutchinson was ordered to take a hill overlooking the plain from the south which was successful, however, General Moore, commanding the right hand column, was met with intense artillery fire to which they were totally exposed. The British set about further fortifying their new position, landed guns from the ships offshore. It was in position that a French counterattack would be defeated in the Battle of Alexandria on 21 March. The British 90th and 92nd Regiments of Foot, who had borne the brunt of the fighting, were awarded the battle honour Mandora, the Mandora Barracks at Aldershot in Hampshire were named after this action
Battle of Mandora
–
A detail of the Operations of the British Forces in Egypt in 1801 by
William Faden. The British positions on 12 March are marked "6". The British attack on 13 March is marked "7" and the French defensive position is marked "C". The furthest advance of the British on that day is marked "8", however they retired to "7" following the French counter attack.
22.
Battle of Alexandria
–
The British position on the night of 20 March extended across the isthmus, the right wing resting upon the ruins of Nicopolis and the sea, the left on the lake of Abukir and the Alexandria canal. In the second line were two brigades and the cavalry. On 21 March, the troops were under arms at 3 a. m. and at 3,30 a. m. the French attacked, the French army now moved forward with great rapidity in their usual formation of columns. The brunt of the attack fell upon Moores command, and in particular upon the 28th Regiment of Foot, the British repulsed the first shock but a French column penetrated in the dark between two British regiments. A confused fight ensued in the ruins, in which the 42nd Black Watch captured a colour, other regiments that assisted in the overthrow of the French column were the 23rd, 40th and 58th. In a second attack the cavalry inflicted severe losses on the 42nd. Sir Ralph Abercromby was here engaged in conflict with some French dragoons. About half-past eight the combat began to wane, and the last shots were fired at ten, the 42nd, twice charged by cavalry, had but 13 men wounded by the sabre. The forces engaged on this day were approximately 14,000 British to about 9,000 French, losses for the British were,1,468 killed, wounded and missing, including Abercromby, Moore and three other generals wounded. The French on the hand had 1,160 killed and 3,000 wounded. The British advanced upon Alexandria and laid siege to it, the French garrison surrendered on 2 September 1801. French campaign in Egypt and Syria
Battle of Alexandria
–
The Battle of Alexandria, 21 March 1801 Painting by
Philip James de Loutherbourg
Battle of Alexandria
–
Jacques-françois Meno
Battle of Alexandria
–
The map of the British plan for the battle.
Battle of Alexandria
–
Abercromby (center) fights two French dragoons (from an English book)
23.
Siege of Fort Julien
–
The Siege of Fort Julien was a military engagement that took place during the French Revolutionary Wars as part of the French campaign in Egypt and Syria from 8 to 19 April 1801. The action was between a British and Ottoman force numbering 2,000 men and a besieged French force of 300 men. Background The French took possession of a fort on 19 July 1799, only a few days before the Battle of Abukir and it was subsequently reconstructed and was renamed Fort Julien after Thomas Prosper Jullien, one of Napoleons aides-de-camp. It was during this reconstruction that the Rosetta Stone was found, Fort Julien was an important link in the French defensive line on the route to Cairo and barred access from the sea to the lower reaches of the river. French gunboats operated along the nearby, blocking access to the mouth of the Nile. When the British landed at Abukir Bay on 1 March 1801, Fort Julien was garrisoned by a total of around 300 men, comprising a unit of veterans or invalides supported by artillery and infantry from the 61st demi-brigade. Siege The British marched on Rosetta on 8 April, accompanied by an 1,000 Ottoman troops, the siege was complicated by the difficulties of bringing artillery to bear on the fort, a task which took eight days. Seven gunboats had to be dragged for 5 kilometres across sand, while 24-pound naval carronades were landed on the sea shore and dragged 6 kilometres overland to reach their firing positions. The French gunboats were driven back by their British opponents, enabling other British and Turkish gunboats to enter the river, on 16 April the artillery preparations were completed and the bombardment commenced, focusing on the south-west angle of the fort. A section of the wall collapsed on 18 April, exposing the French defenders to Turkish sharpshooters, the French then waved white flags, and after negotiations the French agreed to surrender. Aftermath At 11,00 on 19 April, the 264 surviving members of the French garrison marched out, the French suffered 41 casualties, killed and wounded, while the British side suffered the loss of one lieutenant and two privates. Rossetta was subsequently taken without any opposition, hutchinson then invested Cairo and on 27 June the 13, 000-strong French garrison under General Augustin Daniel Belliard, out-manned and out-gunned, surrendered. General John Moore then escorted them to the coast via Rosetta, British Victory in Egypt,1801, The End of Napoleons Conquest. Saunders, Nicholas J. Alexanders Tomb, The Two Thousand Year Obsession to Find the Lost Conqueror. Journal of the campaign in Egypt, including descriptions of that country, and of Gibraltar, Minorca, Malta, Marmorice
Siege of Fort Julien
–
Fort Julien, with an Egyptian Boat, 1803
24.
Siege of Alexandria
–
The Siege of Alexandria was fought between 17 August and 2 September 1801, during the French Revolutionary Wars, between French and British forces and was the last action of the Egyptian Campaign. The French had occupied Alexandria, a fortified harbour city on the Nile Delta in northern Egypt, since 2 July 1798. The battle between the British and French at Canope on 21 March 1801 resulted in a French repulse, the French under Menou, disheartened by this failure, retired to Alexandria. With Abercrombies death, John Hely-Hutchinson succeeded as commander of the British force in August and he now intended to lay siege to Alexandria and bottle Menou up. Hutchinson left Coote with 6,000 men and then sent part of the reserve with Baron Charles De Hompesh to capture Rosetta and he then advanced to Cairo, which he reached, after a few skirmishes, in mid June. Joined by a sizable Turkish force Hutchinson invested Cairo and on 27 June the 13, 000-strong French garrison under General Augustin Daniel Belliard, General John Moore then escorted them to the coast via Rosetta. Hutchinson, with Cairo out of the way, now began the reduction of Alexandria. He had thirty five battalions in total, both sides mounted combined assaults but the French soldiers, unable to break out and with food shortages and disease taking their toll, became increasingly disillusioned with the campaign. Menou knew he had no hope and on 26 August asked for terms, the terms as amended by British commanders and put into effect are known as the Capitulation of Alexandria. By 2 September total of 10,000 French surrendered under terms which allowed them to keep their weapons and baggage. However, all French ships and cannons at Alexandria were surrendered to the British, historians relate that the French garrison, feeling abandoned by an uncaring Republic, gradually abandoned the high standards of conduct and service characteristic of the French Revolutionary Army. Many soldiers refused to renew their oath to the Republic, or did so half-heartedly and he would so start the 19th-century tradition of horse meat consumption in France. After the surrender, a dispute arose over the fate of French archaeological, one of the key artifacts was the Rosetta Stone which had been discovered in mid-July 1799 by French scientists of the Institut dÉgypte. Menou refused to hand them over, claiming they belonged to the institute, how exactly the stone came into British hands is disputed. Colonel Tomkyns Hilgrove Turner, who escorted the stone to Britain, claimed later that he had seized it from Menou. Turner brought the stone to Britain aboard Egyptienne, landing in February 1802, on 11 March it was presented to the Society of Antiquaries of London. Later it was taken to the British Museum, where it remains to this day, inscriptions painted in white on the artifact state Captured in Egypt by the British Army in 1801 on the left side and Presented by King George III on the right. French Campaign in Egypt and Syria Citations Bibliography Barthorp, Michael, napoleons Egyptian Campaigns 1798-1801, Osprey Publishing,1992
Siege of Alexandria
–
Map of Egypt with Alexandria highlighted
25.
Napoleon
–
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led several successful campaigns during the French Revolutionary Wars. As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 until 1814, Napoleon dominated European and global affairs for more than a decade while leading France against a series of coalitions in the Napoleonic Wars. He won most of these wars and the vast majority of his battles, one of the greatest commanders in history, his wars and campaigns are studied at military schools worldwide. Napoleons political and cultural legacy has ensured his status as one of the most celebrated and he was born Napoleone di Buonaparte in Corsica to a relatively modest family from the minor nobility. When the Revolution broke out in 1789, Napoleon was serving as an officer in the French army. Seizing the new opportunities presented by the Revolution, he rose through the ranks of the military. The Directory eventually gave him command of the Army of Italy after he suppressed a revolt against the government from royalist insurgents, in 1798, he led a military expedition to Egypt that served as a springboard to political power. He engineered a coup in November 1799 and became First Consul of the Republic and his ambition and public approval inspired him to go further, and in 1804 he became the first Emperor of the French. Intractable differences with the British meant that the French were facing a Third Coalition by 1805, in 1806, the Fourth Coalition took up arms against him because Prussia became worried about growing French influence on the continent. Napoleon quickly defeated Prussia at the battles of Jena and Auerstedt, then marched the Grand Army deep into Eastern Europe, France then forced the defeated nations of the Fourth Coalition to sign the Treaties of Tilsit in July 1807, bringing an uneasy peace to the continent. Tilsit signified the high watermark of the French Empire, hoping to extend the Continental System and choke off British trade with the European mainland, Napoleon invaded Iberia and declared his brother Joseph the King of Spain in 1808. The Spanish and the Portuguese revolted with British support, the Peninsular War lasted six years, featured extensive guerrilla warfare, and ended in victory for the Allies. The Continental System caused recurring diplomatic conflicts between France and its client states, especially Russia, unwilling to bear the economic consequences of reduced trade, the Russians routinely violated the Continental System and enticed Napoleon into another war. The French launched an invasion of Russia in the summer of 1812. The resulting campaign witnessed the collapse of the Grand Army, the destruction of Russian cities, in 1813, Prussia and Austria joined Russian forces in a Sixth Coalition against France. A lengthy military campaign culminated in a large Allied army defeating Napoleon at the Battle of Leipzig in October 1813, the Allies then invaded France and captured Paris in the spring of 1814, forcing Napoleon to abdicate in April. He was exiled to the island of Elba near Rome and the Bourbons were restored to power, however, Napoleon escaped from Elba in February 1815 and took control of France once again. The Allies responded by forming a Seventh Coalition, which defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in June, the British exiled him to the remote island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic, where he died six years later at the age of 51
Napoleon
–
The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries, by
Jacques-Louis David, 1812
Napoleon
–
Imperial coat of arms
Napoleon
–
Napoleon's father
Carlo Buonaparte was
Corsica 's representative to the court of
Louis XVI of France.
Napoleon
–
Napoleon Bonaparte, aged 23, Lieutenant-Colonel of a battalion of Corsican
Republican volunteers
26.
Ottoman army
–
The history of military of the Ottoman Empire can be divided in five main periods. The earliest form of the Ottoman military was a cavalry force. This was centralized by Osman I from Turkoman tribesmen inhabiting western Anatolia in the late 13th century and these horsemen became an irregular force of raiders used as shock troops, armed with simple weapons like bows and spears. They were given fiefs called timars in the lands, and were later called timariots. In addition they acquired wealth during campaigns, Orhan I organized a standing army paid by salary rather than booty or fiefs. The infantry were called yayas and the cavalry was known as müsellems, the force was made up by foreign mercenaries for the most part, and only a few Turks were content to accept salaries in place of timars. Foreign mercenaries were not required to convert to Islam as long as they obeyed their Ottoman commanders, the Ottomans began using guns sometime at the 15th century. Ottoman Classical Army was the structure established by Mehmed II, during his reorganization of the state. This is the reorganization following Orhan I which organized a standing army paid by salary rather than booty or fiefs. This army was the force during rise of the Ottoman Empire, the organization was twofold, central and peripheral. Following a century long reform efforts, this Army was forced to disbandment by Sultan Mahmud II on 15 June 1826 by what is known as Auspicious Incident, the main theme of this period is reforming the Janissaries. The Janissary corps were made up of conscripted young Christian boys who became military educated under the Ottoman Empire. During the 15th and 16th Centuries they became known as the most efficient, aside from the Janissary infantry, there was also the Sipahi Cavalry. They were, however, different from the Janissaries in that they had military and administrative duties. Within these agricultural lands, the Sipahi were in charge of collecting the taxes which would serve as their salary, at the same time they were responsible for maintaining peace and order there. They were also expected to be able to serve in the military whenever the Sultan deemed their service necessary, western cavalry military people were imported as advisors but their abilities to enact change on the Classic Army were limited. The Ottoman Empire made numerous efforts to recruit French experts for its modernization, another officer François Baron de Tott was involved in the reform efforts for the Ottoman military. He succeeded in having a new foundry built to make howitzers and he built fortifications on the Bosphorus and started a naval science course that laid the foundation stone for the later Turkish Naval Academy
Ottoman army
–
Aga
Ottoman army
–
Sipahi
Ottoman army
–
Head cook
27.
French invasion of Egypt (1798)
–
It was the primary purpose of the Mediterranean campaign of 1798, a series of naval engagements that included the capture of Malta. On the scientific front, the led to the discovery of the Rosetta Stone. At the time of the invasion, the Directoire had assumed power in France. The notion of annexing Egypt as a French colony had been discussion since François Baron de Tott undertook a secret mission to the Levant in 1777 to determine its feasibility. Baron de Totts report was favorable, but no action was taken. Nevertheless, Egypt became a topic of debate between Talleyrand and Napoleon, which continued in their correspondence during Napoleons Italian campaign, in early 1798, Bonaparte proposed a military expedition to seize Egypt. Bonaparte wished to establish a French presence in the Middle East, with the dream of linking with Frances ally Tipu Sultan. At the time, Egypt had been an Ottoman province since 1517, but was now out of direct Ottoman control, in France, Egyptian fashion was in full swing – intellectuals believed that Egypt was the cradle of western civilization and wished to conquer it. French traders already based on the River Nile were complaining of harassment by the Mamluks and he assured the Directoire that as soon as he had conquered Egypt, he will establish relations with the Indian princes and, together with them, attack the English in their possessions. The Directoire agreed to the plan in March 1798, though troubled by its scope, however, they saw that it would remove the popular and over-ambitious Napoleon from the center of power, though this motive long remained secret. Rumors became rife as 40,000 soldiers and 10,000 sailors were gathered in French Mediterranean ports, a large fleet was assembled at Toulon,13 ships of the line,14 frigates, and 400 transports. To avoid interception by the British fleet under Nelson, the target was kept secret. It was known only to Bonaparte himself, his generals Berthier and Caffarelli, Bonaparte was the commander, with subordinates including Thomas Alexandre Dumas, Kléber, Desaix, Berthier, Caffarelli, Lannes, Damas, Murat, Andréossy, Belliard, Menou, and Zajączek. His aides de camp included his brother Louis Bonaparte, Duroc, Eugène de Beauharnais, Thomas Prosper Jullien, and the Polish nobleman Joseph Sulkowski. The fleet at Toulon was joined by squadrons from Genoa, Civitavecchia and Bastia and was put under the command of Admiral Brueys and Contre-amirals Villeneuve, Du Chayla, Decrès and Ganteaume. The fleet was about to set sail when a crisis developed with Austria, the crisis was resolved in a few weeks, and Bonaparte received orders to travel to Toulon as soon as possible. It is claimed that, in a meeting with the Directoire, Bonaparte threatened to dissolve them and directeur Reubell gave him a pen saying Sign there. Bonaparte arrived at Toulon on 9 May 1798, lodging with Benoît Georges de Najac, grand Master von Hompesch replied that only two foreign ships would be allowed to enter the port at a time
French invasion of Egypt (1798)
–
Battle of the Pyramids
French invasion of Egypt (1798)
–
Napoleon's arrival in Malta
French invasion of Egypt (1798)
–
French Campaign in Egypt, 1798–99
28.
Egypt Eyalet
–
The Eyalet of Egypt was the result of the conquest of Mamluk Egypt by the Ottoman Empire in 1517, following the Ottoman–Mamluk War and the absorption of Syria into the Empire in 1516. Egypt was administered as an eyalet of the Ottoman Empire from 1517 until 1867, as such, Egypt remained semi-autonomous under the Mamluks until it was invaded by the French forces of Napoleon I in 1798. After the French were expelled, power was seized in 1805 by Muhammad Ali Pasha, Egypt under the Muhammad Ali dynasty remained nominally an Ottoman province. It was granted the status of a vassal state or Khedivate in 1867. Ismail Pasha and Tewfik Pasha governed Egypt as a quasi-independent state under Ottoman suzerainty until the British occupation of 1882, after the conquest of Egypt, the Ottoman Sultan Selim I left the country. Grand Vizier Yunus Pasha was awarded the governorship of Egypt, the history of early Ottoman Egypt is a competition for power between the Mamluks and the representatives of the Ottoman Sultan. The register by which a portion of the land was a fief of the Mamluks was left unchanged. Six regiments were constituted by the conqueror Selim for the protection of Egypt, to those Suleiman added a seventh and it was the practice of the Sublime Porte to change the governor of Egypt at very short intervals, after a year or less. The fourth governor, Hain Ahmed Pasha, hearing that orders for his execution had come from Constantinople, endeavoured to make himself an independent ruler and had coins struck in his own name. In 1527, the first survey of Egypt under the Ottomans was made, the copy of the former registers having perished by fire. Egyptian lands were divided into four classes, the domain, fiefs, land for the maintenance of the army. In 1609, something like civil war broke out between the army and the pasha, who had loyal regiments on his side and the Bedouins, the soldiers went so far as to choose a sultan, and to provisionally divide the regions of Cairo between them. They were defeated by the governor Kara Mehmed Pasha, who, on February 5,1610, entered Cairo in triumph, executed the ringleaders, historians speak of this event as a second conquest of Egypt for the Ottomans. A great financial reform was effected by Kara Mehmed Pasha. With the troubles that beset the metropolis of the Ottoman Empire, in July 1623, an order came from the Porte dismissing Kara Mustafa Pasha, and appointing Çeşteci Ali Pasha governor in his place. Meanwhile, Çeşteci Ali Pasha had arrived at Alexandria and was met by a deputation from Cairo telling him that he was not wanted. He returned an answer, when a rejoinder came in the same style as the first message. The garrison of Alexandria then attacked the castle and rescued the prisoner, whereupon Çeşteci Ali Pasha was compelled to reembark on his ship, shortly thereafter, a rescript arrived from Constantinople confirming Kara Mustafa Pasha in the governorship
Egypt Eyalet
–
Flag
Egypt Eyalet
–
Murad Bey by Dutertre in
Description de l'Egypte, 1809.
Egypt Eyalet
–
Battle of the Pyramids,
Francois-Louis-Joseph Watteau, 1798–1799
29.
Sidney Smith (admiral)
–
Admiral Sir William Sidney Smith, GCB, GCTE, KmstkSO, FRS was a British naval officer. Serving in the American and French revolutionary wars, he rose to the rank of admiral. Napoleon Bonaparte, reminiscing later in his life, said of him, Sidney Smith, as he always called himself, was born into a military and naval family with connections to the Pitt family. He was the son of Captain John Smith of the Guards. Sidney Smith attended Tonbridge School until 1772 and he joined the Royal Navy in 1777 and fought in the American Revolutionary War, where he saw action in 1778 against the American frigate Raleigh. He was soon promoted to captain a larger frigate, but following the peace of Versailles in 1783, during the peace, Smith chose to travel to France and first became involved with intelligence matters while observing the construction of the new naval port at Cherbourg. He also traveled in Spain and Morocco which were also potential enemies, in 1790, he applied for permission to serve in the Royal Swedish Navy in the war between Sweden and Russia. King Gustav III appointed him to command the squadron and to be his principal naval adviser. Smith led his forces in clearing the Bay of Viborg of the Russian fleet, the Russians lost sixty-four ships and over a thousand men. The Swedes lost four ships and had few casualties, for this, Smith was knighted by the king with the Swedish Svärdsorden. Smith used this title, with King George IIIs permission, but was mocked by fellow British officers as the Swedish knight. There were a number of British officers, on half pay like Smith, as a result, Smith earned the enmity of many British naval officers for his Swedish service. In 1792, Smiths younger brother, John Spencer Smith, was appointed to the British embassy to the Ottoman court in Istanbul, Smith obtained permission to travel to Turkey. While there, war broke out with Revolutionary France in January 1793, by Smiths arrival in December 1793, the Revolutionary forces, including a colonel of artillery, Napoleon Bonaparte, had surrounded the port and were attacking it. The British and their allies had insufficient soldiers to mount an effective defence, Smith, serving as a volunteer with no command, was given the task of burning as many French ships and stores as possible before the harbour could be captured. Despite his efforts, lack of support from the Spanish forces sent to him left more than half of the French ships to be captured undamaged. On his return to London, Smith was given command of the fifth-rate HMS Diamond and this squadron consisted of some of the most skillful and daring captains including Sir Edward Pellew. Smith fitted the pattern and on one occasion took his ship almost into the port of Brest to observe the French fleet, in July 1795, Captain Smith, commanding the western frigate squadron in HMS Diamond, occupied the Îles Saint-Marcouf off the coast of Normandy
Sidney Smith (admiral)
–
Commodore Smith at
Acre
Sidney Smith (admiral)
–
Miniature portrait by
Louis-Marie Autissier,
watercolour on
ivory, 1823.
Sidney Smith (admiral)
–
Statue commissioned as a national monument, pursuant to vote of the House of Commons in 1842, now in the
National Maritime Museum
Sidney Smith (admiral)
–
Grave of Sir Sidney Smith and his wife Caroline in the Père Lachaise cemetery, Paris
30.
Kingdom of Great Britain
–
The Kingdom of Great Britain, officially Great Britain, was a sovereign state in western Europe from 1 May 1707 to 31 December 1800. It did not include Ireland, which remained a separate realm, the unitary state was governed by a single parliament and government that was based in Westminster. Also after the accession of George I to the throne of Great Britain in 1714, the early years of the unified kingdom were marked by Jacobite risings which ended in defeat for the Stuart cause at Culloden in 1746. On 1 January 1801, the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland were merged to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922, five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the United Kingdom, the name Britain descends from the Latin name for the island of Great Britain, Britannia or Brittānia, the land of the Britons via the Old French Bretaigne and Middle English Bretayne, Breteyne. The term Great Britain was first used officially in 1474, in the instrument drawing up the proposal for a marriage between Edward IV of Englands daughter Cecily and James III of Scotlands son James. The Treaty of Union and the subsequent Acts of Union state that England and Scotland were to be United into one Kingdom by the Name of Great Britain. However, both the Acts and the Treaty also refer numerous times to the United Kingdom and the longer form, other publications refer to the country as the United Kingdom after 1707 as well. The websites of the UK parliament, the Scottish Parliament, the BBC, additionally, the term United Kingdom was found in informal use during the 18th century to describe the state. The new state created in 1707 included the island of Great Britain, the kingdoms of England and Scotland, both in existence from the 9th century, were separate states until 1707. However, they had come into a union in 1603. Each of the three kingdoms maintained its own parliament and laws and this disposition changed dramatically when the Acts of Union 1707 came into force, with a single unified Crown of Great Britain and a single unified parliament. Ireland remained formally separate, with its own parliament, until the Acts of Union 1800, legislative power was vested in the Parliament of Great Britain, which replaced both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. In practice it was a continuation of the English parliament, sitting at the location in Westminster. Newly created peers in the Peerage of Great Britain were given the right to sit in the Lords. Despite the end of a parliament for Scotland, it retained its own laws. As a result of Poynings Law of 1495, the Parliament of Ireland was subordinate to the Parliament of England, the Act was repealed by the Repeal of Act for Securing Dependence of Ireland Act 1782. The same year, the Irish constitution of 1782 produced a period of legislative freedom, the 18th century saw England, and after 1707 Great Britain, rise to become the worlds dominant colonial power, with France its main rival on the imperial stage
Kingdom of Great Britain
–
Lord Clive meeting
Mir Jafar after the
Battle of Plassey, by
Francis Hayman (c. 1762)
Kingdom of Great Britain
–
Flag
Kingdom of Great Britain
–
Pitt addressing the
Commons in 1793
31.
French Directory
–
It gave its name to the final four years of the French Revolution. The Directory was continually at war with foreign coalitions which at different times included Britain, Austria, Prussia, the Kingdom of Naples, Russia and it annexed Belgium and the left bank of the Rhine, while Bonaparte conquered a large part of Italy. The Directory established six short-lived sister republics modelled after France, in Italy, Switzerland, the conquered cities and states were required to send to France huge amounts of money, as well as art treasures, which were used to fill the new Louvre museum in Paris. An army led by Bonaparte conquered Egypt and marched as far as Saint-Jean-dAcre in Syria, the French economy was in continual crisis during the Directory. At the beginning, the treasury was empty, the money, the Assignat, had fallen to a fraction of its value. The Directory stopped printing assignats and restored the value of the money, but this caused a new crisis, prices and wages fell, and economic activity slowed to a standstill. The Jacobin political club was closed and the government crushed an uprising planned by the Jacobins. The Jacobins took two seats in the Directory, hopelessly dividing it. In 1799, after several defeats, French victories in the Netherlands and Switzerland restored the French military position, Bonaparte returned from Egypt in October, and was engaged by the Abbé Sieyès and other moderates to carry out a parliamentary coup détat on 8–9 November 1799. The coup abolished the Directory, put the French Consulate led by Bonaparte in its place, Robespierre and his leading followers were declared outside the law, and on 28 July were arrested, and guillotined the same day. The Terror quickly came to a halt, the Revolutionary Tribunal, which had sent thousands to the guillotine, ceased meeting and its head, Fouquier-Tinville, was arrested and imprisoned, and after trial was himself guillotined. More than five hundred suspected counter-revolutionaries awaiting trial and execution were immediately released, in the wake of these events, the members of the Convention began planning an entirely new form of government. They wished to continue the Revolution, but without its excesses and this executive will have a force concentrated enough that it will be swift and firm, but divided enough to make it impossible for any member to even consider becoming a tyrant. A single chief would be dangerous, each member will preside for three months, he will have during this time the signature and seal of the head of state. By the slow and gradual replacement of members of the Directory, you will preserve the advantages of order and continuity and will have the advantages of unity without the inconveniences. To assure that the Directors would have some independence, each would be elected by one portion of the legislature, the members of this legislature had a term of three years, with one-third of the members renewed every year. The Ancients could not initiate new laws, but could veto those proposed by the Council of Five Hundred, the new Constitution required the Council of 500 to prepare, by secret ballot, a list of candidates for the Directory. The Council of the Ancients then chose, again by secret ballot, the Constitution required that Directors be at least forty years old
French Directory
–
Paul Barras, the only Director to serve during the entire term of the Directory
French Directory
–
The
War in the Vendée was a royalist uprising that was suppressed by the republican forces in 1796.
French Directory
–
Lucien Bonaparte, President of the
Council of 500, who engineered the coup that brought his brother to power.
French Directory
–
First Republic (1792–1804)
32.
Sidney Smith (Royal Navy officer)
–
Admiral Sir William Sidney Smith, GCB, GCTE, KmstkSO, FRS was a British naval officer. Serving in the American and French revolutionary wars, he rose to the rank of admiral. Napoleon Bonaparte, reminiscing later in his life, said of him, Sidney Smith, as he always called himself, was born into a military and naval family with connections to the Pitt family. He was the son of Captain John Smith of the Guards. Sidney Smith attended Tonbridge School until 1772 and he joined the Royal Navy in 1777 and fought in the American Revolutionary War, where he saw action in 1778 against the American frigate Raleigh. He was soon promoted to captain a larger frigate, but following the peace of Versailles in 1783, during the peace, Smith chose to travel to France and first became involved with intelligence matters while observing the construction of the new naval port at Cherbourg. He also traveled in Spain and Morocco which were also potential enemies, in 1790, he applied for permission to serve in the Royal Swedish Navy in the war between Sweden and Russia. King Gustav III appointed him to command the squadron and to be his principal naval adviser. Smith led his forces in clearing the Bay of Viborg of the Russian fleet, the Russians lost sixty-four ships and over a thousand men. The Swedes lost four ships and had few casualties, for this, Smith was knighted by the king with the Swedish Svärdsorden. Smith used this title, with King George IIIs permission, but was mocked by fellow British officers as the Swedish knight. There were a number of British officers, on half pay like Smith, as a result, Smith earned the enmity of many British naval officers for his Swedish service. In 1792, Smiths younger brother, John Spencer Smith, was appointed to the British embassy to the Ottoman court in Istanbul, Smith obtained permission to travel to Turkey. While there, war broke out with Revolutionary France in January 1793, by Smiths arrival in December 1793, the Revolutionary forces, including a colonel of artillery, Napoleon Bonaparte, had surrounded the port and were attacking it. The British and their allies had insufficient soldiers to mount an effective defence, Smith, serving as a volunteer with no command, was given the task of burning as many French ships and stores as possible before the harbour could be captured. Despite his efforts, lack of support from the Spanish forces sent to him left more than half of the French ships to be captured undamaged. On his return to London, Smith was given command of the fifth-rate HMS Diamond and this squadron consisted of some of the most skillful and daring captains including Sir Edward Pellew. Smith fitted the pattern and on one occasion took his ship almost into the port of Brest to observe the French fleet, in July 1795, Captain Smith, commanding the western frigate squadron in HMS Diamond, occupied the Îles Saint-Marcouf off the coast of Normandy
Sidney Smith (Royal Navy officer)
–
Commodore Smith at
Acre
Sidney Smith (Royal Navy officer)
–
Miniature portrait by
Louis-Marie Autissier,
watercolour on
ivory, 1823.
Sidney Smith (Royal Navy officer)
–
Statue commissioned as a national monument, pursuant to vote of the House of Commons in 1842, now in the
National Maritime Museum
Sidney Smith (Royal Navy officer)
–
Grave of Sir Sidney Smith and his wife Caroline in the Père Lachaise cemetery, Paris
33.
Rise of the Ottoman Empire
–
The foundation and rise of the Ottoman Empire is a period of history that started with the emergence of the Ottoman principality in c. 1299, and ended with the conquest of Constantinople on May 29,1453. For this reason, this period in the history has been described as the Proto-Imperial Era. Throughout most of period, the Ottomans were merely one of many competing states in the region. The cause of Ottoman success cannot be attributed to any single factor, the earlier part of this period, the fourteenth century, is particularly difficult for historians to study due to the scarcity of sources. Not a single written document survives from the reign of Osman I, the Ottomans, furthermore, did not begin to record their own history until the fifteenth century, more than a hundred years after many of the events they describe. At the beginning of the thirteenth century Anatolia was divided between two powerful states, the Byzantine Empire in the west and the Anatolian Seljuks in the central plateau. Mongol pressure pushed nomadic Turkish tribes to migrate westward, into the now poorly-defended Byzantine territory, the power of these groups was largely dependent upon their ability to attract military manpower. Western Anatolia was then a hotbed of raiding activity, with warriors switching allegiance at will to whichever chief seemed most able to provide them opportunities for plunder. The Ottoman dynasty is named after the first independent ruler of the Ottoman polity, according to later Ottoman tradition, he was descended from a Turkic tribe which migrated out of Central Asia in the wake of the Mongol Conquests. As evidenced by coins minted during his reign, Osmans father was named Ertuğrul, the origins of the Ottoman dynasty thus remain obscure, shrouded in myth and legend, and the identity of Osmans tribe and ancestors is not known for certain. Likewise, nothing is known about how Osman first established his principality as the sources, none of contemporary, provide many different. Osmans principality was initially supported by the manpower of nomadic Turkish groups. This Ottoman tribe was based not on blood-ties, but on political expedience, thus it was inclusive of all who wished to join, including people of Byzantine origin. The Ottoman enterprise came to be led by several great families, at least one of which was of Greek Christian origin. Nevertheless, Islam played a role in Ottoman self-identity from the start, as evidenced by a land grant issued by Osmans son Orhan in 1324. Such a war was known as gaza, and a fighting in it was called a gazi. Beginning in the 1980s, historians began to criticize Witteks thesis. Scholars now recognize that the terms gaza and gazi did not have religious connotations for the early Ottomans
Rise of the Ottoman Empire
–
The Ottoman advance after the Battle of Maritsa
Rise of the Ottoman Empire
Rise of the Ottoman Empire
–
Battle on Kosovo, by Adam Stefanovic, 1870
Rise of the Ottoman Empire
–
Battle of Nicopolis (1396)
34.
Battle of Pelekanon
–
The Byzantine army was defeated, with no further attempt made at relieving the cities in Anatolia under Ottoman siege. Recently the Turks had captured the important city of Prusa in Bythinia, Andronicus decided to relieve the important besieged cities of Nicomedia and Nicaea and hopefully restore the frontier to a stable position. Together with the Grand Domestic John Cantacuzene, Andronicus led an army of about 4,000 men, at Pelekanon, a Turkish army led by Orhan I had encamped on the hills to gain a strategic advantage and blocked the road to Nicomedia. On 10 June, Orhan sent 300 cavalry archers downhill to lure the Byzantines unto the hills, but these were driven off by the Byzantines, who were unwilling to advance further. Then belligerent armies engaged in a couple of indecisive clashes until nightfall and the Byzantine army prepared to retreat, both Andronicus and Cantacuzene were lightly wounded, while rumors spread that the Emperor had either been killed or mortally wounded, resulting in panic. Eventually the retreat turned into a rout with heavy casualties on the Byzantine side, Cantacuzene led the remaining Byzantine soldiers back to Constantinople by sea. The Battle of Pelekanon was the first engagement in which a Byzantine Emperor encountered an Ottoman Bey, a campaign of restoration was aborted. Never again did a Byzantine army attempt to regain territory in Asia, the former imperial capitals of Nicomedia and Nicaea were not relieved and the maintenance of Imperial control across the Bosphorus was no longer tenable. The Ottomans conquered Nicaea in 1331 and Nicomedia in 1337, thus building up a base from which they eventually swept away the Byzantine Empire as a whole. The inhabitants of Nicaea and Nicomedia were quickly and willingly incorporated into the growing Ottoman nation, with the capture of these cities and the annexation of the Beylik of Karasi in 1336, the Ottomans had completed their conquest of Bythinia and the north-western corner of Anatolia. The Late Byzantine Army, Arms and Society, 1204-1453, University of Pennsylvania Press,1997, a History of the BYzantine State and Society, Stanford University Press,1997
Battle of Pelekanon
–
Map of Ottoman expansion under Orhan
35.
Battle of Maritsa
–
Before the Battle of Maritsa, Vukašin had the intention to recapture Skadar for the Serbian Empire. The Serbian army numbered 20, 000–70,000 men, most sources agree on the higher number. Despot Uglješa wanted to make an attack on the Ottomans in their capital city, Edirne. Thousands of Serbs were killed, and thousands drowned in the Maritsa river when they tried to flee, after the battle, the Maritsa ran scarlet with blood. Macedonia and parts of Greece fell under Ottoman power after this battle, the battle preceded the later 1389 Battle of Kosovo, and was one of many in history of the Serbian-Turkish wars. Battle of the Maritsa River Encyclopædia Britannica
Battle of Maritsa
–
The Ottoman advance after the battle of Chernomen.
36.
Battle of Savra
–
The Battle of Savra or the Battle of the Vjosë was fought on 18 September 1385 between Ottoman and much smaller Zetan forces, at the Savra field near Lushnjë. The Ottomans were invited by Karlo Thopia to support him in his feud against Balša II, in 1372, Balša II married Komnina, the daughter of John Komnenos Asen, the Despot of Valona. As a dowry, Balša gained the cities of Valona, Berat and Kanina, in 1385 Balša II conquered Durazzo, presumably from Karl Topia. In a charter to Ragusa issued in April 1385, he called himself Duke of Durazzo, the expansion of Balšićs realm into Epirus brought him to the frontline against the Ottomans. Being aware of Ottoman aspirations to his territory, on 8 August 1385 Balša II asked Venetians to support him with four galleys, Karlo Thopia invited Ottomans to support him in conflict with Balša II. Thopias invitation was accepted and Hayreddin Pasha brought his forces from region of Ohrid to Saurian field, news about incursion of the Ottoman forces into the region of Berat reached Balša II while he was in Durrës. According to Mavro Orbini, Balša II rounded up one thousand men in Durrës and, ignoring the advice of his nobles, unsurprisingly, Balšas small forces had little success and Balša II was killed. Orbinis work is the source that mention Ivaniš Mrnjavčević as participant in this battle. Some scholars believe he did not even exist, while other believe that he was not independent medieval lord, another person mentioned only by Orbini is Balšas voivode Đurađ Krvavčić, described as brave warrior who also died in this battle. Mavrini explains that body of Balša II was decapitated and his head taken to Hayreddin Pasha, since the Ottomans were victorious, most of the local Serbian and Albanian lords became vassals. Immediately after this battle Thopia recaptured Durrës, probably under the Ottoman suzerainty, the Ottomans captured Krujë, Berat and Ulcinj and soon retreated from them keeping only Kastoria under their permanent control. Some sources explain that Ottomans probably remained in Berat with intention to use it as foothold to capture Vlorë, the work of Mavro Orbini is one of the main primary sources about this battle. It contains many incorrect and imprecise data, another primary source about the Battle of Savra is Marin Barleti who explained that Balša II was brave and idealistic. This battle set foundation for centuries-long Ottoman presence in this part of the Balkans, Serbian historian Stojan Novaković emphasized that the battles importance for these Serbian and Albanian lords was comparable to that of the Battle of Marica and Battle of Kosovo together. The important result of battle was influx of Albanians into Ottoman forces who had been a significant source of its strength during next 527 years. The Late Medieval Balkans, A Critical Survey from the Late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman Conquest, ivić, Aleksa, Mrđenović, Dušan, Spasić, Dušan, Palavestra, Aleksandar. Rodoslovne tablice i grbovi srpskih dinastija i vlastele, research Centre for Islamic History, Art and Culture
Battle of Savra
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Domains of Balša II outside Zeta
37.
Battle of Kosovo
–
The army under Prince Lazar consisted of his own troops, a contingent led by Serbian nobleman Vuk Branković, and a contingent sent from Bosnia by King Tvrtko I, commanded by Vlatko Vuković. The battle was fought on the Kosovo Field, in the territory ruled by Branković and its site is about 5 kilometers northwest of the modern city of Prishtina. Reliable historical accounts of the battle are scarce, the bulk of both armies were wiped out in the battle, both Lazar and Murad lost their lives in it. Although Ottomans managed to annihilate the Serbian army, they suffered high casualties which delayed their progress. The Serbs were left too few men to effectively defend their lands. Consequently, one after the other, the Serbian principalities that were not already Ottoman vassals became so in the following years. Prince Lazar, ruler of the part of the former empire, aware of the Ottoman threat, began diplomatic. After the defeat of the Ottomans at Pločnik and Bileća, Murad I, from there, the party traveled across Velbužd and Kratovo. Though longer than the route through Sofia and the Nišava Valley. From Kosovo, Murads party could attack the lands of either Prince Lazar or Vuk Branković, having stayed in Kratovo for a time, Murad and his troops marched through Kumanovo, Preševo and Gjilan to Pristina, where he arrived on June 14. While there is information about Lazars preparations, he gathered his troops near Niš. His party likely remained there until he learned that Murad had moved to Velbužd and this was the best place Lazar could choose as a battlefield, as it gave him control of all the routes that Murad could take. Reliable historical accounts of the battle are scarce, however, a comparison with historically contemporaneous battles enables reliable reconstruction. Murads army numbered from 27,000 to 40,000 fighters. These 40,000 included no more than 2,000 Janissaries,2,500 of Murads cavalry guard,6,000 sipahis,20,000 azaps and akincis, marko and Dragaš, although Ottoman vassals, did not participate in the battle. The Ottoman army was supported by the forces of the Anatolian Turkoman Beylik of Isfendiyar, Lazars army numbered from 12,000 to 30,000. Also present were Knights Hospitaller led by the Croatian knight John of Palisna, the armies met at the Kosovo Field. Murad headed the Ottoman army, with his sons Bayezid on his right, one of the Ottoman commanders was Pasha Yiğit Bey
Battle of Kosovo
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Sultan
Murad Hüdavendigâr
Battle of Kosovo
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Troop disposition
Battle of Kosovo
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Prince
Lazar Hrebeljanović
Battle of Kosovo
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Battle of Kosovo, by
Adam Stefanović (1870)
38.
Battle of Rovine
–
The Battle of Rovine took place on 17 May 1395. The Wallachian army led by Voivod Mircea cel Bătrân opposed the Ottoman invasion personally led by Sultan Bayezid I the Lightning, the Turkish force heavily outnumbered the Wallachian troops. The legend says that on the eve of the battle, dressed as an emissary, Mircea cel Bătrân talked to Bayezid asking him to leave Wallachia. The Sultan proudly insisted on fighting, the battle took place probably near the Argeș River, however the certain location is disputed. The Wallachian victory is confirmed by sources and historians. During the battle a key role was played by the Wallachian archers who annihilated the Ottoman ranks during their initial attack. An alternative historical view is that the dramatic confrontation lasted not just a single day, the fierce battle ended with extremely heavy casualties for both sides, eventually each army withdrawing from the battlefield. Although Wallachians pushed back the enemy, the Ottomans were able to defend their new backward position relying on the personal guard of the Sultan composed of janissaries. This was the point of the Ottoman defense, applied justly the next year. This tactical innovation became an element of the Ottoman war strategies until the 18th century. The army of Mircea, sustaining casualties, and in the impossibility to break the defense of the Sultans camp, was finally obliged to withdraw. Because the Ottoman Empire was not able to conquer Wallachia at this point, an epic description of the memorable confrontation is presented in the poem Scrisoarea a III-a written by the Romanian national poet, Mihai Eminescu. The Dečani chronicle describes the battle and explains that Prince Marko, the same source mentions that Markos brother, Andreja Mrnjavčević, also perished during the fight. Fine, John Van Antwerp, The Late Medieval Balkans, A Critical Survey from the Late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman Conquest, Ann Arbor, University of Michigan Press, ISBN 978-0-472-08260-5
Battle of Rovine
–
Battle of Rovine
39.
Battle of Nicopolis
–
It is often referred to as the Crusade of Nicopolis as it was one of the last large-scale Crusades of the Middle Ages, together with the Crusade of Varna in 1443–1444. There were many minor crusades in the 14th century, undertaken by individual kings or knights, most recently there had been a failed crusade against Tunisia in 1390, and there was ongoing warfare in northern Europe along the Baltic coast. In 1393 the Bulgarian tsar Ivan Shishman had lost Nicopolis — his temporary capital — to the Ottomans, while his brother, Ivan Stratsimir, still held Vidin but had been reduced to an Ottoman vassal. In the eyes of the Bulgarian boyars, despots and other independent Balkan rulers, in addition, the frontline between Islam and Christianity had been moving slowly towards the Kingdom of Hungary. The Kingdom of Hungary was now the frontier between the two religions in Eastern Europe, and the Hungarians were in danger of being attacked themselves. The Genoese also owned the citadel of Galata, located at the north of the Golden Horn in Constantinople, to which Bayezid had laid siege in 1395. The two decisive factors in the formation of the last crusade were the ongoing Hundred Years War between Richard IIs England and Charles VIs France and the support of Philip II, Duke of Burgundy, in 1389, the war had ground to one of its periodic truces. The support of Burgundy, among the most powerful of the French nobles was also vital, in 1391, Burgundy, trying to decide between sending a crusade to either Prussia or Hungary, sent his envoy Guy de La Trémoille to Venice and Hungary to evaluate the situation. Burgundy originally envisioned a crusade led by himself and the Dukes of Orléans and Lancaster and it was very unlikely that defense against the Turks was considered a particularly important goal of the crusade. Charles VI, having secured a peace with England through the marriage of his daughter, was able to reply that it was his responsibility to protect Christianity, the number of combatants is heavily contested in historical accounts. The oft-given figure of 100,000 crusaders is dismissed by Tuchman, next in importance were the Knights Hospitaller of Rhodes, who were the standard bearers of Christianity in the Levant since the decline of Constantinople and Cyprus. Venice supplied a fleet for supporting action, while Hungarian envoys encouraged German princes of the Rhineland, Bavaria, Saxony. French heralds had proclaimed the crusade in Poland, Bohemia, Navarre and Spain, the Italian city-states were too much engaged in their customary violent rivalries to participate, and the widely reported and acclaimed English participation never actually occurred. The report of 1,000 English knights comes from contemporary Antonio Fiorentino, a thousand knights would have actually amounted to four to six thousand men and at least twice as many horses, counting foot-soldiers and other retainers. However, there are no records of financial arrangements being made in England to send a force abroad, nor of any royal preparation needed to organize and dispatch such a force. Atiya also thought that the invocation of St. Furthermore, there was no collection of money in England to pay for captives. Nevertheless, obviously inflated figures continue to be repeated, the strength of the Ottoman forces is also estimated at about 20-25,000, but inflated figures continue to be repeated. The Ottoman force also included 1,500 Serbian heavy cavalry knights under the command of Prince Stefan Lazarević, however, Burgundy retained control of the enterprise he was funding by naming 24-year-old John, Count of Nevers, the Dukes eldest son, for nominal command
Battle of Nicopolis
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Battle of Nicopolis (Note the counterfactual depiction of siege weapons)
Battle of Nicopolis
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The Battle of Nicopolis, as depicted by a Turkish miniaturist in 1588
Battle of Nicopolis
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The crusaders took eight days to cross the
Danube at the
Iron Gate
Battle of Nicopolis
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Titus Fay saves King Sigismund of Hungary in the Battle of Nicopolis. Painting in the Castle of Vaja, creation of Ferenc Lohr, 1896.
40.
Battle of Ankara
–
The Battle of Ankara was fought on 20 July 1402 at the Çubuk plain near Ankara between the forces of the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I and Timur, ruler of the Timurid Empire. The battle was a victory for Timur, and it led to a period of crisis for the Ottoman Empire. Timur, a Turco-Mongol from Transoxiana, had built an empire in Central Asia over the years and he sought to rebuild the once great Mongol Empire. In the 1380s and 1390s, he invaded and conquered parts of Persia, ravaged southern Russia and Ukraine, in 1400–01 Timur took Sivas from the Ottomans, parts of Syria from the Mamluks, and next directed towards Anatolia. Meanwhile, in 1402, the Ottomans had been campaigning in Europe, Bayezid broke off the blockade of Constantinople and marched to Ankara after Timur again moved his army to the southeast in the summer of 1402. It is estimated that the Timurid army counted 140,000, mostly cavalry, historical sources exaggerated the number of troops, Ahmad ibn Arabshah claimed 800,000 Timurid troops, while a German witness claimed 1,6 million, for instance. The Ottoman force included contingents under his sons, Ghazis, Janissaries, Anatolian Muslim vassals, among Serbian vassals participating were Stefan Lazarević and Đurađ Branković, and among Albanian were Koja Zakarija, Demetrius Jonima, Gjon Kastrioti, and probably Tanush Major Dukagjin. Christian vassals that did not participate were Wallachian Mircea and Zetan Konstantin Balšić, a quarter of the Ottoman troops were recently conquered Tatars. Bayezid reluctantly withdrew his forces from the blockade of Constantinople and marched them through the midsummer heat, when they arrived, they were tired and thirsty, but were allowed no time to rest or recuperate. Bayezid instead chose to take a stance and marched eastward. Advancing Ottoman scouts found no traces of the Timurids, who secretly marched southwest, rested, the Timurids encamped in the same locations that the Ottomans had previously occupied, making use of abandoned tents and water sources. In the Timurid army, Timur commanded the centre, his sons Miran and Rukh the right and left, respectively, the battle began with a large-scale attack from the Ottomans, countered by swarms of arrows from the Timurid horse archers. Several thousands were killed and many surrendered to Timur, Stefan Lazarević and his knights together with Wallachian forces successfully fought off the Timurid assaults and cut through the Mongol ranks three times. Each time Stefan advised Bayezid to break out with him, Bayezid declined to do so, but the Serbians managed to save one of Bayezids sons and the treasury from the Mongols and made their way to Constantinople. The Serbian troops wore heavy black plate armour which was effective against the Timurid arrows. Timur admired the Serbian troops who according to him fight like lions, during the battle the main water supply of both armies, Çubuk creek, was diverted to an off-stream reservoir near the town of Çubuk by Timur, which left the Ottoman army with no water. The final battle took place at Catal hill, dominating the Çubuk valley, the Ottoman army, both thirsty and tired, was defeated, though Bayezid managed to escape to the nearby mountains with a few hundred horsemen. However, Timur had the mountains surrounded and, heavily outnumbering Bayezid and he died in captivity three months later
Battle of Ankara
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Battle of Ankara (
Mughal illustration)
Battle of Ankara
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Bayezid I at the hands of Timur. After defeating
Bayezid I during the Battle of Ankara,
Emir Timur had become the preeminent ruler in the
Muslim world.
41.
Battle of Torvioll
–
The Battle of Torvioll, also known as the Battle of Lower Dibra, was fought on 29 June 1444 on the Plain of Torvioll, in what is modern-day Albania. Skanderbeg was an Ottoman Albanian captain who decided to go back to his native land and he, along with 300 other Albanians fighting at the Battle of Niš, deserted the Ottoman army to head towards Krujë, which fell quickly through a subversion. He then formed the League of Lezhë, a confederation of Albanian princes united in war against the Ottoman Empire, Murad II, realizing the threat, sent one of his most experienced captains, Ali Pasha, to crush the rebellion with a force of 25,000 men. Skanderbeg expected a reaction so he moved with 15,000 of his own men to defeat Ali Pashas army, the two met in the Plain of Torvioll where they camped opposite of each other. The following day,29 June, Ali came out of his camp, expecting a quick victory, Ali ordered all of his forces down the hill to attack and defeat Skanderbegs army. Skanderbeg expected such a maneuver and had prepared his own stratagem, once the opposing forces were engaged and the necessary positioning was achieved, Skanderbeg ordered his forces hidden in the forests behind the Turkish army to strike their rear. The result was devastating for the Ottomans, whose army was routed. The victory lifted the morale of the Christian princes of Europe and was recognized as a victory over the Muslim Ottoman Empire. On the Ottoman side, Murad realized the effect Skanderbegs rebellion would have on his realm and continued to take measures to defeat him, resulting in twenty-five years of war. George Kastrioti Skanderbeg, the son of the powerful prince John Kastrioti, had been a vassal of the Ottoman Empire as a sipahi, after his participation in the Ottoman loss at the Battle of Niš, Skanderbeg deserted the Ottoman army and rushed to Albania alongside 300 other Albanians. By forging a letter from Murad II to the Governor of Krujë, hungarian captain John Hunyadis continued operations against Sultan Murad II gave Skanderbeg time to prepare an alliance of the Albanian nobles. Skanderbeg invited all of Albanias nobles to meet in the Venetian-held town of Alessio on 2 March 1444, Alessio was chosen as the meeting point because the town had once been the capital of the Dukagjini family and to induce Venice to lend aid to the Albanian movement. Among the nobles that attended were George Arianiti, Paul Dukagjini, Andrea Thopia, Lekë Dushmani, Teodor Korona, Peter Spani, Lekë Zaharia, here they formed the League of Lezhë, a confederation of all of the major Albanian princes in alliance against the Ottoman Empire. The chosen captain of this confederation was Skanderbeg, the Leagues first military challenge came in the spring of 1444, when Skanderbegs scouts reported that the Ottoman army was planning to invade Albania. Skanderbeg planned to move towards the entry point and prepared for an engagement. Ali Pasha, one of Murads most favored commanders, left Üsküp in June 1444 with an army of 25, 000–40,000 troops and headed in Albanias direction. Having brought together an army of 15,000 men from the League of Lezhë, orders were given for the distribution of soldiers pay and for religious services to be held. Afterwards, Skanderbeg and his army headed towards the place of battle in Lower Dibra
Battle of Torvioll
–
A woodcut of the confrontation between Skanderbeg's forces and the Ottoman Turks
Battle of Torvioll
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The main roads through Albania and the most common Ottoman invasion routes.
42.
Battle of Varna
–
The Battle of Varna took place on 10 November 1444 near Varna in eastern Bulgaria. The Ottoman Army under Sultan Murad II defeated the Hungarian-Polish and Wallachian armies commanded by Władysław III of Poland, John Hunyadi and it was the final battle of the Crusade of Varna. Đurađ Branković contributed to Ottoman victory by giving the Sultan information on the Christian advance, the Hungarian Kingdom fell into crisis after the death of King Sigismund in 1437. His son-in-law and successor, King Albert, ruled for two years and died in 1439, leaving his widow Elizabeth with an unborn child, Ladislaus the Posthumous. The Hungarian noblemen then called the young King Władysław III of Poland to the throne of Hungary, after his Hungarian coronation, he never went back to his homeland again, assuming rule of the Hungarian Kingdom next to the influential nobleman John Hunyadi. After failed expeditions in 1440–42 against Belgrade and Transylvania, and the defeats of the campaign of Hunyadi in 1442–43. After he had made peace with the Karaman Emirate in Anatolia in August 1444, on receipt of this news, Mehmet II understood that he was too young and inexperienced to successfully fight the coalition. He recalled Murad II to the throne to lead the army into battle, angry at his father, who had long since retired to a contemplative life in southwestern Anatolia, Mehmed II wrote, If you are the Sultan, come and lead your armies. If I am the Sultan I hereby order you to come and it was only after receiving this letter that Murad II agreed to lead the Ottoman army. The Hungarian advance was rapid, Ottoman fortresses were bypassed, while local Bulgarians from Vidin, Oryahovo, on October 10 near Nicopolis, some 7,000 Wallachian cavalrymen under Mircea II, one of Vlad Draculs sons, also joined. Late on November 9, a large Ottoman army of around 50,000 men approached Varna from the west, at a supreme military council called by Hunyadi during the night, the Papal legate, cardinal Julian Cesarini, insisted on a quick withdrawal. However, the Christians were caught between the Black Sea, Lake Varna, the wooded slopes of the Franga plateau. Cesarini then proposed a defense using the Wagenburg of the Hussites until the arrival of the Christian fleet, the Hungarian magnates and the Croatian and Czech commanders backed him, but the young Władysław and Hunyadi rejected the defensive tactics. Hunyadi declared, To escape is impossible, to surrender is unthinkable, let us fight with bravery and honor our arms. Władysław accepted this position and gave him the command, andreas del Palatio states that Hunyadi commanded the Wallachian army indicating a large Romanian component in Hunyadis personal army. In the morning of November 10, Hunyadi deployed the army of some 20,000 –30,000 crusaders as an arc between Lake Varna and the Franga plateau, the line was about 3.5 km long. Two banners with a total of 3,500 men from the kings Polish and Hungarian bodyguards, Hungarian royal mercenaries, the Wallachian cavalry was left in reserve behind the center. The right flank that lined up the hill towards the village of Kamenar numbered 6,500 men in 5 banners, Bishop Jan Dominek of Varadin with his personal banner led the force, Cesarini commanded a banner of German mercenaries and a Bosnian one
Battle of Varna
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Władysław III of Poland leading the
cavalry charge, by
Jan Matejko
Battle of Varna
Battle of Varna
–
Michael Szilágyi
Battle of Varna
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A scene from the Battle of Varna (1444) on the Kronika wszystkiego świata of
Marcin Bielski, published in 1564.
43.
Battle of Kosovo (1448)
–
The Second Battle of Kosovo was fought at Kosovo Polje between a coalition of the Kingdom of Hungary and Wallachia led by John Hunyadi, against an Ottoman-led coalition under Sultan Murad II. The result of the battle was a decisive Ottoman victory, in 1448, John Hunyadi saw the right moment to lead a campaign against the Ottoman Empire. After the defeat at the Battle of Varna, he raised another army to attack the Ottomans and his strategy was based on an expected revolt of the Balkan people, a surprise attack, and the destruction of the main force of the Ottomans in a single battle. In September 1448 Hunyadi led the Hungarian forces across the Danube river and camped them in Serbia next to Kovin, for a full month the Hungarians were encamped there awaiting the German crusaders, the Wallachian Duke as well as the Bohemian and Albanian army. The Albanian army under Skanderbeg did not participate in battle as he was prevented from linking with Hunyadis army by the Ottomans. It is believed that he was delayed by Serbian despot Đurađ Branković, then allied with Sultan Murad II, as a result, Skanderbeg ravaged Brankovićs domains as punishment for deserting the Christian cause. Branković reacted ambiguously at the trespassing and negotiated the terms of joining the Crusade against the Ottomans over that period of time. Branković was weary, having had his realm restored after a full-scale Ottoman occupation only in 1444, Despot Branković was also unwilling to set himself under Hunyadis command under any condition, as he personally disliked him, considering him of lower stature. The central point of the dispute between Hunyadi and Branković was their personal quarrel and this had included gifting Hunyadi with the his possessions in the Hungarian Kingdom in favor of a pacifist approach. After Hunyadi eventually joined the side, Branković had asked for the return of his properties. The Serbian rejection and positioning as a side had led to Hunyadis fury. At the end of the negotiations, Hunyadi had threatened to kill Branković in person after his country was occupied, in late September 1448, Hunyadi had amassed 30,000 men and moved southwards. The Crusaders pillaged and burned across Serbia, but the Serb Despot gave an order of free passage. The Crusaders, numbering possibly 24,000, arrived at Kosovo Field – the site of the first Battle of Kosovo in 1389, between Serbs and Ottomans – and faced an Ottoman army of up to 60,000. Sultan Murad personally commanded a section of cannons and janissaries, while his son and successor Mehmed. Hunyadi commanded the center of his army in the battle, while the Crusaders right wing was under the Wallachians, the Hungarians had long barrage cannons. The next day the battle opened when Hunyadi attacked the Ottoman flanks with mixed cavalry, the Turkish flanks, consisting of soldiers from Rumelia and Anatolia, were losing until Turkish light cavalry arrived to reinforce them. The Christian flanks were subsequently routed and the survivors retreated back to Hunyadis main force, when Hunyadi saw the defeat of his flanks, he attacked with his main force, composed of knights and light infantry
Battle of Kosovo (1448)
–
An
Akıncı irregular defeating a Hungarian knight.
44.
Fall of Constantinople
–
The Fall of Constantinople was the capture of the capital of the Byzantine Empire by an invading army of the Ottoman Empire on 29 May 1453. The Ottomans were commanded by the then 21-year-old Mehmed the Conqueror, the sultan of the Ottoman Empire. The conquest of Constantinople followed a 53-day siege that had begun on 6 April 1453, the capture of Constantinople marked the end of the Roman Empire, an imperial state that had lasted for nearly 1,500 years. The Ottoman conquest of Constantinople also dealt a blow to Christendom. After the conquest, Sultan Mehmed II transferred the capital of the Ottoman Empire from Edirne to Constantinople. The conquest of the city of Constantinople and the end of the Byzantine Empire was a key event in the Late Middle Ages, which also marks, for some historians, Constantinople had been an imperial capital since its consecration in 330 under Roman Emperor, Constantine the Great. In the following centuries, the city had been besieged many times but was captured only once. The crusaders established an unstable Latin state in and around Constantinople while the remaining empire splintered into a number of Byzantine successor states, notably Nicaea, Epirus and they fought as allies against the Latin establishments, but also fought among themselves for the Byzantine throne. The Nicaeans eventually reconquered Constantinople from the Latins in 1261, thereafter there was little peace for the much-weakened empire as it fended off successive attacks by the Latins, the Serbians, the Bulgarians, and, most importantly, the Ottoman Turks. The Black Plague between 1346 and 1349 killed almost half of the inhabitants of Constantinople, the Empire of Trebizond, an independent successor state that formed in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade, also survived on the coast of the Black Sea. This optimism was reinforced by friendly assurances made by Mehmed to envoys sent to his new court, but Mehmeds actions spoke far louder than his mild words. Since the mutual excommunications of 1054, the Pope in Rome was committed to establishing authority over the eastern church, nominal union had been negotiated in 1274, at the Second Council of Lyon, and indeed, some Palaiologoi emperors had since been received into the Latin church. Emperor John VIII Palaiologos had also recently negotiated union with Pope Eugene IV, finally, the attempted Union failed, greatly annoying Pope Nicholas V and the hierarchy of the Roman church. Although some troops did arrive from the city states in the north of Italy. Some Western individuals, however, came to defend the city on their own account. One of these was a soldier from Genoa, Giovanni Giustiniani. A specialist in defending walled cities, he was given the overall command of the defense of the land walls by the emperor. In Venice, meanwhile, deliberations were taking place concerning the kind of assistance the Republic would lend to Constantinople
Fall of Constantinople
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The last siege of Constantinople, contemporary 15th century French miniature
Fall of Constantinople
–
Restored Walls of Constantinople
Fall of Constantinople
–
Modern painting of
Mehmed II and the
Ottoman Army approaching
Constantinople with a giant bombard, by
Fausto Zonaro
Fall of Constantinople
–
A picture of the Fall of Constantinople by
Theophilos Hatzimihail.
45.
Battle of Albulena
–
Skanderbeg had been the leader of the Albanians for over a decade and had seen many victories over Ottoman arms. However, after his loss at Berat in 1455 at the hands of Isak bey, Skanderbeg was betrayed by some of his most trusted officers, among them Moisi Arianit Golemi. Golemi returned the year with an Ottoman force under his command. Later, the dissatisfied Hamza Kastrioti betrayed Skanderbeg and was offered joint-command with Isak bey over a second Ottoman invasion force, the Ottomans arrived in late May 1457 and marched through the Mat River Valley. Skanderbeg tried to delay the vanguard, composed of Akıncı cavalrymen, both Isak bey and Hamza were familiar with Skanderbegs tactics so the Albanian leader adopted a new one. He split his army into several groups and ordered them to march in separate directions through the mountains, the Albanians remained in separate formations until September, by which time the Ottomans had become both exasperated and convinced that Skanderbeg had been defeated. On 2 September 1457, Skanderbeg finally gave the order for his armies to regroup and launched an attack on the Ottoman camp. Among them was Hamza who was sent as a prisoner to Naples in Italy. The victory strengthened the morale of the Albanians, there were few, if not any, officers and soldiers who deserted afterwards. The battle of Albulena has been seen as Skanderbegs most brilliant victory over the Ottomans, however, it also marked the high point of the Albanian resistance, beginning a new phase in Skanderbegs quarter-century long war which would include its fiercest Ottoman invasions. In reparation, Skanderbeg ravaged Brankovics domains, as a result of the defeat, the Ottomans were free from Hungarian pressure, which had been limited to Belgrade and its environs. In 1455, Skanderbeg laid siege to Berat, a fortress which had seized from his control in 1450. The result was catastrophic for the Albanians who succumbed to an Ottoman counterattack upon Skanderbegs temporary departure from the main force, alfonso V of Aragon, Skanderbegs most helpful and important ally, also suffered a blow to his ambitions which included a pan-Mediterranean empire. The Albanians, however, were able to recover their morale when Pope Calixtus III, before the planned crusade commenced, Sultan Mehmed II the Conqueror decided to march against Hungary and Albania. In April 1456, Skanderbeg sent Pal Engjëlli, his ambassador to the West, the Ottoman invasion came in May 1456 when Moses Golemi, Skanderbegs former captain who had deserted after loss of Berat, met Skanderbegs men at the Battle of Oranik. The force was defeated and, through a show of mercy, in July 1456 Mehmed marched a large army to besiege Hungarian-held Belgrade in Serbia, but was defeated by Hunyadi. The plans were never put to practice, however, Skanderbegs resources were worn out after over a decade of continuous war. Alfonso and the pope could not provide for him fully, while Venice continued to undermine Skanderbeg, the latter considered war with Skanderbeg since he maintained his alliance with Aragon
Battle of Albulena
–
Engraving of an Albanian assault on the Turkish camp during the battle
Battle of Albulena
–
The main roads through Albania and the most common Ottoman invasion routes
46.
Siege of Jajce
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The Siege of Jajce was a siege in 1463 and was part of the Ottoman–Hungarian Wars. The Hungarian victory meant the maintenance of Christiandom in Bosnia and – with the repulse of Ottoman forces – the protection of Hungarian territories for the 15th century, the Bosnian King refused to pay tribute to the Porte thereafter. As a consequence both Ottoman and Christian sides began the war preparations, Sultan Mehmed II gathered an army of 150,000 soldiers in Adrianopolis and departed for the Lower Danube area in April 1463. As a part of an attack he commanded Ali Bey Mihaloğlu to invade southern parts of the Kingdom of Hungary. The bey crossed to Syrmia, but was pushed back by Andrew Pongrácz high cup-bearer of Hungary and he suddenly made a flanking move to the heart of Hungary until he reached Temesvár, where he ran into John Pongrácz Voivode of Transylvania and was defeated in a fierce battle. Meanwhile, Mehmet II advanced to Travnik, which he besieged, then moved to the capital city Bobovac that fell within three days. Stephen Tomašević was advised to entrench himself in the high mountains although he chose to withdraw to Jajce and later to Ključ, seeing himself in a dead-end situation Tomašević set his wife and mother to a journey through Raguse to Hungary to find refuge. He fortified himself in Ključ fortress, after their arrival the Ottomans set fire around the city thus forcing the inhabitants to surrender in despair. Mahmud Pasha Angelović granted the Bosnian King and he swore an oath to the sultan and capitulated when he was promised safe retreat in return. He had to spread this agreement to the remaining fort captains in 8 days and as a result 70 places, discontent with this agreement Mehmet rebuke Mahmud and instructed him to transport the Bosnian King to his court. Stephen Tomašević was double crossed and despite his oath to the Sultan the last ruler of Bosnia was beheaded at Carevo Polje near Jajce, Ömer Bey surged in the direction of the Kingdom of Croatia, while Mehmet moved towards the Duchy of Saint Sava. In Croatia Ömer Bey confronted and slew Paulus de Speranchich Ban of Croatia, Mehmet II chose not to engage in winter operations and retreated bringing 100,000 prisoners and leaving Mimert Bey in charge in Bosnia. He also didnt have other choice as their horses were exhausted, Matthias was a lot of Bohemian mercenaries. He also envoyed a garrison to his Adriatic subject, the Republic of Ragusa as a preventive measure and he also commissioned ambassadors to the Signoria of Venice and Pope Pius II. Both of them promised financial aid, the Holy See granted a sum sufficient for the military service payment of 1000 cavalry for an year, Venice offered 20,000 ducats for the Anti-Ottoman defense. Matthias ordered all dispensable transport points to sail to the enlist point at Petrovaradin, Matthias sought a long-term alliance with Venice. In 12 September just before the launch of the attack Matthias, in October they came to the decision to offer themselves to Venice. Following the events Stjepan Vukčić Kosača lent himself to Matthias who accepted his service, in exchange Vladislav Hercegović was promoted a Hungarian banner lord and reassured the estates of Stjepan
Siege of Jajce
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Travnik fortress
Siege of Jajce
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Remnants of Bobovac fortress
Siege of Jajce
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Present day Jajce fortress and the surrounding town
Siege of Jajce
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Medieval wars and battles
47.
Battle of Ohrid
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The Battle of Ohrid took place on 14 or 15 September 1464 between Albanian ruler Skanderbegs forces and Ottoman forces. A crusade against Sultan Mehmed II had been planned by Pope Pius II with Skanderbeg as one of its main leaders, the battle near Ohrid occurred as a result of an Albanian incursion into Ottoman territory. The Ottomans stationed in the area were assaulted by Skanderbegs men and 1,000 Venetian soldiers under Cimarosto, the Ottomans were lured out of their protections in Ohrid and ambushed by the Albanian cavalry. Skanderbeg won the battle and his men earned 40,000 ducats after captured Ottoman officers were ransomed. Pius II died before the planned crusade began, however, forcing Skanderbeg to fight his battles virtually alone, Pope Pius IIs crusade against the Ottoman Empire was declared in November 1463. Skanderbeg, the leader of the Albanians, was an ally to this effort. The Venetians, who had joined the crusade, could not persuade Lekë Dukagjini, Skanderbegs lukewarm ally in northern Albania. Furthermore, the major European powers were reluctant to join the popes crusade, among those inquired were the city of Florence, Francisco Sforza of Milan, Louis XI of France, and Ferdinand I of Naples, all of whom declined for their own reasons. The Republic of Venice, however, decided to aid Skanderbeg by sending 500 cavalry and 500 infantry under the condottiero Antonio da Cosenza, also known as Cimarosto. Once the campaign began, Mathias Corvinus of Hungary recaptured many of the Bosnian strongpoints, including Jajce. Mehmed II marched into Bosnia, pillaging the countryside, hoping that his enemies would surrender, the Hungarian resistance, however, was stiff. The Ottomans still managed to make headway against the Hungarians who had been trying to lift Ottoman the siege on Jajce with a ruse, despite the setback, Jajce held out and Mehmed retreated from Bosnia. After Skanderbegs raid into Macedonia the year before, the Sultan decided to strengthen his fortresses in the area and he then sent Şeremet bey to Ohrid, a city close to Skanderbegs domains, with 14,000 cavalry to prevent another Albanian incursion. After learning of this, Skanderbeg prepared to march against Şeremet, the pashas men, however, were stationed both inside and outside the city, making it difficult to defeat them. Before marching, Skanderbeg received news that Pius had arrived in Ancona and he left Cimarosto with an Italian force in Valikardhë. Skanderbeg then decided to march against Şeremet anyway and set off with 12,000 cavalry three hours after dusk, after one day of marching, Skanderbeg reached Macedonia and began pillaging the land. Once he reached Ohrid, Skanderbeg gave a speech to his men and they were to throw smoke and dust into the air to irritate the garrison. Then they were to feign retreat where the pursuing Ottoman cavalry would be ambushed by the main Albanian force, on 14 or 15 September, everything went as planned and the trap was sprung
Battle of Ohrid
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An
Ohrid trout (Salmo letnica).
48.
Battle of Vaslui
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The Battle of Vaslui was fought on 10 January 1475, between Stephen III of Moldavia and the Ottoman governor of Rumelia, Hadım Suleiman Pasha. The battle took place at Podul Înalt, near the town of Vaslui, the Ottoman troops numbered up to 120,000, facing about 40,000 Moldavian troops, plus smaller numbers of allied and mercenary troops. Mara Brankovic, the younger wife of Murad II, told a Venetian envoy that the invasion had been worst ever defeat for the Ottomans. Stephen was later awarded the title Athleta Christi by Pope Sixtus IV, the conflict between Stephen and Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II worsened when both laid their claims to the historical region of Bessarabia, now known under the name of Budjak. The region had belonged to Wallachia, but later succumbed to Moldavian influence under Petru I of Moldavia and was annexed to Moldavia in the late 14th century by Roman I of Moldavia. Under Alexandru cel Bun, it had become an part of Moldavia and was successfully defended in 1420 against the first Ottoman attempt to capture castle Chilia. The ports of Chilia and Akkerman were essential for Moldavian commerce, the old trade route from Caffa, Akkerman, and Chilia passed through Suceava in Moldavia and Lwow in Poland. This is confirmed by a German chronicle which explains that Mehmet wanted to turn Moldavia into some kind of fortress, the Ottomans also feared the strategic position of Moldavia, from whence it would only take 15 to 20 days to reach Constantinople. In 1448, Petru II of Moldavia awarded Chilia to John Hunyadi, the governor of Transylvania, and in effect, it gave Hungary control of the strategic area on the Danube, with access to the Black Sea. With the assassination of Bogdan II of Moldavia in 1451 by his brother Petru Aron, bogdans son, Stephen, fled Moldavia together with his cousin, Vlad Dracula — who had sought protection at the Moldavian court – to Transylvania, at the court of Hunyadi. Even though Hungary had made peace with the Turks in 1451, with both Wallachia and Moldavia conducting a pro-Ottoman policy, the plan to install Vlad Țepeș as prince of Wallachia began to take shape. In April 1457, Vlad Țepeș supported Stephen with 6,000 horsemen, the new prince continued sending the tribute that his uncle and Mehmed had agreed upon, and in such way, avoided any premature confrontation with his enemy. His first priority was to strengthen the country and to retrieve its lost territory, because Aron resided in Poland, Stephen made a few incursions in southern Poland. It was also in the interest of Poland to have the area belonging to Moldavia, later that year, it is believed that Stephen asked Vlad to return Chilia back to Moldavia – a demand which was most likely refused. On 22 June, when Vlad was fighting Mehmed, Stephen allied himself with the Sultan and with some Turkish assistance, the fortress, defended by tall stone walls and 12 cannons, was in the middle of the 15th century the strongest fortification located in the Danube area. The Wallachians rushed to the scene with 7,000 men, and together with the Hungarian garrison battled the Moldavians and they managed to defend the town, while wounding Stephen in his foot with a shrapnel. This they did, and Stephen entered the fortress where he found its two captains, rather tipsy, for they have been to a wedding. Mehmed was furious about the news and claimed Chilia for being a part of Wallachia – which now was a vassal to the Porte – and demanded Stephen to give it over to him
Battle of Vaslui
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The fortress of
Akkerman (Cetatea Albă).
Battle of Vaslui
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Battle of Vaslui Bătălia de la Vaslui
Battle of Vaslui
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Laiotă Basarab at
Monastery of Horezu.
Battle of Vaslui
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Mehmed II by
Gentile Bellini.
49.
Battle of Breadfield
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The Hungarian army was led by Pál Kinizsi, István Báthory, Vuk Branković, and Basarab Laiotă cel Bătrân. The result of the battle was an important victory for the Kingdom of Hungary, Turkish marauders attacked Transylvania and Vojvodina several times between 1474 and 1475. The attacks led to the depopulation of areas with a number of villages abandoned by their inhabitants. After the Ottoman–Venetian War in the spring of 1479, a major Turkish army convened under Szendrő, when King Matthias was alerted, he ordered Stephen V Báthory, the Voivode of Transylvania and his general Pál Kinizsi to mobilize. The Turkish army entered Transylvania on October 9, near Kelnek, the Akıncıs attacked a few villages, homesteads and market towns, taking a number of Hungarians, Vlachs and Saxons captive. On October 13, Koca Bey set up his camp in the Breadfield, Koca Bey was obliged into the campaign by the insistence of Basarab cel Tânăr, a Wallachian prince, who himself brought 1, 000–2,000 footmen to the cause. The Turks continued pillaging and taking prisoners, while Báthory and Kinizsi made preparations to set forth against the Turks. The numerical strength of the Turkish army is under debate, one estimate judged them to be a 60,000, a more probable number for Ottoman forces was between 6-20 thousand soldiers, and 1, 000-2,000 Wallachians. The Ottoman army was almost entirely made up of Akıncıs, rumelian Spakhs and Azaps, with some Janissaries, kinizsis army consisted of Hungarian, Szekler, Serbian, Transylvanian Saxon forces, and some Vlach volunteers. The latter were commanded by Basarab cel Bătrân, quondam ruler of Wallachia, accordingly, cel Tânăr insisted on equality with cel Bătrân, with only one being tenable to the Wallachian throne. The combined Christian forces totaled approximated 12,000 to 15,000 men, in the judgement of some, Poles, Moldavians, Russians, Lithuanians, Germans and Bohemians were privy in part to the battle, but rather difficult to substantiate. Both armies were composed of three columns, the right flank of the Hungarian army was led by Kinizsi, the left was the Serbian light cavalry under Vuk Branković and Demetrius Jaksics with the Saxons and Báthorys forces in the center. On the Ottoman side, Koca Bey took the left flank, Isa bey the center, the battle commenced in the afternoon, Báthory fell from his horse and the Ottomans nearly captured him, but a valiant Antal Nagy whisked the voivode away. Ali bey was forced to retreat, Kinizsi moved laterally to vigorously smash the Turkish center and before long Isa bey also withdrew. The few Turks who survived the massacre fled into the mountains, the hero of the battle was Pál Kinizsi, the legendary Hungarian general and a man of Herculean bodily strength in the service of Matthias Corvinus Black Army of Hungary. Turkish casualties were high with several thousand men killed, among them Malkoçoğlu. Hungarian forces lost approximately 3,000 men in the battle, a few prisoners were liberated and their ransom was immense. In 1480 Kinizsi raided Serbia and several times defeated Ali Koca Bey, the Breadfield battle was a great psychological victory for the Hungarians, and as a result the Ottoman Turks did not attack southern Hungary and Transylvania for many years thereafter
Battle of Breadfield
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Battle of Breadfield
Battle of Breadfield
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The
Breadfield in 1870.
France
Ottoman Empire
