1️⃣ In 1380 BC Sultan Murad II orders his troops, which were stationed in Macedonia, to move north along the Vardar valley, resulting in the capture of Istip, the slaughter of the local Christian population, and the settlement of the city with Muslim settlers from Anatolia.
2️⃣ Then the Ottoman Turks under the leadership of Temürtaš and having a numerous army move west of the Vardar and occupy with a raid, crossing a marshy area, Monastir, finally advancing to Prilep.
3️⃣ These cities are transformed into border fortresses and strategic bases for conducting new operations towards Albania and Epirus. The reason for intervention did not take long to be given since these areas were plagued for years by disputes between local feudal families.
4️⃣ The Janina despot Toma Preljubović's use of Ottoman mercenaries against the Souliotes, his subsequent assassination, and the dynastic power struggle around Toma's widow led to the extension of Ottoman control to the Ambracian Gulf.
5️⃣ In 1385 Hayreddin Pasha, being in Ohrid, accepted the invitation of Karl Thopia, lord of Durazzo (Durrës), to help him in the war against Balša II, the powerful ruler of the Principality of Zeta, since the latter seems to have occupied Durazzo and had expelled Karl Thopia.
6️⃣ In fact, in April 1385, Balša II from Ragusa declared that he was now lord of Durazzo. Some years before, Balša II through his marriage with the daughter of the lord of Valona (Vlore), had acquired as a dowry Valona, Berat and Kanina.
7️⃣ Rightly thinking Hayreddin saw the opportunity of his involvement as an extension of the Ottoman control in the specific area with the simultaneous elimination of an ambitious and highly active ruler, whose territories adjoined the Ottoman territories.
8️⃣ In fact, Balša II, foreseeing Ottoman expansionism, had tried on 08/08/1385 to ally with Venice, asking the Doge for four Venetian galleys as reinforcements and attempting to indirectly involve Venice in a war with the Ottomans.
9️⃣ Thus Hayreddin at the head of a powerful army crossed the mountains of Elbasan and crossed over to Lushnjë, where the Albanian forces of Karl Thopia awaited him. ↔️
↔️ Balša II when he learned of the movement of the Ottoman army was in Durazzo and immediately gathered an army (just 1000 men) to go and face the Turks, despite the contrary opinions of his advisors.
🔟 In 18/09/1385 on the left bank of the river Devol and specifically in the site of Savra a decisive battle was fought, with the fighters of Balša II, although they were far behind in numbers, fighting with excessive heroism and courage, ready to fight in a melee to the death.
1️⃣1️⃣ The numerous Albanian-Ottoman forces (40000 men) won the battle with significant losses, while Balša II himself and other Serbian nobles fell heroically fighting on the battlefield (Ivaniš Mrnjavčević). Balša II's body was beheaded and his head was taken to Hayreddin Pasha.
1️⃣2️⃣ The outcome of the battle changed the course of the Albanian nation forever. First of all, the Ottomans set foot on Albanian territory for the first time. ↔️
↔️ Immediately after the battle of Savra the Ottomans placed the Serbian and Albanian lords of the region under their suzerainty, at the same time that Karl Thopia regained power in Durazzo as a vassal of the Ottomans.
1️⃣3️⃣ In the following year, the Ottomans captured a number of important Albanian fortresses, such as Berat, Kruja, Scutari and Ulcinj, from which they however withdrew; ↔️
↔️ nor did they exert pressure on the Principality of Valona, mainly because they did not yet seek to come to direct confrontation with Venice.
1️⃣4️⃣ The most important consequence, however, was that the Ottoman Turks came into contact for the first time with the militancy of the Albanian armed units, which far outnumbered their own. ↔️
↔️ From now on and for the next five and a half centuries the Albanians became an integral and the most important part of the Ottoman army.
Loading suggestions...