The Crusade of Nicopolis

The immadiate threat to the Ottomans in europe was the arrival of a new European Crusade Army, involving the major states of the West as well as those most immediately threatened by the Ottoman advance.Responding to appeals, Pope Boniface IX stimulated a Crusade.Crusaders came to Buda from England, Scotland, Poland, Bohemia, Austria, Italy, and Switzerland as well as from the lands of southeastern Europe more directly threatened by the Ottomans.In the spring of 1396 Sigismund led a large Crusaders force through Serbia, crossing the Danube at Nicopolis and then capturing the Danubian towns of Vidin and Orsova, massacring all the Muslims they could find.But Beyazit brought together contingents from Anatolia and routed the aatckers (September 25, 1396).Thousands were taken prisoners, including nobles from all over Europe.the Ottoman victory over the Crusaders at nicopolis increased European rear of the Ottomans while adding to Ottoman prestige throughout the Islamic World.significantly,Beyazit was designated as sultan, or civil ruler of Islam.