KB, Poland, Vladislaus III of Varna, Hungary, anty-Turkish crusade, Korski

Description: This medal is part of my Polish medals collection Visit my page with the offers, please. You will find many interesting items related to this subject. If you are interested in other medals, related to this subject, click here, please. Poland; Rulers Medieval Motives Historic Battles Poland; History The artist - Prof Witold Korski (1918 - 2003), one of the most famous polish artist, architect, sculptor and engraver. see the link; http://warszawa.sarp.org.pl/php/galeria/barucki_witold-korski.htm. The information is in Polish, and the medals are published there, as the finest of his works. His imagination regarding the medieval motives is the most creative I ever seen on the contemporary medals. The Polish Kings and Royals and Their Coins Series by Profs. Witold Korski This series consists of 44 medals; if you are interested in the complete set, please contact me. av. The coin of Vladislaus III of Varna; the inscription; WLAD – REX. On the sides; POLONIE – UNGARIE; the dates 1434 – 1444 and 1400 - 1444 rv. The symbolic scene from the Battle of Varna; the inscription – VARNA; MARE / NIGRUM, ORIENS, OCCICENS diameter - 70 mm (2 ¾ “) weight – 129.80 gr, (4.58 oz) metal – bronze, nice patina Vladislaus III of Varna Vladislaus III of Varna (October 31, 1424 - November 10, 1444, Varna, Bulgaria) was King of Poland from 1434, and of Hungary from 1440, until his death at the Battle of Varna. Vladislaus III of Varna is known in Polish as Władysław Warneńczyk; in Slovak, Bulgarian and Czech, as Vladislav I; in Hungarian, as I. Ulászló; in Lithuanian, as Vladislovas III. Władysław was the first-born son of Władysław II Jagiełło (Jogaila) of Poland and Sophia of Halshany (Zofia Holszańska). He ascended the throne at the age of ten and was immediately surrounded by a group of advisors headed by Zbigniew Cardinal Oleśnicki, who wanted to continue to enjoy his high status at court. In spite of that, the young ruler and his ambitious mother were aware that there was opposition to them. Despite the agreements signed between Władysław Jagiełło and the Polish magnates to ensure the succession for his sons, the opposition wanted another candidate for the Polish throne - Friedrich of Brandenburg, who was betrothed to Jadwiga, Jagiełło's daughter by his second wife. The young king's reign was difficult from the very outset. His coronation was interrupted by a hostile nobleman, one Spytko of Melsztyn. On the next day, the customary homage of the townsfolk of Kraków did not take place due to a dispute between the temporal and spiritual lords of Mazovia over their place in the retinue. Neither did Wladyslaw have much to say later about matters of state, which were run by the powerful Zbigniew Oleśnicki. The situation did not change even after parliament gathered in Piotrków in 1438, and declared the fourteen-year-old king to have attained his majority. This situation continued until 1440, when Władysław was offered the crown of Hungary. However, accepting it would have led to numerous problems. Hungary was under a growing threat from Turkey, and some Polish magnates did not want to agree to the king of Poland also being the monarch of Hungary, while Elisabeth, widow of the deceased king of Hungary, Albert II Habsburg, attempted to keep the crown for her yet unborn child. Such inconveniences aside, Władysław finally took the Hungarian throne, having engaged in a two-year civil war against Elisabeth. He had received significant support from Pope Eugene IV, in exchange for his help in organising an anti-Turkish crusade. The eighteen-year-old king, although thus far a king solely by title, became deeply involved in the crusade, paying no heed to the interests of Poland and of the Jagiellonian dynasty. The "bulwark of Christianity" and other slogans put forward by the papal envoy Giuliano Cesarini, together with an enticing promise of victory in a glorious crusade for God, persuaded Władysław to engage in a two-year war against the Ottoman Empire. He also accepted the argument that the ten-year truce signed in 1443 in Szeged was not valid since the infidel Turks could not be trusted to keep their word. Despite their significant military advantages, Władysław failed to recognise the serious threat which the Turkish empire posed to Europe as a whole. Therefore, when the Battle of Varna began on 10 November 1444, the Polish king did not sense that this would be his final fight. He was killed during the charge on the ranks of the janissaries, who were protecting their sultan. He was succeeded in Poland by his younger brother Casimir IV Jagiellon. Battle of Varna The Battle of Varna took place on November 10, 1444 near Varna in eastern Bulgaria. In this battle the Ottoman Empire under Sultan Murad II defeated the Polish and Hungarian armies under Władysław III of Poland and Janos Hunyadi. Prelude After a failed expedition in 1441/1442 against Belgrade, the Ottoman sultan Murad II signed a ten-year truce with Hungary. After he had made peace with the Karaman Emirate in Anatolia in August 1444, he resigned the throne to his twelve year-old son Mehmed II. Despite the peace treaty, Hungary co-operated with Venice and the pope, Eugene IV, to organize a new crusader army. On this news Murad was recalled to the throne by his son. Although Murad initially refused this summoning persistently on the grounds that he was not the sultan anymore, he was outwitted by his son who on the news of his refusal wrote to him: "If you are the sultan, lead your armies; but if I am the sultan, I hereby order you to come and lead my armies." Murad then had no choice but to reclaim the throne. Forces A mixed Christian army consisting mainly of Hungarian and of Polish forces, but with detachments of Czechs, papal knights, Bosnians, Croatians, Serbs, Bulgarians, Romanians and Ruthenians, met with a numerically superior force of Ottoman Turks. The Hungarians were ill-equipped, and promised support from Wallachia, Albania and Constantinople did not arrive. The Hungarian army was smaller and very imbalanced. It contained almost no infantry, except one hundred to three hundred Czech mercenary handgunners. There were also one hundred war wagons probably with crews, though none are mentioned. The rest of the army was heavy cavalry, mostly Royal and foreign mercenaries, with some Episcopal and Noble banners as well. They had promises from Venetians that their fleet would not allow Turkish army to cross the Bosphorus. There they would meet up with elements of the Papal fleet and move down the coast to Constantinople, pushing the Ottomans out of the Balkans as they went. Aftermath The memorial of the battle in Varna, built in an antique Thracian tomb-hill, bearing the name of the fallen king The 30,000 Crusaders were overwhelmed by 120,000 Turks (dubious assertion—see talk page) . Over half of the soldiers from the united army perished. The king Władysław III was also killed in the battle (he fell in a trap and was beheaded) while launching an attack without waiting for Janos Hunyadi and his forces to join him. The death of Władysław III in the battle left Hungary in the hands of the four-year-old Ladislaus Posthumous of Bohemia and Hungary. In an expression of gratitude, the Bulgarian people affectionately gave Władysław III the name 'Varnenchik' (Warneńczyk in Polish), after the city of Varna, where he fought and died. Follow up The defeat ended any serious attempts to prevent the conquest of eastern Europe by Turks for several decades. It also set the stage for the fall of Constantinople in 1453.

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End Time: 2024-01-26T23:00:01.000Z

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