Events Around 1428 AD

Events 1428 AD in the Balkans and Surrounding Regions

Golubac, Serbia:

After the death of Stefan Lazarević, the Despot of Serbia, in 1427, King Sigismund of Hungary sought to enforce the terms of the Treaty of Tata. Belgrade and Mačva were handed over to Hungary without resistance. However, when it came to the fortress of Golubac, complications arose. The fortress's commander, Voivode Jeremija, demanded a payment of 12,000 ducats for its surrender. Sigismund refused this demand, prompting Jeremija to betray the Hungarians by handing Golubac over to the Ottoman Turks, who established it as a pasha's residence.

Sultan Murad II, while pleased with acquiring Golubac, was unsettled by Hungary's growing influence in Serbia. In response, he dispatched his army to launch attacks, including raids from Golubac targeting Serbian and Hungarian settlements in the Braničevo region. The new Serbian Despot, Đurađ Branković, personally traveled to Golubac to negotiate with Jeremija, offering him forgiveness in exchange for the fortress. Jeremija not only refused but also attacked Branković and his escort when they attempted to enter the fortress. These events escalated tensions, leading to the Battle of Golubac in 1428.

In April 1428, King Sigismund amassed a sizable force: 25,000 infantry, 6,000 Wallachian archers led by Prince Dan II, 100 Italian artillery units, and a contingent of Polish cavalry positioned across the Danube. He launched an assault on Golubac and the Ottoman forces, with naval support from ships on the river. Notably, one of these ships was commanded by Cecília Rozgonyi, the wife of Comes István Rozgonyi of Timișoara. Sultan Murad II quickly moved to aid the besieged Ottomans, arriving in late May. Unwilling to engage the larger Ottoman army, Sigismund negotiated a balanced treaty by early June.

However, as part of the Hungarian army began withdrawing across the Danube, Ottoman commander Sinan Bey attacked their rear guard. Many were captured or killed, including the esteemed Polish knight Zawisza Czarny. King Sigismund narrowly escaped capture, thanks to the decisive intervention of Cecília Rozgonyi, who was instrumental in his rescue. In gratitude for her actions, Sigismund granted her and her brothers hereditary rights to Golubac.

Following these events, Sultan Murad II fortified the Ottoman borders against Serbia and Hungary. Rather than attempting to retake Wallachia, he redirected his military efforts to Anatolia, where his forces defeated the Karamanids in 1428.

Thessaloniki and Macedonia:

During the ongoing conflict over Thessalonica, the Ottomans persistently raided Venetian possessions in Albania. In early spring 1428, the Ottoman fleet embarked on a major offensive against Venetian territories in Greece. A fleet comprising 40 to 55 vessels attacked the island of Euboea, capturing approximately 700 Venetian citizens. They then proceeded to raid the surroundings of the Venetian outposts of Modon and Coron in the southwestern Morea.

Upon receiving news of these attacks on April 22, Venice authorized the deployment of a guard fleet of 15 galleys under Andrea Mocenigo to pursue the Ottoman raiders. However, the fleet did not set sail until September, following the defeat of the previous year's fleet under Guido da Canal at Gallipoli by a coalition of Ottoman and Christian ships.

The Ottoman naval threat intensified due to the defection of Giovanni II Crispo, the Duke of Naxos (reigned 1418–1433). Although he was a Venetian citizen and vassal, escalating Ottoman pressure on his domains compelled the Great Council to permit him to negotiate a separate peace treaty with the Ottomans, which he accepted. Consequently, Crispo was obliged to assist the Ottomans in their raids and ceased providing warnings to the Venetians in Euboea about impending Ottoman attacks via signal beacons.

Notes:

The upcoming news/events chapters will help convey the broader atmosphere of this timeline. At this stage, the world is still following the original timeline (OTL), with only minor changes from the 'butterflies' that have just begun to take effect.

Despite their considerable strength, the Ottomans are managing a large number of newly conquered territories, many of which are not yet fully integrated. Additionally, the memory of their defeat by the Timurid forces and the subsequent civil war is still relatively fresh, leaving some vulnerabilities within their empire.

In 1428, Sultan Murad II found himself fighting on three different fronts. While he ultimately succeeded, these battles left him somewhat overextended, creating potential cracks in his reign.