Battle of Sırp Sındığı

Battle of Sırp Sındığı (First Battle Of Maritsa) took place on the banks of the Martisa River about 15 kilometres near the city of Adrianople. It occurred in 1364 between an expeditionary force of the Ottomans led by Hacı İlbey and an allied army of Serbs, Bulgarians, Wallachians, Hungarians, Serbians led by Jovan Uglješa, Vukašin Mrnjavčević, and Louis I of Hungary.The Ottomans were victorious in this battle.The battle was the first attempt to throw the Ottomans from the Balkans with an allied army.

Definition of "Sırp Sındığı"
In old Turkish language sındık means "destruction" the word "sırp sındığı" means " The Serbs destruction " or 'Rout of the Serbs' that symbolises the casualties of Serbian soldiers in this battle.On the other hand, this battle occurred in Sarayakpınar village near Adrianople,the old name of that village was "Sırp Sındığı".

Confusion and Disambiguation

 * According to some sources, this battle and Battle of Maritsa (Battle of Chernomen) is the same battle.
 * On the other hand, according to Turkish and some foreign sources Battle of Maritsa and Sirp Sindiği were 2 separate battles also Serbian loss in Battle of Sirpsindiği was one of the main reasons for Battle of Maritsa that Serbians tried to take a revenge of this battle. Thus, Battle of Maritsa occurred at Ormenio (Turkish name:Çirmen(Chernomen)) in Greece but this battle occurred at Sarayakpınar village in Turkey; geographically different places but their similarity for both cities are at the banks of Maritsa River. Because of this situation some sources was shown "First Battle of Maritsa" is Sırp Sındığı and "Second Battle of Maritsa" is Battle of Chernomen. Also the commanders of these 2 battles were different; Turkish forces in the Battle of Chernomen were led by Lala Şahin Paşa but in this battle was Hacı Ilbey who was killed by Lala Şahin Paşa in 1365.
 * According to some other sources there were 2 big battles in 1364 and 1371 but Battle of Sırp Sındigi is Battle of Maritsa (Battle of Chernomen), the battle in 1364 might also be called by a different name.

Prelude
When the Ottomans captured Adrianople in 1362; a strategic main road from Constantinople to Europe was cut. A large number of Turkish immigrants began to settle in Thrace very quickly. Also the Ottomans attacked Serbian, Bulgarian and Byzantine Empire lands. The enlargement policy of the Ottomans caused fear and counter reactions of the other nations in the Balkans. When Ottomans captured Plovdiv in 1363, a Byzantine garrison commander in Plovdiv fled to Serbia. He constantly advised and encouraged the Serbians and Bulgarians to attack the outnumbered Ottoman forces quickly with an allied force before the Ottomans fortified their positions.So the Serbians and Bulgarians therefore agreed to send an allied force to push the Ottomans from the Balkans. With the encouragement and efforts of the Pope Urban V, the Principality of Wallachia and the Ban of Bosnia agreed to send some troops to support that allied force. Also the Kingdom of Hungary which was fighting for leadership in the Balkans,also supported that army by sending troops led by Louis I of Hungary.

Battle
A crusading army consisting of 30,000-60.000 troops began to move on Adrianople, at that time the Ottoman sultan Murat I was fighting the Catalan mercenaries in the Byzantine army at Biga, (Çanakkale). Also most of the Ottoman army was in Asia Minor. Lala Sahin Pasha who was the first Beylerbey of Rumelia, demanded Sultan to send him some reinforcements. Also Lala Şahin Paşa appointed “Hacı İlbey” to a be the commander of an expeditionary force that was supposed to monitor and slow down the allied army. The number of Hacı Ilbey forces was unclear bigger than 800 but not more than 10-11.000.

Despite all efforts, the allied army crossed the Maritsa river very easily without any important resistance; and made a camp in Sarayakpinar (old name: Sirpsindiği) village in Edirne near the banks of Maritsa river. They were very near to Adrianople.The army leaders made an early feast that night. They hoped to take Adrianople with ease. They neglected to take any measures that might protect the camp, but the camp was being monitored by expeditionary forces. Hacı Ilbey decided to make a surprise attack without waiting for any reinforcements. Ottoman akinjis attacked the allied camp in the darkness of night, and they carried 2 torches for the purpose of deceiving the enemy into thinking that they had double their actual numbers. This trick worked. This surprise attack threw the allied army into a panic that they were drunk or asleep because of the feast. They supposed that the Ottoman Sultan Murat I had arrived there with a large army. Most of the alliance troops tried to retreat back to the road from whence they came. Many of them were drowned in the Maritsa river while trying to swim to the opposite side. Most of the soldiers were Serbians.

Aftermath
Despite his victory, Hacı İlbey lived only one year after that battle, in 1365 he was poisoned by Lala Sahin Pasha who was jealous of his victory. Adrianople became a capital of the Ottomans.The Bulgarians agreed to pay tribute to the Ottomans and this battle hastened the fall of Bulgaria because the Turks started to occupy upper Bulgaria. Also Serbian casualties in this battle was one of the main reasons for the Battle of Maritsa, a battle where the Serbs and their allies might take revenge for this battle.