THE RISE OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE 97Eventually, most of Greece was occupied and raids were sent as far north
as Bosnia and Hungary.
In 1396 a force of 10,000 French knights responded to calls of assis-
tance from King Sigismund of Hungary. By September they arrived in
Hungary and had captured the Ottoman-held fortress of Rachowa. Unable
to spare the men to guard their Turkish prisoners, they slaughtered them.
Then on September 12, they moved against Nicopolis (modern Bulgaria),
the objective of their crusade. The French surrounded Nicopolis, but lack-
ing any siege equipment, they could only blockade it. Three weeks later
the Ottoman army, under Sultan Bayezit, appeared. The Ottoman advance
guard was surprised by 1,000 French knights and overwhelmed.
The main Ottoman army arrived before the French camp on September
- Bayezit had lifted his siege of Constantinople to face this new enemy.
The arrogant French foolishly refused Sigismund’s advice on how to deal
with the Turks and, devoid of all reason, galloped out to strike their foe.
Initially the French, more heavily armored and mounted on larger horses,
overwhelmed and scattered the first Turkish line. This line, however, was
only light cavalry and had no intention of standing. In effect, the light
cavalry evaded the opening French assault and pulled it forward into a
highly disordered charge toward the solid core of Janissaries waiting be-
hind a light palisade.
The French found themselves showered with arrows and facing lines
of infantry behind barricades of sharpened stakes. The French dismounted
to pass the stakes. At this point Bayezit and his Spahis, concealed behind
a hill, charged their now dismounted and disordered foe with crushingly
superior numbers and at the most opportune moment. Sigismund, realizing
the battle was over, discretely withdrew his army.
Six thousand French knights were to die in the battle and 3,000 surren-
dered. Because the French had murdered their captives from Rachowa,
Bayezit ordered his prisoners decapitated. The next morning they were
paraded before him, naked and in groups of three or four. The mass be-
heading began early in the morning and continued through the day. Only
twenty-four knights, those expected to produce large ransoms, were
spared. The sadistic and drunken Bayezit forced them to watch the deaths
of their comrades. The French might have listened to Sigismund, or they
might have heeded the lessons of Crecy and Poitiers, where similar
charges had led to disaster. At Nicopolis their foes did not observe even
the rude niceties of European warfare.
The Ottoman threat to Hungary, however, ended abruptly at the ap-
pearance of Tamerlane, who struck hard on the Ottoman eastern flank.
Bayezit immediately moved his army to eastern Anatolia to defend his