(September 25, 1396) Turkish victory over an army of European crusaders.
When the Ottoman Turks besieged Constantinople (1395), Manuel II Palaeologus appealed to Europe for help. The king of Hungary organized a crusade intended to expel the Turks from the Balkans and then march to Jerusalem. The crusaders laid siege to Nicopolis, the main Turkish stronghold on the Danube River, but Turkish forces arrived from Constantinople and slaughtered most of the crusaders. The battle ended international efforts to halt Turkish expansion into the Balkans and central Europe.