Thursday, September 25, 2008
This Day in the History of Crusades Ending in Disaster
On this day in 1396, the last great Christian crusade, led jointly by John the Fearless of Nevers and King Sigismund of Hungary, ended disastrously when the Muslim army of Sultan Bajazet I, an Ottoman army, beat the snot out of the Europeans at Nicopolis in Bulgaria. There would be no future coalitions to help the shrinking remnants of the Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Empire and Constantinople would fall within a lifetime of this big defeat. Not a good day for the Christians of Europe.
This painting is of prisoner executions by the Muslims in retaliation for Muslim prisoner execution by the Christians. It seems weirdly familiar.
Labels: Crusade History
# posted by Roger Fraley @ 5:11 PM 
