The Battle of Angora was fought between the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I and the Central Asian ruler Timur, on July 20, 1402, near Angora (modern Ankara), in which Timur’s troops defeated the Turkish Sultan’s army, leading to the temporary collapse of the Ottoman Empire.
Armies of the Parties Involved
The Ottoman army, in addition to irregular parts of the heavy cavalry, Spahie, and the irregular infantry, as well as volunteer divisions and warriors, including parts of the Sultan’s regular Palace Guards, was the corps of the Janissaries. In addition to the Ottoman troops, Janissaries and reliable Serbs; Bayazid’s army included soldiers from small Balinese states that he had abolished ten years before, and some detachments of Tatar riders who had been in Mongolia.
Relying on the rich experience of his predecessors, Timur was able to create a powerful and efficient army, which enabled him to win brilliant victories in battlefields over his opponents. This army was a multinational and multi-confessional association, the nucleus of which was the Turks and nomadic warriors. Tamerlane’s army was divided into cavalry and infantry, whose role greatly increased at the turn of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Nevertheless, the main strength of the army consisted of cavalry detachments of nomads, the backbone of which consisted of elite units of heavily armed cavalrymen, as well as Tamerlane’s bodyguards. The infantry often played an auxiliary role; however, it was necessary for sieges. The infantry was, for the most part, lightly armed and mostly consisted of archers, but the army also included heavily armed infantry strike units.
In addition to the primary combat arms, there were detachments of workers, engineers and other specialists in the army of Tamerlane, as well as special infantry units specializing in combat operations in mountainous conditions. The organization of the army of Tamerlane, in general, corresponded to the decimal organization of Genghis Khan, but there were a number of changes. The main weapon of the light cavalry, like the infantry, was the bow. Light cavalrymen also used sabers, or swords and axes. The heavily armed riders were clad in metal shells. Simple infantrymen were armed with bows, heavy infantry soldiers fought with sabers, axes, and maces.
Before the Battle
For 35 years of his reign, from 1370 to 1405, Timur created a huge empire stretching from Northern India to Eastern Anatolia. He conducted many intense military campaigns. Wanting to become the sole ruler of the Muslim world, he consistently removed any possible rivals. At the same time, Bayezid I managed to subordinate all of Asia Minor and become the absolute master of Anatolia.
Moving west, Timur faced the state of Kara Koyunlu. The victory of Timur’s troops forced the leader of Turkmen Kara Yusuf to flee west to the Ottoman ruler Bayezid. After that, Kara Yusuf and Bayezid agreed on a joint action against Timur. To finally deal with the sultan Kara Koyunlu, Timur urged Bayezid to extradite Kara Yusuf, but Bayazid’s refusal gave a concrete excuse to start a war against the Ottomans. In May 1402, Timur began a campaign to Asia Minor. His troops occupied the Turkish fortresses Kemak and Sivas. Timur conducted a review of his troops, the number of which reached 140,000. The main part of Timur’s army was cavalry. Bayazid managed to assemble against Timur an army half his adversary’s strength. Fearing an open battle, the Sultan placed his troops in a mountain-wooded area north of the city of Angora. Timur laid siege to Angora and, by superior maneuvers, lured Bayazid onto the plain.
The Course of the Battle
As soon as the Turks descended from the mountains, Timur lifted the siege of Angora and, after making a short crossing, found himself in the path Bayezid’s troops. Timur knew that the Sultan had not paid his troops for a long time, and many dissatisfied among his troops. He sent spies to his opponent’s troops, trying to persuade them to his side.
Bayazid built an army in the rear of the mountains with avenues of retreat on their flanks. Striving to strengthen the center of the army, the sultan had weakened the flanks. The left flank of the Turkish forces were Serbs under the command of Stefan Lazarevic. On the right flank were detachments of Anatolian Beys. Timur, on the contrary, had strong flanks and a powerful reserve of 30 regiments of selected troops.
The battle was fought by light cavalry, then the vanguard of the right wing of Timur’s army unsuccessfully attacked the Serbian knights. Timur threw all the forces of his right wing into battle, but the Serbs continued to resist stubbornly. The vanguard of the left wing was immediately successful, the Anatolian Bey detachments and 18,000 mercenaries, Tatars crossed to the side of the enemy. After that, Timur fought a section of the second line, trying to cut off the Serbs from their main force, but they managed to break through and connect with the rest of Bayazid’s army.
Defeating the flanks, Timur threw in the reserves and surrounded the main body of Turks. Timur’s troops had an overwhelming advantage. The Janissaries were eliminated, and Bayazid himself was taken, prisoner.
Significance of the Battle
After the battle, all of Asia Minor was occupied by Timur’s troops. The defeat led to the disintegration of the Ottoman state, which was accompanied by a feud between Bayezid’s sons and a peasant war. Taking advantage of Bayezid’s defeat, Emperor John VII Palaeologus won for his heirs the European coast of the Sea of Marmara and Thessaloniki. Stephen Lazarevic, on his return to Serbia with the remaining soldiers, received the title of Despot from the Emperor in Constantinople. After the victory, Timur was congratulated by the kings of England, France, and Castile. This battle accelerated the process of settling the Turks in Asia Minor and the Balkans that became the inevitable fall of Byzantine Empire.
Sources:
- Mueller, A. History of Islam
- Eremeev, DE, Meyer, MS History of Turkey in the Middle Ages and Modern Times