Background
The Crusade of Varna officially began on January 1, 1443, with a crusading bull published by Pope Eugene IV. The fighting did not start as planned, however. The Hungarian and Karamanid armies were supposed to attack the Ottoman Empire simultaneously, but in the spring of 1443, before the Hungarians were ready, the Karamanids attacked the Ottomans and were devastated by Sultan Murad II's full army.
The Hungarian army, led by King Vladislaus, John Hunyadi, and Serbian Despot Đurađ Branković, attacked in mid-October. They had several advantages over the Ottomans, allowing them to win the first encounters, such as forcing Kasim Pasha of Rumelia and his co-commander Turakhan Beg to abandon camp and flee to Sofia, Bulgaria to warn Murad of the invasion. However, the two burned all the villages in their path to wear down the Hungarians with scorched earth. When they arrived in Sofia, they advised the Sultan to burn the city and retreat to the mountain passes beyond, where the Ottoman's smaller army wouldn't be such a disadvantage. Shortly after, bitter cold set in.
The next encounter, fought at Zlatitsa Pass just before Christmas 1443, was fought in the snow. The Hungarians were badly defeated. As they marched home, however, they ambushed and defeated a pursuing force in Dragoman Pass, where Mahmud Bey, son-in-law of the Sultan and brother of the Grand Vizier Çandarlı Halil Pasha, was taken prisoner. This returned to the Hungarians the illusion of an overall Christian victory, and they returned triumphant. The King and Church were both anxious to maintain the illusion and gave instructions to spread word of the victories, but contradict anyone who mentioned the loss.
Murad, meanwhile, returned angry and dejected by the unreliability of his forces, and imprisoned Turakhan after blaming him for the army's setbacks and Mahmud Bey's capture.
Read more about this topic: Peace Of Szeged
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