Ottomans’ further

The existence of the Bulgarian state became an obstacle on the way to the Ottomans’ further penetration into Central Europe. In spite of its weakness and dependence, it presented a constant threat to the right flank of the Turkish troops which had penetrated deep into the west. That is why Murad’s heir Bayazid I, The Lightning, decided to put an end to the Turnovo Kingdom. In 1393 he invaded Moesia at the head of a numerous army and after a siege which Lasted three months, succeeded in capturing Turnovo. One hundred and twenty boyars were massacred in the main church, thousands of Turnovo citizens were taken slaves and Patriarch Evtimi, who had headed the defence of Turnovo until the last moment, was sent into exile to the Rhodopes. Ivan Shishman hid himself in the Danubian stronghold of Nikopol, expecting help from the Hungarian King. The latter, however, never came to his assistance and Nikopol was captured and Ivan Shishman was killed. Only the Vidin Kingdom remained, but a Turkish garrison was also stationed in Vidin.

Powerful Hungarian Kingdom

The Ottomans reached the frontiers of the then powerful Hungarian Kingdom, which forced the Hungarian King Sigismund to prepare in 1396 a big crusade against the Turks. The Ruler of Vidin Ivan Stratsimir opened the gates of his town to the crusaders and joined them with his troops, but the army of the crusaders suffered utter defeat. That was the end also of the Vidin Kingdom.

Bulgaria’s fall under Ottoman domination, accompanied by ravaging devastations and cruel massacres of the population, was a veritable catastrophe for the Bulgarian people. The country’s political and intellectual elite was destroyed or forced to emigrate. The famous literary centres which had brought glory to Bulgarian mediaeval culture were extinguished. The persecutions were not only national, but also religious. The Bulgarian Orthodox Church was destroyed as a religious institution and the Moslem religion was proclaimed as official. The majority of Bulgarian towns were depopulated and occupied by the Turkish administration and military garrisons, while the productive Bulgarian population sought refuge in the mountains and remote regions. Thus, the social and economic base of the 14th century cultural renaissance of the Bulgarian people – the flourishing towns — was done away with.

Deprived of its state, cultural and religious institutions, the Bulgarian people were reduced to a Turkish rayah, without any rights, cruelly oppressed and exploited by the conquerors. A considerable part of the Bulgarians were forcefully assimilated, and their most fertile lands were taken by compact masses of Turkish colonists. The Ottomans pursued a systematic and purposeful policy of sapping the vitality of the subordinated peoples and enhancing their own national feelings. Thousands of Bulgarian girls were forcefully converted to the Moslem religion and taken into the harems of the Turkish feudal loids (spahis, beys). An inhuman tax called devshourme was introduced, according to which the healthiest, handsomest and cleverest Bulgarian boys were taken away from their families to special barracks where they were isolated from the outside world and turned into soldiers, excellently schooled and fanatically loyal to Islam. These were the notorious janissaries — known for their high military qualities and morale, crack infantry of the Sultan, which sowed terror in the subordinated population and covered the Turkish arms with glory. Some of the most capable janissaries rose to the ranks of Turkish dignitaries and military commanders, who contributed a lot to the successes of the Ottoman Empire.