Battle of Krbava

Battle of Krbava Field
Part of the Ottoman wars in Europe Hundred Years' Croatian-Ottoman War
Illustration of the battle of Krbava field from the 16th century
Date 9 September 1493 Location Krbava field, Kingdom of Croatia 44°36′N 15°42′E / 44.6°N 15.7°E / 44.6; 15.7Coordinates: 44°36′N 15°42′E / 44.6°N 15.7°E / 44.6; 15.7 Result Decisive Ottoman victory
Belligerents
Ottoman Empire	Kingdom of Croatia
Commanders and leaders
Hadım Yakup Pasha Ismail Bey of Alaca Hisar Mehmed Bey of Üsküp	Emerik Derenčin  Bernardin Frankopan Ivan Frankopan Cetinski † Nikola VI Frankopan Franjo Berislavić Petar II Zrinski †
Strength
8,000–10,000 light cavalry	2,000–3,000 cavalry 8,000 infantry
Casualties and losses
1,000 killed	5,000–7,000 killed 1,500 imprisoned

The Battle of Krbava Field (Croatian: Bitka na Krbavskom polju, Hungarian: Korbávmezei csata, Turkish: Krbava Muharebesi) was fought between the Ottoman Empire of Bayezid II and an army of the Kingdom of Croatia, at the time in personal union with the Kingdom of Hungary, on 9 September 1493, in the Krbava field, a part of the Lika region in Croatia.

The Ottoman forces were under the command of Hadım Yakup Pasha, sanjak-bey of the Sanjak of Bosnia, and the Croatian army was led by Emerik Derenčin, Ban of Croatia, who served under King Vladisluas II Jagiello. Earlier in the summer of 1493, the Ottomans undertook a raid through Croatia into Carniola and Styria. Around the same time, clashes had been raging in Croatia between the House of Frankopan and the Croatian ban, but news of the Ottoman incursion forced them to make peace. The Croatian nobles assembled a large army and intercepted the Ottoman forces that were returning to the Sanjak of Bosnia. Poor tactics, and the choice of an open battle with the more experienced Ottoman cavalry, resulted in the total defeat of the Croatian army.

There were no immediate territorial gains for the Ottoman Empire, but in the following decades the Ottomans gradually expanded into southern Croatia.

After the fall of the Kingdom of Bosnia into Ottoman hands in 1463, the Ottomans quickly expanded westward, threatening the southern and central parts of the Kingdom of Croatia. Since then, Ottoman raids were becoming more frequent. These raids were being carried out by the Akıncı, irregular light cavalry of the Ottoman Empire. They would ride into Christian territory and plunder the countryside during spring and summer, avoiding the fortified border towns and direct military conflict. These continuous raids forced the local population to abandon their land, leaving the frontier castles without supplies. One such raid began in September 1491, with the Ottoman cavalry crossing the Kupa River and reaching Carniola. On their way back, the Ottomans were intercepted by the army of Croatian Ban Ladislav of Egervár and Count Bernardin Frankopan near Udbina, and were defeated in the Battle of Vrpile. The defeat at Vrpile forced the Ottomans to stop their attacks during 1492. After Hadım Yakup Pasha became the sanjak-bey of the Sanjak of Bosnia, the Ottomans renewed their raids.

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