Atlas of Battles

battle, landmark, medieval

Battle of Varna

Battle of Varna was a battle fought on 10 November 1444 at Varna, in what is now Bulgaria. It was part of the Crusade of Varna. The recorded result: Ottoman victory.

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Battle of Varna
Jan Matejko, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought10 November 1444
WhereVarna, Bulgaria43.217N, 27.883E
OutcomeOttoman victory
BelligerentsOttoman EmpireagainstKingdom of Hungary; Kingdom of Croatia; Kingdom of Poland; Principality of Wallachia; Teutonic Order
Casualties and lossesHeavy; Up to 7,000 killedandHeavy; 40,000–51,000 killed or captured
Part ofCrusade of Varna

Where it sits in the Crusade of Varna

Battle of Niš, 1443Battle of Zlatica, 1443Battle of Kunovica, 1444Battle of Varna, 144414431444Battle of Varna, 1444
4 placed engagements of the Crusade of Varna in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date10 November 1444
PlaceVarna, Bulgaria
43.217N, 27.883E
KindBattle, medieval
Strength50,000–60,000; 40,000–50,000 Anatolian troops; 10,000 Rumelian troops20,000; 6,000 Hungarians; 5,000 troops by Hunyadi; 4,000 Polish cavalry; 4,000 Wallachian cavalry; 1,000 Crusaders recruited by Cesarini; 44,000–55,000; 30,000 Hungarian and Polish troops (15,000 cavalry, 15,000 infantry); 4,000–10,000 Wallachian troops; 10,000–15,000 troops- Lithuanians, Croats, Moldavians, Serbs, Bosnians, Bulgarians, Teutonic Knights and Papal troops
Casualties and lossesHeavy; Up to 7,000 killedHeavy; 40,000–51,000 killed or captured
Commanders
  • Władysław III of Poland
  • John Hunyadi
  • Michael Szilágyi
  • Stephen III Báthory
  • Simon Rozgonyi
  • Franko Talovac
Battle of VarnaBattle of VarnaSiege of Varna (1828)Siege of Varna (1201)Battle of MarcianopleBattle of the WillowsBattle of KozludzhaSiege of Varna (1828)Battle of MarcianopleBattle of KozludzhaConstanțaBurgasRuseDobrichCălărașiTurnovoSlivenRazgrad100 km43.217N, 27.883E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Battle of Varna
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 25 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Battle of Varna today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2025-06-25. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2025.

The recorded site stands at about 27 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from -13 to 340 m, 353 m of relief, hilly country and today it is 55% built-up, 20% tree cover, 18% water.

built-up: 55%tree cover: 20%water: 18%grassland: 5%built-up 55%tree cover 20%water 18%grassland 5%
west to east, 10.0 km15 to 68 mnorth to south, 10.0 km0 to 332 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

Contested ground: this site was fought over 3 times between 1201 and 1828.

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1444

Battle of Varna is one of 720 engagements of the 15th century in the atlas and one of 118 in present-day Bulgaria.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q32832, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Varna, revision 1383659695, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.