News/Events around the area, 1430 A.D:

The fall of Thessaloniki

A squadron of three galleys under Antonio Diedo arrived to reinforce the city on 17 March 1430, but to little avail. A muster of the city's available defenders showed that they sufficed to man only a half or a third of the crenelles, and they were deficient in both armament and morale. News of Murad's approach at the head of an army rumored to number one hundred thousand men caused widespread terror among the populace.

The Sultan appeared before the city on Sunday, 26 March, shortly afternoon. Probably informed of the discontent inside the walls by Greek defectors, the Sultan appears to have expected the mere appearance of his army to force the city to surrender or to signal an uprising of the populace against the Venetian garrison. In this vein, he sent Christian officers to the walls to call upon the inhabitants to surrender, but they were driven off by arrows from the walls before they had a chance to complete their speeches. The Sultan then began preparations to take the city by storm, which lasted for three days. On the 28th, Murad sent another offer of surrender, but this, too, was rejected. On the same night, a subaltern officer entered the city to inform the Venetian commanders that the Turks had prepared six ships at the Vardar River for use against the Venetian galleys in the harbor that had been left defenseless since all available forces were concentrated in manning the city wall. Fearing that their retreat would be cut off, the Venetian commanders ordered Diedo and his men to withdraw from the wall to man the ships and the harbor defenses. They did not, however, notify the population, and around midnight, Christians from the Ottoman camp approached the walls and announced that the final assault would take place the next day, from land and sea. The news spread throughout the city and panicked the populace, who spent the night in a terrified vigil in the churches. The panic spread further when Diedo's withdrawal to the harbor became known. In the absence of other information, the Thessalonians believed that the Venetians were preparing to abandon them and flee. As a result, many defenders left their positions on the walls and returned to their homes.

At dawn on 29 March 1430, the Ottomans launched their attack under the command of Sinan Pasha, the beylerbey (military governor) of Rumelia. The main weight of the attack fell on the less well maintained eastern section of the walls, between the Trigonion and the site of the later Heptapyrgion fortress, where the Sultan himself led the attack. The Ottomans brought siege engines, ladders, and planks forward, and used them to undermine the walls. Ottoman archery proved crucial, for their shots were able to pin down the defenders and hit many who tried to peer over the battlements. As a result, much of the defenders' return fire was blind, and they began slowly abandoning their positions. Finally, at the fourth hour, the Ottoman troops broke through at multiple points along the wall; according to Anagnostes, the first Ottomans climbed the wall in the eastern section, which had been left almost defenseless. As the civilian population was being massacred, the Venetians fled to the harbour as best as they could—"one in his mantle, the other in his undershirt" in the words of the report to the Great Council. Many managed to escape to Diedo's ships, and thence to Negroponte. Others were less fortunate: the Venetians lost over two hundred men from the galley crews alone. Several senior officials, including the son of duke Paolo Contarini, and Leonardo Gradenigo, captain of one of the galleys, also fell. Details on the siege were provided by a letter sent by the Venetians of Negroponte to Venice on 2 April, after the refugees from the fall of the city arrived there, and the eyewitness account of John Anagnostes. On their return to Venice, the two Venetian commanders of Thessalonica faced charges of negligence and were imprisoned; they were most likely acquitted, however, for by 1432, both were once again active in the Republic's politics.

Following long-standing custom for a city taken by storm, the plundering lasted for three days. According to Anagnostes, seven thousand inhabitants, including himself, were taken captive to be sold in the slave markets of the Balkans and Anatolia. However, many were subsequently ransomed by the Despot of Serbia, Đurađ Branković. The city's monuments suffered massive damage in the sack, notably the cathedral of Hagios Demetrios, as soldiers ransacked them for precious objects and hidden treasure. The Sultan even ordered that marble sections be stripped from them and taken to his capital, Edirne, to pave a bath. On the fourth day, Sultan Murad entered the city and prayed at the Church of the Acheiropoietos, which became the city's first mosque. The Sultan then restored order, evicting the soldiers from the homes they had occupied and returned them to their owners. Only two thousand of the population were left after the sack, many of whom converted to Islam.

Shortly after the fall of Thessaloniki, Sultan Murad II got informed that Shah Rukh was ravaging Eastern Anatolia. Murad II hastily withdrew his forces from Thessaloniki and marched them to Bursa, where he joint with his remaining Anatolian troops. From Bursa, they marched east to meet Timourid forces

Like father, like son.

While still in Azerbaitzan, Shah Rukh received information about a new Qara Iskander army ready to attack Tabriz. This action prompted the third campaign against him in 1430 A.D. Leading a one hundred thousand strong army arrived in Tabriz in early March. Iskander retreated to the Ak Koyunlu in hope to find allies. Shah Rukh then hastily marched in Ak koyunlu, where he installed one of his sons as the new governor. Qara Iskander once more forced to flee, this time in Dulkadir sultanate. He then was assassinated by his son Qubad. The death of Iskander didn't stop Timur's son from marching and defeating the Dulkadir sultan and his twenty thousand strong army. While in Dulkadir, Ibrahim II Bey of Karaman contacted him with an oath of loyalty and a proposal for a joint operation against the Ottomans, which he happily accepted.

Shah Rukh desired to restore his father's dominance over the region and cross the Ottoman territories into Rumelia and return to Azerbaijan via the northern shore of the Black Sea. Shortly after, all of the western Anatolia was under his control. In Ankara, Shah joined forces with Ibrahim II and marched West to meet Ottoman forces.

The battle of Kütahya

Troops:

It is estimated that the Timurid army, with the Karaman reinforcements, counted one hundred twenty thousand, mostly cavalry, Murad II army numbered eighty thousand.

The Ottoman force included contingents under his sons, Ghazis, Janissaries, Anatolian Muslim vassals, and various European (Balkan Christian) vassals. A quarter of the Ottoman troops were Christians.

Battle:

The two armies finally meet near the city of Kütahya. The battle began with a fierce cavalry engagement on the flanks. The Timurid cavalry vastly outnumbered the Ottomans and got the upper hand in the left flank. Shah Rukh kept his victorious cavalry under control and did not chase the retreating Ottoman cavalry. Instead, he led them to the other side of the field to attack the allied Christian cavalry still fighting. Charged from two sides, the Christian cavalry broke before Shah Rukh could charge into contact, and they pursued them off the field.

While the Timurid cavalry was in the process of defeating the Ottoman horsemen, the masses of infantry from both sides advanced towards each other in the center of the field.

The light infantry on both sides engaged in indecisive skirmishing, inflicting few casualties and quickly withdrawing through the ranks of their heavy infantry. As the Ottoman heavy infantry attacked, knowing the superiority of the Ottoman infantry, Shah Rukh ordered a controlled retreat. Shah had instructed his infantry to withdraw deliberately, creating a tight semicircle around the attacking Ottoman infantry forces. While the front ranks were gradually advancing, the bulk of the Ottoman troops began to lose their cohesion, as soldiers from the reserve lines pushed into the growing gaps. The Ottoman infantry, now stripped of protection on both its flanks, formed a wedge that drove more in-depth into the semicircle. At this decisive point, Shah Rukh ordered his cavalry to turn inwards and advance against the Ottoman flanks, creating an encirclement in one of the most known examples of a pincer movement.

The Ottomans were henceforth enclosed in a pocket with no means of escape. The Timurids created a wall and began to massacre them systematically. Only twelve thousand Ottoman troops managed to escape, most of whom cavalry.

Aftermath:

After the battle, Ibrahim II Bey rounded up the Ottoman baggage train while Shah and his bodyguards pursued Murad II. It was a disastrous defeat for the Ottomans and Shah Rukh's most exceptional victory.

Murad II managed to escape with a small corps of his forces remaining intact. Some Serbian cavalry and Sinan Pasha caught up with him, as did some of the janissaries' survivors. On his escape, Murad II gave a speech to what remained of his army. He planned to head back West and raise another army in Europe to face Shah, assuming that the Timurids would head towards Bursa. At the same time, he dispatched letters to his western governors, asking them to remain loyal.

His warlords, however, had other intentions. Sinan Pasha murdered Murad II before fleeing westwards. The majority of the remaining Anatolian warlords gave their loyalty to Shah and were allowed to keep their positions as Timurid vassals. The battle was catastrophic for the Ottoman state, fracturing what remained and brought a total collapse. The Ottoman Empire is traditionally considered to have ended with the death of Murad II.

After the battle, Shah Rukh moved through western Anatolia, where he besieged and took the city of Bursa. In Bursa, Shah stopped for the winter and started his preparations for the siege of Constantinople.