Battle of Rovine

From Freepedia

The Battle of Rovine was one of the most important battles in the early mediæval history of Romania. The battle took place on 17 May 1395 between the Wallachian army led by Voievode Mircea cel Bătrân against an Ottoman invasion led by sultan Bayezid I. The Ottoman army, numbering approximately 40,000 men, faced the much smaller Romanian army, which was about 10,000 men. Legend says that on the eve of the battle, dressed as a peace emissary, Mircea cel Bătrân talked to Bayezid I asking him to leave Wallachia, and promising to grant him safe passage. Howewer, the sultan insisted on fighting.

The exact site of the battle is unknown, but the Romanian army was victorious, mainy because of its archers, who decimated the Ottoman ranks at the beginning of the battle. Then the Romanian cavalry charged and routed the Ottomans, who fled in disorder across the river Danube.

An epic description of the battle is found in the poem "Scrisoarea a III-a" ("The Third Letter") written by the Romanian national poet, Mihai Eminescu.