| Battle of Una | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theOttoman wars in Europe Hundred Years' Croatian–Ottoman War | |||||||
 Una river near Novi Grad | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Ottoman Empire | Kingdom of Croatia | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Harsi Pasha Sarayli Hasan | Matthias Geréb Bernardin Frankopan Ivan Frankopan Cetinski Mihovil Frankopan Slunjski Vuk Grgurević | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 5,500[1]–7,000[2] light cavalry | Unknown | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| More than 1,000[3] killed, 2,000[1] imprisoned | Unknown | ||||||
TheBattle of Una (Croatian:Bitka na Uni) was fought on 29 and 30 October 1483 between the regional Ottoman forces, mostly from theSanjak of Bosnia, and theKingdom of Croatia near Brod Zrinski (modern-dayNovi Grad inBosnia and Herzegovina) at theUna River crossing and was one of the first major Croatian victories against theOttoman Empire. The Croatian army was led by theBan of CroatiaMatthias Geréb and several members of theHouse of Frankopan, joined by otherCroatian nobles and theDespot of Serbia,Vuk Grgurević. Their goal was to intercept the Ottomans that were moving towards the Una River. In the battle that lasted for 2 days the Ottomans were defeated and soon a 7-year truce was signed with SultanBayezid II.
Following the fall ofPočitelj on theNeretva River in 1471, the whole land betweenCetina and Neretva rivers except the coastline fell into Ottoman hands. To prevent further Ottoman expansion, KingMatthias Corvinus namedNicholas of Ilok titularKing of Bosnia. TheKingdom of Bosnia was conquered by the Ottomans in 1463 and their last kingStephen Tomašević was beheaded byMehmed II. Soon Nicholas of Ilok was named Ban of Croatia and Slavonia, making them a single administrative unit. His task was to take the parts ofBosnia that were still held by the Ottomans, but he failed to do so. Following his death, King Matthias invaded Bosnia and reachedSarajevo, however, his success was temporary. In 1482 the Ottomans conquered all the remaining strongholds inHerzegovina.[4] That same year Ottoman forces from theSanjak of Bosnia led byAjaz-beg plunderedCarniola, while in 1483 they ravaged the surroundings ofPtuj inLower Styria.[5]
In early October 1483 SultanBayazid II sent a large Ottoman force of around 7,000Akinji, led by Harsi Pasha andSarayli Hasan, that crossed the Una and Sava rivers and broke into Croatia. The most affected areas were the countrysides ofJastrebarsko andPetrovina. Their army was split into 3 parts, each going its own course, with one continuing towards Carniola andCarinthia on 16 October.[3][6] Matthias Gereb, who became theBan of Croatia that year, was informed about the raid, but he lacked the forces to confront the Ottomans. Therefore, he started assembling an army with the Croatian nobles; CountBernardin Frankopan,Ivan Frankopan Cetinski, Mihovil Frankopan Slunjski, Petar Zrinski, and ban deputy Gašpar Perušić all answering the call and were later joined byDespot of SerbiaVuk Grgurević andBlaise Magyar. A part of the Croatian cavalry was sent to track the Ottomans on distance and if an opportunity comes up to intercept them.[2][3]
On their way back the Ottoman armies merged into one, leading many captives which were slowing them down. Upon hearing of a large army trailing them, the Ottomans tried to evade a fight and reach the Bosnian Sanjak without confronting the enemies. As ban got bored with waiting, he marched off with his army, as he hoped to clash with the Ottomans when he encounters them. This turned out to be on the Una river crossing near Brod Zrinski (modern-dayNovi Grad).[2]
At first, the Ottomans attempted to bribe some nobleman called Vuk to let them pass, but to no avail.[7] Then they attempted negotiations with Croatian nobles to let them back - under conditions that they release Christian captives and pay 1 Forint for each Ottoman horseman. As these negotiations were ongoing, the Croatians noticed that Ottomans started killing the captives so talks escalated into a battle.[7]
Since there was no other crossing nearby, fighting started on dusk, 29 October. The battle was stopped by the nightfall, during which the Ottomans akinjis took position at the foot of a nearby hill. At the same time, they placed their captives on the hiltop. Fighting resumed on dawn next day and ended in a total defeat of Ottoman army. Around 2,000 Ottomans were imprisoned,[2][6] while more than 1,000 fell on the battlefield.[3] According to a report fromKing Matthias Corvinus, 10,000 Christian prisoners were liberated.[1] The King sent a special letter of gratitude to Ban Matthias Geréb and the Croatian nobles and informedPope Sixtus IV about the victory on 6 November.[3]
Shortly after the battle a 7-year truce was signed with Sultan Bayezid II that lasted until the death of King Matthias Corvinus in 1490. Although during that time no major battles were fought, local border clashes continued.[8] The Ottoman SultanBayazid II used this truce to strengthen his rule and prepare fresh forces for new conquests and the expansion of his Empire westward, that continued in 1490.[9] Croatia had another victory against the Ottomans in theBattle of Vrpile in 1491, but also a huge defeat in theBattle of Krbava Field in 1493.[10]
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