. The historians' history of the world; a comprehensive narrative of the rise and development of nations as recorded by over two thousand of the great writers of all ages: . m had only reached Braila when an Ottoman army, one hundred and twenty thousand men strong, without count-ing the contingent of Laiote Bessaraba, whom Stephen had placed on thethrone of Wallachia in place of Radul, flooded Moldavia, under the commandof Solyman Pasha. Stephen had only forty thousand Moldavians, aided by five thousandSzeklers, of whom only eighteen hundred had been sent by the king of Hun-gary, the rest bein
. The historians' history of the world; a comprehensive narrative of the rise and development of nations as recorded by over two thousand of the great writers of all ages: . m had only reached Braila when an Ottoman army, one hundred and twenty thousand men strong, without count-ing the contingent of Laiote Bessaraba, whom Stephen had placed on thethrone of Wallachia in place of Radul, flooded Moldavia, under the commandof Solyman Pasha. Stephen had only forty thousand Moldavians, aided by five thousandSzeklers, of whom only eighteen hundred had been sent by the king of Hun-gary, the rest being recruited as mercenaries in Transylvania, in addition totwo thoasand Poles sent by King Casimir IV. However, by a successfulstratagem, he defeated the Turks on January 14th, 1475, at Rakova, near theriver Berlad; he killed twenty thousand of them, and took one hundred flags;four pashas and a large number of prisoners fell into his hands. What wasleft of the vanquishecl did not even reach the Danube. Stephen celebratedhis victory by building a church, prescribing a fast of forty days, and byimpaling the prisoners. Their victory was a feat of arms hitherto unexampled. Officeh of the Janissaries 134 THE BALKAN STATES AND MODERN GREECE [1475-1476 A. D.] in the fight between Turks and Christians. It was the first time that theTurks had lost a drawn battle of such importance; they felt its humiliationall the more keenly becaase their antagonists were simply peasants rudelyarmed. They well realised that their prestige had suffered. On all sidesarose thanksgivings for the triumph of the Christian cause. The country andthe senate of Venice, which heard the news of their brilliant victory from thelips of Paul Omeubonum, hastened to congratulate Stephen. IV salutedhim with the name Athlete of Christ. In the concert of praise there resounded nevertheless a discordant note;it was that of Hungary, which did not wish to let its pretended vassal mounttoo high, and who could not forge
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