TRENDEFRARAtlas of the Sultans · Wars, battles and treaties
Siege · 1393
As the Hungarians tried to spread their influence in Danubian Bulgaria and Wallachia, Bayezid I turned his whole strength to the Balkans. According to the TDV article on Bayezid I, the Bulgarian capital Tarnovo, under Ottoman control since 1388, was taken on 17 June 1393; the Bulgarian king Shishman had to move to Nicopolis as an Ottoman vassal. Shishman was seized and executed in 1395. According to the article on Tarnovo, the city remained under Ottoman rule from 1393 to 1878 as a district centre of the sanjak of Nicopolis.
| Date | 17 June 1393 |
|---|---|
| Location | Tarnovo (Veliko Tarnovo) |
| Result | End of the Tsardom of Tarnovo; the city stayed Ottoman until 1878 |
| Belligerents | Ottoman state | Second Bulgarian Empire |
|---|---|---|
| Commanders | Bayezid I | Ivan Shishman |
Took place during the reign of Bayezid I (1389–1402). Bayezid I
The atlas records this territorial change for the year:
By the atlas's calculation the Ottoman lands covered about 518,000 km² in 1393; at the start of Bayezid I's reign they measured 284,000 km², at its end 340,000 km².
During Bayezid I (1389–1402) the atlas records 11 regions gained and 13 regions lost.
Regions gained: Aydın–Saruhan–Menteşe (1390), Teke–Hamid (Antalya–Isparta–Burdur) (1390), Kastamonu–Sinop (Candar) (1392), Kosovo (1392), Thessaly (Larissa–Trikala–Arta) (1393), Southern and Central Albania (Vlorë–Berat–Elbasan) (1394), Northern Albania (Krujë–Shkodër) (1394), Wallachia (1395), and 3 more.
Regions lost: Aydın–Saruhan–Menteşe (1402), Karesi (Balıkesir–Çanakkale) (1402), Germiyan (Kütahya–Afyon–Uşak) (1402), Teke–Hamid (Antalya–Isparta–Burdur) (1402), Kastamonu–Sinop (Candar) (1402), Karaman–Konya–Kayseri (1402), Canik (Samsun–Ordu) (1402), Wallachia (1402), and 5 more.
In thirteen years he carried the state to its height and lost it in a single battle. The Battle of Ankara broke the unity of Anatolia, restored the principalities and began the eleven-year Interregnum — the sharpest break in Ottoman history.
Areas are land area computed from the atlas's region data; see Method and sources.
Source: TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, “BAYEZİD I” (Turkish); text written for the atlas.
Cite as: Atlas of the Sultans, “Siege of Tarnovo (1393): Date, Commanders and Outcome”, https://padisahlaratlasi.com/en/events/siege-of-tarnovo/ (last updated 12 November 2026). Corrections
Terms on this page: Sanjak