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A moment in history

Who ruled the world in 1444?

11 thrones active across 12 rulers, a snapshot of the 15th century.

1444 was a dramatic late-medieval year in Europe and Asia, with a young king killed and a crusade destroyed. On the 10th of November, during the Battle of Varna, the 20-year-old Polish king Władysław III was killed during a foolhardy cavalry charge, and his army defeated by the Ottomans, who were led by Murad II. After this, Poland would not have a king for another three years, until Władysław's brother, Casimir IV, took the throne in 1447. On the 10th of August, Murad II stepped down as sultan to let his 12-year-old son, Mehmed II, rule. Mehmed would be the future conqueror of Constantinople. Meanwhile, a Portuguese fleet under Lançarote de Freitas raided the coast of West Africa and returned to Lagos, Portugal, with captured, enslaved Africans. This event is widely recognized by historians as the definitive beginning of Europe's Atlantic slave trade, leading directly to the creation of one of the first organized European slave markets in Lagos.
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Explore who held power in each world throne this year.

Chronicle

Key events of 1444

  • 2 MarLeague of Lezhë formed; Skanderbeg proclaimed commander of Albanian resistance
  • 22 MayTreaty of Tours secures a five-year truce in the Hundred Years' War
  • 29 JunBattle of Torvioll; Skanderbeg defeats an Ottoman army
  • 10 AugMurad II abdicates in favour of Mehmed II
  • 15 AugPeace of Szeged signed with Hungary
  • 1 OctMurad II returns from retirement to lead the Ottoman army
  • 10 NovBattle of Varna; crusaders defeated and Władysław III killed

From the library

Go deeper on 1444

Histories tied to the people, places, and turning points that defined this year across the world.

  • Cover of The Slave Trade

    The Slave Trade

    Hugh Thomas

    The definitive history of the Atlantic slave trade, from the Portuguese raids of the 1440s to the abolition era.

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