Battle of Demotika

In the Byzantine civil war which began in 1352, John Palaiologos obtained the help of Serbia, while John Kantakouzenos sought help from Orhan I, the Ottoman bey. Kantakouzenos marched into Thrace to rescue his son, Matthew, who was attacked by Palaiologos shortly after being given this appanage and then refusing to recognize John Palaiologos as heir to the throne. The Ottoman troops retook some cities that had surrendered to John Palaiologos, and Kantakouzenos allowed the troops to plunder the cities, including Adrianople, thus it seemed that Kantakouzenos was defeating John Palaiologos, who now retreated to Serbia. Emperor Stefan Dušan sent Palaiologos a cavalry force of 4,000 or 6,000 under the command of Gradislav Borilović while Orhan I provided Kantakouzenos 10,000 horsemen. The two a

Battle of Demotika

In the Byzantine civil war which began in 1352, John Palaiologos obtained the help of Serbia, while John Kantakouzenos sought help from Orhan I, the Ottoman bey. Kantakouzenos marched into Thrace to rescue his son, Matthew, who was attacked by Palaiologos shortly after being given this appanage and then refusing to recognize John Palaiologos as heir to the throne. The Ottoman troops retook some cities that had surrendered to John Palaiologos, and Kantakouzenos allowed the troops to plunder the cities, including Adrianople, thus it seemed that Kantakouzenos was defeating John Palaiologos, who now retreated to Serbia. Emperor Stefan Dušan sent Palaiologos a cavalry force of 4,000 or 6,000 under the command of Gradislav Borilović while Orhan I provided Kantakouzenos 10,000 horsemen. The two a