Battle of Sırp Sındığı Battle of Sırp Sındığı ( First Battle Of Maritsa ) took place on the banks of the Martisa River about 15 kilometres near the city of Adrianople . It occurred in 1364 between an expeditionary force of the Ottomans led by Hacı İlbey and an allied army of Serbs , Bulgarians , Wallachians , Hungarians , Serbians led by Jovan Uglješa , Vukašin Mrnjavčević , and Louis I of Hungary . The Ottomans were victorious in this battle . The battle was the first attempt to throw the Ottomans from the Balkans with an allied army . Definition of " Sırp Sındığı " . In old Turkish language sındık means " destruction " the word " sırp sındığı " means " The Serbs destruction " or ' Rout of the Serbs ' that symbolises the casualties of Serbian soldiers in this battle . On the other hand , this battle occurred in Sarayakpınar village near Adrianople , the old name of that village was " Sırp Sındığı " . Prelude . When the Ottomans captured Adrianople in 1362 ; a strategic main road from Constantinople to Europe was cut . A large number of Turkish immigrants began to settle in Thrace very quickly . Also the Ottomans attacked Serbian , Bulgarian and Byzantine Empire lands . The enlargement policy of the Ottomans caused fear and counter reactions of the other nations in the Balkans . When Ottomans captured Plovdiv in 1363 , a Byzantine garrison commander in Plovdiv fled to Serbia . He constantly advised and encouraged the Serbians and Bulgarians to attack the outnumbered Ottoman forces quickly with an allied force before the Ottomans fortified their positions . So the Serbians and Bulgarians therefore agreed to send an allied force to push the Ottomans from the Balkans . With the encouragement and efforts of the Pope Urban V , the Principality of Wallachia and the Ban of Bosnia agreed to send some troops to support that allied force . Also the Kingdom of Hungary which was fighting for leadership in the Balkans , also supported that army by sending troops led by Louis I of Hungary . Battle . A crusading army consisting of 30 , 000 - 60 . 000 troops began to move on Adrianople , at that time the Ottoman sultan Murat I was fighting the Catalan mercenaries in the Byzantine army at Biga , ( Çanakkale ) . Also most of the Ottoman army was in Asia Minor . Lala Sahin Pasha who was the first Beylerbey of Rumelia , demanded Sultan to send him some reinforcements . Also Lala Şahin Paşa appointed “ Hacı İlbey ” to a be the commander of an expeditionary force that was supposed to monitor and slow down the allied army . The number of Hacı Ilbey forces was unclear bigger than 800 but not more than 10 - 11 . 000 . Despite all efforts , the allied army crossed the Maritsa river very easily without any important resistance ; and made a camp in Sarayakpinar ( old name : Sirpsindiği ) village in Edirne near the banks of Maritsa river . They were very near to Adrianople . The army leaders made an early feast that night . They hoped to take Adrianople with ease . They neglected to take any measures that might protect the camp , but the camp was being monitored by expeditionary forces . Hacı Ilbey decided to make a surprise attack without waiting for any reinforcements . Ottoman akinjis attacked the allied camp in the darkness of night , and they carried 2 torches for the purpose of deceiving the enemy into thinking that they had double their actual numbers . This trick worked . This surprise attack threw the allied army into a panic that they were drunk or asleep because of the feast . They supposed that the Ottoman Sultan Murat I had arrived there with a large army . Most of the alliance troops tried to retreat back to the road from whence they came . Many of them were drowned in the Maritsa river while trying to swim to the opposite side . Most of the soldiers were Serbians . Aftermath . Despite his victory , Hacı İlbey lived only one year after that battle , in 1365 he was poisoned by Lala Sahin Pasha who was jealous of his victory . Adrianople became a capital of the Ottomans . The Bulgarians agreed to pay tribute to the Ottomans and this battle hastened the fall of Bulgaria because the Turks started to occupy upper Bulgaria . Also Serbian casualties in this battle was one of the main reasons for the Battle of Maritsa , a battle where the Serbs and their allies might take revenge for this battle .