Editing Władysław III of Poland (section)

===Death at Varna and succession, 1444===
{{further|Battle of Varna}}
[[File:Murad II and Władysław III of Poland.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Imaginary Ottoman miniature depicting Murad II and Władysław III's beheading, held at [[Topkapı Palace]].]]

The Venetian treachery placed the large Ottoman army of around 60,000 men in proximity to the unsuspecting 16,000 crusaders, almost outnumbering the Christians by three to one.{{sfn|Setton|1976|page=90}} The crusader fleet, largely manned by Venetian mercenaries and sailors, did not engage in direct combat and desisted from sailing into the Black Sea.{{sfn|Setton|1976|page=90}} Thereafter, the [[Battle of Varna|battle]] began on 10 November 1444 at [[Varna, Bulgaria]]; the crusaders were initially successful in defending against Ottoman assaults and Murad sustained heavy losses.{{sfn|Setton|1976|page=90}} Acts of [[heroism]] were abundant on the Christian side, almost making up for the lack of men; as was the courage displayed on the battlefield by John Hunyadi.{{sfn|Setton|1976|page=90}} Murad was wary of the battle at first and contemplated escaping when the crusaders took the left flank, but the [[Janissaries]] restrained him.{{sfn|Setton|1976|page=90}}{{sfn|Jefferson|2012|pages=463–464}}

Hunyadi is purported to have proposed that the Christian left assists the right flank to move the Turks out of position, and stated that "the son of Osman's army shall be defeated".{{sfn|Jefferson|2012|page=464}} The Ottoman troops under Hadım Şehabeddin of Rumelia began to break and some fled the battle, though the Turkish resistance was fierce.{{sfn|Jefferson|2012|page=464}} One of the crusaders, Andreas de Pallatio, later wrote in his memoirs that Władysław seized the initiative on the Christian right flank and tore into Şehabeddin's ranks like "a new [[Julius Caesar|Caesar]]", pushing the Rumelians up the valley's slope.{{sfn|Jefferson|2012|page=464}} Many of the novice yet still elite Janissaries and [[azeb]]s were driven back.{{sfn|Jefferson|2012|pages=465–466}} Pallatio also notes that the size of Murad's army was too great to counter and it seemed as if the Christian offensive barely inflicted any major casualties.{{sfn|Jefferson|2012|page=465}} Władysław's men quickly became exhausted, with many wounded by arrows and battered, including Hunyadi.{{sfn|Jefferson|2012|page=465}} In spite of this, the majority of the Ottoman army either fled or was dead.{{sfn|Jefferson|2012|page=466}} Consequently, Murad decided to seek refuge in his fortified encampment in the rear.{{sfn|Jefferson|2012|page=466}}

Facing desperate circumstances and seeing Hunyadi's struggle against the Rumelian [[sipahi]]s, Władysław decided to take a chance by directly charging the sultan's camp and his armed retinue with [[heavy cavalry]].{{sfn|Jefferson|2012|page=466}} Few men were able to see the charge and no one returned from the assault, which alarmed the crusaders.{{sfn|Jefferson|2012|page=467}} The young king was most certainly killed when his charge lost impetus and came to a standstill amongst the unyielding Janissaries protecting the sultan. It is possible that the king's horse fell into a trap; [[Pope Pius II]] writes that Władysław might have been dismounted from his horse by the Turks.{{sfn|Pope Pius II|2013|pages=87–88}} The Janissaries then killed the king's bodyguard, beheaded Władysław and displayed his head on a lance, spear or pole.{{sfn|Pope Pius II|2013|pages=87–88}}{{sfn|Setton|1969|page=310}}{{sfn|Shirogorov|2021|page=40}} Records mention a severed male head candied in a bowl of honey by the Turks, but the head contained [[blonde]] hair, and Władysław was a [[brunette]].{{sfn|Shirogorov|2021|page=40}} Disheartened by the death of the king, the Hungarian Army fled the battlefield, and the remainder surrendered. On his return, Hunyadi tried frantically to salvage the king's body; neither Władysław's body nor his armour were ever found.{{sfn|Besala|2003|page=98}}

Władysław was succeeded in Poland by his younger brother, Duke [[Casimir IV Jagiellon|Casimir IV]] of Lithuania, in 1447, after a three-year [[interregnum]].{{sfn|Topolski|1986|page=58}} In Hungary, he was succeeded by his former rival, the child-king [[Ladislaus the Posthumous]].{{sfn|Topolski|1986|page=58}}