Legendary Kings Who Died In Battle

In his 29th year as ruler, Murad I is one of three Ottoman sultans who died in battle. He is believed to have been around 63 when he was killed by a Serbian noble who pretended to be a defector during the Battle of Kosovo that pitted the Ottomans against a coalition of Serbians and Bosnians. Murad I was instrumental in creating numerous Ottoman institutions and military offices that helped the empire last six centuries.

Sultan Musa was the co-ruler of the Ottoman Empire for three years during its civil war of 1402-1413, which pitted Musa against his brothers who disputed his authority. One of the brothers, Mehmet Çelebi, emerged victorious and named himself Sultan Mehmed I after Musa was killed at the Battle of Çamurlu near modern-day Samokov, Bulgaria.

The fall of Constantinople (Istanbul) marked the end of both the Byzantine Empire and Emperor Constantine XI at the hands of the Ottomans led by Sultan Mehmed II. The strategically located city between the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea had long been strongly defended by a massive wall, but this time the Ottomans managed to breach it before allies in Christian Europe could arrive. Constantine is believed to have been killed either near the breach of the wall or while fleeing in a boat.

The discovery of Richard III’s skeleton under a parking lot in Leicester in 2012 helped to provide the most intimate details of the final moments of a king’s death in battle. Anthropologists confirmed that Richard had pronounced scoliosis, as suggested by his description as “hunchbacked” in Shakespeare’s play named after him. The king fought and died in one of the last battles of England’s War of the Roses at the Battle of Bosworth. The remains show the king sustained numerous blows from numerous weapons, indicating that he was overtaken by soldiers loyal to Henry Tudor – the future King Henry VII.

The Battle of Flodden in Northumberland near the town of Branxston was the largest clash between England and Scotland, a fight sparked by King Henry VIII’s invasion of France, in which the Scots were bound by treaty to militarily aid French King Louis XII. Some 60,000 Scottish troops marched into England but were defeated in the battle that claimed King James IV as well as many Scottish noblemen.