The Battle of Maritsa, also known as the Battle of Chernomen, was fought on 26 September 1371 near the Maritsa River, close to the village of Chernomen. The conflict pitted the Ottoman forces under Lala Şahin Pasha and Hacı İlbey against a coalition of Serbian lords, led by King Vukašin Mrnjavčević and his brother Despot Jovan Uglješa who sought to halt the Ottomans' westward advance. The battle ended in a decisive Ottoman victory following a night attack on the Serbian camp, in which both Serbian commanders were killed, marking the decline of Serbian power in Macedonia and paving the way for Ottoman expansion into the central Balkans.