Murad's hope is not fulfilled, however.

Hungary's preparations for the crusade had been complete by late September, and those of their allies were well underway.

Many formerly independent Ottoman fringe territories have begun reclaiming their land, and on September 20, 1444, the Hungarian army had begun marching south from Szeged.

The march goes well for the Hungarians, prompting the Ottomans to recall Murad.

In Edirne, the news of the crusaders' crossing of the Danube triggers a massacre of the Christian-influenced Hurufi sect, a mystical kabbalistic Sufi doctrine, and conjures up an atmosphere of panic and arson.

During Murad's reign, the office of grand vizier (chief minister) has come to be dominated by the Çandarli family.

The Janissary corps (elite forces) has gained in prominence, and the hereditary Turkish frontier rulers in the Balkans often act independently of the sultan.

Edirne is the scene of violent rivalry between the powerful grand vizier Candarli Halil, on the one hand, and the viziers Zaganos and Sihâbeddin, on the other, who claim that they are protecting the rights of the child sultan.