Battle of Stephaniana
The Battle of Stephaniana was a small-scale battle between the forces of the Medieval Serbian Kingdom and the Emirate of Aydin, allies of Byzantine emperor John [VI Kantakouzenos]. It was the first battle between the Serbs and Turks, as an earlier Battle of [Gallipoli (1312)|battle in Gallipoli] was fought between troops sent by King Milutin and Turcopole Halil Pasha.
The Aydin force, 3,100 strong, were in the process of returning to Anatolia to defend against a Latin attack on their main harbour, Smyrna. On their way they were attacked by a Serbian army under voivode Preljub, one of the most capable generals in the service of Stefan Dušan. The battle, which occurred sometime in May 1344, was won by the Turks, but was not able to thwart the ongoing conquest of Byzantine Macedonia by Dušan.