The division of Bulgaria's military defenses between the two perceived threats of the Greeks and the Ottomans have weakened the country.

Although Bulgaria's Tsar Ivan Shishman had declared himself a vassal of Murad in 1371, the Ottomans continue to seek complete domination.

The Kurt dynasty, also known as the Kartids, is a Sunni Muslim dynasty of Tajik origin, that has ruled over a large part of Khorasan during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.

Ruling from their capital at Herat and central Khorasan in the Bamyan, they were at first subordinates of Sultan Abul-Fateh Ghiyāṣ-ud-din Muhammad bin Sām, Sultan of the Ghurid Empire, to whom they were related, and then as vassal princes within the Mongol Empire.

Upon the fragmentation of the Ilkhanate in 1335, Mu'izz-uddin Husayn ibn Ghiyath-uddin had worked to expand his principality.

Upon Mu'izz-uddin Husayn's death in 1370, his son Ghiyas-uddin Pir 'Ali had inherited most of the Kurt lands, except for Sarakhs and a portion of Quhistan.

Timur had invited Ghiyas-uddin Pir 'Ali to a council, so that the latter could submit to him, but after the Kurt attempted to excuse himself from coming by claiming he had to deal with the Shia population in Nishapur, Timur had decided to invade.

He is encouraged by many Khurasanis, included Mu'izzu'd-Din's former vizier Mu'in al-Din Jami, who had sent a letter inviting Timur to intervene in Khurasan, and the influential shaikhs of Jam, who had persuaded many of the Kurt dignitaries to welcome Timur as the latter neared Herat.

Timur in April 1381 arrives before the city, whose citizens are already demoralized and also aware of Timur's offer not to kill anyone that does not take part in the battle.

The city falls, its fortifications are dismantled, theologians and scholars are deported to Timur's homeland, a high tribute is imposed, and Ghiyas-uddin Pir 'Ali and his son are carried off to Samarkand.

The Treaty of Turin, which settles the Hungarian-Venetian War, awards Louis virtually all of Dalmatia, …

Charles of Durazzo, after Pope Urban VI secured the overthrow of his enemy, Joanna I of Naples, in 1380, had obtained the pope's support over the claims of Louis I of Hungary, whom Joan had named as her heir, and succeeds in defeating and capturing Naples in 1381.

Signed on August 18, 1381, the Treaty of Turin concludes the Hungarians' long and costly third war against Venice, although ...

…Louis’s allies, the Genoese, have lost the war elsewhere.

The Peace of Turin confirms Venetian maritime superiority over Genoa, the city-state’s only European rival for mastery of the seas.

The Second Treaty of Guérande (April 4, 1381) and the Reconciliation of John IV and Olivier de Clisson

The Second Treaty of Guérande, signed on April 4, 1381, formally normalized relations between the Duchy of Brittany and the Kingdom of France, following years of conflict and shifting allegiances during the Hundred Years’ War. This agreement marked the end of open hostilities between Duke John IV of Brittany and the French Crown, re-establishing a tenuous peace in the region.

Terms of the Treaty

• John IV was officially recognized as Duke of Brittany by the French king, Charles VI.
• The treaty restored Brittany’s semi-autonomous status, allowing John IV to rule as a vassal of the French Crown, while maintaining internal independence.
• In return, John IV pledged allegiance to the King of France, promising not to ally with England against France.
• The agreement protected Breton sovereignty, preventing direct French intervention in the duchy’s affairs.

The Alliance Between John IV and Olivier de Clisson (May 30, 1381)

• A month after the Second Treaty of Guérande, Duke John IV and Olivier de Clisson, who had been appointed Constable of France in 1380, signed a treaty of "good allies" on May 30, 1381.
• This agreement sought to end the long-standing personal and political rivalry between John IV and Clisson, who had been one of the main architects of French intervention in Brittany.
• The treaty was reaffirmed on February 27, 1382, strengthening relations between the pro-French faction in Brittany and the Duke’s supporters.

Impact and Legacy

• The Second Treaty of Guérande and the subsequent alliance between John IV and Clisson helped to stabilize Brittany, though tensions between French and English influences remained.
• Clisson’s role as Constable of France ensured that Brittany would remain closely aligned with the Valois monarchy, despite its historical ties to England.
• The treaty allowed John IV to rule without direct interference from France, though his position remained fragile, especially as he continued to navigate between English and French interests.

The Treaty of Guérande (1381) and the alliance between John IV and Clisson helped restore a fragile peace in Brittany, securing French recognition of the Montfortist rule while maintaining the duchy’s autonomy.

Unrest among peasants as well as prosperous artisans and urban workers, a result of economic hardships related to the Black Death, peaks in 1380 when the English crown, through John of Gaunt, imposes, for war purposes, an oppressive poll tax of a shilling a head (a week’s pay for a free peasant; villeins, or vilage peasant-serfs, receive no wages) on every adult.

Its collection sparks revolt in June 1381 in Essex, where a village expels an overzealous tax collector, and spreads …

…to Kent.

The Kentish peasants, led by Wat Tyler and John Ball, a rebel priest, and, …

…accompanied by Essex men under Jack Straw, enter London on June 13 and burn Gaunts’s palace.

Thirteen-year-old king Richard II meets them personally on June 14 and negotiates a truce with the rebel, granting their demands for abolition of serfdom, elimination of wage restrictions, and low rents.

A London mob, however, seizes the Tower of London, murders the archbishop of Canterbury and others, and swings government opinion against the rebels, who make new demands.

After Tyler is slain by the mayor of London at a second meeting with the king, the rebels disperse and the king's concessions are withdrawn.

During the same period …