Year 1345 (MCCCXLV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. It was a year in the 14th century, in the midst of a period in world history often referred to as the Late Middle Ages. Turks clashed with Byzantines, Serbs, and Cypriots at sea and in the islands of Chios and Imbros. The Byzantine Empire's precarious situation at this time is evidenced by the fact that they did not have enough soldiers to protect their own borders, but hired mercenaries from the Serbs and the Ottoman Turks.