Ottoman-Hungarian Wars
Encyclopedia
The Ottoman-Hungarian War refers to a series of battles between the Ottoman Empire
and the medieval Kingdom of Hungary
. Following the Byzantine civil war
, the Ottoman capture of Gallipoli
and the decisive Battle of Kosovo
, the Ottoman Empire seemed poised to conquer the whole of the Balkans. However, the Ottoman invasion of Serbia drove Hungary to war against the Ottomans, with the former having interests in the Balkans and competing for the vassalship of the Balkan states of Serbia, Bulgaria, Wallachia, and Moldavia.
Initial Hungarian success culminated in the Crusade of Varna
, though without significant outside support the Hungarians were defeated. Nonetheless the Ottomans suffered more defeats at Belgrade, even after the conquest of Constantinople
. In particular was the infamous Vlad the Impaler who with limited Hungarian help resisted Ottoman rule until the Ottomans were able to place his brother, a man less feared and less hated by the populace on the throne of Wallachia
. Ottoman success was once again halted at Moldavia due to Hungarian intervention but the Turks emerged triumphant at last when Moldavia and then Belgrade fell to Bayezid II
and Suleiman the Magnificent
respectively. In 1526 the Ottomans crushed the Hungarian army at Mohács
with King Louis II of Hungary perishing along with 14,000 of his foot soldiers. Following this defeat, the eastern region of the Kingdom of Hungary (mainly Transylvania
) ceased as an independent power and served as an Ottoman tributary state
, constantly engaged in civil war
with Royal Hungary
. The war continued with the Habsburgs now asserting primacy in the conflict with the Suleiman and his successors. The northern and western parts of Hungary managed to remain free from Ottoman rule, but the Kingdom of Hungary, the most powerful state east of Vienna under Matthias I
, was now divided and at constant war with the Turks.
, Ottoman rule began to extend over the Eastern Mediterranean and the Balkans. The important city of Thessaloniki was captured from the Venetians in 1387, and the Turkish victory at the Battle of Kosovo
in 1389 effectively marked the end of Serbian power in the region, paving the way for Ottoman expansion into the rest of Europe.
The Battle of Nicopolis
is thought to be the first significant encounter between Hungary and the Ottoman Empire, where a broad alliance of Christian monarchs and the Knights Hospitaller
were defeated by a numerically superior Turkish army (the Ottomans had also enlisted the support of their new vassal, the Serbian Despotate
).
In 1344 Wallachia
and Moldavia
became Louis's vassal.
Louis with his ernomous 80.000 strong army repelled the Serbian Dušan's
armies in vojvodine of Mačva
and principality of Travunia
in 1349. when Czar Dusan broke into Bosnian territory he was defeated by Bosnian Stjepan II with the assistance of King Louis' troops, and when Dušan made a second attempt he was decisively beaten by his luckier rival, King Louis the Great himself, in 1354. The two monarchs signed the peace agreement in 1355.
His latter campaigns in the Balkans were aimed not so much at conquest and subjugation as at drawing the Serbs, Bosnians, Wallachians and Bulgarians into the fold of the Roman Catholic faith and at forming a united front against the looming Turkish menace. In 1366 John V Byzantine Emperor visited Hungary to beg for help against Turks. It was relatively easy to subdue Balkanian Orthodox countries by arms, but to convert them was a different matter. Despite Lajos' efforts, the peoples of the Balkans remained faithful to the Eastern Orthodox Church and their attitude toward Hungary remained ambiguous. Louis annexed Moldavia
in 1352 and established a vassal principality there, before conquering Vidin in 1365. The rulers of Serbia, Walachia, Moldavia, and Bulgaria became his vassals.
They regarded powerful Hungary as a potential menace to their national identity. For this reason, Hungary could never regard the Serbs and Wallachians as reliable allies in her subsequent wars against the Turks. The Ottoman Turks confronted the Balkan vassal states ever more often. Louis defeated the Turks when Hungarian and Turkish troops clashed for the first time in history at Nicapoli in 1366. The Hungarian Chapel in the Cathedral at Aachen
was built to commemorate this victory. He defeated the Turkish army in Wallachia
in 1374.
In the spring of 1365, Louis I headed a campaign against the Bulgaria
n Tsardom of Vidin and its ruler Ivan Sratsimir
. He seized the city of Vidin
on 2 May 1365; the region was under Hungarian rule
until 1369.
Timur and the Ottoman Interregnum
Despite these successes the Ottomans would have to start all over from near-scratch when in 1402 Timur of the Chagatai Khanate
captured the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid the Thunderbolt at Ankara
, so named for the speed of his crushing victories against his Christian opponents, most notably at Nicopolis.
Campaigns of Murad II
The Ottoman Empire seemed to have collapsed after 1402 but Murad II, the successor to Mehmed I proved to be a man of far greater ghazi skills then his peaceful predecessor whose appreciation of Byzantine assistance even made him go so far as to accept the Byzantine Emperor as his suzerain. Such an arrangement was out of all proportion to the powers of the two Empires, and in 1422 Murad II demonstrated how much of a "suzerain" the Emperor was to the Sultan when Constantinople narrowly escaped
an Ottoman conquest
With Byzantium neutralized and terrified in servitude as a vassal, Murad II began his holy war against his Christian opponents, attacking Macedonia and capturing Thessalonika from the Venetians in 1430. Between 1435 and 1436 the Ottomans made a show of strength in Albania but the country survived total knock out when the Kingdom of Hungary, whose borders now neared those of the Ottoman realm intervened.
Campaigns of John Hunyadi
He received tempting offers from Pope
Eugene IV
, represented by the Legate
Julian Cesarini, from Đurađ Branković, despot
of Serbia, and George Kastrioti
, prince of Albania, to resume the war and realize his ideal of driving the Ottomans from Europe. All the preparations had been made when Murad's envoys arrived in the royal camp at Szeged
and offered a ten years' truce
on advantageous terms. Branković bribed Hunyadi -he gave him his vast estates in Hungary- to support the acceptance of the peace. Cardinal Julian Cesarini found a traitorous solution. The king swore that he would never give up the crusade, so all future peace and oath was automatically invalid. After this Hungary accepted the Sultan's offer and Hunyadi in Władysław's name swore on the Gospel
s to observe them.
Battle of Varna
Murad II was unable to stop Hunyadi from calling in reinforcements from Western Europe. Few knights came, but those that did assisted in capturing Nis on November 3 1443, defeating another Turkish army as they crossed the Balkan Mountains and then taking another victory on Christmas Day. Christmas or not, supplies for the Crusader army were low and Hunyadi concluded a 10-year peace treaty with Murad II, presumably on his terms for it was triumphant Hungarian that entered Buda in February of 1444. 10 years was the maximum time permitted by Islamic law for a treaty with an "infidel". Unfortunately for the Hungarians, no such time limit existed in the minds of the Papal legate, for if it did it would have been a very small one - Cardinal Cesarini incited the Hungarians to break the treaty and attack the Turks once more. It was a foolish move, for much of the Crusader armies' strength had been reduced due to the loss (by defection) of Serbia, Albania and the Byzantine Empire. Fanciful ideas had been discussed of Greeks making diversionary attacks in the Peloponnese. Even the recapture of Jerusalem was entertained.
The Crusader army attacked across the Danube. Sultan Murad II, upon hearing of the Christian breach of the treaty is said to have mounted the broken treaty on his standard and said the words, "Christ, if you are God as your followers claim, punish them for their perfidy". Accounts vary as to how many troops were present but the Crusaders may have been 30,000 whilst the Ottomans between two to three times larger. Nonetheless Hunyadi's successful defense wagons held the line until King Ladislas led a foolish glory-motivated charge to his death against the Turkish lines. His head was mounted on a spear and all the defeated Christians could see it, most likely before their death, for very few survived the battle. It was somewhat consoling for to the Hungarians that John Hunyadi lived to fight and win another day.
After Varna
The Hungarians recovered their strength after Varna and John Hunyadi was able lead another expedition down the Danube. Turkish counter-attacks saw this "crusade" driven back. After Murad dealt with the Greeks at the Peloponesse and other traitors who fought him at Varna, he turned his attention to Albania, whose leader was once one of many Ottoman hostages was now a popular resistance leader. Hunyadi could not refuse an offer to fight the Turks and in 1448 an army of some 24,000 Hungarians marched south into Serbia. At the Second Battle of Kosovo
Murad scored another victory against the Hungarians. This time, Hunyadi had had enough and was unable to campaign against the Ottoman Sultan. Murad II passed on his powers to his successor, Mehmed II. Thanks to such victories, the Ottoman forces were able to capture Constantinople
in 1453 with only the Italians able to offer minimal yet much-needed support.
Battle of Belgrade (1456)
Meanwhile, the Ottoman issue had again become acute, and, after the fall of Constantinople
in 1453, it seemed natural that Sultan
Mehmed II
was rallying his resources in order to subjugate Hungary. His immediate objective was Nándorfehérvár (today Belgrade). Nándorfehérvár was a major castle-fortress, and a gate keeper of south Hungary. The fall of this stronghold would have opened a clear way to the heart of Central-Europe. Hunyadi arrived at the siege of Belgrade at the end of 1455, after settling differences with his domestic enemies. At his own expense, he restocked the supplies and arms of the fortress, leaving in it a strong garrison under the command of his brother-in-law Mihály Szilágyi and his own eldest son László Hunyadi
. He proceeded to form a relief army, and assembled a fleet
of two hundred ships. His main ally was the Franciscan
friar
, Giovanni da Capistrano
, whose fiery oratory drew a large crusade made up mostly of peasants. Although relatively ill-armed (most were armed with farm equipment, such as scythe
s and pitchfork
s) they flocked to Hunyadi and his small corps of seasoned mercenaries
and cavalry
.
On July 14, 1456 the flotilla
assembled by Hunyadi destroyed the Ottoman fleet. On July 21, Szilágyi's forces in the fortress repulsed a fierce assault by the Rumelia
n army, and Hunyadi pursued the retreating forces into their camp, taking advantage of the Turkish army's confused flight from the city. After fierce but brief fighting, the camp was captured, and Mehmet raised the siege and returned to Constantinople
. With his flight began a 70 year period of relative peace on Hungary's southeastern border.
However, plague broke out in Hunyadi's camp three weeks after the lifting of the siege, and he died August 11. He was buried inside the (Roman Catholic) Cathedral
of Alba Iulia
(Gyulafehérvár), next to his younger brother John. Sultan Mehmet II paid him tribute:"Although he was my enemy I feel grief over his death, because the world has never seen such a man."
The Noon Bell
Pope Callixtus III ordered the bells of every European church to be rung every day at noon, as a call for believers to pray for the defenders of Belgrade. However, in many countries (like England and Spanish kingdoms), news of the victory arrived before the order, and the ringing of the church bells at noon thus transformed into a commemoration of the victory. The Popes didn't withdraw the order, and Catholic (and the older Protestant) churches still ring the noon bell in the Christian world to this day.
Mehmed II
Mehmed conquered Constantinople
in 1453. (Main article: Fall of Constantinople
April 2, 1453 – May 29, 1453 )
With Constantinople under his belt and a great euphoria from the conquest, Mehmet II began making preparations for his next campaign against Belgrade. The city was a triple-walled fortress but was poorly manned. Nonetheless when Mehmed II tried to take the city, not only was he repulsed but a furious and suicidal counter-attack launched by the inexperienced and fanatical civilians drove the Turks from the field. Even so the Ottomans were able to campaign with greater success elsewhere. The Duchy of Athens
, Trebizond and Albania
was brought beneath the Sultan's boot in 1456, 1461 and 1468. Of equally great importance was the death of John Hunyadi
to the Plague, depriving the Hungarians one of their most heroic generals.
in 1458.
In 1471 Matthias renewed the Serbian Despotate
in south Hungary under Vuk Grgurević
for the protection of the borders against the Ottomans. In 1479 a huge Ottoman army, on its return home from ravaging Transylvania, was annihilated at Szászváros (modern Orăştie
, 13 October 1479) in the so-called Battle of Breadfield
. The following year Matthias recaptured Jajce, drove the Ottomans from northern Serbia and instituted two new military banats, Jajce and Srebernik, out from reconquered Bosnian territory.
In 1480, when a Ottoman fleet seized Otranto in the Kingdom of Naples, at the earnest solicitation of the pope he sent the Hungarian general, Balázs Magyar, to recover the fortress, which surrendered to him on 10 May 1481. Again in 1488, Matthias took Ancona
under his protection for a while, occupying it with a Hungarian garrison.
, 1456 - 1475
Mehmed II's post-Constantinople troubles escalated further when the Balkan principality
of Wallachia
under Count
Vlad Dracul rebelled against the Ottoman Empire and declared the King of Hungary as his suzerain. The main drive for these actions was Vlad's return to his homeland after being in exile, as a hostage of the Ottoman sultan. Five years after his return from exile, Vlad initiated war with the Turks when in 1461 he impaled the Turkish ambassadors demanding tribute from him and took the fortress of Giurgiu. Vlad then began leading a bloody assault across the Danube to the Black sea, destroying as much of the ports as he could lay his hands on to prevent Ottoman naval attacks. Ottoman attempts to subdue Vlad militarily proved a failure but his cruelty, which had given him the edge of striking terror into the hearts of his enemies proved to be his undoing. When Mehmed offered the populace the choice of Radu, Vlad's brother or the Impaler himself, the populace knew who to choose and soon Vlad was once again an exile on the run. An attempt to return a few years afterwards ended in his death in battle.
Stephen the Great & war against Moldavia
, 1475 - 1476
Mehmed's army seems to have spent itself in Wallachia for the campaign against the Moldavians was shorter and yielded poorer results still. In 1475 Mehmed ordered an invasion of Moldavia. Again, the Ottomans often took possession of the field but Moldavian hit & run tactics proved effective against the Turks. Poor roads slowed the Ottomans further still until Stephen was able to concentrate his forces at Vaslui. An Ottoman offensive was held in check and then finally driven from the field on 10 January 1475.
The Ottomans returned in 1476, this time assisted by their allies from Crimea, the Tartars and their newly-conquered Vassal of Wallachia. Stephen knew that he did not have the resources to defend his people and evacuated them to the mountains. After a failed attack on the Ottoman vanguard Stephen seemed on the brink of defeat when King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary offered assistance against the Sultan. The Ottomans withdrew when the Hungarians began moving in and fighting did not resume until 1484.
Bayezid II
Bayezid's early reign was cursed with a small civil war against his brother Jem, who escaped to the west. There European leaders entertained ideas of installing a pro-Western Sultan whilst Crusading their way to the Balkans. Consequently Bayezid II did not incite any serious wars with his Christian opponents until his brother's death in 1495. In the meantime Bayezid signed a ten-year peace with Hungary in 1484 although this did not prevent a defeat of an Ottoman army at Villach in 1493. Between 1484 and 1486 Bayezid campaigned annually against Moldavia in an attempt to subdue it and link up with Crimea, his Muslim vassal and ally. Despite two defeats in 1485 and 1486 Moldavia was subjugated. As Bayezid's reign drew to a close he was entangled in a civil war between his sons Ahmed and Selim. Eventually Selim took the throne in 1512 and for the next 8 years continued minor conquests in the west - although his main achievement was the conquest of the Mamluke Sultanate. It would be Selim's successor, Suleiman who would continue the war against Hungary.
Suleiman the Magnificent
Suleiman resumed the war against Hungary by attacking the city of Belgrade
, the same settlement that had defied Mehmed II over half a century ago. Despite reminiscent heroic resistance, the city fell to Suleiman. In 1522 Suleiman took his army to a strategically successful siege of Rhodes, allowing the Knights Hospital to evacuate for the fort.
, who had been instructed by Louis II to raid the enemy's supply lines arrived at the battle too late and fled the scene. Suleiman however was not ready to annex the Kingdom completely into the Ottoman realm and so John Zapolyai was installed as the vassal King of Hungary. Meanwhile at the diet of Bratislava Archduke Ferdinand of Austria was declared King of Hungary. The surviving nobles of Hungary now had to choose between a native vassal of Suleiman and a Christian "foreigner" to pledge allegiance to.
Suleiman's victory at Mohacs is considered a great and decisive battle for the Ottomans. However, even though the Kingdom of Hungary was knocked out of the war Austria now took on the Ottoman enemy. This is not to say that Austria alone could bear the full might of the Ottoman Empire, nor was Ottoman rule in most of Hungary seriously contested beyond the city of Buda.
After John Szapolya's death (1540)
Hungary was split into three parts. The north-west (present-day Slovakia, western Transdanubia and Burgenland, western Croatia and parts of north-eastern present-day Hungary) remained under Habsburg rule; although initially independent, later it became a part of the Habsburg Monarchy under the informal name Royal Hungary. The Habsburg Emperors would from then on be also crowned as Kings of Hungary.
The eastern part of the kingdom (Partium and Transylvania) became at first an independent principality, but gradually was brought under Turkish rule as a vassal state of the Ottoman Empire. The remaining central area (most of present-day Hungary), including the capital of Buda, became a province of the Ottoman Empire.
Nonetheless Mohacs simply enlarged the borders of the Ottoman realm thereby increasing exposure to attack, bringing the empire into later conflict with Poland, Russia, the Cossacks and the Habsburgs.
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
and the medieval Kingdom of Hungary
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary comprised present-day Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia , Transylvania , Carpatho Ruthenia , Vojvodina , Burgenland , and other smaller territories surrounding present-day Hungary's borders...
. Following the Byzantine civil war
Byzantium under the Palaiologoi
The Byzantine Empire or Byzantium, the term conventionally used since the 19th century to describe the Greek-speaking Roman Empire of the Middle Ages, was ruled by the Palaiologoi dynasty in the period c...
, the Ottoman capture of Gallipoli
Fall of Gallipoli
The fall of Gallipoli to the Ottomans occurred in March of 1354. After suffering a half-century of a string of defeats at the hands of the Ottomans, the Byzantines had lost nearly all of their possessions in Anatolia...
and the decisive Battle of Kosovo
Battle of Kosovo
The Battle of Kosovo took place on St. Vitus' Day, June 15, 1389, between the army led by Serbian Prince Lazar Hrebeljanović, and the invading army of the Ottoman Empire under the leadership of Sultan Murad I...
, the Ottoman Empire seemed poised to conquer the whole of the Balkans. However, the Ottoman invasion of Serbia drove Hungary to war against the Ottomans, with the former having interests in the Balkans and competing for the vassalship of the Balkan states of Serbia, Bulgaria, Wallachia, and Moldavia.
Initial Hungarian success culminated in the Crusade of Varna
Crusade of Varna
The Crusade of Varna was a string of events in 1443–44 between the Kingdom of Hungary, the Serbian Despotate, the Principality of Wallachia and the Ottoman Empire...
, though without significant outside support the Hungarians were defeated. Nonetheless the Ottomans suffered more defeats at Belgrade, even after the conquest of Constantinople
Fall of Constantinople
The Fall of Constantinople was the capture of the capital of the Byzantine Empire, which occurred after a siege by the Ottoman Empire, under the command of Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II, against the defending army commanded by Byzantine Emperor Constantine XI...
. In particular was the infamous Vlad the Impaler who with limited Hungarian help resisted Ottoman rule until the Ottomans were able to place his brother, a man less feared and less hated by the populace on the throne of Wallachia
Wallachia
Wallachia or Walachia is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians...
. Ottoman success was once again halted at Moldavia due to Hungarian intervention but the Turks emerged triumphant at last when Moldavia and then Belgrade fell to Bayezid II
Bayezid II
Bayezid II or Sultân Bayezid-î Velî was the oldest son and successor of Mehmed II, ruling as Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1481 to 1512...
and Suleiman the Magnificent
Suleiman the Magnificent
Suleiman I was the tenth and longest-reigning Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1520 to his death in 1566. He is known in the West as Suleiman the Magnificent and in the East, as "The Lawgiver" , for his complete reconstruction of the Ottoman legal system...
respectively. In 1526 the Ottomans crushed the Hungarian army at Mohács
Battle of Mohács
The Battle of Mohács was fought on August 29, 1526 near Mohács, Hungary. In the battle, forces of the Kingdom of Hungary led by King Louis II of Hungary and Bohemia were defeated by forces of the Ottoman Empire led by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent....
with King Louis II of Hungary perishing along with 14,000 of his foot soldiers. Following this defeat, the eastern region of the Kingdom of Hungary (mainly Transylvania
Transylvania
Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
) ceased as an independent power and served as an Ottoman tributary state
Tributary state
The term tributary state refers to one of the two main ways in which a pre-modern state might be subordinate to a more powerful neighbour. The heart of the relationship was that the tributary would send a regular token of submission to the superior power...
, constantly engaged in civil war
Civil war
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same nation state or republic, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly-united nation state....
with Royal Hungary
Royal Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary between 1538 and 1867 was part of the lands of the Habsburg Monarchy, while outside the Holy Roman Empire.After Battle of Mohács, the country was ruled by two crowned kings . They divided the kingdom in 1538...
. The war continued with the Habsburgs now asserting primacy in the conflict with the Suleiman and his successors. The northern and western parts of Hungary managed to remain free from Ottoman rule, but the Kingdom of Hungary, the most powerful state east of Vienna under Matthias I
Matthias, Holy Roman Emperor
Matthias of Austria was Holy Roman Emperor from 1612, King of Hungary and Croatia from 1608 and King of Bohemia from 1611...
, was now divided and at constant war with the Turks.
Background
In the century after the death of Osman IOsman I
Osman I or Othman I or El-Gazi Sultan Osman Ghazi, or Osman Bey or I. Osman, Osman Gazi Han), nicknamed "Kara" for his courage, was the leader of the Ottoman Turks, and the founder of the dynasty that established and ruled the Ottoman Empire...
, Ottoman rule began to extend over the Eastern Mediterranean and the Balkans. The important city of Thessaloniki was captured from the Venetians in 1387, and the Turkish victory at the Battle of Kosovo
Battle of Kosovo
The Battle of Kosovo took place on St. Vitus' Day, June 15, 1389, between the army led by Serbian Prince Lazar Hrebeljanović, and the invading army of the Ottoman Empire under the leadership of Sultan Murad I...
in 1389 effectively marked the end of Serbian power in the region, paving the way for Ottoman expansion into the rest of Europe.
The Battle of Nicopolis
Battle of Nicopolis
The Battle of Nicopolis took place on 25 September 1396 and resulted in the rout of an allied army of Hungarian, Wallachian, French, Burgundian, German and assorted troops at the hands of an Ottoman force, raising of the siege of the Danubian fortress of Nicopolis and leading to the end of the...
is thought to be the first significant encounter between Hungary and the Ottoman Empire, where a broad alliance of Christian monarchs and the Knights Hospitaller
Knights Hospitaller
The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta , also known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta , Order of Malta or Knights of Malta, is a Roman Catholic lay religious order, traditionally of military, chivalrous, noble nature. It is the world's...
were defeated by a numerically superior Turkish army (the Ottomans had also enlisted the support of their new vassal, the Serbian Despotate
Serbian Despotate
The Serbian Despotate was a Serbian state, the last to be conquered by the Ottoman Empire. Although the Battle of Kosovo in 1389 is generally considered the end of the medieval Serbian state, the Despotate, a successor of the Serbian Empire and Moravian Serbia survived for 70 more years,...
).
Balkan and Turkish wars of Louis the Great
Louis I of Hungary (King: 1342-1382)In 1344 Wallachia
Wallachia
Wallachia or Walachia is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians...
and Moldavia
Moldavia
Moldavia is a geographic and historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester river...
became Louis's vassal.
Louis with his ernomous 80.000 strong army repelled the Serbian Dušan's
Stefan Uroš IV Dušan of Serbia
Stephen Uroš IV Dušan the Mighty , was the King of Serbia and Emperor of the Serbs and Greeks until his death on 20 December 1355. Dušan managed to conquer a large part of Southeast Europe, becoming one of the most powerful monarchs in his time...
armies in vojvodine of Mačva
Macva
Mačva is a geographical region in Serbia, mostly situated in the northwest of Central Serbia. It is located in a fertile plain between the Sava and Drina rivers. The chief town of this region is Šabac. The modern Mačva District of Serbia is named after the region, although the region of Mačva...
and principality of Travunia
Travunia
Travunia was a medieval region, administrative unit and principality, which was part of Medieval Serbia , and in its last years, the Bosnian Kingdom . The county became hereditary in a number of noble houses, often kin to the ruling dynasty. The region came under Ottoman rule in 1482...
in 1349. when Czar Dusan broke into Bosnian territory he was defeated by Bosnian Stjepan II with the assistance of King Louis' troops, and when Dušan made a second attempt he was decisively beaten by his luckier rival, King Louis the Great himself, in 1354. The two monarchs signed the peace agreement in 1355.
His latter campaigns in the Balkans were aimed not so much at conquest and subjugation as at drawing the Serbs, Bosnians, Wallachians and Bulgarians into the fold of the Roman Catholic faith and at forming a united front against the looming Turkish menace. In 1366 John V Byzantine Emperor visited Hungary to beg for help against Turks. It was relatively easy to subdue Balkanian Orthodox countries by arms, but to convert them was a different matter. Despite Lajos' efforts, the peoples of the Balkans remained faithful to the Eastern Orthodox Church and their attitude toward Hungary remained ambiguous. Louis annexed Moldavia
Moldavia
Moldavia is a geographic and historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester river...
in 1352 and established a vassal principality there, before conquering Vidin in 1365. The rulers of Serbia, Walachia, Moldavia, and Bulgaria became his vassals.
They regarded powerful Hungary as a potential menace to their national identity. For this reason, Hungary could never regard the Serbs and Wallachians as reliable allies in her subsequent wars against the Turks. The Ottoman Turks confronted the Balkan vassal states ever more often. Louis defeated the Turks when Hungarian and Turkish troops clashed for the first time in history at Nicapoli in 1366. The Hungarian Chapel in the Cathedral at Aachen
Aachen
Aachen has historically been a spa town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Aachen was a favoured residence of Charlemagne, and the place of coronation of the Kings of Germany. Geographically, Aachen is the westernmost town of Germany, located along its borders with Belgium and the Netherlands, ...
was built to commemorate this victory. He defeated the Turkish army in Wallachia
Wallachia
Wallachia or Walachia is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians...
in 1374.
In the spring of 1365, Louis I headed a campaign against the Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
n Tsardom of Vidin and its ruler Ivan Sratsimir
Ivan Sratsimir of Bulgaria
Ivan Sratsimir or Ivan Stratsimir was emperor of Bulgaria in Vidin from 1356 to 1396. He was born in 1324 or 1325, and he died in or after 1397. Despite being the eldest surviving son of Ivan Alexander, Ivan Sratsimir was disinherited in favour of his half-brother Ivan Shishman and proclaimed...
. He seized the city of Vidin
Vidin
Vidin is a port town on the southern bank of the Danube in northwestern Bulgaria. It is close to the borders with Serbia and Romania, and is also the administrative centre of Vidin Province, as well as of the Metropolitan of Vidin...
on 2 May 1365; the region was under Hungarian rule
Hungarian occupation of Vidin
The Hungarian occupation of Vidin was a period in the history of the city and region of Vidin, today in northwestern Bulgaria, when it was under the rule of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1365 to 1369....
until 1369.
Timur and the Ottoman InterregnumOttoman InterregnumThe Ottoman Interregnum began in 20 July 1402, when chaos reigned in the Ottoman Empire following the defeat of Sultan Bayezid I by the Turco-Mongol warlord Timur...
Despite these successes the Ottomans would have to start all over from near-scratch when in 1402 Timur of the Chagatai KhanateChagatai Khanate
The Chagatai Khanate was a Turko-Mongol khanate that comprised the lands ruled by Chagatai Khan , second son of the Great Khan Genghis Khan, and his descendents and successors...
captured the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid the Thunderbolt at Ankara
Battle of Ankara
The Battle of Ankara or Battle of Angora, fought on July 20, 1402, took place at the field of Çubuk between the forces of the Ottoman sultan Bayezid I and the Turko-Mongol forces of Timur, ruler of the Timurid Empire. The battle was a major victory for Timur, and it led to a period of crisis for...
, so named for the speed of his crushing victories against his Christian opponents, most notably at Nicopolis.
Campaigns of Murad IIMurad II Murad II Kodja was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1421 to 1451 ....
, 1421 - 1451
The Ottoman Empire seemed to have collapsed after 1402 but Murad II, the successor to Mehmed I proved to be a man of far greater ghazi skills then his peaceful predecessor whose appreciation of Byzantine assistance even made him go so far as to accept the Byzantine Emperor as his suzerain. Such an arrangement was out of all proportion to the powers of the two Empires, and in 1422 Murad II demonstrated how much of a "suzerain" the Emperor was to the Sultan when Constantinople narrowly escapedSiege of Constantinople (1422)
The first full-scale Ottoman Siege of Constantinople took place in 1422 as a result of the Byzantine Emperor Manuel II's attempts to interfere in the succession of Ottoman Sultans, after the death of Mehmed I in 1421...
an Ottoman conquest
With Byzantium neutralized and terrified in servitude as a vassal, Murad II began his holy war against his Christian opponents, attacking Macedonia and capturing Thessalonika from the Venetians in 1430. Between 1435 and 1436 the Ottomans made a show of strength in Albania but the country survived total knock out when the Kingdom of Hungary, whose borders now neared those of the Ottoman realm intervened.
Campaigns of John HunyadiJohn HunyadiJohn Hunyadi John Hunyadi (Hungarian: Hunyadi János , Medieval Latin: Ioannes Corvinus or Ioannes de Hunyad, Romanian: Iancu (Ioan) de Hunedoara, Croatian: Janko Hunjadi, Serbian: Сибињанин Јанко / Sibinjanin Janko, Slovak: Ján Huňady) John Hunyadi (Hungarian: Hunyadi János , Medieval Latin: ...
He received tempting offers from PopePope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
Eugene IV
Pope Eugene IV
Pope Eugene IV , born Gabriele Condulmer, was pope from March 3, 1431, to his death.-Biography:He was born in Venice to a rich merchant family, a Correr on his mother's side. Condulmer entered the Order of Saint Augustine at the monastery of St. George in his native city...
, represented by the Legate
Papal legate
A papal legate – from the Latin, authentic Roman title Legatus – is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic Church. He is empowered on matters of Catholic Faith and for the settlement of ecclesiastical matters....
Julian Cesarini, from Đurađ Branković, despot
Despotes
Despot , was a senior Byzantine court title that was bestowed on the sons or sons-in-law of reigning emperors, and initially denoted the heir-apparent...
of Serbia, and George Kastrioti
Skanderbeg
George Kastrioti Skanderbeg or Gjergj Kastrioti Skënderbeu , widely known as Skanderbeg , was a 15th-century Albanian lord. He was appointed as the governor of the Sanjak of Dibra by the Ottomans in 1440...
, prince of Albania, to resume the war and realize his ideal of driving the Ottomans from Europe. All the preparations had been made when Murad's envoys arrived in the royal camp at Szeged
Szeged
' is the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county town of Csongrád county. The University of Szeged is one of the most distinguished universities in Hungary....
and offered a ten years' truce
Armistice
An armistice is a situation in a war where the warring parties agree to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, but may be just a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace...
on advantageous terms. Branković bribed Hunyadi -he gave him his vast estates in Hungary- to support the acceptance of the peace. Cardinal Julian Cesarini found a traitorous solution. The king swore that he would never give up the crusade, so all future peace and oath was automatically invalid. After this Hungary accepted the Sultan's offer and Hunyadi in Władysław's name swore on the Gospel
Gospel
A gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
s to observe them.
Battle of Varna
Battle of Varna
The Battle of Varna took place on November 10, 1444 near Varna in eastern Bulgaria. In this battle the Ottoman Empire under Sultan Murad II defeated the Polish and Hungarian armies under Władysław III of Poland and János Hunyadi...
Murad II was unable to stop Hunyadi from calling in reinforcements from Western Europe. Few knights came, but those that did assisted in capturing Nis on November 3 1443, defeating another Turkish army as they crossed the Balkan Mountains and then taking another victory on Christmas Day. Christmas or not, supplies for the Crusader army were low and Hunyadi concluded a 10-year peace treaty with Murad II, presumably on his terms for it was triumphant Hungarian that entered Buda in February of 1444. 10 years was the maximum time permitted by Islamic law for a treaty with an "infidel". Unfortunately for the Hungarians, no such time limit existed in the minds of the Papal legate, for if it did it would have been a very small one - Cardinal Cesarini incited the Hungarians to break the treaty and attack the Turks once more. It was a foolish move, for much of the Crusader armies' strength had been reduced due to the loss (by defection) of Serbia, Albania and the Byzantine Empire. Fanciful ideas had been discussed of Greeks making diversionary attacks in the Peloponnese. Even the recapture of Jerusalem was entertained.
The Crusader army attacked across the Danube. Sultan Murad II, upon hearing of the Christian breach of the treaty is said to have mounted the broken treaty on his standard and said the words, "Christ, if you are God as your followers claim, punish them for their perfidy". Accounts vary as to how many troops were present but the Crusaders may have been 30,000 whilst the Ottomans between two to three times larger. Nonetheless Hunyadi's successful defense wagons held the line until King Ladislas led a foolish glory-motivated charge to his death against the Turkish lines. His head was mounted on a spear and all the defeated Christians could see it, most likely before their death, for very few survived the battle. It was somewhat consoling for to the Hungarians that John Hunyadi lived to fight and win another day.
After Varna
The Hungarians recovered their strength after Varna and John Hunyadi was able lead another expedition down the Danube. Turkish counter-attacks saw this "crusade" driven back. After Murad dealt with the Greeks at the Peloponesse and other traitors who fought him at Varna, he turned his attention to Albania, whose leader was once one of many Ottoman hostages was now a popular resistance leader. Hunyadi could not refuse an offer to fight the Turks and in 1448 an army of some 24,000 Hungarians marched south into Serbia. At the Second Battle of Kosovo
Battle of Kosovo (1448)
The Second Battle of Kosovo was fought at Kosovo Polje between a coalition of the Kingdom of Hungary and Wallachia led by John Hunyadi, against an Ottoman-led coalition under Sultan Murad II.-Background:At 1448, John Hunyadi saw the right moment to lead a campaign against...
Murad scored another victory against the Hungarians. This time, Hunyadi had had enough and was unable to campaign against the Ottoman Sultan. Murad II passed on his powers to his successor, Mehmed II. Thanks to such victories, the Ottoman forces were able to capture Constantinople
Fall of Constantinople
The Fall of Constantinople was the capture of the capital of the Byzantine Empire, which occurred after a siege by the Ottoman Empire, under the command of Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II, against the defending army commanded by Byzantine Emperor Constantine XI...
in 1453 with only the Italians able to offer minimal yet much-needed support.
Battle of Belgrade (1456)
Meanwhile, the Ottoman issue had again become acute, and, after the fall of Constantinople
Fall of Constantinople
The Fall of Constantinople was the capture of the capital of the Byzantine Empire, which occurred after a siege by the Ottoman Empire, under the command of Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II, against the defending army commanded by Byzantine Emperor Constantine XI...
in 1453, it seemed natural that Sultan
Ottoman Dynasty
The Ottoman Dynasty ruled the Ottoman Empire from 1299 to 1922, beginning with Osman I , though the dynasty was not proclaimed until Orhan Bey declared himself sultan...
Mehmed II
Mehmed II
Mehmed II , was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire for a short time from 1444 to September 1446, and later from...
was rallying his resources in order to subjugate Hungary. His immediate objective was Nándorfehérvár (today Belgrade). Nándorfehérvár was a major castle-fortress, and a gate keeper of south Hungary. The fall of this stronghold would have opened a clear way to the heart of Central-Europe. Hunyadi arrived at the siege of Belgrade at the end of 1455, after settling differences with his domestic enemies. At his own expense, he restocked the supplies and arms of the fortress, leaving in it a strong garrison under the command of his brother-in-law Mihály Szilágyi and his own eldest son László Hunyadi
László Hunyadi
Ladislaus Hunyadi or László Hunyadi was a Hungarian statesman.Ladislaus Hunyadi was the elder of the two sons of John Hunyadi, voivode of Transylvania and later regent of the Kingdom of Hungary, and Elizabeth Szilágyi. He was the older brother of Matthias Hunyadi, who would later became the king...
. He proceeded to form a relief army, and assembled a fleet
Naval fleet
A fleet, or naval fleet, is a large formation of warships, and the largest formation in any navy. A fleet at sea is the direct equivalent of an army on land....
of two hundred ships. His main ally was the Franciscan
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
friar
Friar
A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders.-Friars and monks:...
, Giovanni da Capistrano
Giovanni da Capistrano
Saint John of Capistrano, O.F.M., was a Franciscan friar and Catholic priest from Italy...
, whose fiery oratory drew a large crusade made up mostly of peasants. Although relatively ill-armed (most were armed with farm equipment, such as scythe
Scythe
A scythe is an agricultural hand tool for mowing grass, or reaping crops. It was largely replaced by horse-drawn and then tractor machinery, but is still used in some areas of Europe and Asia. The Grim Reaper is often depicted carrying or wielding a scythe...
s and pitchfork
Pitchfork
A pitchfork is an agricultural tool with a long handle and long, thin, widely separated pointed tines used to lift and pitch loose material, such as hay, leaves, grapes, dung or other agricultural materials. Pitchforks typically have two or three tines...
s) they flocked to Hunyadi and his small corps of seasoned mercenaries
Mercenary
A mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of material compensation rather than having a direct interest in, or a legal obligation to, the conflict itself. A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he...
and cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
.
On July 14, 1456 the flotilla
Flotilla
A flotilla , or naval flotilla, is a formation of small warships that may be part of a larger fleet. A flotilla is usually composed of a homogeneous group of the same class of warship, such as frigates, destroyers, torpedo boats, submarines, gunboats, or minesweepers...
assembled by Hunyadi destroyed the Ottoman fleet. On July 21, Szilágyi's forces in the fortress repulsed a fierce assault by the Rumelia
Rumelia
Rumelia was an historical region comprising the territories of the Ottoman Empire in Europe...
n army, and Hunyadi pursued the retreating forces into their camp, taking advantage of the Turkish army's confused flight from the city. After fierce but brief fighting, the camp was captured, and Mehmet raised the siege and returned to Constantinople
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
. With his flight began a 70 year period of relative peace on Hungary's southeastern border.
However, plague broke out in Hunyadi's camp three weeks after the lifting of the siege, and he died August 11. He was buried inside the (Roman Catholic) Cathedral
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
of Alba Iulia
Alba Iulia
Alba Iulia is a city in Alba County, Transylvania, Romania with a population of 66,747, located on the Mureş River. Since the High Middle Ages, the city has been the seat of Transylvania's Roman Catholic diocese. Between 1541 and 1690 it was the capital of the Principality of Transylvania...
(Gyulafehérvár), next to his younger brother John. Sultan Mehmet II paid him tribute:"Although he was my enemy I feel grief over his death, because the world has never seen such a man."
The Noon Bell
Pope Callixtus III ordered the bells of every European church to be rung every day at noon, as a call for believers to pray for the defenders of Belgrade. However, in many countries (like England and Spanish kingdoms), news of the victory arrived before the order, and the ringing of the church bells at noon thus transformed into a commemoration of the victory. The Popes didn't withdraw the order, and Catholic (and the older Protestant) churches still ring the noon bell in the Christian world to this day.
Mehmed IIMehmed IIMehmed II , was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire for a short time from 1444 to September 1446, and later from...
(1451 - 1481) and fall of Constantinople
Mehmed conquered ConstantinopleConstantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
in 1453. (Main article: Fall of Constantinople
Fall of Constantinople
The Fall of Constantinople was the capture of the capital of the Byzantine Empire, which occurred after a siege by the Ottoman Empire, under the command of Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II, against the defending army commanded by Byzantine Emperor Constantine XI...
April 2, 1453 – May 29, 1453 )
With Constantinople under his belt and a great euphoria from the conquest, Mehmet II began making preparations for his next campaign against Belgrade. The city was a triple-walled fortress but was poorly manned. Nonetheless when Mehmed II tried to take the city, not only was he repulsed but a furious and suicidal counter-attack launched by the inexperienced and fanatical civilians drove the Turks from the field. Even so the Ottomans were able to campaign with greater success elsewhere. The Duchy of Athens
Duchy of Athens
The Duchy of Athens was one of the Crusader States set up in Greece after the conquest of the Byzantine Empire during the Fourth Crusade, encompassing the regions of Attica and Boeotia, and surviving until its conquest by the Ottoman Empire in the 15th century....
, Trebizond and Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
was brought beneath the Sultan's boot in 1456, 1461 and 1468. Of equally great importance was the death of John Hunyadi
John Hunyadi
John Hunyadi John Hunyadi (Hungarian: Hunyadi János , Medieval Latin: Ioannes Corvinus or Ioannes de Hunyad, Romanian: Iancu (Ioan) de Hunedoara, Croatian: Janko Hunjadi, Serbian: Сибињанин Јанко / Sibinjanin Janko, Slovak: Ján Huňady) John Hunyadi (Hungarian: Hunyadi János , Medieval Latin: ...
to the Plague, depriving the Hungarians one of their most heroic generals.
Turkish wars of Matthias Corvinus (1458-1490)
Matthias Corvinus was John Hunyadi's son. The 15 years old boy was crowned in BudaBuda
For detailed information see: History of Buda CastleBuda is the western part of the Hungarian capital Budapest on the west bank of the Danube. The name Buda takes its name from the name of Bleda the Hun ruler, whose name is also Buda in Hungarian.Buda comprises about one-third of Budapest's...
in 1458.
In 1471 Matthias renewed the Serbian Despotate
Serbian Despotate
The Serbian Despotate was a Serbian state, the last to be conquered by the Ottoman Empire. Although the Battle of Kosovo in 1389 is generally considered the end of the medieval Serbian state, the Despotate, a successor of the Serbian Empire and Moravian Serbia survived for 70 more years,...
in south Hungary under Vuk Grgurević
Vuk Grgurevic
Vuk Grgurević Branković , also known as Vuk the Fiery Dragon , was the titular Despot of Serbia from 1471 until his death in 1485...
for the protection of the borders against the Ottomans. In 1479 a huge Ottoman army, on its return home from ravaging Transylvania, was annihilated at Szászváros (modern Orăştie
Orastie
Orăștie is a city in Hunedoara County, south-western Transylvania, Romania.-History:7th–9th century – on the site of an old swamp , which today is the old center of town, it was a human settlement whose traces have been scattered into the X-th century by the construction of the first...
, 13 October 1479) in the so-called Battle of Breadfield
Battle of Breadfield
The Battle of Breadfield was the most tremendous conflict fought in Transylvania up to that time in the Hungarian-Turkish Wars taking place on October 13, 1479, on the Breadfield Zsibód near the Maros River...
. The following year Matthias recaptured Jajce, drove the Ottomans from northern Serbia and instituted two new military banats, Jajce and Srebernik, out from reconquered Bosnian territory.
In 1480, when a Ottoman fleet seized Otranto in the Kingdom of Naples, at the earnest solicitation of the pope he sent the Hungarian general, Balázs Magyar, to recover the fortress, which surrendered to him on 10 May 1481. Again in 1488, Matthias took Ancona
Ancona
Ancona is a city and a seaport in the Marche region, in central Italy, with a population of 101,909 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region....
under his protection for a while, occupying it with a Hungarian garrison.
Wallachian and Moldavian wars
Vlad the Impaler & war with WallachiaWallachia
Wallachia or Walachia is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians...
, 1456 - 1475
Mehmed II's post-Constantinople troubles escalated further when the Balkan principality
Principality
A principality is a monarchical feudatory or sovereign state, ruled or reigned over by a monarch with the title of prince or princess, or by a monarch with another title within the generic use of the term prince....
of Wallachia
Wallachia
Wallachia or Walachia is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians...
under Count
Count
A count or countess is an aristocratic nobleman in European countries. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The adjective form of the word is...
Vlad Dracul rebelled against the Ottoman Empire and declared the King of Hungary as his suzerain. The main drive for these actions was Vlad's return to his homeland after being in exile, as a hostage of the Ottoman sultan. Five years after his return from exile, Vlad initiated war with the Turks when in 1461 he impaled the Turkish ambassadors demanding tribute from him and took the fortress of Giurgiu. Vlad then began leading a bloody assault across the Danube to the Black sea, destroying as much of the ports as he could lay his hands on to prevent Ottoman naval attacks. Ottoman attempts to subdue Vlad militarily proved a failure but his cruelty, which had given him the edge of striking terror into the hearts of his enemies proved to be his undoing. When Mehmed offered the populace the choice of Radu, Vlad's brother or the Impaler himself, the populace knew who to choose and soon Vlad was once again an exile on the run. An attempt to return a few years afterwards ended in his death in battle.
Stephen the Great & war against Moldavia
Moldavia
Moldavia is a geographic and historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester river...
, 1475 - 1476
Mehmed's army seems to have spent itself in Wallachia for the campaign against the Moldavians was shorter and yielded poorer results still. In 1475 Mehmed ordered an invasion of Moldavia. Again, the Ottomans often took possession of the field but Moldavian hit & run tactics proved effective against the Turks. Poor roads slowed the Ottomans further still until Stephen was able to concentrate his forces at Vaslui. An Ottoman offensive was held in check and then finally driven from the field on 10 January 1475.
The Ottomans returned in 1476, this time assisted by their allies from Crimea, the Tartars and their newly-conquered Vassal of Wallachia. Stephen knew that he did not have the resources to defend his people and evacuated them to the mountains. After a failed attack on the Ottoman vanguard Stephen seemed on the brink of defeat when King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary offered assistance against the Sultan. The Ottomans withdrew when the Hungarians began moving in and fighting did not resume until 1484.
Bayezid IIBayezid IIBayezid II or Sultân Bayezid-î Velî was the oldest son and successor of Mehmed II, ruling as Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1481 to 1512...
, 1481 - 1512
Bayezid's early reign was cursed with a small civil war against his brother Jem, who escaped to the west. There European leaders entertained ideas of installing a pro-Western Sultan whilst Crusading their way to the Balkans. Consequently Bayezid II did not incite any serious wars with his Christian opponents until his brother's death in 1495. In the meantime Bayezid signed a ten-year peace with Hungary in 1484 although this did not prevent a defeat of an Ottoman army at Villach in 1493. Between 1484 and 1486 Bayezid campaigned annually against Moldavia in an attempt to subdue it and link up with Crimea, his Muslim vassal and ally. Despite two defeats in 1485 and 1486 Moldavia was subjugated. As Bayezid's reign drew to a close he was entangled in a civil war between his sons Ahmed and Selim. Eventually Selim took the throne in 1512 and for the next 8 years continued minor conquests in the west - although his main achievement was the conquest of the Mamluke Sultanate. It would be Selim's successor, Suleiman who would continue the war against Hungary. Suleiman the MagnificentSuleiman the MagnificentSuleiman I was the tenth and longest-reigning Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1520 to his death in 1566. He is known in the West as Suleiman the Magnificent and in the East, as "The Lawgiver" , for his complete reconstruction of the Ottoman legal system...
, 1520 - 1566
Suleiman resumed the war against Hungary by attacking the city of BelgradeBelgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
, the same settlement that had defied Mehmed II over half a century ago. Despite reminiscent heroic resistance, the city fell to Suleiman. In 1522 Suleiman took his army to a strategically successful siege of Rhodes, allowing the Knights Hospital to evacuate for the fort.
Mohács: the Fall of the Kingdom
When Suleiman launched an invasion in 1526 the Grand vizier was able to construct a great bridge ahead of the Sultan allowing his army to march into Hungary. Despite 80 days of marching and taking 5 days to cross the Danube River the Ottomans met no resistance against the Hungarians. The original plan set out by King Louis II was to send a vanguard to hold the Danube where the Ottomans were expected to cross, yet the nobles of the Kingdom refused to follow the King's deputy in battle, claiming that they did so out of zealous allegiance to the King (and would therefore only follow him). Consequently when King Louis II took the field his army of 26,000 men seemed to be doomed to fail against the Ottomans' 100,000. At Mohacs the plains of Hungary allowed the Heavier Christian Knights to launch an effective charge. As the Hungarian knights brushed aside first the Akinjis and then the Sipahis, the Ottoman cavalry regrouped and flanked the knights. However, the Sultan placed his Janissaries and cannon chained up as an effective last line of defense. The Hungarian cavalry took serious casualties from the skilfully handled Turkish artillery. With the Cavalry annihilated, the Infantry suffered immense casualties as the weight of numbers of the Ottomans and their skill in battle took their toll. When Suleiman the Magnificent found the body of the dead Louis II he is said to have been disappointed at cutting down the youth, who had no heirs.Aftermath of Mohács
John ZápolyaJohn Zápolya
John Zápolya was King of Hungary from 1526 to 1540. His rule was disputed by Archduke Ferdinand I, who also claimed the title King of Hungary between 1526 and 1540. He was the voivode of Transylvania before his coronation.- Biography :...
, who had been instructed by Louis II to raid the enemy's supply lines arrived at the battle too late and fled the scene. Suleiman however was not ready to annex the Kingdom completely into the Ottoman realm and so John Zapolyai was installed as the vassal King of Hungary. Meanwhile at the diet of Bratislava Archduke Ferdinand of Austria was declared King of Hungary. The surviving nobles of Hungary now had to choose between a native vassal of Suleiman and a Christian "foreigner" to pledge allegiance to.
Suleiman's victory at Mohacs is considered a great and decisive battle for the Ottomans. However, even though the Kingdom of Hungary was knocked out of the war Austria now took on the Ottoman enemy. This is not to say that Austria alone could bear the full might of the Ottoman Empire, nor was Ottoman rule in most of Hungary seriously contested beyond the city of Buda.
After John Szapolya's death (1540)
Hungary was split into three parts. The north-west (present-day Slovakia, western Transdanubia and Burgenland, western Croatia and parts of north-eastern present-day Hungary) remained under Habsburg rule; although initially independent, later it became a part of the Habsburg Monarchy under the informal name Royal Hungary. The Habsburg Emperors would from then on be also crowned as Kings of Hungary.
The eastern part of the kingdom (Partium and Transylvania) became at first an independent principality, but gradually was brought under Turkish rule as a vassal state of the Ottoman Empire. The remaining central area (most of present-day Hungary), including the capital of Buda, became a province of the Ottoman Empire.
Nonetheless Mohacs simply enlarged the borders of the Ottoman realm thereby increasing exposure to attack, bringing the empire into later conflict with Poland, Russia, the Cossacks and the Habsburgs.