Battle of Szigetvár

Battle of Szigetvár
Part of the Ottoman-Habsburg wars and Ottoman wars in Europe
Johann Peter Krafft: Zrinsky's charge from the fortress of Szigetvár (1825)
Date 6 August, 1566–8 September, 1566 Location 46°03′02″N 17°47′50″E / 46.050663°N 17.797354°E / 46.050663; 17.797354Coordinates: 46°03′02″N 17°47′50″E / 46.050663°N 17.797354°E / 46.050663; 17.797354, Szigeth, Baranya, Hungary, Habsburg Monarchy Result Ottoman Phyrric victory
Belligerents
Habsburg Monarchy Kingdom of Hungary Kingdom of Croatia	Ottoman Empire Ottoman Empire Tatars Moldavia
Commanders
Croatian ban, general of emperor Ferdinand I, count of Nicholas Zrinsky †	Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent † Grand Vizier Sokollu Mehmet Paşa
Strength
2,300[1]-3,000[2] Croats and Hungarians[Note 1] 600 able-bodied men by the end of the siege[3]	100,000[4]-300,000[5][Note 2] 80,000 Ottomans 12-15,000 Tatars 7,000 Moldavians
Casualties and losses
Heavy; Nicholas Zrinsky dies in the final battle. Almost entire garrison wiped out. 2,300-3,000 killed in combat.	Heavy; Suleiman dies during siege of natural causes. 20,000[2]-30,000[6] killed or died of sickness.

The Battle of Szigeth or Battle of Szigetvár (Croatian: Sigetska bitka, Hungarian: Szigeti veszedelem, Turkish: Zigetvar Savaşı) was a siege of Szigeth Fortress in Baranya, near the Hungarian/Croatian border, which was off Suleiman's planned line of advance towards Vienna.^[7] The battle was fought from 5 August to 8 September 1566, between the defending forces of the Habsburg Monarchy under the leadership of Croatian ban Nicholas Zrinsky (Croatian: Nikola Šubić Zrinski, Hungarian: Zrínyi Miklós), and the invading army of the Ottoman Empire under the nominal command of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent.^[7]

The battle was an Ottoman victory, with heavy losses on both sides. Both commanders died during the battle, Zrinsky in the final battle, and Suleiman the Magnificent in his tent from natural causes.^[3] More than 20,000 Turks had fallen in the battle, and almost the entire Zrinsky's garrison was wiped out during the final battle.^[2] Although an Ottoman victory, the battle delayed the Ottoman push for Vienna that year.^[3]

After the battle, its importance was considered such that Cardinal Richelieu was reported to have called it "the battle that saved civilization."^[1] Today, in Hungary and Croatia, the battle is still famous, for inspiring the Hungarian epic poem "Peril of Sziget" (Hungarian: Szigeti veszedelem), written by Zrinsky's great-grandson Nicholas VII of Zrin (Hungarian: VII. Zrínyi Miklós, Croatian: Nikola VII. Zrinski), and for inspiring the famous Croatian opera "Nikola Šubić Zrinski" by Ivan Zajc.^[8]

Background

Battle of Mohács that was fought on August 29, 1526, where forces of the Kingdom of Hungary led by king Louis II were defeated by forces of the Ottoman Empire led by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, meant the end of the independent Kingdom of Hungary. Both Hungary and Croatia elected Ferdinand I from the House of Habsburg as their king. Aldo, the throne of Hungary became the subject of a dynastic dispute between Ferdinand and John Zápolya from Transylvania, whom Suleiman later confirmed his promise to make him ruler of all Hungary.^[9]

Following the Diet of Pozsony (modern Bratislava) on 26 October, Ferdinand was declared King of Royal Hungary due to his marriage to Louis' sister and his own sister being the widow of Louis, who perished at Mohács.^[10] The Croatian nobles at Cetin unanimously elected Ferdinand I as their king on 1 January 1527, and confirmed the succession to him and his heirs.^[11] In return for the throne Archduke Ferdinand at Parliament on Cetin (Croatian: Cetinski Sabor) promised to respect the historic rights, freedoms, laws and customs the Croats had when united with the Hungarian kingdom and to defend Croatia from Ottoman invasion.^[12]

Habsburg and Ottoman Hungary, a decade before the Battle of Szigetvár.

Ferdinand set out to enforce his claim on Hungary and captured Buda in 1527, only to relinquish his hold on it in 1529 when an Ottoman counter-attack stripped Ferdinand of all his territorial gains.^[10] These gains were short-lived and by 1529, an Ottoman counter-attack swiftly negated all of the gains by Ferdinand in his campaigns in 1527 and 1528.^[10] The Siege of Vienna in 1529 was the first attempt by the Ottoman Empire, led by Suleiman the Magnificent, to capture the city of Vienna, Austria. The siege signalled the pinnacle of the Ottoman Empire's power, the maximum extent of Ottoman expansion in central Europe (see Ottoman wars in Europe), and was the result of a long-lasting rivalry with Europe.

Followed by the series of conflicts between the Habsburgs and their allies and the Ottoman Empire in Little War in Hungary or Campaigns of Suleiman from 1529 to 1552, both sides exhaust them selves. The war saw both sides suffering heavy casualties with the result that campaigning in Hungary would cease until Battle of Szigetvár in 1566.

Preparations for the campaign

Siege of Szigeth Fortress by overwhelming Ottomans.

In January 1566, the Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, who had reigned over the Ottoman Empire for 46 years, went to war for what was to prove the last time.^[13] Although he was 72 years old, and suffered from gout that he had to be carried in a litter, he personally commanded this, his thirteenth military campaign.^[13] On 1 May 1566, Suleiman left Istanbul at the head of one of the largest armies, he had ever commanded.^[13]

Suleiman reached the Belgrade after 49 days' marching, where on 27 June, he received in audience John II Sigismund Zápolya, to whom he confirmed his promise to make him ruler of all Hungary.^[9] The Ottoman army had arrived at the site of Szigeth Fortress on August 6, 1566.^[7] The big war tent of the Sultan was erected on the Similehov hill. The Sultan had to stay at his tent during the whole of siege and had to get verbal reports of the progress of the siege from his Grand Vizier Sokollu Mehmed Pasha (Croatian: Mehmed-paša Sokolović), who was the real operational commander of the Ottoman forces.^[14]

Szigeth fell into three sections, each of which was linked to the other by bridges and causeways.^[7] Although it was not built on particularly high ground the inner bailey, which occupied much the same area as the castle site does today, was surprisingly inaccessible, because two other baileys had to be taken and secured before a final assault could be launched.^[7]

Battle

The siege

Szigetvár campaign 1566, Tatars as avantgarde, by Tarih-i Sultan Süleyman

When the Sultan appeared before Szigeth, he saw the walls bung with red cloth, as though for a festal reception, and a single great cannon thundered once, to greet the mighty warrior monarch.^[15] Zrinsky built up a force of around 2300 Croatian and Hungarian warriors prior to the siege, consisting of his own personal forces, and those of his friends and allies.^[16] The defenders were majority Croatian, with a significant Hungarian contingent represented in both the men-at-arms and the leadership.^[16] The siege began in August of 1566, and the fortress defenders were able to repel the Ottomans until sometime in September.^[16] Despite being undermanned and greatly outnumbered, the defenders were sent no reinforcements by the imperial army from Vienna.

After many days of exhausting and bloody struggle, the defenders retreated into the Old City; with the majority of the defenders already dead, this was their last stand.^[16] The Sultan tried to lure Zrinsky into submission, ultimately offering him the whole of Croatia under Ottoman influence, if he would deliver over Szigeth.^[15][17] The count Zrinsky scorned all answer to the insulting offer, and only fought with the greater desperation, when superadded to religious and national hate, there grew up within his breast the incitement of personal indignation.^[17]

The fall of the castle was inevitable, but the Ottoman high command hesitated for a moment, for on that very same day Suleiman the Magnificent died in his tent behind the siege lines.^[3] No doubt the immense strain of the current campaign had contributed towards this most unwelcome event, but at all costs it had to be kept secret.^[3] Only the Sultan's innermost circle knew of his demise, and the courier dispatched from the camp with a message for Selim, Suleiman's successor, may not even have known the content of the message he delivered to distant Asia Minor within a mere eight days.^[3] Several contemporary accounts, such as the ones used later by Nicholas VII Zrinsky for his epic, account Suleiman's death to Zrinsky's hand.^[13]

The final battle

Nicholas Subich Zrinsky, preparing for the final battle, by Oton Iveković.

The next day the final battle was conducted. The Szigeth Fortress was burnt down to ruin walls by mining and burning huge heaps of woods put around it, at all corners. In the morning, September the 7th, the all-out attack by the Turks began,^[2] with fireballs, "Greek fire", concentrated cannonade, fusillade. The cinders fell even into apartments of the count, and the castle was in flames.^[2] Soon, the last stronghold within Szigeth was set ablaze. The entire Turkish army swarmed against the Old City, drumming and yelling. Reportedly, Zrinsky prepared for the last charge, addressing his brothers-in-arms:

Zrinsky did not wait for the final assault.^[4] On the 8th September, the Turks were pressing forward along a narrow bridge to the castle, when the gate was suddenly flung open; a large mortar loaded with broken iron was discharged into their ranks, killing 600 of them.^[4] The defender Zrinsky wearing a silk robe, carrying a hanging golden key on his breast and wearing a hat with a crane aigrette, started an exit in force from the castle at the head of 600 of his troops.^[4] He was heavily wounded at his chest by a two musket-shots through the body, and soon after killed by an arrow in the head.^[4] From the massacre that followed, some of his forces retired into the castle, where few were captured alive.^[4] Some were spared in the conflict by Janissaries, who, admiring their courage, placed their own caps on their heads for the purpose of saving them.^[4] Thus, at the end, the heroic obstinate commander, who survived a siege lasting 36 days, his dead body was beheaded by a sword lying on Ottoman cannon.^[18] The Turks took the fort and effectively won the battle. Only seven defenders managed to get through Turkish lines.

The powder magazine explosion

Szigeth Fortress today.

One disputed view by a historian asserts is that before leading the final sortie by the garrison, Zrinsky ordered a fuse lit to the powder magazine.^[2] After cutting down the last of the defenders, the Turkish besiegers poured into the fortress. The Ottoman Army then surged forwards into the remains of Szigeth to meet a colossal booby trap when the castle's magazine exploded among them.^[3] Hundreds perished when the magazine exploded.^[19]

The Vizier Ibrahim's life was saved by one of Zrinsky's household, who was taken in the castle, which the Vizier had entered with his troops.^[4] This man, to the Viziers' inquiry after treasure, replied that it had been long expended, but that 3000lb of powder were then under their feet, to which a slow match had been attached.^[4] The Vizier and his mounted officers had just time to escape, but 3000 Turks perished in the explosion which shortly followed.^[4]

Aftermath

Battle casualties

Almost entire Zrinsky's garrison was wiped out after the final battle.^[2] Only four surviving defenders were later ransomed from the Turks.^[16] One of them was Zrinsky's nephew Gašpar Alapić (Alapy Gáspár), who later became a Croatian ban himself, and was famous for having crushed the Croatian and Slovenian peasant revolt. Another survivor was Franjo Črnko (Ferenc), Zrinsky's chamberlain, who later wrote the only first-hand report of the siege.^[16] His detailed report, published in Croatian, German and Latin, includes a poignant description of Zrinsky's last hours before the final sortie.^[16] Ottoman casualties were also heavy. Three pashas, 7000 Janissaries, and the scarcely credible number of 28,000 other soldiers are said to have perished before this place.^[4] Depending to a source, some 20,000-35,000 attacker soldiers died during siege.^[4][2][6]

Political consequences

Szigeth Fortress had fallen and, with admirable presence of mind, the Grand Vizier forged bulletins of victory in the Sultan's name.^[3] They announced that their lord regretted that his current state of health unfortunately prevented him from continuing with the hitherto successful campaign.^[3] His lifeless corpse was borne back to Constantinople while those officials in the know pretended to keep up communication with him.^[3] Turkish sources state that the illusion was maintained for three weeks, and that even the Sultan's personal physician was strangled as a precaution.^[3]

The battle is believed to have delayed the Ottoman push for Vienna that year.^[3] It is obvious that the long journey and the siege had a detrimental effect on the old Sultan's health,^[3] and his subsequent death meant that any advances were postponed; the Grand Vizier had to turn back with the army to the Ottoman capital, Istanbul and deal with the succession of the new Sultan, Selim II.^[3]

Depictions in culture

Cover of the first edition of Vazetje Sigeta grada, 1584

• The Croatian Renaissance poet and writer, Brne Karnarutić from Zadar, wrote "The Conquest of the City of Sziget" (Croatian: Vazetje Sigeta grada), sometime before 1573.^[20] His work was posthumously published in 1584 in Venice.^[20] This is the first Croatian historical epic dealing with national history and the Battle of Szigeth, inspired by Marulić's Judita, which made influence on Zrinsky's great-grandson Nicholas VII of Zrin, in his epic poem.^[20][21]
• The battle was immortalized in the Hungarian epic poem "Peril of Sziget", written in fifteen parts by Nicholas VII of Zrin (also a Ban of Croatia) in 1647, and published in 1651.^[8] This was one of the first such epics in the Hungarian language. Kenneth Clark's renowned history Civilisation lists the "Szigeti Veszedelem" as one of the major literary achievements of the 17th century.^[8] Peter Zrinsky (Croatian: Petar Zrinski, Hungarian: Zrínyi Péter), the author's brother, published "Opsida Sigecka" (1647/8) in Croatian language, which is not surprising, since the Zrinsky family were bilingual.^[8]
• Ivan zajc's opera "Nikola Šubić Zrinski", is his most famous and popular work in Croatia, which recounts the heroic defiance of the Croats against the Turks, as a metaphor for their nationalist impulses within the Hapsburg monarchy.^[22] Zrinski was a 16th-century Croatian hero who defeated the Turks a couple of times before perishing sacrificially, along with his family and close supporters, in a siege of Sigeth castle.^[8][22] The opera is skillfully crafted, tuneful and stirring in a straightforward patriotic way, with famous aria (U boj, u boj).^[8][22]
• Hungarian comics artist Endre Sarlós, made a 90 page comic album, by the title "The siege of Szigeth" (Hungarian: Szigetvár ostroma).^{[citation needed]} The comic's approach is neutral, based on historical facts, as seen by non-Ottoman sources and detailed research, rather than the Hungarian epic poem.^{[citation needed]}

See also

Military history of the Ottoman Empire portal

• Ottoman–Hungarian Wars
• List of Ottoman sieges and landings

Notes

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Battle of Szigetvár

• (Hungarian) Hungarian epic poem "Peril of Sziget", written by Nicholas VII Zrinsky
• (Croatian) Nicholas Zrinsky and Battle of Szigeth