Hungarian–Ottoman Wars

The Hungarian–Ottoman wars were a series of battles between the Ottoman Empire and the medieval Kingdom of Hungary. These wars began in the 1360s and continued for many years. The Ottoman Empire, after capturing Gallipoli and fighting an inconclusive battle at Kosovo in 1389, wanted to control all of the Balkans and parts of Hungary.

Hungary fought hard to defend itself. They launched several campaigns and defended many cities against the Ottomans. Even though the Ottomans won at the Battle of Varna in 1444, Hungary stopped their advance at the Siege of Belgrade in 1456. A famous leader during this time was Vlad the Impaler, who resisted Ottoman rule with some help from Hungary.

The biggest battle happened in 1526 at the Battle of Mohács. The Ottoman forces defeated the Hungarian army, and King Louis II of Hungary died in the fighting. After this loss, parts of Hungary became under Ottoman control, while other parts stayed free but faced constant threats from the Ottomans. The war continued with the Habsburgs leading the fight against the Ottomans, and Hungary remained divided and in danger for many years.

Background

After the death of Osman I in 1326, the Ottoman Empire started to grow. They took control of places like Gallipoli in 1354, which separated the Byzantine Empire from its lands in Europe. Later, they captured the big city of Thessaloniki in 1387. In 1389, they won the Battle of Kosovo, which weakened Serbia and allowed the Ottomans to move further into Europe.

Balkans and Turkish wars of Louis I of Hungary

Main articles: Hungarian–Ottoman War (1366–1367) and Hungarian–Ottoman War (1375–1377)

In the 1340s and 1350s, Louis I of Hungary, known as "the Great," led his army into places like Wallachia, Moldavia, and parts of Serbia and Bosnia. His goal was to bring these areas closer to the Roman Catholic faith and to build a strong alliance against the growing power of the Ottoman Turks.

Although Louis was successful in controlling some lands, the people there stayed loyal to their own Eastern Orthodox traditions and were wary of Hungarian rule. Despite these challenges, Louis continued to work toward uniting these regions to face future threats together.

Crusade of Nicopolis

The Battle of Nicopolis took place on September 25, 1396. It was the first big fight between Hungary and the Ottoman Empire. Many leaders from Christian countries joined forces to stop the Ottoman army. They were led by Sultan Bayezid, known as Bayezid the Thunderbolt. In this battle, the Ottoman forces won a major victory against the Christian coalition.

Main article: Battle of Nicopolis
Main articles: Knights Hospitaller, Bayezid the Thunderbolt

Timur and the Ottoman Interregnum

See also: Ottoman Interregnum

The Ottoman Empire faced a big challenge in 1402 when Tamerlane of the Timurid Empire defeated and captured the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid the Thunderbolt at Ankara. Bayezid was known for his quick and powerful victories against his enemies, especially at Nicopolis. After ten years of fighting among themselves, Mehmed I won and restored the Ottoman Empire. The Byzantine Emperor then agreed to become a vassal and pay tribute to the Ottomans.

Campaigns of Murad II, 1421–1451

By the 1380s, the Ottomans had learned to use firearms because their enemies, like the Byzantines, Venetians, and Hungarians, already had them. The earliest Turkish hand cannons were called "Şakaloz," a name that came from the Hungarian "Szakállas puska" in the 15th century.

Murad II, who followed Mehmed I, proved to be a strong leader. He expanded the Ottoman Empire by conquering new lands in the Balkans and Anatolia. In 1422, he laid siege to Constantinople but did not capture it, though he did take lands around the city.

After this, Murad II turned his attention to his Christian neighbors. He attacked Macedonia and captured Thessalonika from the Venetians in 1430. Between 1435 and 1436, the Ottomans showed their strength in Albania, but the country remained free because the Kingdom of Hungary helped.

Campaigns of John Hunyadi

Main articles: War of the South Danube (1420–1432) and Hungarian–Ottoman War (1437–1442)

In the 1440s and 1450s, the Hungarian military leader John Hunyadi led many important battles against the Ottoman Empire. In 1441, he won a big battle at Smederevo against Ishak Bey. The next year, he stopped an Ottoman army that was trying to attack Transylvania at Sibiu.

In 1442, John Hunyadi had four big wins against the Ottomans. In March, he beat Mezid Bey and his army at the Battle of Szeben in Transylvania, which is part of the Kingdom of Hungary. In September, he defeated a large Ottoman army led by Şehabeddin, the governor of a region called Rumelia. This was the first time a European army beat such a big Ottoman force, which included special soldiers called janissaries.

After these wins, Wallachia once again accepted to be ruled by the Kingdom of Hungary. With help from knights in western Europe, Hunyadi captured Nis on November 3, 1443. He won more battles as the Ottoman army moved through the Balkan Mountains and then won again on Christmas Day. Because they didn’t have enough supplies, Hunyadi made a peace treaty with Murad II that would last ten years. He entered Buda in February 1444, showing his success. But the peace didn’t last long. A church leader named Julian Cesarini convinced the Hungarians to attack the Ottomans again, even though they didn’t have as many soldiers because some of their friends like Serbia and Albania had left.

Battle of Varna

Main article: Battle of Varna

The Hungarian army crossed the Danube to attack. The two armies fought on November 10, 1444, near Varna in Bulgaria. The Ottoman army was bigger, but Hunyadi’s defenses held until King Ladislas led a charge and was killed. Few Hungarian soldiers survived, but Hunyadi escaped.

After Varna

After the battle, the Hungarians got stronger again, and Hunyadi led another army down the Danube. The Ottomans pushed back this attack. After dealing with other fights, Murad II turned to Albania, where a leader was fighting against Ottoman rule. In 1448, Hunyadi led an army of about 24,000 Hungarians into Serbia. They fought at the Second Battle of Kosovo, where Murad won again. After this, Hunyadi stopped fighting the Ottoman leader. Murad II passed his powers to Mehmed II. With these wins, the Ottomans were able to capture Constantinople in 1453, with only a little help from Italian forces.

Siege of Belgrade (1456)

Main article: Siege of Belgrade (1456)

The Ottoman threat grew again after Constantinople fell in 1453. Sultan Mehmed II wanted to take Belgrade, a big castle that protected Hungary. Hunyadi arrived at the Siege of Belgrade in late 1455. He made sure the castle had enough supplies and weapons, leaving his brother-in-law Mihály Szilágyi and his son Hunyadi László in charge. He also gathered an army and a fleet of two hundred ships. He was helped by a church leader, Giovanni da Capistrano, who encouraged many people, even those with simple tools, to join the fight.

On July 14, 1456, Hunyadi’s fleet destroyed the Ottoman ships. On July 21, the defenders of the castle stopped a big attack, and Hunyadi chased the Ottoman soldiers back to their camp. After a short but hard fight, the camp was taken, and Mehmed gave up the siege and went back to Constantinople. This victory started 70 years of peace for Hungary’s southeastern border.

Hunyadi died from a sickness three weeks after the siege ended, on August 11. Many years later, Sultan Mehmed II said, “Although he was my enemy, I am sad about his death, because the world has never seen such a man.”

During the battle, a pope asked all churches in Europe to ring their bells every day at noon to pray for the defenders of Belgrade. Even though the news of the win arrived before this order in some places, people kept ringing the bells at noon to remember the victory. This tradition continues in many churches today.

Turkish wars of Matthias Corvinus (1458–1490)

Matthias Corvinus, the son of Hunyadi, became king of Hungary in Buda in 1458 when he was just 15 years old. He worked to protect Hungary’s borders and in 1471, he renewed control over the area known as the Serbian Despotate in southern Hungary under Vuk Grgurević.

In 1479, a large Ottoman army was defeated near Szászváros, now called Orăştie, in a battle known as the Battle of Breadfield. The next year, Matthias pushed back the Ottomans from parts of Serbia and set up new military areas called banats in Jajce and Srebernik. Later, in 1480, an Ottoman fleet took a place called Otranto in Naples, but with help from the pope, Matthias sent a general who helped retake it by May 1481. In 1488, Matthias also protected the city of Ancona for a time by placing Hungarian soldiers there.

Wallachian and Moldavian wars

Vlad the Impaler and war with Wallachia, 1456–1475

After the Ottoman Empire took over Constantinople, the area of Wallachia, led by Count Vlad III Dracul, fought back against the Ottomans and said they would follow the King of Hungary instead. Vlad had been away for a while as a guest of the Ottoman sultan and came back to lead his people. In 1461, Vlad fought against the Turks after they asked him for taxes and took a strong building called Giurgiu. He attacked many places along the Danube River to stop Ottoman ships from attacking.

The Ottomans tried to stop Vlad by fighting, but they couldn't win. However, Vlad’s very harsh ways, which scared many people, caused problems for him. When the leader Mehmed gave people a choice between Vlad and his brother Radu, they chose Radu. Soon, Vlad had to run away again. Years later, when Vlad tried to come back, he died in a battle.

Stephen the Great and war against Moldavia, 1475–1476

Mehmed’s army moved into Moldavia in 1475. The Moldavians used quick attacks and moved around a lot, which made it hard for the Ottomans to fight them. The roads were also in bad shape, slowing the Ottomans down. Stephen the Great, the leader of Moldavia, gathered his army at Vaslui. On January 10, 1475, the Ottomans were stopped and then forced to leave.

The Ottomans came back in 1476 with help from their allies, the Tartars, and their new ally in Wallachia. Stephen knew he couldn’t protect everyone, so he moved his people to the mountains. After an unsuccessful attack on the Ottoman leaders, Stephen almost lost, but the King of Hungary, Matthias Corvinus, offered to help. When the Hungarians started to move in, the Ottomans left, and fighting didn’t start again until 1484.

Bayezid II, 1481–1512

During the early years of Bayezid II's rule, he faced a small conflict with his brother Jem, who fled to Europe. Some European leaders thought about supporting a different ruler and planning a campaign in the Balkans. Because of this, Bayezid avoided major wars with Christian nations until his brother passed away in 1495. In 1484, Bayezid made a peace agreement with Hungary lasting ten years, but an Ottoman army still lost a battle at Villach in 1493. From 1484 to 1486, Bayezid led attacks each year against Moldavia to bring it under control and connect with Crimea, his ally. Even after losing two battles in 1485 and 1486, Moldavia was eventually brought under Ottoman rule. As Bayezid’s time as ruler ended, a fight broke out between his sons Ahmed and Selim. Selim won and became the new ruler in 1512. For the next eight years, Selim made small gains in the west, but his biggest success was conquering the Mamluke Sultanate. Later, it would be Selim’s successor, Suleiman, who continued the conflict with Hungary.

Campaigns of Suleiman the Magnificent, 1520–1566

Suleiman the Magnificent began fighting against Hungary again by attacking the city of Belgrade. The city had resisted Ottoman forces before, but this time it fell. In 1522, Suleiman moved his army to Rhodes, where they succeeded in their attack, allowing the Knights Hospital to leave the island.

Battle of Mohács

Main article: Battle of Mohács

In 1526, Suleiman’s army marched into Hungary. King Louis II of Hungary had plans to stop them, but his nobles did not follow his commands. When Louis faced Suleiman’s much larger army, the battle was very hard for Hungary. The battle took place on open land where Hungarian knights fought well at first, but Ottoman forces surrounded them and won. Sadly, King Louis died in the battle.

Aftermath of Mohács

John Zápolya, who was supposed to attack the enemy’s supplies, arrived too late and left the battlefield. Suleiman did not take all of Hungary right away. Zápolya was chosen by some Hungarians to be their leader. Meanwhile, a leader from Austria, Archduke Ferdinand, was also named King of Hungary. Hungarian nobles had to decide whether to support Zápolya or Ferdinand.

After Zapolya's death

Zápolya ruled until he died in 1540. After his death, Hungary was divided into three parts. The north-west area became part of the Habsburg Monarchy. The eastern area became a principality and later came under Ottoman rule. The central part, including the capital Buda, became part of the Ottoman Empire. In 1552, Ottoman forces tried to take Eger, but the defenders, led by István Dobó, successfully protected the Eger Castle.