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.

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