Hungarian-Turkish Wars
The Hungarian-Turkish Wars represent a series of military conflicts primarily between the Kingdom of Hungary and the Ottoman Empire from the late 14th century to the mid-16th century. The initial significant clash occurred at the Battle of Nicopolis in 1396, marking the last Crusade in Europe, where the Hungarian forces faced a decisive defeat against the Ottomans led by Sultan Bayezid I. Following this, Hungary found itself largely isolated against Turkish advances for over 140 years, as European powers were preoccupied with internal conflicts and increasingly fearful of the Ottomans, whom they viewed as a threat.
Throughout this period, the Ottomans expanded their territories in Europe, engaging in various skirmishes with Hungary while establishing trade routes. As tensions escalated, significant battles occurred, notably the Battle of Varna in 1444, where the Hungarians were again defeated. The culmination of these conflicts was the Battle of Mohács in 1526, where the Hungarian army was decisively defeated, resulting in the fall of Buda and significant territorial losses for Hungary. This set the stage for further Ottoman expansion in Europe, fundamentally altering the region's political landscape and the fate of the Hungarian kingdom.
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Hungarian-Turkish Wars
At issue: Expansion of the Ottoman Empire
Date: 1437–1526
Location : Central and Eastern Europe
Combatants: Hungarians vs. Turks
Principal commanders:Hungarian, János Hunyadi (1387–1456); Polish, King Władysław III (1424–1444); Turkish, Murad II (1403?-1451), Mehmed II (1430–1481), Süleyman I (1494–1566)
Principal battles: Semendria (Smederevo), Herrmannstadt, Snaim (Kustinitza), Varna, Mohács
Result: Defeat of the Hungarians set the stage for possible inclusion of Italy and Germany in the Ottoman Empire
Background
The stage for the defeat of Hungary by Turkish forces in the Battle of Mohács in 1526 was set in the Battle of Nicopolis in central Bulgaria on September 25, 1396. Opposing Bayezid I, the sultan of the Ottoman Turks, was a Crusade army, drawn from western and central Europe. The numbers of troops are disputed. The commanders were unable to agree on a unified command or listen to the Hungarian king Sigismund, who had experience fighting the Turks. Nicopolis was the last crusade in Europe. After this defeat, the Hungarians were basically on their own against the Turks for more than 140 years.
Three factors kept the Western powers from coming to the defense of Hungary. The first factor was that the Turks did not, after this victory, continue to Buda but focused their energies on the Siege of Constantinople. This gave Sigismund time to build new walls around Buda and to fortify his defenses in other parts of Hungary. Because it seemed unlikely that the Turks would press on into Europe, the Western powers returned to continue the wars, both civil and international, among themselves. The third factor was fear. The Europeans began to see the Turks as the embodiment of cruelty and evil. These fears were reinforced in the early 1500’s by a new interpretation of Turkish military atrocities. Both Martin Luther and Desiderius Erasmus wrote that God was using these atrocities to punish the sins of Western Europe.
Action
The Hungarians and the Ottomans engaged in a series of border skirmishes and destructive incursions into each other’s territory, but renewed the official peace every five to ten years. The Ottomans expanded their territorial holdings in Europe during this time, collected taxes, and brought back booty and slaves. They also developed trade routes along the Danube and the Black Sea for a lucrative business in silk, spices, and foodstuffs. The Hungarians primarily remained in a strong defensive position.
Upon the death of King Sigismund in 1437, Murad II led an army into Hungary and annexed Serbia in 1439. Murad II attempted in 1440 to remove Belgrade from the control of Hungary. The Ottomans moved into Transylvania in 1441 and 1442 but were crushed by troops under the leadership of Hungarian János Hunyadi at Semendria (1441) and Herrmannstadt (1442). Hunyadi advanced to capture Niš and Sophia in Bulgaria and threatened Edirne. With Władysław III of Poland, Hunyadi defeated Murad II at Snaim (1443). Murad II halted their advance at the Battle of Izladi in 1443 and signed a peace treaty with Hungary and with the ruler of Serbia, George Branković. Murad II promised to return Serbia to Branković and not to cross the Danube River. In 1444, Murad II put his twelve-year-old son Mehmed II on the throne.
Emboldened by these concessions and change of command, a Hungarian-Wallachian army crossed the Danube and began preparations for a crusade, which Serbia would not join. Murad II returned to command the Ottoman army and on November 10, 1444, at the Battle of Varna, the Hungarians were defeated. Hunyadi, still determined to free the Balkans and Constantinople, was defeated in October, 1448, at Kosovo.
Mehmed II’s principal task was to consolidate the Ottoman Empire. In 1453, he conquered Constantinople and reestablished it as the capital. In 1459, Serbia became the Ottoman province of Semendria, but his efforts in 1456 to take Belgrade from the Hungarians failed. This task was left to Süleyman I to accomplish in August of 1521.
In 1520, the first year of his reign, Süleyman sent an emissary to Hungary ostensibly on a routine visit to confirm past peace agreements. The Turks requested new concessions: free passage for their army across Hungary and payment of a tax. The Turks may have also wished to influence Hungarian foreign policy, because the marriage and succession pact between the Jagiełłonian Dynasty of Hungary and the Hapsburgs could enable the Hapsburgs to extend their hegemony over Europe and force the Europeans to move from discussion to mobilization for a final crusade. King Louis II did not renew the treaty, but sent envoys to other countries requesting their assistance, which was not forthcoming. Unsuccessful negotiations between the Hungarians and the Turks took place in 1524, 1525, and 1526.
Süleyman decided to invade Hungary and left Istanbul on April 21, 1526. To avoid mountain crossings with their horses, camels, and cannons, he and his forces followed the river valleys. The sultan’s diaries record storms that made roads impassible and forced his troops to replace bridges. The legendary discipline was enforced. Those who trampled upon sown fields or let their horses graze there were executed. Following the Danube River toward Buda, they captured Ilok and Eszék. In five days, the army built a bridge, 332 meters in length, across the Drava. Once the troops had crossed, the sultan ordered the bridge destroyed; consequently, retreat was not an option.
The Hungarians gathered on the plains of Mohács in 1526. The nobles quarreled with King Louis II about whether to retreat to Buda and delay until winter weather set in or to wait for reinforcements from Croatia and Bohemia. Some 45,000 Turks advanced through the low-wooded hills, and the Hungarians, with approximately 28,000 troops, sent their cavalry across the plain to meet them. After two days of intense battle on August 29 and 30, the king and most of his nobles were dead.
Aftermath
Süleyman’s forces marched through the rain to reach Buda on September 10 and crossed the Danube into Pest on September 24. Both cities were burned, and Süleyman returned victorious to Istanbul on November 13, 1526. The stage was set for further expansion of the Ottoman Empire.
Bibliography
Bak, J. M., and B. K. Kiraly. From Hunyadi to Rákóczi: War and Society in Late Medieval and Early Modern Hungary. New York: Social Science Monographs, Brooklyn College Press, 1982.
DeVries, Kelly. “The Lack of a Western European Military Response to the Ottoman Invasions of Eastern Europe from Nicopolis to Mohács (1526).” Journal of Military History 63, no. 3 (1999): 539–559.
Parry, V. J., H. İnalcik, A. N. Kurat, and J. S. Bromley. A History of the Ottoman Empire to 1730. London: Cambridge University Press, 1976.
Perjés, Géza. “Game Theory and the Rationality of War: The Battle of Mohács and the Disintegration of Medieval Hungary.” East European Quarterly 15, no. 2 (1981): 153–162.