carrying with her the crown of St. Stephen, which, with her
infant son, she intrusted to the care of the Emperor Frederick
III. (August 3rd, 1440). … In November 1442, Elizabeth and
Wladislaus had an interview at Raab, when a peace was agreed
upon, the terms of which are unknown; but it is probable that
one of the chief conditions was a marriage between the
contracting parties. The sudden death of Elizabeth, Dec. 24th,
1442, not without suspicion of poison, prevented the
ratification of a treaty which had never been agreeable to the
great party led by John of Hunyad, whose recent victories over
the Turks gave him enormous influence."
T. H. Dyer,
History of Modern Europe,
introduction (volume 1).
HUNGARY: A. D. 1364.
Reversion of the Crown guaranteed to the House of Austria.
See AUSTRIA: A. D. 1330-1364.
HUNGARY: A. D. 1381-1386.
Expedition of Charles of Durazzo to Naples.
See ITALY (SOUTHERN): A. D. 1343-1389.
HUNGARY: A. D. 1442-1444.
Wars of Huniades with the Turks.
See TURKS (THE OTTOMANS): A. D. 1402-1451.
HUNGARY: A. D. 1442-1458.
The minority of Ladislaus Posthumus.
Regency of Huniades.
His defeat of the Turks and his death.
His son Matthias chosen king on the death of Ladislaus.
Peace between the factions was brought about by an agreement
that "the Polish king should retain the government of Hungary
until Ladislaus attained his majority; that he should be
possessed of the throne in case the young prince died without
issue; and the compact was sealed by affiancing the two
daughters of Elizabeth to the King of Poland and his brother
Casimir.
{1672}
The young Ladislaus was also acknowledged as King of Bohemia;
and the administration during his minority vested in two
Regents: Mainard, Count of Neuhaus, chosen on the part of the
Catholics; and Henry Ptarsko, and after his death George
Podiebrad, on that of the Hussites. The death of Uladislaus in
the memorable battle of Warna again left Hungary without a
ruler; and as Frederic III. persisted in retaining the young
Ladislaus and the crown of St. Stephen, the Hungarians
entrusted the government to John Corvinus Huniades, the
redoubted defender of their country." In 1452, when the
Emperor Frederic returned from Italy into Germany, "he found
himself involved in a dispute with the Austrians, the
Bohemians, and the Hungarians, in respect to the custody of
the young Ladislaus. … As Ladislaus had now arrived at the
age of thirteen, his subjects, but more particularly the
Austrians, grew impatient of the detention of their sovereign
at the imperial court. Whilst Podiebrad continued regent of
Bohemia, and Huniades of Hungary, the affairs of Austria were
directed by Frederic; and the unpopularity of his government
caused a general anxiety for a change. But to give up the
custody of his ward was contrary to the policy of the Emperor,
and in the hope of silencing the Austrians he marched with a
force against them. His enemies, however, proved too numerous;
he was himself endangered by a siege in Neustadt; and
compelled to purchase his deliverance by resigning the person
of Ladislaus. The states of Austria, Bohemia, and Hungary then
assembled at Vienna; Podiebrad and Huniades were confirmed in
their regencies; and the administration of Austria, together
with the custody of Ladislaus, was confided to his maternal
great-uncle, Ulric, Count of Cilli. The resentment of Frederic
does not appear to have been vehement; for in the following
year [1453] he raised Austria to an archdutchy, and by a grant
of especial privileges placed the Duke of the province on a
level with the Electors. After being crowned King of Bohemia
at Prague, Ladislaus was invited by his Hungarian subjects to
visit that kingdom. But the Count of Cilli, jealous of the
power of Huniades, so far worked upon the young king's mind as
to create in him suspicions of the regent's integrity. An
attempt was made to seize Huniades by enticing him to Vienna;
but he eluded the snare, exposed the treachery of Ulric, and
prevailed on Ladislaus to visit his people. At Buda, an
apparent reconciliation took place between the count and the
regent; but Ulric still persisted in his design of ruining the
credit of a man whom he regarded as a dangerous rival. In the
moment of danger, the brave spirit of Huniades triumphed over
his insidious traducer; the siege of Belgrade by the Turks
[1456], under Mahomed II., threw Hungary into consternation;
the royal pupil and his crafty guardian abandoned the
Hungarians to their fate and precipitately fled to Vienna;
whilst Huniades was left to encounter the fury of the storm.
… The undaunted resistance of that renowned captain
preserved Belgrade; the Turks, after a desperate struggle,
were compelled to abandon the siege; their loss amounted to
30,000 men; and the Sultan himself was severely wounded [see
TURKS: A. D. 1451-1481]. The great defender did not long
survive his triumph; dying, soon after the retreat of the
enemy, of a fever occasioned by his extraordinary exertions.
Huniades left two sons, Ladislaus and Matthias Corvinus, who
were as much the idols of their country as they were objects
of jealousy to Ulric and the King. The latter, indeed, took
care to treat them with every mark of external respect; but
the injurious behaviour of the count provoked Ladislaus
Corvinus to open violence; and, in a personal rencounter,
Ulric received a mortal wound. Enraged at the death of his
favourite yet dreading the vengeance of the people, King
Ladislaus resorted to treachery; and the brothers being lured
into his power, the younger was beheaded as a murderer [1457].
Matthias was preserved from death by the menaces of the
indignant Hungarians; the terrified monarch fled with his
prisoner to Prague; and being there attacked by a malignant
disease, was consigned to a premature grave after suffering
for only a few hours. The death of Ladislaus Posthumus plunged
the Emperor into new difficulties. His succession to the
Austrian territory was opposed by his brother Albert VI.,
whose hostility had long troubled his repose. The Bohemians
rejected his claim to their throne, and conferred the crown on
the more deserving Podiebrad [1458]. The Hungarians testified
their regard for the memory of Huniades Corvinus by electing
his son Matthias, who purchased his liberty from Podiebrad for
40,000 ducats. Thus baffled in his views, Frederic consoled
himself with his retention of the crown of St. Stephen; and
his pertinacity in respect to this sacred relique involved him
in a war with the new King of Hungary."
Sir R. Comyn,
History of the Western Empire,
chapter 28 (volume 2).
HUNGARY: A. D. 1444.
Wallachia taken from the Turks.
See TURKS (THE OTTOMANS): A. D. 1402-1451.
HUNGARY: A. D. 1468-1471.
King Matthias joins the crusade against George Podiebrad of
Bohemia and claims the Bohemian crown.
See BOHEMIA: A. D. 1458-1471.
HUNGARY: A. D. 1471-1487.
The wars of Matthias with Bohemia, Poland, the emperor and the
Turks.
Conquest and occupation of Austria.
Ladislaus, elected to the throne of Bohemia on the death of
George Podiebrad, was supported by all the forces of his
father, the king of Poland, and Matthias of Hungary was now
involved in war with both. Meanwhile, "his whole kingdom was
agitated by intestine commotions, and a strong party of nobles
breaking out into insurrection, had offered the crown to
Casimir, prince of Poland. At the same time, the Turks having
subdued Transylvania, and ravaged Dalmatia and Croatia, built
the fortress of Szabatch on the Save, and from thence harassed
Hungary with perpetual inroads. From these impending dangers,
Matthias extricated himself by his courage, activity, and
prudence. While he carried the war into Bohemia and Silesia,
he awed, by his presence, his rebellious subjects, conciliated
by degrees the disaffected nobles, expelled the Poles, and, by
an important victory in the vicinity of Breslau, over the
united armies of Poles and Bohemians, forced the two
sovereigns, in 1474, to conclude an armistice for three years
and a half. He availed himself of the suspension of arms to
repel the Turks. He supported Stephen Bathori, hospodar of
Wallachia, who had shaken off the Ottoman yoke, by a
reinforcement of troops, enabled him to defeat Mahomet himself
[on the plain of Kenyer-Mesö, October, 1479], at the head of
100,000 men, and soon afterwards secured his frontiers on the
side of the Danube by the capture of Szabatch.
{1673}
Having in consequence of these successes delivered his
dominions from the aggressions of the Turks, he hastened to
gratify his vengeance against the emperor, whose conduct had
afforded so many causes of complaint. After instigating
Matthias to make war on George Podiebrad, Frederic had
abandoned him in the midst of the contest, had refused to
fulfil his promise of investing him with the kingdom of
Bohemia, had concluded an alliance with the kings of Poland
and Bohemia, and, on the 10th of June, 1477, formally
conferred on Ladislaus the investiture of the crown."
Matthias, as soon as he had freed himself from the Turks
(1479), declared war against the emperor and invaded Austria.
"Frederic, left without a single ally, was unable to make the
smallest resistance, and in less than a month Matthias overran
the greater part of Lower Austria, invested the capital, and
either besieged or captured all the fortresses of the Danube,
as far as Krems and Stein. Frederic fled in dismay to Lintz,
and, to save his capital, was reduced to accept the conditions
imposed by the conqueror," which included a promised payment
of 100,000 ducats. This payment the shifty emperor evaded,
when Matthias became involved anew, as he presently did, in
hostilities with Bohemia and Poland. "Matthias, irritated by
his conduct, concluded a peace with Ladislaus, by which he
acknowledged him as king of Bohemia, and agreed that Moravia,
Silesia, and Lusatia [which had been surrendered to him in
1475] should revert to the crown of Bohemia, in ease of his
death without issue. He then again invaded Austria; but his
arms were not attended with the same rapid success as on the
former invasion. … It was not till after a contest of four
years, which called forth all the skill and perseverance of
the warlike monarch and his most experienced generals, that
they obtained possession of the capital [1485] and the
neighbouring fortresses, and completed the subjugation of
Lower Austria, by the capture of Newstadt, the favourite
residence of the emperor. Frederic, driven from his hereditary
dominions, at first took refuge at Gratz; and, on the approach
of danger, wandered from city to city, and from convent to
convent." After many appeals, he persuaded Albert, duke of
Saxony, to take the field in his behalf; but Albert, with the
small force at his command, could only retard the progress of
the invader, and he soon concluded an armistice with him. "In
consequence of this agreement, he [Albert of Saxony], in
November, 1487, abandoned Austria, and Matthias was permitted
to retain possession of the conquered territories, until
Frederic had discharged his former engagement, and reimbursed
the expenses of the war; should Matthias die before that
period, these states were to revert to their sovereign."
W. Coxe,
History of the House of Austria,
chapter 18 (volume 1).
HUNGARY: A. D. 1487-1526.
Death of Matthias.
Election of Wladislaw, or Ladislaus, of the Polish house of
Jagellon.
Union of the crowns of Hungary and Bohemia.
Loss of the Austrian provinces.
Treaty of Succession with Maximilian.
Insurrection of the Kurucs.
Loss of Belgrade.
Great Turkish invasion and ruinous battle of Mohacs.
The end of Hungarian independence.
"When once the archduchy of Austria was conquered, Mathias,
who was already master of Moravia and Silesia, had in his
power a state almost as large as the Austria of the present
time, if we except from it Galicia and Bohemia. But his power
had no solid foundation. While the influence of the house of
Austria had been increased by marriage, Mathias Corvinus had
no legitimate heir. He made several attempts to have his
natural son, John Corvinus, born in Silesia, recognized as his
successor; but he died suddenly (1490) at the age of 50,
without having arranged anything definitely for the future of
his kingdom. … Hungary reached her highest point in the
reign of Mathias Corvinus, and from this time we shall have to
watch her hopeless decay. The diet, divided by the ambition of
rival barons, could decide on no national king, and so turned
to a foreigner. Wladyslaw II., of the [Polish] house of
Jagellon, was elected, and thus a king of Bohemia, and an old
rival of Mathias, united the two crowns of St. Vacslav and St.
Stephen—a union which had been so ardently hoped for by
Mathias, and for which he had waged the miserable war against
Bohemia. … The beginning of the new reign was not fortunate.
Maximilian [son of the Emperor Frederic] recovered the
Austrian provinces, and John of Poland declared war against
his brother, Wladyslaw, and obliged him to cede part of
Silesia to him. Maximilian invaded the west of Hungary, …
whence he only consented to retire after Wladyslaw had agreed
to a treaty, which secured Hungary to the house of Austria, in
case of Wladyslaw dying without children. This treaty, in
which the king disposed of the country without consulting the
diet, roused universal indignation. … Meanwhile, the Turks
thronged round the southern frontier of the kingdom. Bajazet
II. had failed to capture Belgrade in 1492, but he could not
be prevented from forcing his way into the valley of the Save,
and beating the Hungarian army, which was badly paid and badly
disciplined. … Wladyslaw had one son, Louis. Surrounded by
the net of Austrian diplomacy, he had affianced this son in
his cradle to Mary of Austria, the sister of Charles V., and
later on he undertook, in defiance of public opinion, to leave
the crown to his daughter Anne, who was, betrothed to
Ferdinand of Austria, if Louis should die without heirs. …
To add to the miseries of his reign, a peasant rising, a
terrible Jacquerie, took place. … In 1513, Cardinal Bacracz
came from Rome, bringing with him the papal bull for a crusade
against the infidels; whereupon the peasants armed themselves,
as if they were about to march against the Turks, and then
turned their arms against the nobles. This terrible
insurrection is called in Hungarian history the insurrection
of the Kurucs (Kouroutses, cruciati) crusaders. … The chief
leader of the insurrection, the peasant Dosza, was one of the
Szeklers of Transylvania. … Dosza was beaten in a battle
near Temesvar, and fell into the hands of his enemies. Their
vengeance was terrible. The king of the peasants was seated on
a throne of fire, and crowned by the executioner with a
red-hot crown. He bore his frightful sufferings with a courage
that astonished his adversaries. … The feeble Wladyslaw died
in 1515, and the reign of the child-king, Louis II., may be
summed up in two catastrophes, the loss of Belgrade and the
defeat at Mohacs. The young king, married in his cradle, was
corrupt and dissolute, and quite incapable of governing, and
his guardians could not rise to the height of the occasion.
{1674}
The finances of the kingdom were in great disorder, and the
leading barons quarrelled continually over the shreds of
sovereignty still left. … This state of things was of the
greatest use to the Turks, for while Hungary was sinking ever
deeper into anarchy, Turkey was ruled by the great sovereign
who was called Soliman the Magnificent. It was not long before
he found a pretext for war in the arrest of one of his
subjects as a spy, and assembled his troops at Sophia,
captured Shabats [Szabatch], laid siege to Belgrade and took
it, making it thenceforward a Mussulman fortress (1521). The
key of the Danube was now in the hands of the Turks. … King
Louis begged for help on every side. … The Austrian princes
were ready to help him from interested motives; but even when
joined with Hungary they were too feeble to conquer the armies
of 'the Magnificent.' On the 25th of April, 1526, Soliman
quitted Constantinople, bringing with him 100,000 men and 300
cannon, taking up arms not only against Hungary, but against
the empire. One of the pretexts for his expedition was the
captivity of Francis I.; he wished, he said, to save 'the bey
of France' from the hands of the Germans and their allies the
Hungarians. He crossed the Save near Osiek (Essek), captured
Petervardin, and came up with the Hungarians at Mohacs, on the
right bank of the Danube (August 26, 1526). The Magyar army
was commanded by the king in person, assisted by Paul Tomory,
archbishop of Kalocsa, one of the warlike bishops of whom
Hungary gives us so many examples; by George Szapolyai, and by
Peter Perenyi, bishop of Nagy-Varad (Great Varadin). Perenyi
wished to treat with the Turks, in order to gain time for help
to reach them from Croatia and Transylvania, but the
impetuosity of Tomory decided on immediate battle. … At
first, it seemed as if the battle was in favour of the
Magyars; but Soliman had commanded that the front ranks of his
army should give way before the Hungarian cavalry, and that
then the main body of his troops should close around them.
When the Magyars were thus easily within reach, they were
overwhelmed by the Turkish artillery and forced to retreat.
They took refuge in some marshy land, in which many of them
lost their lives. The king had disappeared; Tomory was slain;
seven bishops, 22 barons, and 22,000 men were left upon the
field. The road to Buda lay open before the invaders, and
after having laid waste the whole country on their way, they
reached the capital, where the treasures which Mathias
Corvinus had collected in his palace and his library were
either carried off or committed to the flames. … Then the
tide of invasion gradually retired, leaving behind it a land
covered with ruins. The independent existence of Hungary ended
with Louis II."
L. Leger,
History of Austro-Hungary,
chapter 15.
ALSO IN:
L. Felbermann,
Hungary and its People,
chapter 3.
HUNGARY: A. D. 1526-1567.
Election of John Zapolya to the throne.
Rival candidacy and election of Ferdinand of Austria.
Zapolya's appeal to the Turks.
Great invasion by Soliman.
Siege of Vienna.
The sultan master of the greater part of the country.
Progress of the Reformation.
Soliman's last invasion.
"No sooner was the corpse of Louis II. found lying in a marsh,
under his mangled steed, than the necessity of speedily
electing a new monarch was powerfully felt. Louis left no heir
to the throne, while his wife Mary, archduchess of Austria,
far from trying to possess herself of the helm of the state,
was already on her way to Vienna, even before the results of
the battle of Mohacs had become fully known. The vacant throne
found thus an aspirant in John Zapolya, waivod of Transylvania
and count of the Zips, who lay encamped with a mighty army at
Szegedin, on his march to the plain of Mohacs. … The Diet,
which met on the plain of Rakos (1526), proclaimed Zapolya
king. … The day of coronation was soon fixed, the waivod
receiving his royal unction at Weisenburg. Stephen Batory, the
palatine, however, actuated by envy rather than ambition,
first attempted to oppose to the new king the interests of the
widow of Louis II. But the Austrian archduchess, unwilling to
enter the field as a competitor for the crown, handed over her
role to her brother Ferdinand I. of Austria, who was married
to Anne, sister of the late Hungarian king. Ferdinand soon
repaired to Presburg, a town beyond the reach of Zapolya's
arms, where he was elected king of Hungary by an aristocratic
party, headed by the palatine Batory, Francis Batthany, Ban of
Croatia, and Nadasdy." After a fruitless conference between
representatives of the rival kings, they proceeded to war.
Zapolya was "master of the whole country, except some parts
beyond the Danube," but he remained inactive at Buda until the
Austrians surprised him there and forced him to evacuate the
capital. "Not able to make head against the foreign
mercenaries of Ferdinand, Zapolya was soon obliged to confine
himself to the northern frontiers, till he left the kingdom
for Poland, there to solicit help and concert measures for the
renewal of the war (1528)." Receiving no encouragement from
the king of Poland, Zapolya at length addressed himself to the
great enemy of Hungary, the sultan Soliman, and there he met
no rebuff. The Ottoman conqueror made instant preparations to
enter Hungary as the champion of its native king. Thereupon
"Zapolya organized a small army, and crossed the frontiers.
His army was soon swelled to thousands, and he had possessed
himself of the greatest part of Upper, before Soliman began to
pour down on Lower Hungary. … Proclaiming to the people that
his army was not come to conquer, but to assist their elected
native king, Soliman marched onwards, took Buda, Gran, and
Raab, all of them shamelessly given up by Ferdinand's
mercenaries, and moved on unopposed to the walls of Vienna
[1529]. Ferdinand, in his distress, Invoked the assistance of
Germany; but his brother [the] emperor, as well as the Diet of
Spires, engrossed with Luther and his followers, … were not
forward to render their assistance. Vienna, however, though
neglected by the German emperor, was momentarily saved by the
advanced state of the season; for winter being at hand, the
Turks, according to their usage at that season, took their
way home. [The besieging army of Turks is said to have
numbered 250,000 men; while the river swarmed with 400 Turkish
boats. Twenty fierce assaults were made upon the defenses of
the city, in as many days. The suburbs were destroyed and the
surrounding country terribly ravaged.
{1675}
Before raising the siege, the baffled Turk massacred thousands
of captives, under the walls, only carrying away into slavery
the young and fair of both sexes. The repulse of Soliman is
"an epoch in the history of the world."]
Sir E. S. Creasy,
History of the Ottoman Turks,
chapter 9.
… Zapolya, having taken up his position in Buda, ruled over
the greatest part of Hungary; while Croatia submitted to
Ferdinand. … A useless war was thus for a while carried on
between the two rival sovereigns, in the midst of which Buda
had to sustain a heavy siege conducted by General Roggendorf;
but the garrison, though reduced so far as to be obliged to
eat horseflesh, succeeded in repelling and routing the
Austrian besiegers (1530)." Ferdinand now humbled himself to
the sultan, beseeching his friendship and support, but in
vain. The war of the rival kings went on until 1538, when it
was suspended by what is known as the Treaty of Grosswardein,
which conceded to each party possession of the parts of the
country which he then occupied; which gave the whole to
Zapolya if Ferdinand died without male issue, and the whole to
Ferdinand if Zapolya died before him, even though Zapolya
should leave an heir—but the heir, in this latter case, was
to marry Ferdinand's daughter. This treaty produced immense
indignation in the country. "That the never-despairing and
ambitious Zapolya meant that step rather as a means of
momentary repose, may safely be assumed; but the development
of his schemes was arrested by the hand of death (1540), which
removed the weary warrior from these scenes of blood, at the
very moment when his ears were gladdened by the news that he
had become the father of a son." Ferdinand now claimed the
undivided sovereignty, according to the terms of the Treaty of
Grosswardein; but the queen-dowager Isabella, wife of John
Zapolya, maintained the rights of her infant son. She was
supported by a strong party, animated and led by one George
Martinussius, a priest of extraordinary powers. Both Ferdinand
and Isabella appealed to the sultan, as to an acknowledged
suzerain. He declared for young Zapolya, and sent an army to
Buda to establish his authority, while another Turkish army
occupied Transylvania. "Soliman soon followed in person, made
his entry into Buda [1541], which he determined to keep
permanently occupied during the minority of Sigismund; and
assuring Isabella of his affection to the son of John, bade
her retire with the child to Transylvania; a piece of advice
which she followed not without some reluctance and distrust.
Buda was thus henceforward governed by a pasha; the army of
Ferdinand was ruined, and Soliman, under the title of an ally,
became absolute lord of the country." After a few years "new
complications and difficulties arose in Transylvania, when
Martinussius, who was confirmed by Soliman in his capacity of
guardian to the young Sigismund and regent of that country,
began to excite the suspicion of queen Isabella. Ferdinand,
aware of these circumstances, marched an army into
Transylvania, headed by Costaldo, who was instructed to gain
over the monk-tutor." Martinussius was won by the promise of a
cardinal's hat; with his help the queen-dowager was coerced
into abdicating in behalf of her son. Having brought this
about, Ferdinand basely procured the assassination of the monk
Martinussius. "'Far from gaining by an act that stamped his
own name with eternal shame, Ferdinand was soon driven by the
Turks from Transylvania, and lost even the places occupied by
his troops in Hungary.' … Transylvania owned the sway of
Sigismund Zapolya, while Ferdinand, in spite of the crown of
the German empire, recently conferred upon him, … was fain
to preserve in Hungary some small districts, contiguous to his
Austrian dominions. … In the year 1563, Ferdinand convoked
his party at Presburg," and prevailed upon them to go through
the form of electing his son Maximilian to the Hungarian
throne. "Ferdinand soon after died (1564), leaving three sons.
Of these, Maximilian succeeded his father in Austria;
Ferdinand inherited the Tyrol; and Charles, the youngest son,
got possession of Styria. Maximilian, who, in addition to his
Austrian dominions, succeeded to the throne of Bohemia and to
that of the German empire, proved as impotent in Hungary as
his father had been. The Pasha of Buda ruled the greater part
of Hungary proper; Sigismund Zapolya continued to maintain his
authority in Transylvania. … His [Maximilian's] reign left
Hungary much the same as it was under his predecessor,
although much credit is due to the neutral line of conduct he
observed in regard to religious affairs. Unlike the rise and
progress of the Reformation in the rest of Europe, religious
reform in Hungary was rather an additional element in the
political conflict than its originator. … By the battle of
Mohacs, the Reformation was freed from a bigoted king and many
persecuting prelates; while Ferdinand, conniving at the
Protestant party in Germany, was withheld from persecuting it
in Hungary, the more so from the dread that his rival might
win the Protestant party to his interest. The Protestants thus
increased in number amid the din of arms. … The sectarian
spirit, though somewhat later than elsewhere, found also its
way into this land of blood, and Hungary was soon possessed of
considerable bodies of Lutherans and Calvinists, besides a
smaller number of Anabaptists and Socinians. … Calvin's
followers were mostly Magyars, while Lutheranism found its
centre point in the German population of Transylvania." In
1566, Maximilian, encouraged by some subsidies obtained from
his German subjects, began hostilities against the Turks and
against Sigismund in Transylvania. This provoked another
formidable invasion by the great sultan Soliman. The progress
of the Turk was stopped, however, at the fortress of Szigeth,
by a small garrison of 3,000 men, commanded by Nicholas Zriny.
These devoted men resisted the whole army of the Moslems for
nearly an entire month, and perished, everyone, without
surrendering their trust. Soliman, furious at the loss of
20,000 men, and the long delay which their obstinate valor
caused him, died of apoplexy while the siege went on. This
brought the expedition to an end, and Maximilian "bought a new
peace at the hands of Selim II., son of Soliman, for a tribute
of 30,000 ducats (1567). Shortly after, Maximilian was also
relieved of his rival, John Sigismund Zapolya, who died a
sudden death."
E. Szabad,
Hungary, Past and Present,
part 2, chapter 1.
ALSO IN:
R. W. Fraser,
Turkey, Ancient and Modern,
chapters 12-13.
{1676}
HUNGARY: A. D. 1567-1604.
Successive disturbances in Transylvania.
Cession of the principality to the House of Austria, and
consequent revolt.
Religious persecutions of Rodolph.
Successful rebellion of Botskai.
Continued war with the Turks.
John Sigismond Zapolya refused at first to be included in the
peace which Maximilian arranged with the Turks, and endeavored
to stir up an insurrection in Hungary; but his scheme failed,
and "he had no resource but to accept the terms of peace
offered by Maximilian, which were advantageous to both
parties. He engaged not to assume the title of king of
Hungary, except in his correspondence with the Turks, and to
acknowledge the emperor as king, his superior and master; in
addition to Transylvania, as an hereditary principality, he
was to retain for life the counties of Bihar and Marmarosch,
with Crasna and Zolnok, and whatever territories he could
recover from the Turks. In return, the emperor promised to
confer on him one of his nieces in marriage, and to cede to
him Oppelen in Silesia, if expelled from Transylvania. On the
death of John Sigismond without issue male, Transylvania was
to be considered as an elective principality, dependent on the
crown of Hungary. The intended marriage did not take place,
for John Sigismond dying on the 16th of March, 1571, soon
after the peace, all his possessions in Hungary reverted to
Maximilian. The diet of Transylvania chose Stephen Bathori,
who had acted with great reputation as the general and
minister of John Sigismond; and Maximilian, although he had
recommended another person, prudently confirmed the choice.
… The new waivode was accordingly confirmed, both by
Maximilian and the Turks, took the oath of fidelity to the
crown of Hungary, and continued to live on terms of friendship
and concord with the emperor. … Maximilian being of a
delicate constitution, and declining in health, employed the
last years of his reign in taking precautions to secure his
dignities and possessions for his descendants. Having first
obtained the consent of the Hungarian states, his eldest son
Rhodolph was, in 1572, crowned king of Hungary, in a diet at
Presburgh." Subsequently, the election of Rhodolph by the
Bohemian diet was likewise procured, and he was crowned king
of Bohemia on the 22d of September, 1575. A few weeks later,
the same son was chosen and crowned king of the Romans, which
secured his succession to the imperial dignity. This latter
crown fell to him the following year, when his father died.
Educated in Spain and by the Jesuits, the new emperor was
easily persuaded to reverse the tolerant policy of his father,
and to adopt measures of repression and persecution against
the Protestants, in the Austrian provinces, in Hungary and in
Bohemia, which could not long be endured without resistance.
"The first object of Rhodolph had been to secure his dominions
in Hungary against the Turks. In order to diminish the
enormous expense of defending the distant fortresses on the
side of Croatia, he transferred that country, as a fief of the
empire, to his uncle Charles, duke of Styria, who, from the
contiguity of his dominions, was better able to provide for
its security. Charles accordingly constructed the fortress of
Carlstadt, on the Kulpa, which afterwards became the capital
of Croatia, and a military station of the highest importance.
He also divided the ceded territory into numerous tenures,
which he conferred on freebooters and adventurers of every
nation, and thus formed a singular species of military colony.
This feudal establishment gradually extended along the
frontiers of Sclavonia and Croatia, and not only contributed,
at the time, to check the incursions of the Turks, but
afterwards supplied that lawless and irregular, though
formidable military force … who, under the names of Croats,
Pandours, and other barbarous appellations, spread such terror
among the enemies of Austria on the side of Europe. …
Notwithstanding the armistice concluded with the Sultan by
Maximilian, and its renewal by Rhodolph in 1584 and 1591, a
predatory warfare had never ceased along the frontiers." The
truce of 1591 was quickly broken in a more positive way by
Sultan Amurath, whose forces invaded Croatia and laid siege to
Siseek. They were attacked there and driven from their lines,
with a loss of 12,000 men. "Irritated by this defeat, …
Amurath published a formal declaration of war, and poured his
numerous hordes into Hungary and Croatia. The two following
years were passed in various sieges and engagements, attended
with alternate success and defeat; but the advantage
ultimately rested on the side of the Turks, by the capture of
Siseck and Raab. In 1595, a more favourable though temporary
turn was given to the Austrian affairs, by the defection of
the prince of Transylvania from the Turks. On the elevation of
Stephen Bathori to the throne of Poland, his brother
Christopher succeeded him as waivode of Transylvania, and,
dying in 1582, left an infant son, Sigismond, under the
protection of the Porte. Sigismond, who possessed the high
spirit and talents of his family, had scarcely assumed the
reins of government before he liberated himself from the
galling yoke of the Turks, and in 1595 concluded an offensive
alliance with the house of Austria. … He was to retain
Transylvania as an independent principality, the part of
Hungary which he still held, and Moldavia and Wallachia. …
The conquests of both parties were to be equally divided. …
By this important alliance the house of Austria was delivered
from an enemy who had always divided its efforts, and made a
powerful diversion in favour of the Turks. Sigismond
signalised himself by his heroic courage and military skill;
uniting with the waivodes of Moldavia and Wallachia, he
defeated the grand vizir, Sinan, took Turgovitch by storm, and
drove the Turks back in disgrace towards Constantinople.
Assisted by this diversion, the Austrians in Hungary were
likewise successful, and not only checked the progress of the
Turks, but distinguished their arms by the recovery of Gran
and Vissegrad. This turn of success roused the sultan Mahomet,
the son and successor of Amurath. … He put himself, in 1596,
at the head of his forces, led them into Hungary, took Erlau,
and defeating the Austrians under the archduke Maximilian, the
lateness of the season alone prevented him from carrying his
arms into Austria and Upper Hungary, which were exposed by the
loss of Raab and Erlau. As Mahomet could not a second time
tear himself from the seraglio, the war was carried on without
vigour, and the season passed rather in truces than in action.
But this year, though little distinguished by military events,
was memorable for the cession of Transylvania to Rhodolph, by
the brave yet fickle Sigismond, in exchange for the lordships
of Ratibor and Oppelen in Silesia, with an annual pension."
{1677}
The capricious Sigismond, however, soon repenting of his
bargain, reclaimed and recovered his Transylvanian dominion,
but only to resign it again, in 1599, to his uncle, and again
to repossess it. Not until 1602, after much fighting and
disorder, was the fickle-minded and troublesome prince sent
finally to retirement, in Bohemia. Transylvania was then
placed under the government of the imperial general Basta.
"His cruel and despotic administration driving the natives to
despair, they found a chief in Moses Tzekeli, who, with other
magnates, after ineffectually opposing the establishment of
the Austrian government, had sought a refuge among the Turks.
Tzekeli, at the head of his fellow exiles, assisted by bodies
of Turks and Tartars, entered the country, was joined by
numerous adherents, and, having obtained possession of the
capital and the adjacent fortresses, was elected and
inaugurated prince of Transylvania. His reign, however, was
scarcely more permanent than that of his predecessor; for,
before he could expel the Germans, he was, in 1603, defeated
by the new waivode of Wallachia, and killed in the confusion
of the battle. In consequence of this disaster, his followers
dispersed, and Basta again recovered possession of the
principality. During these revolutions in Transylvania,
Hungary had been the scene of incessant warfare between the
Austrians and the Turks, which exhausted both parties with
little advantage to either. … Rhodolph had long lost the
confidence of his Hungarian subjects. … He treated the
complaints and remonstrances of his subjects with contempt and
indifference; and the German troops being free from control,
filled the country with devastation and pillage. While,
however, he abandoned the civil and military affairs to
chance, or to the will of his officers, he laboured to fetter
his subjects with religious restrictions, and the most
intolerant edicts were issued against the Protestants, in
various parts of the kingdom. … The disaffected increasing
in numbers, soon found a leader in Stephen Botskai, the
principal magnate of Upper Hungary, uncle of Sigismond
Bathori. … The discontents in Transylvania, arising from the
same causes as the rebellion in Hungary, greatly contributed
to the success of Botskai. … Being in 1604 assisted by a
Turkish army, which the new sultan, Achmet, despatched into
Transylvania, he soon expelled the Austrians, and was formally
inaugurated sovereign. … But Botskai was too disinterested
or too prudent to accept the regal dignity [as king of
Hungary, which the grand vizier of the sultan proclaimed him].
… He acted, however, with the same vigour and activity as if
he had a crown to acquire; before the close of the campaign he
conquered all Upper Hungary, almost to the walls of Presburgh;
at the same time the Turks reduced Gran, Vissegrad and
Novigrad."
W. Coxe
History of the House of Austria,
chapters 38-42 (volume 2).
ALSO IN:
J. H. Merle D'Aubigne,
History of the Protestant Church in Hungary,
chapters 12-20.
HUNGARY: A. D. 1595-1606.
The Turkish war.
Great defeat at Cerestes.
The Peace of Sitvatorok.
'The disasters which the Turkish arms were now experiencing in
Wallachia and Hungary made the Sultan's best statesmen anxious
that the sovereign should, after the manner of his great
ancestors, head his troops in person, and endeavour to give an
auspicious change to the fortune of the war. … The
Imperialists, under the Archduke Maximilian and the Hungarian
Count Pfalfy, aided by the revolted princes of the Danubian
Principalities, dealt defeat and discouragement among the
Ottoman ranks, and wrung numerous fortresses and districts
from the empire. The cities of Gran, Wissgrad, and Babocsa,
had fallen; and messengers in speedy succession announced the
loss of Ibrail, Varna, Kilic, Ismail, Silistria, Rustchuk,
Bucharest, and Akerman. These tidings at last roused the
monarch in his harem. … Mahomet III. left his capital for
the frontier in the June of 1596. … The display of the
sacred standard of the Prophet, which now for the first time
was unfurled over a Turkish army, excited … the zeal of the
True Believers. … The Grand Vizier, Ibrahim Pacha, Hassan
Sokolli Pacha, and Cicala Pacha, were the principal commanders
under the Sultan. … The Archduke Maximilian, who commanded
the Imperialists, retired at first before the superior numbers
of the great Ottoman army; and the Sultan besieged and
captured Erlau. The Imperialists now having effected a
junction with the Transylvanian troops under Prince Sigismund,
advanced again, though too late to save Erlau; and on October
23rd, 1596, the two armies were in presence of each other on
the marshy plain of Cerestes, through which the waters of the
Cincia ooze towards the river Theiss. There were three days of
battle at Cerestes." Repeatedly, the effeminate Sultan wished
to order a retreat, or to betake himself to flight; but was
persuaded by his counsellors to remain on the field, though
safely removed from the conflict. On the third day the battle
was decided in favor of the Turks by a charge of their cavalry
under Cicala. "Terror and flight spread through every division
of the Imperialists; and in less than half an hour from the
time when Cicala began his charge, Maximilian and Sigismund
were flying for their lives, without a single Christian
regiment keeping their ranks, or making an endeavour to rally
and cover the retreat. 50,000 Germans and Transylvanians
perished in the marshes or beneath the Ottoman sabre. …
Mahomet III. eagerly returned after the battle to
Constantinople, to receive felicitations and adulation for his
victory, and to resume his usual life of voluptuous indolence.
The war in Hungary was prolonged for several years, until the
peace of Sitvatorok [November 11, 1606] in the reign of
Mahomet's successor. … No change of importance was made in
the territorial possessions of either party, except that the
Prince of Transylvania was admitted as party to the treaty,
and that province became to some extent, though not entirely,
independent of the Ottoman Empire."
Sir E. S. Creasy,
History of the Ottoman Turks,
chapter 12.
HUNGARY: A. D. 1606-1660.
The Pacification of Vienna.
Gabriel Bethlem of Transylvania and the Bohemian revolt.
Participation and experience in the Thirty Years War.
In 1606, the Archduke Mathias—who had lately been appointed
to the Governorship of Hungary, and who had been acknowledged,
by a secret compact among the members of the Hapsburg family as
the head of their House—arranged the terms of a peace with
Botskai. This treaty, called the "Pacification of Vienna,"
restored the religious toleration that had been practised by
Ferdinand and Maximilian; provided that Mathias should be
lieutenant-general of the kingdom; gave to Botskai the title
of Prince of Transylvania and part of Hungary; and stipulated
that on the failure of his male issue these territories should
revert to the House of Austria.
{1678}
"This treaty, at last, restored peace to Hungary, but at the
expense of her unity and independence. Some idea may be formed
of the state of weakness and lassitude to which these long
wars had reduced the country … by a statement of the
divisions into which it had been split up by the various
factions. Hungary, with Croatia, Sclavonia, and the frontiers,
was then reckoned to cover an area of 4,427 square miles, and
Transylvania one of 736. Of these 5,163 miles, Turkey
possessed 1,859; Botskai in Hungary 1,346, in Transylvania
736=2,082; [sic] and Austria only 1,222. Botskai died in 1606,
and was succeeded by Sigismond Rakoczi, who, however, soon
abdicated in favour of Gabriel Bathori." At this time the
plans of the Austrian family for taking the reins of power out
of the feeble and careless hands of the Emperor Rodolph, and
giving them to his more energetic brother, the Archduke
Mathias, came to a head.
See GERMANY: A. D. 1556-1609.
Mathias "marched into Bohemia: and Rodolph, after a feeble
resistance, found himself abandoned by all his supporters, and
compelled to resign into the hands of Mathias Hungary, Austria
and Moravia, and to guarantee to him the succession to the
crown of Bohemia; Mathias in the meantime bearing the title of
king elect of that kingdom, with the consent of the states.
Rodolph at the same time delivered up the Hungarian regalia,
which for some time past had been kept at Prague." Before his
coronation, Mathias was required by the Hungarian diet to sign
a compact, guaranteeing religious liberty; stipulating that
the Hungarian Chamber of Finances should be independent of
that of Austria, that all offices and employments should be
filled by natives, and that the Jesuits should possess no real
property in the country. The peace of the country was soon
disturbed by another revolution in Transylvania. "Gabriel
Bathori, who had succeeded Sigismond Bathori on the throne of
the principality, had suffered his licentiousness to tempt him
into insulting the wives of some of the nobles, who instantly
fell upon him and murdered him; and in his place Gabriel
Bethlem, a brave warrior and an able statesman, was
unanimously elected, with the consent and approbation of the
sultan. Under his government his dominions enjoyed a full
measure of peace and tranquillity, and began to recover from
the horrible devastations of preceding years. He did not,
however, assume his dignity without dispute. Transylvania had
been secured to the house of Austria on the death of Botskai,
by the Pacification of Vienna, and Mathias was, of course, now
anxious to enforce his rights, and he considered the present
opportunity (1617) favourable, as the Turks were engaged in
wars on the side of Asia and Poland. He therefore summoned a
diet of the empire, to the throne of which he had succeeded in
1612 by the death of Rodolph. … But the diet refused all
aid," and he was forced to conclude a peace with the sultan
for the further period of twenty years. "No mention being made
in it of Transylvania, the rights of Gabriel Bethlem were thus
tacitly recognised. Mathias died soon after, in 1619, leaving
his crown to his cousin, Ferdinand II." Then followed the
renewed attempt of an imperial bigot to crush Protestantism in
his dominions, and the Bohemian revolt (see BOHEMIA: A. D.
1611-1618) which kindled the flames of the "Thirty Years'
War." Hungary and Transylvania were in sympathy with Bohemia.
"Gabriel Bethlem entered Hungary, in answer to the call of the
Protestants of that country, at the head of a large army—took
Cassau, Tiernan, Newhasel, dispersed the imperial forces under
Homonai, sent 18,000 men to enforce Count Thurn, got
possession of Presburg by treachery, and seized upon the
regalia." The cause of the Bohemians was lost at the battle of
the White Mountain, before Prague; but "Gabriel Bethlem for a
long time supported the prestige acquired by his earlier
successes. He was proclaimed king of Hungary, and obtained
considerable advantages over two generals of ability and
reputation." But a treaty of peace was concluded at length,
according to which Gabriel surrendered the crown and royal
title, receiving the duchies of Oppelen and Ratibor in
Silesia, and seven counties of Hungary, together with Cassau,
Tokay, and other towns. Ferdinand promised complete toleration
to the Protestants, but was not faithful to his promise, and
war was soon resumed. Bethlem "collected an army of 45,000
men, joined his forces with those of Mansfeldt, the general of
the confederacy [the Protestant Union], after his victory over
the imperialists at Presburg; and at the same time the Bashaw
of Buda entered Lower Hungary at the head of a large force,
captured various fortresses in the district of Gran, and laid
siege to Novigrad. They were opposed by two able generals, the
famous Wallenstein and Swartzemberg, but without checking
their progress. Wallenstein, however, followed Mansfeldt into
Hungary, where the two armies remained for some time inactive
in the presence of one another; but famine, disease, and the
approach of winter at last brought the contest to, a close.
The king of Denmark had been defeated, and Gabriel Bethlem
began to fear that the whole force of the Austrians would now
be directed against him, and concluded a truce. The bashaw of
Buda feared the winter, and followed his example; and
Mansfeldt, finding himself thus abandoned, disbanded his
soldiers.
See GERMANY: A. D. 1624-1626.
… The treaty of peace was again renewed, the truce with the
Turks prolonged." Gabriel Bethlem, or Bethlem Gabor, died in
1629. "The Transylvanians elected George Rakotski to fill his
place, and during nearly four years Hungary and Transylvania
enjoyed the blessings of peace." Then they were again
disturbed by attempts of Ferdinand to reduce Transylvania to
the state of an Austrian province, and by hostile measures
against the Protestants. The latter continued after the death
of Ferdinand II. (1637), and under his son Ferdinand III.
Rakotski inspired an insurrection of the Hungarians which
became formidable, and which, joining in alliance with the
Swedes, then warring in Germany, extorted from the emperor a
very favorable treaty of peace (1647). "At the same time
Ferdinand caused his son of the same name, and elder brother
of Leopold, to be elected and crowned king. During his short
reign, the country was tranquil; but in 1654 he died, leaving
his rights to Leopold. The reign of Leopold [1655-1697] was a
period which witnessed events more important to Hungary than
any which preceded it, or have followed it, save only the
revolutionary years, 1848 and 1849.
{1679}
No monarch of the house of Austria had ever made so determined
attacks upon Hungarian liberty, and to none did the Hungarians
oppose a braver and more strenuous resistance. Nothing was
left untried on the one side to overthrow the constitution;
nothing was left untried on the other to uphold and defend
it."
E. L. Godkin,
History of Hungary,
chapters 15-17.
HUNGARY: A. D. 1660-1664.
Turkish attacks on Upper Hungary.
The battle of St. Gothard.
Liberation of Transylvania.
A twenty years truce.
"Hostilities had recommenced, in 1660, between the Ottoman
empire and Austria, on account of Transylvania. The Turk was
suzerain of Transylvania, and directly held Buda and the part
of Hungary on the west and south of the Danube, projecting
like a wedge between Upper Hungary, Styria, and Vienna. George
Rakoczi, Prince of Transylvania, having perished in combat
against the Sultan, his suzerain, the Turks had pursued the
House of Rakoczi into the domains which it possessed in Upper
Hungary. The Rakoczis, and the new prince elected by the
Transvlvanians, Kemeni, invoked the aid of the emperor. The
Italian, Montecuculi, the greatest military chieftain in the
service of the House of Austria, expelled the Turks from a
part of Transylvania, but could not maintain himself there;
Kemeni was killed in a skirmish. The Turks installed their
protégé, Michael Abaffi, in his place, and renewed their
attacks against Upper Hungary (1661-1662). The secret of these
alternations lay in the state of feeling of the Hungarians and
Transylvanians, who, continually divided between two
oppressors, the Turk and the Austrian, and too weak to rid
themselves of either, always preferred the absent to the
present master. … Religious distrust also complicated
political distrust; Protestantism, crushed in Bohemia,
remained powerful and irritated in Hungary. The emperor
demanded the assistance of the Germanic Diet and all the
Christian states against the enemy of Christianity. … Louis
XIV., at the first request of Leopold, supported by the Pope,
replied by offers so magnificent that they appalled the
Emperor. Louis proposed not less than 60,000 auxiliaries, half
to be furnished by France, half by the Alliance of the Rhine;
that is, by the confederates of France in Germany. … The
Emperor … would have gladly been able to dispense with the
aid of France and his confederates; but the more pressing
danger prevailed over the more remote. The Turks had made a
great effort during the summer of 1663. The second of the
Kiouprouglis, the Vizier Achmet, taking Austrian Hungary in
the rear, had crossed the Danube at Buda with 100,000 fighting
men, invaded the country between the Danube and the
Carpathians, and hurled his Tartars to the doors of Presburg
and Olmütz. Montecuculi had with great difficulty been able to
maintain himself on the island of Schütt, a species of vast
intrenched camp formed by nature in front of Presburg and
Vienna. The fortified towns of Upper Hungary fell one after
another, and the Germanic Diet, which Leopold had gone to
Ratisbon to meet, replied with maddening dilatoriness to the
urgent entreaties of the head of the Empire. The Diet voted no
effective aid until February, 1664; but the Alliance of the
Rhine, in particular, had already accorded 6,500 soldiers, on
condition that the Diet should decide, before separating,
certain questions relative to the interpretation of the Treaty
of Westphalia. The Pope, Spain, and the Italian States
furnished subsidies. Louis persisted in offering nothing but
soldiers, and Leopold resigned himself to accept 6,000
Frenchmen. He had no reason to repent it. … When the
junction was effected [July, 1664], the position of the
Imperialists was one of great peril. They had resumed the
offensive on the south of the Danube in the beginning of the
year; but this diversion, contrary to the advice of
Montecuculi, had succeeded ill. The Grand Vizier had repulsed
them, and, after carrying back his principal forces to the
right bank of the Danube, threatened to force the passage of
the Raab and invade Styria and Austria. The Confederate army
was in a condition to stand the shock just at the decisive
moment. An attempt of the Turks to cross the Raab at the
bridge of Kerment was repulsed by Coligni [commanding the
French], July 26, 1664. The Grand Vizier reascended the Raab
to St. Gothard, where were the headquarters of the
Confederates, and, on August 1, the attack was made by all the
Mussulman forces. The janizaries and spahis crossed the river
and overthrew the troops of the Diet and a part of the
Imperial regiments; the Germans rallied, but the Turks were
continually reinforced, and the whole Mussulman army was soon
found united on the other side of the Raab. The battle seemed
lost, when the French moved. It is said that Achmet
Kiouprougli, on seeing the young noblemen pour forth, with
their uniforms decked with ribbons, and their blond perukes,
asked, 'Who are these maidens?' The 'maidens' broke the
terrible janizaries at the first shock; the mass of the
Turkish army paused and recoiled on itself; the Confederate
army, reanimated by the example of the French, rushed forward
and charged on the whole line; the Turks fell back, at first
slowly, their faces towards the enemy, then lost footing and
fled precipitately to the river to recross it under the fire
of the Christians; they filled it with their corpses. The
fatigue of the troops, the night that supervened, the waters
of the Raab, swelled the next day by a storm, and above all
the lack of harmony among the generals, prevented the
immediate pursuit of the Turks, who had rallied on the
opposite bank of the river and had preserved the best part of
their cavalry. It was expected, nevertheless, to see them
expelled from all Hungary, when it was learned with
astonishment that Leopold had hastened to treat, without the