Siege of Eger

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Contents 1 The Historical Background 2 The Siege 3 The Siege in Art and Literature 4 References

Siege of Eger
Part of the Ottoman wars in Europe
Date 1552 Location Eger, Northern Hungary Result Hungarian Victory
Combatants
Ottoman Empire	Kingdom of Hungary
Commanders
Ahmed Pasha	István Dobó
Strength
80,000, although originally believed to be 150,000[citation needed]	Approx 2,100, including civilians[citation needed]

The Siege of Eger occurred in 1552 during the 16th Century Ottoman Wars in Europe It was a major Hungarian victory after a series of crushing defeats at the hands of Turkish forces and checked the Ottoman expansion into central and eastern Europe. However, it remained a small encounter in a war that the Hungarians were struggling to maintain.

[edit] The Historical Background

The Turkish Sultan, Suleiman the Magnificent, commenced his expansion of the empire in 1520 after the reign of Selim I. He began assaults against Hungarian and Austrian influenced territories, invading Hungarian soil in 1526. The Hungarian Army was crushed at the Battle of Mohacs and the way was paved open to attack the Danube Basin. The battle also brough about the death of the King of Hungary and Bohemia, Louis II, leading to a disputed claim for the throne. The Austrian Emperor Ferdinand I succeeded to the Bohemian throne but was challenged to the Hungarian throne by the pretender John Zápolya whose claim was backed by nobles and the Sultan. The power struggle continued beyond John's death in 1540 when his son, John II Sigismund Zápolya succeeded to the throne. It was not resolved until he renounced the throne in 1563 when he was succeeded by Maximillian I.

The Turks met resistance during the Siege of Kőszeg in 1532, where a force of 800 men^{[citation needed]} under Miklós Jurisich managed to hold back the Ottoman armies. However this only delayed their campaign by 25 days, and they continued to close in on Budapest, finally occupying the capital in 1541. Buda became the seat of Turkish rule in the area, with the Turkish supported John II governing the occupied territories. The loss of forts at Temesvár and Szolnok in 1552 were blamed on mercenary soldiers within the Hungarian ranks. When the Turks turned their attention to the northern Hungarian town of Eger in the same year few expected the defenders to put up much resistance, particularly as 80,000 janissaries began to lay siege.

[edit] The Siege

Eger was an important stronghold and key to the defence of the remainder of Hungarian soil. The fortress is located north of the town on a hillside. It's positioning could have been better- the castle only overlooks the southern and western part of the town- however had the advantage over the Turkish forces as it provided excellent locations for gun positions. The castle comprised an inner and outer fortress with a gate tower to the south-easy and 6 bastions on the walls- the Earth Bastion and Prison Bastion to the north-west, Sándor Bastion on the north wall, Bolyky Bastion on the north east corner, Bebek Bastion on the eastern corner of the outer fortress and the Dobó Bastion on the western wall. The Varkoch gate sat on the southern wall of the inner fortress whilst a further bastion, Church Bastion, lay at the centre of the wall separating the two parts of the fortress. The fortress was defended by 2,100^{[citation needed]}, a mixture of soldiers, mercenaries and civilians. They were commanded by István Dobó who had assumed command in 1549. Another noticeable officer, who was lauded in Hungarian literature and folklore, was Gergely Bornemissza. He commanded a detachment of 250 Austrian riflemen, however it was his skill with explosives that was to make this young officers name. During the siege Bornemissza devised primitive but lethal grenades to use against the attackers as well as a large wheel packed with gunpowder which he rolled into the Turkish ranks.

The Turks had expected an easy victory but the bravery of the castles defenders, as well as Dobó's inspired leadership repelled repeated Turkish assaults. Even when the gunpowder store exploded and caused exstensive structural damage the invaders still couldn't find a way into the castle compund. After 39 days of bloody, brutal and intense fighting the Turkish Army withdrew, beaten and humiliated.

The fortress remained defiant to Turkish attacks until 1596 when 7,000 defenders, mostly mercenaries, capitulated meekly against the Turkish forces personally commanded by the Sultan, Mehmed III. It was the beginning of nearly 80 years of Turkish rule in the town.

[edit] The Siege in Art and Literature

Earliest records of the siege were recorded by the chronicler Sebestyén Tinódi Lantos in 1554 who wrote musical verses of the exploits of the people of Eger. It was not until 19th century that the siege was seized upon by Hungarian writers as the basis of fictional accounts. The first was the poem Eger by Mihály Vőrősmarty in 1827. The most famous account was by author Géza Gárdonyi who wrote his popular 1899 historical novel Egri csillagok about the events of this period. It chronicles the events leading up to and including the siege and tells the tale of Bornemissza, as well as Captain Dobó, and his co-commander István Mekcsey. Bertalan Székely's painting Egri Nok (Women of Eger) depicts the defence of the fortress, especially by the womenfolk, and hangs in the National Art Gallery in Budapest.

[edit] References