Siege of Buda (1541)

Siege of Buda (1541)
Part of the Ottoman-Habsburg Wars
Siege of Buda (1541).
Date 4 May to 21 August 1541 Location Buda, Hungary Result Ottoman victory, Ottomans capture Buda
Belligerents
Ottoman Empire John Szapolyai's Hungarian Kingdom	Habsburg Empire Habsburg-held Hungary
Commanders and leaders
Suleiman the Magnificent Şehzade Mehmed Sarı Selim Şehzade Bayezid Hadım Suleiman Pasha Semendireli Mehmed-beg Bishop George Martinuzzi Bálint Török	Wilhelm von Roggendorf † Niklas von Salm Jeromos Záray †
Strength
Unknown	31,000
Casualties and losses
minimal	~ 16,000

The Siege of Buda, which lasted from 4 May to 21 August 1541, resulted in the capture of the city of Buda by Suleiman the Magnificent's Ottoman army, as he invaded central Hungary. The battle was part of the Little War in Hungary.

Siege

In the first phase, an army composed of troops from Austria, German Principalities, Bohemia and Habsburg Hungary, under command of general Wilhelm von Roggendorf, besieged the successors of the Ottoman vassal John I of Hungary. After dying in 1540, his son John, who was by then a minor, was crowned king under the regency of his mother Isabella Jagiellon and bishop George Martinuzzi. This was accepted by Suleiman under the condition that the Hungarians would continue to pay tribute to the Sultan. The new King was however not accepted by the Habsburgs. Ferdinand I sent an army of 50,000 soldiers commanded by Wilhelm von Roggendorf. This army besieged Buda in Summer 1541. The siege was badly managed and several attacks failed with very high number of casualties on the Habsburg side.

Battle

Sultan Suleiman took personal command of the Ottoman relief army which included 6,362 Janissaries.^[1] On 21 August, the Ottoman relief army reached Buda and engaged in battle with Roggendorf's army. The Habsburg army was completely defeated and 7,000 men were slaughtered or drowned in the river. Roggendorf was also wounded in the battle and died 2 days after of his injuries.

The Ottomans then occupied the city, which in its turn was celebrating the liberation, with a trick and took the infant King John II as an hostage.

This siege of Buda was a very important Ottoman victory against Austrian Archduke Ferdinand.^[2] This battle allowed the occupation of central Hungary by the Ottomans for around 150 years, and was therefore of an importance comparable to that of the Battle of Mohács in 1526.^[2]

The Habsburg army lost in all 16,000 men.

Aftermath

Charles V learned about the defeat of his brother Ferdinand upon his arrival in Genoa on 8 September 1541. Thirsty for revenge, he departed for an expedition against Algiers, which also ended in a sound defeat for the Habsburgs.^[3]

Siege of Buda (1541).

Buda under Ottoman rule in 1542. Engraving by Enea Vico.

Ferdinand would attempt to recover the cities of Buda and Pest in 1542, but he was repulsed again by the Ottomans.

Notes

Bibliography

• L'Alliance Impie. Author: Garnier, Edith. Editions du Felin, Paris 2008. ISBN 978-2-86645-678-8 Interview
• History of Hungary, 1526-1686. Author: Pach, Zsigmond, Editor: R. Várkonyi, Ágnes. Academy Publisher, Budapest, 1985. ISBN 963-05-0929-6
• 1541-1542-ig tartó korszak eseményei Magyarországon
• Military History of Hungary, 1. Author: Liptai Ervin, Zrínyi Military Publisher, Budapest, 1984. ISBN 963-326-320-4

Major sieges by the Ottoman Empire by century 14th 1326 Prusa 1331 Nicaea 1333 Nicomedia 1360s Adrianople 1385 Sofia 1393 Tarnovo 15th 1422 Constantinople 1422–30 Thessalonica 1448 Svetigrad 1453 Constantinople 1456 Belgrade 1461 Trebizond 1462 Siege of Mytilene 1470 Negroponte 1478 Scutari 1480 Rhodes 1481 Otranto 16th 1517 Cairo 1521 Belgrade 1522 Rhodes 1529 Algiers 1529 Vienna 1532 Güns (Kőszeg) 1532 Maribor 1534 Tunis 1534 Baghdad 1537 Klis 1537 Corfu 1538 Diu 1538 Aden 1539 Castelnuovo 1541 Buda 1543 Nice 1543 Esztergom 1547 Van 1551 Tripoli 1552 Muscat 1552 Hormuz 1552 Eger 1556 Oran 1563 Oran 1565 Malta 1566 Szigetvar 1574 Tunis 1578 Gvozdansko 1593 Sisak 1596 Eger 17th 1638 Baghdad 1663 Uyvar 1664 Novi Zrin 1648–69 Candia 1672 Kamenets 1683 Vienna 18th–19th 1739 Belgrade 1825–26 Missolonghi Ottoman defeats shown in italics.