The siege of Esztergom occurred between 25 July and 10 August 1543, when the Ottoman

army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

, led by Sultan

Suleiman the Magnificent Suleiman I (; , ; 6 November 14946 September 1566), commonly known as Suleiman the Magnificent in the Western world and as Suleiman the Lawgiver () in his own realm, was the List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman sultan between 1520 a ...

, besieged the city of

Esztergom Esztergom (; ; or ; , known by Names of European cities in different languages: E–H#E, alternative names) is a city with county rights in northern Hungary, northwest of the capital Budapest. It lies in Komárom-Esztergom County, on the righ ...

in modern

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

. The city was captured by the Ottomans after two weeks.''Slovak history: chronology & lexicon'' Július Bartl p.59
/ref>

Background

The siege was part of a struggle between the

Habsburgs The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

and the Ottomans following the death of the ruler of Hungary,

John Zápolya John Zápolya or Szapolyai (; ; ; ; 1487 – 22 July 1540), was King of Hungary (as John I) from 1526 to 1540. His rule was disputed by Archduke Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor, Ferdinand I, who also claimed the title King of Hungary. He wa ...

, on 20 July 1540. This is part of the "Age of castle wars" in Hungarian history. Suleiman had captured the cities of

Buda Buda (, ) is the part of Budapest, the capital city of Hungary, that lies on the western bank of the Danube. Historically, “Buda” referred only to the royal walled city on Castle Hill (), which was constructed by Béla IV between 1247 and ...

and Pest in 1541, giving him a powerful control over central Hungary. The Province ('' Beylerbeylik'') of Buda was created in this occasion. As part of the

Franco-Ottoman alliance The Franco-Ottoman alliance, also known as the Franco-Turkish alliance, was an alliance established in 1536 between Francis I of France, Francis I, King of France and Suleiman the Magnificent, Suleiman I of the Ottoman Empire. The strategic and s ...

, French troops were supplied to this Ottoman campaign in Hungary: a French artillery unit was dispatched in 1543-1544 and attached to the

Ottoman Army The Military of the Ottoman Empire () was the armed forces of the Ottoman Empire. It was founded in 1299 and dissolved in 1922. Army The Military of the Ottoman Empire can be divided in five main periods. The foundation era covers the years ...

.''The Ottoman Empire and early modern Europe'' by Daniel Goffman, p.11

/ref>''Firearms of the Islamic world'', p.38
/ref>''The Cambridge History of Islam'', p.328
/ref> Meanwhile, in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

, Suleiman had sent his

fleet admiral An admiral of the fleet or shortened to fleet admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to field marshal and marshal of the air force. An admiral of the fleet is typically senior to an admiral. It is also a generic ter ...

Hayreddin Barbarossa Hayreddin Barbarossa (, original name: Khiḍr; ), also known as Hayreddin Pasha, Hızır Hayrettin Pasha, and simply Hızır Reis (c. 1466/1483 – 4 July 1546), was an Ottoman corsair and later admiral of the Ottoman Navy. Barbarossa's ...

to cooperate with the French, leading to the

siege of Nice The siege of Nice occurred in 1543 and was part of the Italian War of 1542–46 in which Francis I and Suleiman the Magnificent collaborated as part of the Franco-Ottoman alliance against the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, and Henry VIII of ...

Siege

The Siege of Esztergom followed the failed attempt by

Ferdinand I of Austria Ferdinand I ( 19 April 1793 – 29 June 1875) was Emperor of Austria from March 1835 until his abdication in December 1848. He was also King of Hungary, King of Croatia, Croatia and King of Bohemia, Bohemia (as Ferdinand V), King of Lombardy– ...

to recapture

in 1542.''Ground warfare: an international encyclopedia'' by Stanley Sandler p.38

/ref> It would be followed in turn by the capture of the Hungarian coronation city of

Székesfehérvár Székesfehérvár (; ; ; ; Serbian language, Serbian: ''Стони Београд''; ), known colloquially as Fehérvár (), is a city in central Hungary, and the country's ninth-largest city. It is the Regions of Hungary, regional capital of C ...

in September 1543. Other cities that were captured during this campaign are

Siklós Siklós ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=/, Šikloš, Шиклош) is the 4th largest town in Baranya county, Hungary. The Malkocs Bey Mosque was built by the order of the Malkoçoğlu family. Ottoman conquest During Sultân Süleymân's 1543 campa ...

and

Szeged Szeged ( , ; see also #Etymology, other alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county seat ...

in order to better protect

. However, Suleiman refrained from moving further on to

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

this time, apparently because he had no news of the campaigns of his French allies in western Europe and in the Mediterranean. After the successful Ottoman campaign, a first truce of one year was signed with Charles V in 1545, through the intermediary of

Francis I of France Francis I (; ; 12 September 1494 – 31 March 1547) was King of France from 1515 until his death in 1547. He was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy. He succeeded his first cousin once removed and father-in-law Louis&nbs ...

. Suleiman himself was interested in ending the hostilities, as he had a campaign going on in Persia as well, the

Ottoman–Safavid War (1532–1555) The Ottoman–Safavid War of 1532–1555 was one of the many military conflicts fought between the two arch rivals, the Ottoman Empire led by Suleiman the Magnificent, and the Safavid Empire led by Tahmasp I. Ottoman territorial gains were confir ...

.''The Cambridge history of Islam'' by Peter Malcolm Holt p.328
/ref> Two years later, Ferdinand and

Charles V Charles V may refer to: Kings and Emperors * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise Others * Charles V, Duke ...

recognized total Ottoman control of Hungary in the 1547 Treaty of Adrianople,''Cartography in the traditional Islamic and South Asian societies'' by John Brian Harley p.24

/ref> and Ferdinand even agreed to pay a yearly

tribute A tribute (; from Latin ''tributum'', "contribution") is wealth, often in kind, that a party gives to another as a sign of submission, allegiance or respect. Various ancient states exacted tribute from the rulers of lands which the state con ...

of 30,000 gold florins for their

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

possessions in northern and western Hungary. Following these conquests, central

was to remain under Ottoman control until 1686.

Gallery

File:Cannon battery at the Siege of Esztergom 1543.jpg, Cannon battery at the siege of Esztergom 1543 (detail). File:Esztergom in 1543 on a Turkish miniature.jpg, Esztergom in 1543 on a Turkish miniature File:Stages and distances to the fortress of Esztergom.jpg, Stages and distances to the fortress of Esztergom (Ottoman print). Estergon seferi harita Esztergom campaign map.png , The campaign route of the Ottoman army.

Notes

{{coord missing, Hungary Habsburg–Ottoman wars in Hungary (1526–1568)

Esztergom Suleiman the Magnificent Conflicts in 1543 16th century in Hungary 1543 in the Ottoman Empire 1543 in the Habsburg monarchy Sieges involving the Holy Roman Empire

Background

Siege

Gallery

See also

Notes