Count Mihály Cseszneky de Milvány et Csesznek was a Hungarian nobleman (member of the

Cseszneky Cseszneky is a surname of Hungarian origin. Notable people * Benedek Cseszneky, office holder, diplomat * György Cseszneky, castellan of Tata and Győr * Gyula Cseszneky (1914-ca 1970) poet, translator, Macedonian Voivode * Imre Cseszneky, ...

family) and 16th century border castle hero. Mihály Cseszneky was appointed chief-lieutenant to the Castle of Várpalota in 1559, after he and Balázs Baranyai had liberated several villages under Ottoman occupation in the southern part of

Veszprém Veszprém (; german: Weißbrunn, sl, Belomost) is one of the oldest urban areas in Hungary, and a city with county rights. It lies approximately north of the Lake Balaton. It is the administrative center of the county (comitatus or 'megye') of ...

and Fejér counties. For his merits King Ferdinand I donated him the villages of Bakonynána, Dudar, Káloz, Láng, Aba and Felegres. Being the right-hand of castellan György Thury, in 1566 he played an important role in the defense of the castle of Várpalota with 450-500 Hungarian warriors against the 7000-8000 Turkish soldiers of Arslan,

Pasha Pasha, Pacha or Paşa ( ota, پاشا; tr, paşa; sq, Pashë; ar, باشا), in older works sometimes anglicized as bashaw, was a higher rank in the Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, generals, dignitar ...

of Buda. Under the leadership of castellan Thury and chief-lieutenant Cseszneky the defenders successfully withstood the siege until Count Salm's relief troops arrived from

Győr Győr ( , ; german: Raab, links=no; names in other languages) is the main city of northwest Hungary, the capital of Győr-Moson-Sopron County and Western Transdanubia region, and – halfway between Budapest and Vienna – situated on one of ...

. Then the warriors of Várpalota helped Salm to reconquer

and Tata. Despite being acknowledged as a hero, Count Cseszneky did not receive enough money from the royal treasury for the maintenance of the castle of Várpalota, thus he was compelled to raise funds by making forays against the Ottomans, and sometimes holding the local people to ransom. In 1588 the villagers of the region complained to

Ferenc Nádasdy Count Ferenc II Nádasdy de Nádasd et Fogarasföld (6 October 1555 – 4 January 1604) was a Hungarian nobleman. His family, Nádasdy, was one of the wealthiest and most influential of the era in Hungary. In 1571, when Ferenc was 16, his mothe ...

, the "Black Beg" about Cseszneky. Nevertheless, his behavior was not exceptional at that time, and there was no other means to manage the defense of the castle and the peasants against the Turkish attacks.

Sources

* Istvánffy Miklós: Historiarum de rebus Ungaricis * Szíj Rezső: Várpalota * Fejér megyei történeti évkönyv * Hofkammerarchiv Wien
Dudar története
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cseszneky, Mihaly Hungarian soldiers 16th-century Hungarian nobility Mihaly 16th-century Hungarian people 16th-century soldiers