The siege of Temesvár was a military conflict between the

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is ...

and the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

in 1552. The siege resulted with a decisive Ottoman victory and Temesvár came under Ottoman control for 164 years.

Background

After the

Battle of Mohács The Battle of Mohács (; , ) took place on 29 August 1526 near Mohács, in the Kingdom of Hungary. It was fought between the forces of Hungary, led by King Louis II of Hungary, Louis II, and the invading Ottoman Empire, commanded by Suleima ...

in 1526, the Hungarian Kingdom split into two parts. The western part of the country came under the control of Ferdinand I from the

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

, the eastern side came under the control of

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 ...

, a Hungarian noble. Zápolya asked the help of

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 ...

Ottoman emperor against Ferdinand. After the death of John in 1540, he was succeeded by his one-month-old son,

John Sigismund Zápolya John Sigismund Zápolya or Szapolyai (; 7 July 1540 – 14 March 1571) was King of Hungary as John II from 1540 to 1551 and from 1556 to 1570, and the first Prince of Transylvania, from 1570 to his death. He was the only son of John I, King o ...

. Ferdinand in 1541 tried to capture

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 ...

, the capital, but he was defeated by Suleiman's army. The Ottoman emperor occupied Buda after the victory and sent the young Hungarian king with his court to

Lippa Lippa may refer to: * Lippa (sport) a game played in southern Europe and the Indian subcontinent * Lippa, Ioannina (), Ioannina, Greece * Hungarian name for Lipova, a town in Arad County, Romania * ''Kislippa'', the Hungarian name for Lipa, Belti ...

(today ''Lipova'', Romania); in 1542 they moved to

Gyulafehérvár Alba Iulia (; or ''Carlsburg'', formerly ''Weißenburg''; ; ) is a city that serves as the seat of Alba County in the west-central part of Romania. Located on the river Mureș in the historical region of Transylvania, it has a population of ...

(today ''Alba Iulia'', Romania), which later became the capital of the Principality of Transylvania. Even after this event, Ferdinand didn't give up his dream about the unification of the Hungarian Kingdom under his rule. With

George Martinuzzi George Martinuzzi, O.S.P.P.E. (born Juraj Utješenović, also known as György Martinuzzi, Brother György, Georg Utiessenovicz-Martinuzzi or György Fráter, ; 1482 – 16 December 1551), was a Croatian nobleman, Pauline monk and Hungari ...

's help, the eastern part of the country in 1550 came under Habsburg rule, which caused the attack of the Ottoman army against Hungary. In 1552 two Ottoman armies crossed the border into the Hungarian Kingdom. One of them – led by Hadim Ali Pasha – started a campaign against the western and central part of the country whilst the second army – led by

Kara Ahmed Pasha Kara Ahmed Pasha (executed 29 September 1555) was an Ottoman statesman of Albanian origin. He was Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire between 1553 and 1555.İsmail Hâmi Danişmend, Osmanlı Devlet Erkânı, Türkiye Yayınevi, İstanbul, 1971 ( ...

– attacked the fortresses in the

Banat Banat ( , ; ; ; ) is a geographical and Historical regions of Central Europe, historical region located in the Pannonian Basin that straddles Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. It is divided among three countries: the eastern part lie ...

region.

Siege

In the summer of 1552, the Ottomans arrived at Temesvár, which was the most important city in the Banat region. The Ottoman army numbered about 30,000 men, Temesvár was defended only by 1,900 men, 700 of whom were merchants. The Ottoman artillery started destroying the wall on 27 June, then the Ottoman infantry assaulted the wall on 3 July and 6 July, without any success. At the time of the battle, a Hungarian army led by Mihály Tóth tried to liberate the city under the siege, but his army was defeated in the battle of Szentandrás (today

Sânandrei Sânandrei (formerly Sântandraș; ; ; ) is a commune in Timiș County, Romania. It is composed of three villages: Carani, Covaci and Sânandrei (commune seat). Name Geography Sânandrei is located in western Romania, in the south of the We ...

, Romania). The city fell soon after.

Aftermath

After the capture of Temesvár, the sultan established the

Temeşvar Eyalet The Province of Temeşvar () was a first-level administrative unit (eyalet) of the Ottoman Empire. It existed from 1552 to 1716. Provincial administration was centered in ''Temeşvar'' (today's Timișoara) from 1552 to 1659, and again from 1693 t ...

which was composed of four

sanjak A sanjak or sancak (, , "flag, banner") was an administrative division of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans also sometimes called the sanjak a liva (, ) from the name's calque in Arabic and Persian. Banners were a common organization of nomad ...

s. Temesvár remained under Ottoman control even after the

Treaty of Karlowitz The Treaty of Karlowitz, concluding the Great Turkish War of 1683–1699, in which the Ottoman Empire was defeated by the Holy League at the Battle of Zenta, was signed in Karlowitz, in the Military Frontier of the Habsburg Monarchy (present-day ...

and was recaptured by the Christian forces only in 1717.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Temesvár 1552 Sieges of the Hungarian–Ottoman Wars Sieges involving Hungary Sieges involving the Ottoman Empire Habsburg–Ottoman wars in Hungary (1526–1568) History of Timișoara Conflicts in 1552 16th century in Hungary 1552 in the Ottoman Empire 1552 in the Habsburg monarchy