Austro-Turkish war (1566-1568)

The peace between Austria and the Ottoman Empire in 1559 , after a series of border clashes, was extended for 8 years in 1562 . The Hapsburg resumed their claims to the districts of Zatisia ( Partium ) that belonged to the Transylvanian prince János Zhygmond . The main commander of Zatisya Menkhert Balashshi, who transferred the fortress of Satmar and Nagybanja to the Austrians in 1561–1562, went over to their side ^[1] .

The coming to power of Emperor Maximilian II demanded a new confirmation of the peace treaty and led to the resumption of hostilities. The Austrians sent to Zatise 7 thousand. squad, and Janos Zhigmond attacked Satmar. Having suffered defeat, he was forced to conclude the Satmarsky Treaty, which limited his power to Transylvanian voivodship, refused the title of King of Hungary , and after his death, the principality had to withdraw to the Hapsburgs. In 1564 - 1565, Ambassador Maximilian Mikhail Chernovich was negotiating in Istanbul , while the undeclared war gained momentum. Mehmed Sokollu , who had become a grand vizier in 1565, demanded that the Austrians return the Tokai and Serenesh captured by them and cancel the Satmar Treaty. His nephew Mustafa Sokolovic launched an offensive in Croatia , where he captured several fortresses and, after a bitter struggle, captured Kruppa, who belonged to Miklos Зrinyi, all of whose defenders were destroyed along with women and children ^{[2] [3]} .

In November 1565, the Sultan gave the order to the Buda Pasha to prepare for the march. On May 1, 1566, Suleiman’s army marched from Istanbul . Its number reached 100 thousand, of which 42 thousand regular troops. On February 2, the National Assembly of Hungary decided to collect from each peasant allotment 2 florins to equip troops. Help the emperor provided the Reichstag, Rome, hereditary possessions and Italian princes. As a result, by the beginning of the summer managed to collect 100 thousand. army ^[4] .

A separate corps under the command of the second vizier Pertav Pasha was directed against the important fortress of Gyula in the valley of Keresh . Gyula was besieged on July 12 and fell after 8 weeks of the siege. The troops of Janos Zhigmond attacked Middle Hungary. He himself arrived on June 29 at the Sultan in Belgrade and received an atnam , confirming his power and vassal dependence. On 6 June, the Buda Pasha Arslan laid siege to the Palota fortress, but its defenders, led by Györd Turi, with the help of approached Habsburg troops repelled the Ottomans. Together with the jerry captain Eckhard von Salm Turi, on June 24, beat off the Ottomans Veszprem and then Tatu . Miklos Zrinyi defeated the Turkish detachment from Siklos ^{[4] [5]} .

On August 7, Suleiman's army laid siege to Sighetwar , located west of Pec and covering the road to Vienna. The fortress defended the Hungarian-Croatian garrison under the command of Miklos Zrinyi, numbering 2.5 thousand people. The Hapsburg army did not go to the aid of the city, taking a position from Madyarovara and then from Gyor to block the way to the Austrian capital. The Turks attacked 300 guns at Sighetvar, methodically destroying fortifications and turning the city blocks into flaming ruins. On August 9, the defenders burned down the New City and retreated to the Old. On August 19, he was taken by the Turks, and Zrinyi retreated to the citadel. From August 26 to September 4, he repulsed eight assaults undertaken by the Sultan's troops. On the night of September 6, the ruthless conqueror, whom the grateful French allies called “Magnificent,” died. Mehmed Sokollu concealed his death from the army. On September 8, Zrinyi, with the remnants of the garrison, made a desperate attempt to break through from the city, and in a fierce battle, he died with all his people. The capture of Szigetvara cost the Turks 25 thousand people. Satisfied with this insignificant and costly success, the Turks ceased hostilities long before the onset of the autumn cold weather ^{[6] [7]} .

For Hungary, the results of the last campaign of Suleiman were heavy. The Crimean Tatars, the allies of Janos Zigmond, were repelled from Debrecen and Kashi , but the valleys of the Tisza and Maros were completely devastated, the cities and villages were set on fire, and about 90 thousand people were driven into slavery ^[8]

In August 1567 peace negotiations began. On February 17, 1568, the ambassadors of Maximilian signed the World of Adrianople with Selim II , which consolidated the Ottoman conquests and established a relative equilibrium on the Middle Danube for a quarter of a century. The emperor, as king of Hungary, undertook to pay for his possessions an annual symbolic tribute to 30 thousand florins. Despite constant violations and major border conflicts, in 1576 and 1583 the world was extended for 8 years, until the beginning of the so-called “Long” or Fifteen Years War ^{[9] [3]} .

With the death of Suleiman I, the period of large-scale Ottoman conquests in the Middle Danube ended. The Hapsburg managed to keep under their power about 30 Hungarian committees, of which 20 were in the territory of Upper Hungary . The result of the four Austro-Turkish wars was the division of Hungary into three parts, and this state of affairs persisted until the time of the Great Turkish War . The Transylvanian question was settled by the Speyer agreement on August 16, 1570 . Janos Zhigmond refused the title of "elected king of Hungary", taking the title of "Prince of Transylvania and parts of Hungary." In the absence of heirs, these territories were to be moved to the Habsburg. The last point did not comply with the laws of Transylvania, and after the death of Janos Zigmond in 1571, the National Assembly elected Ishtvan Batori in his place ^[10] .

• Hammer-Purgstall J. von. Histoire de l'empire ottoman. T. ii. - P .: Bethune et Plon, 1844
• Hapsburg, Hungary, Transylvanian principality and Ottoman Empire in the XVI century. // The Ottoman Empire and the countries of Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe in the XV-XVI centuries. - M .: Science, 1984
• The history of Hungary. T. I. - M .: Science, 1971
• Kontler L. History of Hungary. Millennium in the center of Europe. - M .: All World, 2002. - ISBN 5-7777-0201-5