Siege of Eger (1552)
Siege of Eger | |||||||
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Part of the Ottoman-Hungarian wars | |||||||
The Women of Eger, Bertalan Székely | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Ottoman Empire | Hungarian defenders | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Ahmed Pasha Hadım Ali Pasha of Buda Sokollu Mehmed Pasha | István Dobó | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
Modern estimates: 35-40,000 men[1][2] (Gárdonyi's data: 150,000 and 200,000[3] is romantic exaggeration) | Approx. 2,100-2,300[4] | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
"Heavy casulties" | 400-600 dead |
The siege of Eger (
Background
Ottoman
The Ottomans met resistance during the siege of Güns (Kőszeg) in 1532, where a force of 800 men[5] under Nikola Jurišić managed to hold back the Ottoman armies. However, this only delayed their campaign by 25 days, and they continued to close in on Buda, finally occupying the capital in 1541. Buda became the seat of Ottoman rule in the area, with the Ottoman-supported John II governing the occupied territories.
The loss of Christian forts at
Eger was an important stronghold and key to the defense of the remainder of Hungarian soil. North of Eger lay the poorly reinforced city of Kassa (present-day Košice), the center of an important region of mines and associated mints, which provided the Hungarian kingdom with large amounts of quality silver and gold coinage. Besides allowing a takeover of that revenue source, the fall of Eger would also enable the Ottoman Empire to secure an alternate logistic and troop route for further westward military expansion, possibly allowing the Turks to lay sieges to Vienna more frequently.
Castle
The
The fortress of Eger was built on the ruins of an earlier stone fort, which replaced an ancient earthen encampment, possibly erected by the Huns. This made Eger's foundations stronger than usual and greatly hindered the work of Ottoman miners. As was usual during sieges at that time, both the attackers and the defenders tried to dig tunnels under the walls and plant gunpowder charges to either open gaps into the fortress or destroy the attacker's trenches. None of these attempts were successful during the siege of Eger.
Siege
Old Hungarian data and Gárdonyi's estimate of the size of the Ottoman Army amount to 150–200,000 men. In reality, the Ottoman army numbered 35–40,000 men from the Rumelian army (and an Anatolian contingent) and the troops of Ahmed Pasha from Buda.[7]
The Ottomans had 16 zarbuzans (very large siege cannons) as well as 150 medium and smaller pieces of artillery and 2000 camels, which proved to be highly useful in the collection and transportation of wood to the site used for the construction of temporary siege platforms. The defenders had six large and about a dozen smaller cannons and about 300
Despite the difference in troop numbers, Eger's strong walls and the high morale of its defenders allowed the fortress to withstand five major assaults and continuous cannon fire (excluding the ones stuck in the walls of the stronghold, almost 12,000 cannonballs landed inside the fortress before the siege ended).
The fortress was defended by 2,100-2,300 people, a mixture of professional soldiers, peasants, and a few dozen women. The defenders were commanded by
The Ottomans had expected an easy victory, but the bravery of the castle's defenders, as well as Dobó's inspired leadership, resulted in their repelling repeated Ottoman assaults. Even after the storage tower containing 24 metric tons of black gunpowder exploded and caused extensive structural damage, the invaders still could not find a way into the castle compound. After 39 days of bloody, brutal, and intense fighting the
According to modern historical research, several external factors contributed to the defenders' success. There was significant in-fighting between the two Ottoman leaders, Pasha Ali and Pasha Ahmed. Ahmed was the senior and contributed twice as many troops to the united army, but Ali showed more strategic talent and proved his skill in artillery, badly damaging the castle walls with his battery of just four large siege guns. During the siege, the Ottoman army ran out of gunpowder and cannonballs (which were carved out of marble) at least twice, limiting Ahmed's use of heavy artillery for a week or more. The end of autumn arrived earlier than usual with heavy rain and freezing nighttime temperatures. Reduced rice rations and allegations of corruption among the officers caused discontent among the Ottoman troops. Despite the failure at Eger, the Ottomans had no reason to lament the campaign of 1552, for they had taken
After the victory Dobó and his officers resigned, in order to protest King Ferdinand's refusal to contribute any material help to the defense. Gergely Bornemissza was appointed to take over command of the fortress. He was later ambushed, captured, and hanged by the Ottomans. The fortress of Eger remained defiant of Ottoman attacks until 1596 when 7,000 defenders, mostly foreign mercenaries, capitulated to Ottoman forces personally commanded by the Sultan, Mehmed III. The town remained in Ottoman hands for 91 years.
Eger has become an emblem of national defense, a symbol of patriotic heroism and the superiority of a national army over an unmotivated foreign mercenary force.
In art and literature
Earliest records of the siege were recorded by the chronicler Sebestyén Tinódi Lantos in 1554 who wrote musical verses of the exploits of the people of Eger.
It was not until the 19th century that the siege was seized upon by Hungarian writers as the basis of fictional accounts. The first was the poem Eger by Mihály Vörösmarty in 1827.
The most famous account was by author
Bertalan Székely's painting Az Egri Nők (Women of Eger) depicts the defense of the fortress, especially by the womenfolk, and hangs in the Hungarian National Gallery in Budapest.
References
- ISBN 963-548-961-7
- ISBN 963-326-337-9
- ^ Gárdonyi, Géza. Egri Csillagok (vol. 2). Európa Könyvkiadó, Budapest. 2000. pages 17, 49.
- ISBN 963-326-337-9
- ^ Çiçek, Kemal; Ercüment Kuran; Nejat Göyünç; İlber Ortaylı (2000). The Great Ottoman-Turkish Civilisation (3 ed.). University of Michigan: Yeni Türkiye, 2000 Item notes.
- ISBN 9781740591522.
- ISBN 963-326-337-9
- ^ The Papacy and the Levant, 1204-1571, Kenneth Meyer Setton, page 585, 1984