Siege of Esztergom (1543)

Siege of Esztergom
	Part of the Sebastian Vrancks.
Date	25 July – 10 August 1543
Location	Esztergom, Hungary
Result	Ottoman victory
Belligerents
Holy Roman Empire	Ottoman Empire; Supported by:; Kingdom of France
Commanders and leaders
	Hadim Suleiman Pasha
Strength
	Artillery unit

The siege of Esztergom occurred between 25 July and 10 August 1543, when the Ottoman army, led by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, besieged the city of Esztergom in modern Hungary. The city was captured by the Ottomans after two weeks.^[1]

Background

The siege was part of a struggle between the

Habsburgs and the Ottomans following the death of the ruler of Hungary, John Zápolya, on 20 July 1540.^[2] This is part of the "Age of castle wars" in Hungarian history.^[3] Suleiman had captured the cities of Buda and Pest in 1541, giving him a powerful control over central Hungary.^[4] The Province (Beylerbeylik) of Buda was created in this occasion.^[2]

As part of the

fleet admiral Hayreddin Barbarossa to cooperate with the French, leading to the siege of Nice.^[2]

Siege

The Siege of Esztergom followed the failed attempt by Ferdinand I of Austria to recapture Buda in 1542.^[8] It would be followed in turn by the capture of the Hungarian coronation city of Székesfehérvár in September 1543.^[1] Other cities that were captured during this campaign are Siklós and Szeged in order to better protect Buda.^[8] However, Suleiman refrained from moving further on to Vienna this time, apparently because he had no news of the campaigns of his French allies in western Europe and in the Mediterranean.^[9]

After the successful Ottoman campaign, a first truce of one year was signed with Charles V in 1545, through the intermediary of

Habsburg possessions in northern and western Hungary.^[2]^[8]

Following these conquests, central Hungary was to remain under Ottoman control until 1686.

Gallery

Cannon battery at the siege of Esztergom 1543 (detail).
Esztergom in 1543 on a Turkish miniature
Stages and distances to the fortress of Esztergom (Ottoman print).
The campaign route of the Ottoman army.

Notes

^ ^a ^b Slovak history: chronology & lexicon Július Bartl p.59
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e The Cambridge history of Islam by Peter Malcolm Holt p.328
^ Ottomans, Hungarians, and Habsburgs in Central Europe by Pál Fodor p.164 [1]
^ Emperor Charles V, impresario of war by James D. Tracy p.206
^ The Ottoman Empire and early modern Europe by Daniel Goffman, p.111 [2]
^ Firearms of the Islamic world, p.38
^ The Cambridge History of Islam, p.328
^ ^a ^b ^c Ground warfare: an international encyclopedia by Stanley Sandler p.387 [3]
^ International encyclopaedia of Islamic dynasties by Nagendra Kr. Singh p.516 [4]^{[permanent dead link]}
^ Cartography in the traditional Islamic and South Asian societies by John Brian Harley p.245 [5]

[G2yZ9mBkC_p.59-1] Slovak history: chronology & lexicon Július Bartl p.59

[Cambridge-2] The Cambridge history of Islam by Peter Malcolm Holt p.328

[3] Ottomans, Hungarians, and Habsburgs in Central Europe by Pál Fodor p.164 [1]

[4] Emperor Charles V, impresario of war by James D. Tracy p.206

[books.google.com-5] The Ottoman Empire and early modern Europe by Daniel Goffman, p.111 [2]

[Mx7jSZjIC_p.38-6] Firearms of the Islamic world, p.38

[AuJvd2Tyt8C_p.328-7] The Cambridge History of Islam, p.328

[Sandler-8] Ground warfare: an international encyclopedia by Stanley Sandler p.387 [3]

[9] International encyclopaedia of Islamic dynasties by Nagendra Kr. Singh p.516 [4]^{[permanent dead link]}

[10] Cartography in the traditional Islamic and South Asian societies by John Brian Harley p.245 [5]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[8]

[9]

v t e Major sieges involving the Ottoman Empire by century
13th-14th	1285 Kulaca Hisar 1326 Bursa 1328–1331 Nicaea 1333–1337 Nicomedia 1360s Adrianople 1385 Sofia 1393 Tarnovo 1394–1402 Constantinople
15th	1411 Constantinople 1422 Constantinople 1422–1430 Thessalonica 1428 Golubac 1440 Belgrade 1440–41 Novo Brdo 1448 Svetigrad 1450 Krujë 1453 Constantinople 1455 Berat 1456 Belgrade 1461 Trebizond 1462 Mytilene 1463 Jajce 1464 Jajce 1467 Krujë 1470 Negroponte 1474 Scutari 1477–78 Krujë 1478–79 Scutari 1480 Rhodes 1481 Otranto 1484 Chilia
16th	1500 Cephalonia 1517 Cairo 1521 Belgrade 1522 Knin 1522 Rhodes 1529 Peñón of Algiers 1529 Vienna 1531 Diu 1532 Güns (Kőszeg) 1532 Maribor 1533–34 Coron 1534 Tunis 1534 Baghdad 1537 Klis 1537 Corfu 1538 Diu 1539 Castelnuovo 1541 Buda 1543 Nice 1543 Esztergom 1548 Aden 1548 Van 1551 Tripoli 1552 Muscat 1552 Hormuz 1552 Temesvár 1552 Eger 1556 Oran 1559 Bahrain 1563 Oran 1565 Malta 1566 Szigetvar 1570–71 Famagusta 1574 Tunis 1578 Gvozdansko 1592 Bihać 1593 Sisak 1596 Eger
17th	1601 Nagykanizsa 1621 Khotyn 1638 Baghdad 1663 Uyvar 1664 Novi Zrin 1648–1669 Candia 1672 Kamenets 1683 Vienna 1684 Buda 1684 Santa Maura 1685 Érsekújvár 1686 Buda 1686 Pécs 1688 Negroponte 1688 Belgrade 1690 Belgrade 1695 Azov 1696 Azov
18th	1711 Brăila 1715 Nauplia 1716 Corfu 1716 Temeşvar 1717 Belgrade 1733 Baghdad 1734–35 Ganja 1737 Ochakov 1739 Belgrade 1788 Ochakov 1788 Khotin 1789 Belgrade 1789–90 Izmail 1799 El Arish 1799 Jaffa 1799 Acre
19th	1801 Cairo 1806 Belgrade 1821 Patras 1821–22 Acropolis 1821 Tripolitsa 1822 Missolonghi 1823 Missolonghi 1825–26 Missolonghi 1826–27 Acropolis 1828 Kars 1828 Varna 1854 Calafat 1854 Silistra 1854–55 Sevastopol 1855 Kars 1877 Plevna
20th	1912–13 Scutari 1912–13 Adrianople 1915 Van 1915–16 Kut 1916–1919 Medina
Ottoman defeats shown in italics.

Background

Siege

Gallery

See also

Notes