The Battle of Mohacs 1526 Facts & Worksheets

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The Battle of Mohacs in 1526 was fought between Hungary and the Turks of the Ottoman Empire. Sultan Suleyman's Turks wished to expand the Ottoman Empire into Central Europe. They needed to conquer the Kingdom of Hungary under King Louis II, and the first step was to capture Belgrade, so Suleyman could launch an invasion from Serbian territory. The battle ended at Mohacs, with the Habsburg and Turkish dominating the Hungarian monarchy.

Background

• Three major events contributed significantly to the outset of the 1526 Battle of Mohacs: (1) the fall of the Hungarian monarchy's imperial rule; (2) the attempt of a joint Jagiellonian-Habsburg force to fight against the Ottomans; and (3) some other European events, as well as the Ottoman-French alliance.

  

• Fall of the Hungarian Monarchy’s Imperial Rule
  • Matthias Corvinus, the absolutist King of Hungary, died in 1490.
  • The Hungarian magnates who were in opposition to the late king's heavy-handed rule worked for the accession of King Vladislaus of Bohemia, who was known as weak-willed.
  • He ruled Hungary as King Vladislaus II from 1490 to 1516 and was also known as King Dobre, which means "all right," because he accepted every plea and document presented to him without question.
  • He famously donated the majority of Hungary's royal possessions to the nobility due to his goal of maintaining his popularity among the magnates while sustaining his new reign.
  • The central power eventually faced financial difficulties, owing primarily to the expansion of feudal lands at royal expense.
  • The tax collected from the nobility was reduced by 70-80%, while the country's defence was compromised. Guards on the borders and castle garrisons were not paid.
  • The king was so weak he was referred to as a "prisoner" by the magnates because all of his decisions were made with their approval.
  • The monarchy later disbanded the standing mercenary army known as the Black Army led by Matthias Corvinus. Hungary's administration systems and bureaucracy were also dismantled by the magnates.
  • Even the country's international standing had shrunk. The arrival of Protestantism also adversely affected the country's internal relations.
  • The majority of peasants rose in rebellion, unable to bear the country's administration. In 1514, the peasants led by John Zapolya faced the nobles led by Gyorgy Dozsa.
• Jagiellonian-Habsburg Against the Ottomans
  • Ten-year-old King Louis II ascended the Hungarian throne in 1516.
  • In 1520, the High Portae, the Ottoman Empire's central government, under newly ascended Suleyman I (or Suleiman I), offered peace to the Hungarians, but Louis refused.
  • In 1522, he married Mary of Habsburg. The Ottomans saw the marital alliance as a threat to their power and decided to break it. The Ottomans raided Hungarian lands and settled for small territorial conquests.
  • In the early 15th century, the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I refused to help Vladislaus II and Louis II, as well as the Croatian nobles. Archduke Ferdinand, who would soon become Holy Roman Emperor, later assisted because he saw the threat to his provinces. The archduke called his estates together and dispatched 2,000 German infantry troops to Hungary. Military assistance strengthened border defences.
  • According to Austrian historian Alfred Kohler, the Ottomans won despite the alliance of Ferdinand, Mary, and Louis because the young Hungarian king lacked vigour. Mary, his wife, had greater potential but was distrusted by non-Hungarian advisors.
• The Ottoman-French Alliance and Other European Events
  • The French King Francis I, was defeated by Habsburg Holy Roman Emperor Charles V at the Battle of Pavia on 24 February 1525.
  • The king was imprisoned for several months and forced to sign the Treaty of Madrid. Francis formed a formal alliance with the Ottoman Sultan Suleyman against Charles V as a result of European diplomacy. The French-Ottoman alliance lasted three centuries.
  • Francis proposed war with the Holy Roman Empire to his ally Suleyman in 1525. He agreed with the French king's suggestion because it coincided with Suleyman's ambitions.
  • The road from Turkey to the Holy Roman Empire passed through Hungary, resulting in the Battle of Mohacs.

Preparations

• The Hungarians fought Ottoman expansion into southeastern Europe for many years. The Turks captured Nandorfehervar, which was thought to be the strongest fortress on the Danube, in 1521. This led to despair in southern Hungary.
• The royal army, which was supposed to recapture Nandorfehervar, was disbanded after suffering from hunger and disease even before they fought for the retaking.
• Archbishop Pal Tomori, a priest and soldier, was appointed Captain of Southern Hungary in 1523. He began by repairing and strengthening the second line of defence along the Hungarian border.
• On 15 July 1526, the Turks also captured Petrovaradin, a town in Serbia. The Turks also conquered all the Hungarian towns between Petrovaradin and Buda.
• Suleyman led an Ottoman army dispatched from Constantinople on 16 April 1526. The Hungarian nobles were caught off guard by the threat and could only muster three main units for immediate action.
• The Transylvanian army led by John Zapolya was tasked with guarding the possible entrances in its Alps, while the main army was led by King Louis II himself; another smaller force was led by the Croatian Count Christoph Frankopan.
• With their 300 cannons, the Ottomans outnumbered the 85 Hungarian cannons.
• The Hungarians had no idea what the Ottomans were up to until they crossed the Balkan Mountains. The Ottomans were closer to Buda than the forces from Transylvania and Croatia.
• According to some historical accounts, Louis planned a retreat.
• The Hungarian war council, however, took part in the battle but made a critical tactical error by selecting a battlefield near Mohacs, which had an uneven plain with some marshlands.
• While Louis waited for them in Buda, the Ottomans progressed towards Mohacs. At Mohacs, the Ottoman army outnumbered the Hungarian military forces by around 50,000 to 31,500 men.

The Battle

• Despite being outnumbered by Turkish men and cannons, the Hungarian army had some advantages over the Turks. While waiting in the area, their troops were well-rested, while their opponents were marching to the battlefield in the summer heat.
• The Hungarian army consisted of heavily armed cavalrymen riding barded horses, similar to the army led by King Francis I at the Battle of Pavia.

  

• They were divided into two lines, the first, with a centre of mercenary infantry and artillery, and the second, with a mix of levy infantry and cavalry. The Ottoman army, on the other hand, was a more modern military force.
• The Rumelian army was the first Ottoman army. It advanced onto the battlefield, where it was attacked by Pal Tomori's troops. After the arrival of the reserves, the Ottomans rallied.
• The Hungarians suffered significant casualties as a result. The Hungarians were unable to hold their positions and those who were not able to escape were either killed or captured.
• Around 1,000 Hungarian nobles and leaders were also killed, including the king, who drowned due to his heavy armour in a river at Csele.
• Suleyman couldn't believe their victory over the Hungarian army, so he waited a few more days at Mohacs before marching on Buda.
• On 31 August, the Sultan sat on a golden throne, watching the massacre of 2,000 Hungarian prisoners.

Effects of the Battle

• Despite winning the battle, the Ottomans were unsure if they had achieved their goal. Only Buda remained unconquered. 
• The Ottomans finally captured Buda in 1541 which they quickly occupied.
• The battle at Mohacs marked the end of Hungary's independent kingdom.

  

• The Hungarian nobility remained divided, electing two kings at about the same time: John Zapolya in 1526 and Ferdinand of Austria in 1527. Ferdinand I attempted to fight the Ottoman occupation.
• The Habsburgs dominated Bohemia as well as the northern and western parts of Hungary and the remaining territories of the Kingdom of Croatia.
• Central Hungary and Transylvania were under Ottoman control. Despite losing most of their territories, the Hungarians resisted Ottoman occupation for the next seventy years.
• The Habsburg monarchs of Austria used Hungary's economic power in the Ottoman wars, causing the former Hungarian Kingdom's territory to shrink by roughly three-quarters.
• The constant commitment to warfare from the Ottoman forces drained their resources, which the kingdom found difficult to repay. Armies went on crusades to Buda in the 16th century.
• Sultan Suleyman died in Hungary in 1566 during the Battle of Szigetvar, but his death was considered to be due to natural causes.
• Even after several conquests, the Turks did not conquer the Habsburg monarchs' northern and western parts of Hungary.
• The Battle of Mohacs was a national trauma for many Hungarians. They saw Mohacs as the end of their powerful and independent nation.
• The constant fighting between the Habsburgs and the Ottomans divided Hungary into three parts.
• Hungary was able to re-establish its former borders in the nineteenth century.