Giorgio Basta
| Giorgio Basta | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | 1544 La Rocca, Kingdom of Naples |
| Died | 1607 (aged 62–63) Prague, Kingdom of Bohemia |
| Allegiance |
 Holy Roman Empire
|
| Service/branch | Imperial Army |
| Rank | General |
| Battles/wars | |
Giorgio Basta, Count of Huszt (1544 – 1607) was an Italian general officer of Arbëreshë origin, employed by the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II to command Habsburg forces in the Long War of 1591–1606. He was later sent to administer Transylvania as an Imperial vassal and to restore Catholicism as the dominant religion in the region.
On his orders, his ally Michael the Brave, who ruled Transylvania, Wallachia, and Moldavia, was assassinated on 9 August 1601, a few days after the common victory at the Battle of Guruslău, for trying to turn against Rudolf II. For this, he is often depicted as disloyal and violent by Romanian and Hungarian historians. Basta was also the author of books on the art of military leadership.
Basta was born to an Arbëreshë family in La Rocca, modern day Roccaforzata, a village in Salento, Italy.
He began his military career in the service of Charles V and Philip II of Spain, mainly on the French front during the War of the Three Henrys and the Catholic League. In 1590 he joined the forces of Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma in Flanders. During the siege of Rouen he was almost killed by Sir Roger Williams, who sliced his neck in personal combat.
After the death of Farnese, on the recommendations of Philip II, he joined the army of Emperor Rudolf II, serving mainly in Hungary, commanding Habsburg forces during the "Long War" against the Ottoman Empire. Ambrogio Merodio in his Istoria Tarantina, calls him the "terror of Ottoman arms".
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