János Hunyadi

John Hunyadi
Regent-Governor of the Kingdom of Hungary Voivode of Transylvania
Born	c. 1406
Died	11 August 1456 Zimony, Kingdom of Hungary (now Zemun, Serbia)
Burial	St. Michael's Catholic Cathedral, Gyulafehérvár, Kingdom of Hungary (now Alba Iulia, Romania)
Spouse	Erzsébet Szilágyi
Issue	Ladislaus Hunyadi Matthias Corvinus
House	House of Hunyadi
Father	Voyk
Signature

John Hunyadi (Hungarian: Hunyadi János, Romanian: Ioan de Hunedoara; c. 1406 – 11 August 1456) was a leading Hungarian military and political figure in Central and Southeastern Europe during the 15th century. According to most contemporary sources, he was the son of a noble family of Romanian ancestry. He mastered his military skills on the southern borderlands of the Kingdom of Hungary that were exposed to Ottoman attacks. Appointed voivode of Transylvania and head of a number of southern counties, he assumed responsibility for the defense of the frontiers in 1441.

Hunyadi adopted the Hussite method of using wagons for military purposes. He employed professional soldiers, but also mobilized local peasantry against invaders. These innovations contributed to his earliest successes against the Ottoman troops who were plundering the southern marches in the early 1440s. Although defeated in the battle of Varna in 1444 and in the second battle of Kosovo in 1448, his successful "Long Campaign" across the Balkan Mountains in 1443–44 and defence of Belgrade/Nándorfehérvár in 1456, against troops led personally by the Sultan established his reputation as a great general. The bells of Catholic and older Protestant churches are daily rung at noon to commemorate the Belgrade victory, although the pope had ordered this in advance, a week before the siege, in order to encourage the soldiers fighting for Christendom.

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