Nikola Jurišić

Nikola Jurišić
Nikola Jurišić
Born	c. 1490 Senj (today Croatia)
Died	1545 Kőszeg (today Hungary)
Rank	General

Baron Nikola Jurišić (Hungarian: Miklós Jurisics; c. 1490 – 1545) was a Croatian nobleman, soldier, and diplomat.

Jurišić was born in Senj, Croatia.

He is first mentioned in 1522 as an officer of Ferdinand I of Habsburg's troops deployed in Croatian forts in defense against the invasion of the Ottoman Empire under Suleiman I, advancing towards Vienna. Between 1522 and 1526, he obtained knighthood.

After the Battle of Mohács in 1526, the king made him the supreme army commander of the armed forces defending the borders (supremus capitaneus, Veldhauptmann unseres Kriegsfolks wider Turken). Jurišić in turn helped Ferdinand of Habsburg become the king of Croatia by brokering the 1527 election in Cetin. In 1530, Jurišić was sent to Constantinople to negotiate with the Ottomans for peace.

In 1532, Captain Nikola Jurišić defended the small border fort of Kőszeg (Kingdom of Hungary) with only 700–800 Croatian soldiers with no cannons and few guns, preventing the advance of the Turkish army of 120,000–140,000 toward Vienna.

There are two legendary versions of that battle.

Following the 1537 Battle of Gorjani, he was again made the supremus capitaneus of Slavonia and Lower Austria. In 1540, he was the capitaneus of Carniola.

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