Siege of Esztergom (1543)

Siege of Esztergom
Part of the Ottoman-Habsburg wars
Siege of Esztergom in 1543, by Sebastian Vrancks.
Date 25 July – 10 August 1543 Location Esztergom, Hungary Result Ottoman victory
Belligerents
Holy Roman Empire	Ottoman Empire Supported by:  France
Commanders and leaders
	Suleyman the Magnificent Şehzade Mehmed Sokollu Mehmed Pasha
Strength
	Artillery unit

The Siege of Esztergom occurred between 25 July and 10 August 1543, when the Ottoman army, led by emperor Suleyman the Magnificent, besieged the city of Esztergom in modern Hungary. The city was captured by the Ottomans after two weeks.

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. This is part of the "Age of castle wars" in Hungarian history. Suleiman had captured the cities of Buda and Pest in 1541, giving him a powerful control over central Hungary. The Province (Beylerbeylik) of Buda was created in this occasion.

As part of the Franco-Ottoman alliance, French troops were supplied to this Ottoman campaign in Hungary: a French artillery unit was dispatched in 1543-1544 and attached to the Ottoman Army. Meanwhile, in the Mediterranean Sea, Suleiman had sent his fleet admiral Hayreddin Barbarossa to cooperate with the French, leading to the Siege of Nice.

The siege followed the failed attempt by Ferdinand I of Austria to recapture Buda in 1542. It would be followed in turn by the capture of the Hungarian coronation city of Székesfehérvár in September 1543. Other cities that were captured during this campaign are Siklós and Szeged in order to better protect Buda. 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.

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Wikipedia