General Chronology of Hungarian-Ottoman Wars until 1552

Now, let me show you the Chronology until 1552 in order to see the events a bit cleaner; I have included a few dates from European history just for a better understanding. Please note, that I am using the Oriental name order for Hungarians where family names come first. Also, note that I call the Ottoman Turks simply “Turks” according to the Hungarian tradition. However, according to the Ottoman payrolls, 96% of the Ottoman mercenaries who were garrisoned in Hungary were not Turkish at all but Albanians, Serbs, and South Slavic people. More Turkish and Eastern people were in the sultan’s main army, though.

1342-1382 the reign of King Louis I of Hungary;
1352 the Ottoman Turks arrive in Europe;
1354 Gallipoli Castle falls to the Turks;
1365 the capital of the Ottoman Empire becomes Edirne (Drinápoly), in Europe;
1366-1367 the first Hungarian-Ottoman war was launched by King Louis I of Hungary;

King Louis I of Hungary, fighting the Turks

1371 Turk victory over the Serbs, the Serbian king is defeated at the River Marica;
1372 Venetian-Hungarian war, King Louis I is defeated at Treviso (the Turks aided the Venetians);
1375 the army of King Louis I is ambushed and defeated by the Wallachians but the appearing Turk raiders in Transylvania are scattered;
1377 King Louis defeats the Wallachians, then the army of the Bulgarian ruler Sisman, Sultan Murad’s vassal;
1381 Wat Tyler’s peasant uprising in England;
1387-1437 The reign of King Sigismund of Luxemburg (Zsigmond);

King Zsigmond (painting by A. Dürer)

1388 the Peloponnesus Peninsula falls to the Turks;
1389. the first Battle of Kosovo-Polje (Rigómező), Turk victory over the Serbs;
1391 Turkish raiders at the Lower-Danube River pillage Hungary’s border;
1391 the Turks take Galambóc (Golubac) Castle but Perényi Péter takes it back;
1394 the Caliph of Cairo accepts Bajazid I as Sultan, the only head of the Muslim world;
1394 Voivode Losonci László is defeated in Wallachia by the Turks;
1395 King Sigismund strikes back and makes a bridgehead at the Danube in Bulgaria;
1396 the Battle of Nicopolis (Nikápoly) – Ottoman victory over the crusaders and King Sigismund;

The Battle of Nicopolis, miniature by Jean Colombe (c. 1475)

1397 the Hungarian Diet obliges the landlords to equip one horse-archer after 20 peasant houses;
1398 Turkish raiders reach the middle of Hungary, the Great Plains (Alföld);
1402 Sultan Bayazid is defeated at Ankara by Timur Lenk;
1411 Sigismund (Zsigmond) becomes king of Germany;
1415 Sultan Mehmed I and his Bosnian vassal state attacked Hungary and Croatia;
1418-1433 the Bohemian Hussite wars;
1419 Sigismund (Zsigmond) is a Czech king; a Hussite uprising in Prague, a peace signed with the Turks;


 
1420 the Turks are in Wallachia, an attack against Transylvania;
1421 Sultan Murad II is on the throne;
1422 Sultan Murad II cannot take Constantinapolis;
1422-1461 the reign of King Charles VII of France;
1423 Murad takes Corinthos;
1423 Pipo of Ozora leads a Hungarian army successfully in the Lower-Danube Region, two more campaigns are to come;
1425 Sultan Murad II regains one-third of Anatolia;


 
1427 Serbian Despot Stefan Lazarevic dies;
1427 King Sigismund gets Galambóc (Golubac) Castle by a treaty but its Serbian captain sells it to the Turks for 12,000 Ducats;
1427 Nándorfehérvár (Belgrade) goes to Hungarian hands, becoming the gate to the kingdom;
1428 King Sigismund gets defeated when trying to retake Galambóc Castle;
1428-1477 the life of Vlad the Impaler, ruler of Wallachia;
1430 Thessaloniki falls to the Turks;
1431 Sigismund is the king of Lombardy;

1432 huge Ottoman raid into Transylvania, several thousand are taken into slavery;
1433 Sigismund is crowned in Rome as the Holy Roman Emperor;
1435-1436 several smaller raids against Transylvania;
1437-1439 the reign of Habsburg Albert as a Hungarian king;
1437 Szendrő (Sedorovo) Castle is besieged by the Turks but forced to withdraw;
1437 the great peasant uprising in Transylvania weakens the country;
1438 the Turks pillage and loot in Transylvania;

1439 the Serbians lose Szendrő (Smederevo) Castle to the Turks;
1440-1444 the reign of King Ulászló in Hungary
1441 the Ottomans gain the silver mines of Novo Brdo (Crna Gora);
1441 Hunyadi János (John) defeats the Turks in Serbia;
1442 Hunyadi defeats the Rumelian Begler Bey at Gyulafehérvár (Transylvania);
1443 the victorious Winter Campaign of Hunyadi;
1443-1468 the reign of the Albanian Skanderbeg;
1444 the Peace of Edirne with the Ottomans;
1444 the combined Christian forces are defeated at Várna by the Turks; the Hungarian king is dead;

King Ulászló dies at the Battle of Varna, (by Jan Matejko)

1446-1453 Hunyadi János is Governor of Hungary;
1448 Hunyadi’s army ventures deep into Macedonia but cannot join forces with Skanderbeg’s, the second defeat of Kosovo Polje (Rigómező);
1448 Emperor Frederick III makes peace with Pope Nicholas V;
1450 Guttenberg invents book printing in Europe;
1451-1506 the life of Christopher Colombus;


 
1453-1457 the reign of King László V Of Hungary;
1453 Constantinapolis falls to the Ottomans;
1453 the Hundred years war ended between France and England;
1455-1485 the Wars of the Roses in England;
1456 the siege of Nádorfehérvár (Belgrade), the Turks are defeated, Hunyadi and St. Capistrano die in the plague after the victory;

Hunyadi János (painting from the 16th century)

1456 Moldavia becomes the vassal state of the Ottomans;
1457 Hunyadi László  (elder son of Hunyadi János) is executed by the king;
1458 Hunyadi Mátyás (Matthias, younger son of Hunyadi János) is elected as king of Hungary;
1458. Galambóc falls to the Turks but Matthias takes it back;
1461-1483 the reign of King Louis XI of France;
1462-1505 the reign of Czar Ivan III of Russia;
1463 peace treaty between King Matthias and Emperor Frederick III;


 
463 Jajca Castle is taken back by King Matthias Corvinus along with the bigger part of Bosnia;                                                            1466 the Teutonic Order accepts the rule of Poland;

Here is more about Jajca Castle: https://www.hungarianottomanwars.com/ottoman-occupied-lands/jajca/

1469-1524 the life of Vasco da Gama;
1475 the Turks reach Várad (Oradea) Castle in Transylvania but stopped;
1475 Voivode Stefan III of Moldavia beats the Turk-Crimean Tatar-Wallachian-Bulgarian army with Hungarian-Polish help;
1476 the Turks lose Szabács (Sabac) Castle to the Hungarians;

King Matthias Corvinus

1479 the Battle of Kenyérmező (Breadfield) in Transylvania, Kinizsi Pál defeats the Turks;
1479 Castilia and Aragonia get united;
1480 the Russians get rid of the Tatar yoke;
1480 Hungarian help to relieve Otranto (Italy) from the Ottoman attack;
1481 the campaign of King Matthias against the Turks;
1482 Hungarian success, the Bey of Szendrő (Smederevo) gets defeated;
1482-1551 the life of Prior György Martinuzzi, the „White Monk”;
1483-1546 the life of Marton Luther;


 
1485 King Matthias Corvinus takes Vienna;
1487 Bartolomeo Diaz reaches Cape Horn in Africa;
1490 the death of King Matthias, a bigger Turk unit lootsTransylvania until Várad;

King Ulászó / Vladislaus II (painting from 1509, Prague)

1490-1516 the reign of King Ulászló II of Hungary;
1491 King Henry VIII was born;
1491-1556 the life of Ignatius of Loyola;
1491 the Bosnian Turks take Koszorúvár (Vinac), the key to Jajca Castle;
1492 January, the Arabs are driven out from Spain;
1492 spring, unsuccessful Turk attack against Nándorfehérvár, Szabács, and Jajca, but Kinizsi stops them;
1492 August Colombus sets sail to India;
1492 summer, General Kinizsi’s army relieves the siege of Szörény Castle;
1493 February, the troops of the Transylvanian German Saxons of Szeben (Sibiu) defeat the raiding Turks;


 
1493 September, the Bosnian Pasha returns with rich booty from Austria but hindered by Croatian Bán Derencsényi Imre at Ubdina; Large Croatian defeat, Derencsényi dies;
October, Turk raiders hit the Barcaság Region in Transylvania; Chief Captain Kinizsi Pál attacks the area of Szendrő Castle with 10,000 men;
1494 September, a large Turk assault on Nándorfehérvár (Belgrade), Kinizsi stops them; Turks raids in Slavonia and in the Szerémség (Sirmium) Region at the same time; Kinizsi attacks Serbia, Bulgaria with 14,000 men. He dies on 24 November;
1495 peace treaty between King Ulászló II and Sultan Bajazid II for three years;
1499 Prince Corvin János (illegitimate son of Matthias) scatters the Turks at Sebenico but cannot take Bisztrica Castle;
1500 August: Hungarian troops raid the region of Szendrő Castle at the Lower Danube; other Croatian troops of Prince Corvin János reach Mostar and defeat a bigger Turk army;
1501 March, Prince Corvin János attacks the Bosnian Turks and defeated at Blata; the troops of Croatian Vice Bans Kozsulics and Zsarko raid along the Bistrica River;

Prince Corvin János

October, Chief Captain Somi Józsa destroys 600 villages in Serbia with his 14,000 men, and returns to Belgrade with thousands of prisoners;
November, Prince Corvin relieves Jajca Castle, 4,000 Ottomans are killed in the battle, then he raids Serbia;
1502 June, a Hungarian army led by Tárczay János relieves Jajca Castle again;
September, Turk raids in the Szerémség Region and in Pozsega County;
October, forces of Voivode Szentgyörgyi of Transylvania, Chief Captain Somi, Bán Kanizsai György of Belgrade (Nándorfehérvár), Bán Tárnok Péter of Szörény hit the Balkanian lands up to Bulgaria, they burn Kladovo, Vidin and Nicopolis; at the same time, Prince Corvin hits Bosnia and joins them at Sarajevo;
1503 February, a new peace treaty between King Ulászló II and Sultan Bajezid for 7 years;
1504 February, Hungarian-Venetian alliance against the Ottomans, Venetians send 30,000 Ducats annually;
October, Prince Corvin János suffers a defeat in Croatia and dies;


 
1505 Hungarian Diet at Rákos rules that only a Hungarian king can be elected;
1509-1547 the reign of Henry VIII of England;
1509 unsuccessful Ottoman siege against Karánsebes Castle in Temes County;
1511 May, the unsuccessful Ottoman siege against Knin in Dalmatia;
September, peace treaty with the Turks (the Venetians and the Polish sign it, too)
1512 the troops of Bán (Duke) Török Imre of Nándorfehérvár (Belgrade) are defeated at Szendrő Castle by the Ottomans;
Summer: more Turk success along the Száva River, they take Szrebernik, Tesán, Szokol and Blagaj castles;
November, Comes Báthoryiof Temes beats the Turks at Illádia in Krassó County;
At the end of the year, the Bosnian Turks attack Jajca but get defeated;
1513 Cardinal Bakócz Tamás fails to become the Pope; the Turks conquer Dalmatia, they get Nutyák, Szinj, Csazsin, and Ver castles; August, the Croatian Bán Péter Beriszlói relieves the besieged Castle of Blinj and defeats the Turks in the Battle of Dubica; at the same time, Sárkány Ambrus defeats an attacking Ottoman army at Nándorfehérvár (Belgrade);
Summer: Voivode Szapolyai János of Transylvania hits in Bulgaria;
September, Pope Leo X declares a Crusade against the Muslims, Cardinal Bakócz brings the document home from Rome;


 
1514 April, the Hungarian king declares war against the Ottomans;
During the year: the peasant uprising of Dózsa György devastates the country;
February, March: Turk unsuccessful sieges against Knin Castle;
May: Voivode Szapolyai of Transylvania breaks into Bulgaria again;
At the end of the year the Turks systematically destroy Croatia and the lands at the Adriatic Sea, they build a stronghold in front of Zeng Castle;
1515 April, Szapolyai, Báthory, Török, and Paksy besiege Zsarnót Castle that is in front of Nándorfehérvár (Belgrade) but Bey of Szendrő, Sinan defeats them;
1516 the Habsburgs inherit the throne of Spain;
1516-1526 the reign of King Louis II of Hungary;

King Lajos (Louis) II

1516-1556 the reign of King Charles V of Spain;
1517 October, Luther writes his 95 points;
May, Bosnian Pasha Mustafa besieges Jajca Castle; the Hungarian reinforcement arrives and beats him, the Pasha dies;
1518 sudden Turks assault against Nándorfehérvár aka Belgrade, it fails; the Turks offer a truce in September;
1519 the conquest of Cortez in Mexico; Fernando Magellan sets sail to get around the Globe;
1520 uprisings against the Spanish absolutism
1520-1556 the reign of Sultan Suleiman I


 
1520 May, Croatian Bán Péter Beriszlói gets trapped and killed at Korenica, Ottoman victory;
1521 April, Diet of Worms, Martin Luther is declared a heretic;
May, Sultan Suleiman launches his first campaign against Hungary and takes Nándorfehérvár (Belgrade), Zimony, Szabács castles;
1522 Voivode Radu of Wallachia rebels against the Turks, receives help from Hungary but gets defeated in March;
Summer, Voivode Szapolyai of Transylvania hits Wallachia and defeats the army of Bey Mohamed of Silistria at Grumazi, then he assaults Nicopolis, brings Radu back; the Turks attack Radu and defeat him in two battles, Radu flees to Transylvania; then, Szapolyai returns and wins two battles against the Turks and Radu gets his throne back again in Wallachia;
Meanwhile, Pasha Hüszrev of Bosnia fails to take Klissza Castle by siege;

Szapolyai János, later king of Hungary

1523 the conquests of Alvarado in South America;
March, Bey Bali assaults Pétervárad Castle but cannot take its fort;
April, Voivode Radu flees to Hungary from the intruding Ottoman armies;
At the same time, the Bosnian Turks besiege Klissza and Kruppa castles;
August, General István Bárdy’s army defeats the Ottoman armies of Bey Bali of Nándorfehérvár (Belgrade) and Pasha Ferhad at Szávaszentdemeter; destroying the Turk river fleet as well, 7,000 Ottomans dead;
September, General Tomori Pál begins to reorganize the Hungarian river fleet along the southern border;
December, the Turks take Osztravica Castle from the Croatian Bán Jan Karlovics;
1524-1525 Münzer’s peasant uprising in Germany;


 
1524 February, the Turks attack the Dalmatian sea-shore and besiege Klissa Castle again;
April, Captain Péter Krusics brings reinforcement to Klissa by sea, defeats the enemy;
May-June, the Turks attempt to take Szörény Castle at the Lower Danube but fail;
September, Bey Bali of Nándorfehérvár (Belgrade) takes Szörény Castle;
1525 February, in the Battle of Pavia, King Francis I of France is defeated by Emperor Charles V;
April, the Ottomans besiege Jajca Castle defended by Bán Péter Keglevich;
June, Kristóf Frangepán relieves Jajca with his 12,000 men;
August, Serbs refugees arrive in Hungary, Pál Bakics brings the news of Suleiman’s plan about attacking the kingdom; Turk raiders burn Titel Castle at the Tisza River;
October, the troops of Tomori Pál raid the area around Szabács Castle;
1526 peace between the Spanish and the French in Madrid; split in the Habsburg House;
March, Bey Bali attacks Titel Castle: the defenders beat him off, then abandon it;
May, the League of Cognac is signed against the Habsburgs (including Pope Clement VII, Florence, Venice France, England, Milan, and the Ottomans)
1526 August, Hungarian defeat at Mohács, King Louis II of Hungary dies;

The Battle of Mohács

November 1526-1540 Szapolyai János is King of Hungary; (ruled 1526-1540)
December 1526-1564 Habsburg Ferdinand I is King of Hungary, too; (ruled 1526-1564)

1528. 02 – Suleiman gives his “ahdnáme” to King Szapolyai;

1529 Sultan Suleiman’s unsuccessful siege against Vienna;
1530 Diet of Augsburg, the Augsburg Confession, a central document of Lutheranism is declared;
1531 the Protestant princes create a coalition; also, the conquests of Pizarro in Peru;
1532 Sultan Suleiman marches for Vienna but is stopped at Kőszeg Castle by Captain Miklós Jurisics;
1533 Queen Elizabeth I was born;
1534 King Henry VIII reforms the Church in England;
1538 a Truce is signed between King Ferdinand and King Szapolyai at Várad;


1540 Ignatius of Loyola establishes the Society of Jesus; King Szapolyai János dies;
1540’s America is being explored by Vasquez, de Soto;
1541 King Habsburg Ferdinánd’s army sets out to take Buda Castle from Szapolyai’s widow and heir, János Zsigmond;
August, Prior György Martinuzzi scatters the Germans at Buda, soon, Sultan Suleiman arrives there and takes it; Hungary gets torn into three parts; Queen Isabella, widow of Szapolyai gets Eastern Hungary; Martinuzzi makes a secret Treaty with Ferdinand at Gyalu;
1542 unsuccessful Habsburg attempt to retake Buda Castle
1543 the Ottomans take Siklós, Pécs, Esztergom, Tata, Székesfehérvár, Valpó castles;
1544 the Ottomans take Visegrád, Hatvan, Nógrád, Simontornya castles;
1545-1563 the Council of Trent in Italy; the counter-reformation begins;
1547 Emperor Charles V defeats the rebelling Protestant princes;

1547 06. Emperor Charles V and King Ferdinand signs a peace treaty with Sultan Suleiman;
1547-1584 the reign of Czar Ivan IV of Russia;

1549 The Treaty of Nyírbátor between Martinuzzi and King Ferdinand;

1551. 07. In the Treaty of Szászsebes, King János Zsigmond and Queen Isabella resign and cedes Transylvania to Ferdinand;

1551. 09–10. A punishing Ottoman campaign against Transylvania, Bey Szokollu Mehmed takes Becskerek, Becse, Csanád, and Lippa castles but he cannot take Temesvár;

1551. 12. – King Ferdinand’s officers assassinate Cardinal Martinuzzi in Alvinc;

1552 Sir Walter Raleigh was born; the Turks launch their successful campaign against Royal Hungary, the fall of Temesvár, Szolnok, Nógrád castle, the heroic fall of Drégely Castle, and Eger Castle was saved by István Dobó; Pasha Hádim Ali defeats General Teuffel at Palást; Transylvania is in Habsburg hands for a few years;

The partition of Hungary after 1541

You can read my dramatized historical writing about Sultan Suleiman and Queen Isabella here:

https://www.hungarianottomanwars.com/dramatized-historical-writings/suleiman-before-buda/

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