A Guest Post by Orsolya Dunai

To an untrained eye; 16^th– century Hungary was flourishing under a cultural growth. The Renaissance was at its zenith as artists produced paintings, sculptures, music and literature. The Reformation crawled through the population with its tentacles of theology. While Hungary’s commodity trades market climbed to its peak due to an abundance of gold and silver deposits. Underneath this radiant glow; the reality was gritty darkness.  Hungary was being massacred as Europe’s strongest dynasties – the Hapsburgs and the Ottomans – battled recklessly to take command of one of the oldest countries in Europe.

After the bloody devastation of the Battle of Mohács in 1526; much of central Hungary was lost to Ottoman control while the Hapsburgs fought to retain the western and northern fronts known as “Royal Hungary” or “The Kingdom of Hungary”. Eastern Hungary was considerably governed by Transylvania and of little significance. As the Hungarian soldiers became increasingly bitter from the constant clanking of swords against the Ottoman army and their war-hardened muscles grew sore; a new class joined the ranks to fight alongside the men: women. Hungarian wives, daughters and sisters not only walked the battlefields; but changed the course of 16^th-century Hungarian history.

The Siege of Eger

The city of Eger was founded in the 10^th-century edging the Bükk Mountains in northern Hungary alongside the Eger stream. Eger exploded to be the “Hungarian Bloodline” and of major cultural importance that was the envy of Europe. As the summer of 1552 drew to a close and autumn began to announce itself; the Ottoman Turks were eager to overtake Eger which would allow them passage through the city of Kassa (in present-day Slovakia) and into Vienna. Eger was the focal point of the defense and strategically necessary if the Ottoman Empire was to gain traction.

As the air grew cooler in September 1552; the Ottoman army began to move forward with plans to attack the Eger castle. Forces were led by the well-seasoned military officer Kara Ahmed Pasha (the future Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire) and included 40,000-60,000 troops (reports vary); along with artillery and camels all moving in tandem to lay siege to the imposing castle. The Hungarian Baron István Dobó, with his tactic specialist Gergely Bornemissza, caught whisper of the Ottoman advance and recruited 2,200 soldiers to defend the castle and the city he knew could cost the downfall of Hungary, if lost. Dobó’s men were greatly outnumbered 200 to 1, but because the Ottoman army was becoming increasingly weakened from internal disputes; the Hungarians had an improved chance at a favorable outcome.

Kara Ahmed Pasha and the Ottoman army landed at Eger Castle convinced of their imminent quick defeat of the Hungarian army. They scoffed at the stone walls and laughed at the undersized Hungarian defense. The early September days were filled with camp officials prepping bows and arrows, mace, carbines, rifles and trenching tools; as the leaves began to turn golden with the change of the seasons. Unbeknownst to Kara Ahmed Pasha; Hungarian tactic specialist Gergely Bornemissza possessed a secret weapon that would prove to be even deadlier: women.

Hungarian women came from fighting stock and although perhaps possessing a feeble body; they had the defiant hearts of men. Women joined the male-dominated army at Eger Castle and were determined to show the courage of their counterparts. The siege began and each day the grunts of men filled the air while the sun glinted off weapons. Men on both sides met their deaths as bloodied horses ran in fear not knowing what to do next without their master’s command. It was the women who took control as fire rained down on those partaking in battle. The female warriors poured oil, lead, softened lard, soup and even feces into large containers; ignited the contents and threw it over the castle walls at Kara Ahmed Pasha’s men. As the opposing armies fought for the future of Hungary; it was the women’s reign of terror that disabled the Ottoman army from penetrating the castle’s stone walls.

Kara Ahmed Pasha’s army fought with vigor for 39 long days into October but was slowly being defeated by the Hungarian women who refused to stay hearthside. The female warriors accosted the Ottoman soldiers and lacerated them with swords. One woman’s husband met his death from a rock flung by the Ottomans. Savagely, she killed two Ottoman Turks with the same bloodied rock before stabbing others with her deceased husband’s sword. Another Hungarian wife refused to mourn her own soldier-husband’s death and instead killed three Turkish soldiers fueled by revenge.

The Ottoman army was humiliated and withdrew on October 18, 1552 convinced that Hungarian women gained their strength from drinking the red wine produced in the region gossiped to be mixed with bull’s blood (Egri Bikaver, or “Bull’s Blood Wine”, is still made in Eger and exported worldwide). The Hungarian men praised their women for the debt of saving Eger Castle and in turn preventing the Ottoman advance. Hungarian artists commemorated the women’s victory creating murals showing the women of Eger holding swords, wearing tabards and wounding the Ottoman army.  Poems circulated eulogizing their bravery. One can still visit Eger Castle today in the area aptly known as the, “Valley of Beautiful Women”.

The Siege of Szigetvár

The Siege of Eger wasn’t the only time Hungarian women took part in battle.  In  August 1556, Suleiman the Magnificent initiated a siege on Szigetvár castle located in southern Hungary which would prove to be his last; dying within Hungary’s borders at the age of 71 in his 46^th year of reign. The Ottoman Turks advanced toward Szietvár castle – which literally translates to “Island Castle” – with an army 300,000 strong (although this is logistically improbable); despite the Sultan’s death.

2,300 Hungarian soldiers took to arms but refused to have their wives and daughters be inevitably dishonored by the invading army and instead attempted to murder them in a preemptive measure. A newly-married Hungarian woman pleaded tearfully with her husband to fight in the battle, “If I don’t fight, kill me and don’t call me your wife, either”. Her husband bestowed her with armor, weapons and a horse which enabled her to kill several Turks before dying a valiant death alongside her husband. Other women wore men’s clothing confusing the enemy who realized in horror that their last breath was by a woman’s hand. Although the Ottoman Army defeated the Hungarians; the Siege of Szietvár is known as the bloodiest siege in Hungarian and Turkish history again showing the formidable power of women.

Cecília Rozgony and the Siege of Galambóc

These 16^th century female Hungarian warriors claimed their motivation by the legend of Cecília Rozgony (1398-1436). In May 1428, the Ottoman Army invaded Galambóc fortress on the south side of the Danube River hoping to confiscate it from King Sigismund. The Hungarians rallied in battle with 25,000 men, 600 archers and 200 Italian weapons. As the armies stabbed, slashed and beheaded; Cecília took to the field with her military captain-in-chief husband. King Sigismund’s life was at stake when he was attacked and nearly captured by the Ottoman Turks. Cecília didn’t hesitate and commandeered her own ship, whisked King Sigismund on board and steered the ship to safety as he sequestered under deck. Cecília single-handedly saved the life of the King that would have been lost without her intervention.

The women fighting during the Siege of Eger and the Siege of Szigetvár in the 16^th-century were inspired by the female heroines of their bloodlines encapsulating the drive, authority and boldness of the Hungarian female spirit. These women refused to be idle and instead fought with the same fearless determination as their husbands altering the course of Hungarian history and showing their worth on the battlefields.

Sources

Books

Bovill, W. B. Forster. (1908). Hungary and the Hungarians. London: Methuen & Co.

Esterházy, Péter (1999). The Glance of Countess Hahn-Hahn (Down the Danube). Northwestern University Press

Lendavi, Paul. (2004). The Hungarians: A Thousand Years in Defeat. Princeton University Press

Miklós, Molnár (1996). A Concise History of Hungary. Cambridge University Press

Pálffy, Géza. (2021). Hungary Between Two Empires 1526–1711. Indiana University Press

Vámbéry, Ármin (2015). The Story of Hungary. Gutenberg E-Book  #50038 <https://www.gutenberg.org/files/50038/50038-h/50038-h.htm>

Websites

Boldizsár, Iván (1965). Iván Boldizsár Explains the Historical Background to Székely’s ‘Women of Eger’. Hungarian National Gallery. Accessed 2022. < https://www.19thcenturyart-facos.com/artwork/women-eger>

Dzhak, Yulia (2016). The Battle That Saved The Civilization – Szigetvár, 1566. War History Online. Accessed 2022. < https://www.warhistoryonline.com/ancient-history/battle-saved-civilization-szigetvar-1566.html?firefox=1>

Freedman, Dr. Paul (2020). The Evolution of Servile Peasants in Medieval Hungary and Catalonia Brewinmate. Accessed 2022. >https://brewminate.com/the-evolution-of-servile-peasants-in-medieval-hungary-and-catalonia/>

Guttman, Jon (2021). The Siege of Szigetvár, 1566: The Ottoman Empire’s Pyrrhic Victory in Hungary.History Net. Accessed 2022.< https://www.historynet.com/szigetvar-hungary/>

Papp, Julia (2016). Female Body—Male body: The Valiant Hungarian Women of Eger and Szigetvár from the 16th Century in Historiography, Literature, and Art. Cogent Arts and Humanities. Accessed 2022. < https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23311983.2016.1147403>

Wandering Carol (2013). Eger, Hungary, and the Valley of Beautiful Women. Seeking Elsewhere Magazine. Accessed 2022. <https://wanderingcarol.com/hungary-eger-and-the-valley-of-the-beautiful-women/>

Golubac Fortress. Military History Fandom. Accessed 2022. <https://military-history.fandom.com/wiki/Golubac_Fortress>

History of Hungary: The Turkish Era. Cleveland State University. Accessed 2022. <https://pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu/hungarian-americans-and-their-communities-of-cleveland/chapter/the-turkish-era/>

History of the Castle of Eger. City of Eger. Accessed 2022. <https://visiteger.com/en/useful/history/history-of-the-castle-of-eger>

On This Day, in 1552: István Dobó Repelled the Ottoman Forces at the Siege of Eger (2021).Kafkadesk Kraków. Accessed 2022. https://kafkadesk.org/2021/10/18/on-this-day-in-1552-istvan-dobo-repelled-the-ottoman-forces-at-the-siege-of-eger/

Siege Mentatlity: The Hungarian Will to Resist & A Turkish Eclipse at Eger. (2015). Europe Between East and West. Acessed 2022. <https://europebetweeneastandwest.wordpress.com/2015/04/02/siege-mentality-the-hungarian-will-to-resist-a-turkish-eclipse-at-eger/>

Videos

Kings and Generals. (2020). Ottoman Wars – Siege of Buda 1541 and Eger 1552 Documentary. Accessed 2022. <https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5ic_zqSkwsI>