User:OrionNimrod/Battle of the Iron Gates

Battle of the Iron Gate
Part of the Ottoman-Hungarian Wars Ottoman wars in Europe
The battle of John Hunyadi at the Iron Gate (Chronica Hungarorum, 1488)
Date July 1442 Location Iron Gate Gorge, Zajkány, Kingdom of Hungary (today's Zeicani, Romania) Result Hungarian victory
Belligerents
Kingdom of Hungary	Ottoman Empire
Commanders and leaders
John Hunyadi Nicholas Újlaki	Hadım Şehabeddin †
Strength
15,000	80,000
Casualties and losses
Light	Heavy casualties, about half the army

The Battle of the Iron Gate (Hungarian: A vaskapui diadal or zajkányi csata), was fought between the army of the Kingdom of Hungary and the Ottoman Empire in July 1442. John Hunyadi and his 15,000 men defeated the 80,000-strong army of Beylerbey Şehabeddin in the Iron Gate Gorge at Zajkány (today's Zeicani) in Hunyad county in the Kingdom of Hungary.

In the year of 1442, John Hunyadi won four victories against the Ottomans, two of which were decisive. This reversed the dominance of the war party at the Ottoman court in Edirne, particularly when its most ardent supporter, Şehabeddin Pasha himself was defeated.

After the battle, the name of Hunyadi became famous and generally respected in the Christian world and became feared by the entire Ottoman Empire. The victory of John Hunyadi against Şehabeddin and a large Ottoman army is his greatest battlefield victory, and his second greatest military accomplishment after the defense battle at the Siege of Belgrade in 1456.

Background

John Hunyadi, General of the armies of the Kingdom of Hungary, Voivode of Transylvania and the Count of the Székelys

John Hunyadi defeated Mezid Bey and the raiding Ottoman army at the Battle of Szeben in the south part of the Kingdom of Hungary in Transylvania in March 1442. Hunyadi chased the Ottomans beyond the Hungarian borders and the Hungarian army penetrated Wallachia at the Red Tower Pass, Hunyadi forced Voivode Vlad II Dracul to became again a Hungarian vassal. Later continuing his campaign, Hunyadi also forced the Moldavian voivodes Ilie and Stephen II, who until that time had recognized the authority of the Polish king, to renew their loyalty to the Hungarian king.

Apart from the glorious battles led by Voivode John, bad luck accompanied the Turks everywhere, whenever one of their troops sneaked into the country through some hidden route to get booty as usual. Because Voivode John's knights, whom he ordered to protect the country, always put them to flight. Thus, all roads were closed to them to attack the land of Hungary: their spears could not even flash in the sunlight within the borders of the country.

— Johannes Thuróczy: Chronica Hungarorum

The defeat of Mezid Bey in Transylvania and the surrender of the Wallachian and Moldavian voivodes incited Sultan Murad II for revenge, he decided a general, large-scale retaliatory campaign against the Kingdom of Hungary for the following year, which he personally intended to lead. In order to immediately avenge the defection of the Wallachian voivod and the defeat of Mezid Bey, the Sultan entrusted one of his famous lieutenant, Beylerbey Şehabeddin of Rumelia, who offered himself voluntarily for this task with great confidence, to punish Wallachia and Transylvania, telling him "not to dare to return before the conquest of the two territory".

Murad, the emperor of the Turks was deep in thought, often recalling the many defeats of his people and the large-scale destruction of his people, as well as the fact that the territories of Moldavia and Wallachia and their rulers were broke away from him. He was very indignant on this and determined to take revenge on those who had offended him. Therefore, he gathered eighty thousand warriors from the selected military of his country, the most noble in martial virtues. He made the pasha their leader, who was second only to him in managing the country's military affairs. He ordered him to rush Wallachia as soon as possible and ravage it, since their voivode had separated from him. He should then lead his troops from here to the Transylvanian parts of Hungary and impose the harshest possible punishment with fire and sword, and take the most merciless revenge for all the insults committed by Voivode John.

— Johannes Thuróczy: Chronica Hungarorum

Prelude

Gravestone of Nicholas Újlaki depicting his armor in the Church of Saint John of Capistrano in Ilok, Croatia

The number of the Ottoman army was 80,000 people unanimously according to the writers. As Beylerbey of Rumelia (Provincial Governor of Rumelia) and Ottoman vezir, Şehabeddin was able to command significantly more military resources than Mezid Bey. Aside from the akinji, comprising about 15,000 cavalrymen, he gathered a total of 16 sanjak beys (governors), representing just over half of the provincial Ottoman cavalry force. He also brought along between 2,000 and 4,000 janissaries. The janissaries with the provincial cavalry were intended to defend his camp to avoid him from a similar fate that of Mezid Bey. According to Jean de Wavrin, they dug a fortified position every night around the Şehabeddin's camp, complete with stakes, trenches and a ring of camels, that is why Hunyadi did not to attack the pasha’s camp. Şehabeddin with the Rumelian army, to which the selected soldiers of 6 Anatolian districts were joined too, crossed the Danube at Nikopol in June 1442 and then with his army divided into two groups, he caused enormous destruction in Wallachia.

An Ottoman envoy was headed to the Hungarian royal court, while Şehabeddin penetrated Wallachia. Upon arriving in Buda, the envoy engaged in discussions regarding the possibility of a treaty with the Hungarian king, he mentioned that the Ottomans had gathered a grand army and were advancing, fully prepared to avenge Mezid Bey's earlier defeat. In Wallachia, Şehabeddin's purpose was to punish their disloyalty, secure their continued allegiance to the Ottomans, and make an impressive show of force that would turn negotiations with the Hungarians in Buda in their favor.

Şehabeddin led his troops into Târgoviște and the Wallachian capital was seized and burned. He sent raiders to plunder Wallachia. Not considering resistance advisable, Vlad II Dracul, the Wallachian voivode retreated to the mountains with his troops, and the majority of the Wallachian population also fled there. The Vlachs had ensured that the Ottomans would not discover any food in their land, fully aware that the Turks would never attack them in the mountains. They waited in the hills while the Ottomans ravaged and plundered the countryside. After the destruction of Wallachia, Şehabeddin gathered his army and prepared to march into Transylvania, bragging and boasting that "it would be enough to show his turban, then the cowardly enemy would run away from him at a distance of several days". Şehabeddin was overconfident just as Mezid Bey.

Meanwhile, Hunyadi had been informed of the coming assault and already made preparations. When John Hunyadi who was the Voivode of Transylvania and the Count of the Székelys learned the appearance of the Ottoman army in Wallachia, he immediately carried the bloody sword around in Transylvania, calling the gathering of the Székely and Hungarian armies around Szeben. This was the ancient Hungarian custom when the Hungarian king called to war, the bloody sword was carried across the realm. The gathered army of Hunyadi consisted about 15,000 experienced troops together with the units of Nicholas Újlaki who also was the Transylvanian joint voivode of Hunyadi.

In the next month in July, Şehabeddin did not go into Transylvania towards Szeben (today's Sibiu) or Brasov (today's Brașov) through the southern Transylvanian border mountains, because the Vlach soldiers retreated to these mountains and it was also easier for the large number of Turkish army to march through the Banate of Szörény into Hungarian territory towards Orsova and Karánsebes (today's Orșova and Caransebeș) in order to intrude through the Iron Gate Gorge into Transylvania. Hunyadi learned by his spies that the Ottoman army did not go towards Szeben but towards Orsova, he decided to stop the penetrating Ottomans into the Kingdom of Hungary at the Iron Gate, which was a mountain pass between Transylvania and Banat (Temesköz in Hungarian) in Hunyad county. When Şehabeddin's army arrived in the south regions of Hungary at Karánsebes, he launched raiding detachments in the direction of Temesvár (today's Timișoara), Lugos (today's Lugoj) and the Iron Gate and they immediately began to devastate the countryside. The main Ottoman army advanced towards the Iron Gate, the army of Hunyadi followed them unnoticed along the surrounding mountains. Part of the Hungarian army suddenly descended from the mountains to stand in the way of the enemy at front of the Iron Gate. This surprised Şehabeddin and he made his entrenched camp in front of the narrow entrance to the Iron Gate Gorge instead of continuing his advance. Hunyadi also established his camp, both sides considered that setting their armies in battle order and preparing them adequately is necessary before the decisive clash.

Antonio Bonfini was commissioned to write the history of the Hungarians by King Matthias of Hungary in 1488, he used witnesses to describe the battle. According to Bonfini, Hunyadi mainly relied on his heavy cavalry, he divided them proportionally between the two wings and the middle-ward of the army. He placed the light cavalry in front and the side of the wings. He set slinger horsemen behind the wings, he placed his heavy infantry in the middle between the slingers, and spearmen and archers stood up as a reserve behind the heavy infantry. The war wagons with light infantry were placed in a long line slightly behind on both side of the army at the foot of the mountains. Earlier, Hunyadi studied the Hussites' tactics, he applied its featuring elements, including the use of wagons as a mobile fortress. On the Ottoman side, the heavy cavalry stood in the center in two, or even more battle lines, and the janissaries stood on both sides of them, while the light cavalry sipahis were placed to the two wings.

The battle

Hunyadi opened the battle with the advance of the middle-ward of his army as a wedge battle formation in order to break the Ottoman line, but the heavy Ottoman cavalry, supported by the janissaries, successfully held the first attack of the Hungarian army. Şehabeddin ordered his janissaries to attack the center army of Hunyadi forming a semi-circle against the advancing wedge formation of the Hungarians in order to break and cut away them from the flanks. He also ordered the sipahis to make a hard attack, and they pushed back the Hungarian light cavalry on the wings. Hunyadi recognized the danger and he pulled back his center army group towards the narrowing mouth of the valley, where his weakened wings received sufficient protection on the steep valley sides, there he reorganized the battle order of his army. The Ottomans already considered themselves victorious and rushed after the Hungarians.

The Hungarian heavy cavalary in middle-ward of Hunyadi's army hold the line in the valley, meantime the war wagons suddenly appeared along valley edges and supported the light infantry who ambushed the Ottomans on the wings from the mountains. This sudden unexpected counter-attack confused the Ottoman army and Şehabeddin, who had no time and place to sufficiently unfold his army which was crowded in the narrow valley. In these circumstances, Hunyadi ordered his heavy cavalry on the center to attack again, which lead the Ottoman army into a catastrophic situation because it was surrounded on three sides. The Ottoman units at the front seeking shelter from the sabers of the Hungarian heavy cavalry pushed back those who are behind. This also caused the disintegration of the further back Ottoman battle lines, and the crowded Ottoman units behind did not know what happen at the front. At the same time, the Hungarian light cavalry also attacked on both sides of the Ottomans together with the war wagons. The war wagon usage deeply impressed the Ottomans which was unusual and novelty for them. The Ottoman troops became confused by this pressure and they started to flee, however they did not find shelter. The heavy cavalry of Hunyadi constantly pushed the Ottoman units at the front cutting down this pressed human mass in a narrow space, who also crushed each other. The Hungarian light infantry and the war wagons slaughtered the Ottomans on the two wings and finally the light Hungarian cavalry chased the fleeing Turks. Therefore almost half of the Ottoman army perished on the battlefield, and only the other half was able to cross the Danube river again to reach the Ottoman territory. Some Ottoman sources state all 16 sanjak beys were killed, equalling the loss of around half of the sanjak beys in the Ottoman empire. The Hungarians took 5,000 prisoners and 200 flags.

Aftermath

The Turkish raiding detachments around Temesvár could no longer join the defeated main Ottoman army. They were partly slaughtered and routed, partly captured, and their booty and prisoners were seized.

Numerous camels were retrieved by Hunyadi’s men at the defeat of Şehabeddin ın 1442.

Three days after the battle, John Hunyadi and the Hungarian army marched into Wallachia, where Hunyadi chased out Voivode Vlad II Dracul t, who was suspected of helping the advance of the Ottomans, and replaced him with Dan, who killed all of relatives of Vlad.

Hunyadi gained a huge booty. He put lots of treasures and weapons on a wagon that ten horses could hardly pull and sent it to King Vladislaus I of Hungary to Buda.

The name of the Hungarians and especially Hunyadi was feared by the entire Ottoman Empire, and became famous and generally respected in the Christian world.

The plunder seized was enormous. In his haste to retreat Şehabeddin had left the majority of his camp possessions, to include “5,000 camels and innumerable horses.”

Hunyadi ’s defeat against Şehabeddin and a large portion of the Ottoman army constituted this talented general’s greatest battlefield victory, second only to the 1456 defense of Belgrade in terms of his greatest military accomplishment.

According to a Hungarian royal charter from 1453, "the ancient glory and reputation of the Hungarian nation have been restored" by this battle.

Memorial

Memorial of John Hunyadi in Zajkány (today's Zeicani)

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In the year of 1442, John Hunyadi won four victories against the Ottomans, two of which were decisive. In March 1442, Hunyadi defeated Mezid Bey and the raiding Ottoman army at the Battle of Szeben in the south part of the Kingdom of Hungary in Transylvania. In September 1442, Hunyadi defeated a large Ottoman army of Beylerbey Şehabeddin, the Provincial Governor of Rumelia. This was the first time that a European army defeated such a large Ottoman force, composed not only of raiders, but of the provincial cavalry led by their own sanjak beys (governors) and accompanied by the formidable janissaries. These victories made Hunyadi a prominent enemy of the Ottomans and a renowned figure throughout Christendom and were prime motivators for him to undertake along with King Władysław the famous expedition known as the "Long Campaign" in 1443, with the Battle of Niš being the first major clash of this expedition. Hunyadi was accompanied by Giuliano Cesarini during the campaign.

Sources

• Jefferson, John (2012). The Holy Wars of King Wladislas and Sultan Murad: The Ottoman-Christian Conflict from 1438–1444. Leiden: Brill Publishers. ISBN 978-90-04-21904-5.
• Mureșanu, Camil (2021). John Hunyadi Defender of Christendom. Las Vegas: The Center for Romanian Studies, Histria Books. ISBN 978-1-59211-012-4.
• Pálosfalvi, Tamás (2018). From Nicopolis to Mohács: A History of Ottoman-Hungarian Warfare, 1389–1526. The Ottoman Empire and Its Heritage: Politics, Society and Economy 63. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-37565-9.
• Turnbull, Stephen (2003). The Ottoman Empire 1326–1699. Essential Histories. New York, London: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 9781841765693.