Timeline August 1526

Events in August 1526 2

• 1526 Battle of Mohács -- Hungary destroyed The Battle of Mohács (29 August 1526) is one of the most decisive battles in European history. Suleiman's army of 100,000 destroys the Hungarian royal army of perhaps 25,000 in approximately two hours. King Louis II of Hungary drowns fleeing the battlefield. Hungary -- a major European kingdom -- ceases to exist as an independent state for 167 years. The battle opens central Europe to Ottoman expansion: Suleiman captures Buda (1526, 1541) and divides Hungary into three: Ottoman Hungary, Transylvania (a vassal state) and Royal Hungary (under the Habsburgs). The Ottoman-Habsburg rivalry that dominates European politics for the next 150 years begins here.
• 1526 Mohács -- Hungary destroyed in two hours The Battle of Mohács (29 August 1526) takes approximately two hours and ends Hungary's existence as an independent state for 167 years. King Louis II of Hungary commands perhaps 25,000 troops against Suleiman's 100,000. The Hungarian cavalry charges the Ottoman artillery prematurely; the Janissaries hold the fire until the charge is at point-blank range. The Hungarian army is annihilated; Louis II drowns in a stream fleeing the battlefield. Suleiman enters Buda unopposed. He reportedly weeps over Louis's body when it is found: 'I came indeed in arms against him; but it was not my wish that he should be thus cut off while he had scarcely tasted the sweets of life and royalty.'