rod MEN-AT-ARMS SERIES HUNGARY AND THE FALL OF EASTERN EUROPE 1000-1568 y | wc . ij DAVID NICOLLE ANGUS McBRIDEPublished in 1988 by Osprey Publishing Ltd 59 Grosvenor Street, Lond © Copyright 1988 Osprey Publishi Reprinted 1988, 1989, 1991 All rights reserved. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Designs and Patents Act, 1988, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, electrical, chemical, mechanical, optical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner, Enquiries should be addressed to the Publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Nicolle, David Hungary and the fall of Eastern Europe 1000-1568.—(Men-at-arms series; 195). 1, Hungary—Armed Forces—History 2. Hungary—History, Military 3. Hungary—History—1000-1568 1. Title II. Series 355'.009439 UA829.H ISBN 0-85045+ Filmset in Great Britain Printed through Bookbuilders Ltd, Hong Kon; Dedication For Geza Fehervari, who set me on this road. Artist’s Note Readers may care to note that the original paintings from which the colour plates in this book were prepared are available for private sale. All reproduction copyright whatsoever is retained by the publisher. All enquiries should be addressed to: Scorpio Gallery P.O. Box 475, Hailsham, E. Sussex BN27 2SL. ‘The publishers regret that they can enter into no correspondence upon this matter.Hungary and the fall of Eastern Europe 1000-1568 Introduction The medieval history of south-eastern Europe is not widely studied in the West. The area is too often seen simply as a region crossed by Crusaders on their way to the Holy Land, periodically invaded by Asiatic hordes, and then suddenly collapsing before the Ottoman Turks. Yet a glance at an historical atlas shows the presence of a vast realm which endured throughout the Middle Ages—the Kingdom of Hungary, covering a territory as large as, and occasionally greater than, France. Thi there was the even more extensive and enduring Byzantine Empire. Byzantine history, better known perhaps than that of Hungary and the lesser Balkan states, is often over-simplified. From disastrous defeat at the hands of the Seljuk Turks at Manzikert in 1071 to the fall of Constantinople in 1453 is almost four centuries, during which time an increasingly Greek Byzantium recovered; was then virtually obliterated by fellow Christians in the Fourth Crusade; and recovered once again, to remain a major regional power until finally being destroyed by the Serbs and Ottoman Turks. The Serbians, who are today the dominant nationality in Yugoslavia, won themselves a brief but extensive local empire in the 14th century; while the Bulgarians, though never repeating the glories of their First Empire (7th-1oth centuries), established an effective and cultured state. Other players on this confusing Balkan scene included the Albanians; the Wallachians, Moldavians and Transylvanians, who today form the Romanian nation; the Groatians and other members of the modern Yugoslav federation; plus various nomad peoples. from the Eurasian steppes—not to mention assorted western Europeans from Italy, Spain and else- where, all of whom faced the Ottoman Turks at one time or another. How did they organise their armies and fight their wars; and why did they ultimately fail? Hungarian bronze aguamanile, 12th C. This superb wine dispenser is in the form of huntsman carrying a kite-sha} shield, riding with long stirrups, and probably wearing a full mail hauberk. The shape of his helmet suggests a dis riveted Magyar form, while the animal behind his saddle clear reference to Islamic Iranian art (see MAA 125 The Armies of Islam p.a8). Whether such trained hunting cats were ever ‘used in Hungary is doubtful. (Nat. Mus., Budapest) Chronology x000 Accession of King Stephan; Hungary officially becomes Christian. ror8 Fall of First Bulgarian Empire. 1071 Battle of Manzikert: defeat of Byzan- tium followed by loss of Anatolia.