Count Ádám Forgách de Ghymes et Gács ( sk, Adam Forgáč; 1601 – 10 June 1681) was a Hungarian soldier and
magnate
The magnate term, from the late Latin ''magnas'', a great man, itself from Latin ''magnus'', "great", means a man from the higher nobility, a man who belongs to the high office-holders, or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or ot ...
in the
Kingdom of Hungary, who served as
Judge Royal from 13 October 1670 until his death. He was the eldest son of
Baron Zsigmond Forgách,
Palatine of Hungary.
Life
In May 1643, he became the captain of the
Nové Zámky fortress.
In August 1652, he organized the defense against the marauding Turkish troops, which he faced on 26 August 1652 near Veľké Vozokany. He defeated the Turkish troops in the two-day
Battle of Vezekény.
After the outbreak of the
Austro-Turkish War (1663–1664), he allowed himself to be outwitted by the Turks and, without a sufficient survey of the situation, launched an attack against allegedly weakened Turkish troops near
Štúrovo. In reality, however, the Turks had prepared a trap for his troops, and in the
Battle of Köbölkút on August 6, 1663, only less than 400 of his 5,500 soldiers were saved. Forgáč himself escaped.
An Ottoman force of about 50,000 men advanced on
Nové Zámky and demanded his surrender, which he refused. The city was shelled by Ottoman artillery. On September 22, 1663, an accident occurred in which a storehouse of gunpowder exploded in a bastion. Further defense of the city was impossible. After
a month and a half long siege, he was forced to surrender to the troops of Grand Vizier
Ahmed Köprülü
Ahmad ( ar, أحمد, ʾAḥmad) is an Arabic male given name common in most parts of the Muslim world. Other spellings of the name include Ahmed and Ahmet.
Etymology
The word derives from the root (ḥ-m-d), from the Arabic (), from the ve ...
. The loss of Nové Zámky resulted in the loss of other towns from
Levice to
Nitra. Western Slovakia was subjected to Ottoman looting. Ottoman forces penetrated as far as Moravia.
He was court-martialled for his military failures, but was eventually acquitted. From 1670 until his death, he was a
Judge Royal.
References
Sources
*Markó, László: A magyar állam főméltóságai Szent Istvántól napjainkig - Életrajzi Lexikon ''p. 280.'' ''(The High Officers of the Hungarian State from Saint Stephen to the Present Days - A Biographical Encyclopedia)'' (2nd edition); Helikon Kiadó Kft., 2006, Budapest; .
*Szabó de Bártfa, László: A Hunt-Pázmán nemzetségbeli Forgách család története ''History of the Forgách family from the kindred of
Hont-Pázmány''; 1910, Esztergom.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Forgach, Adam
1601 births
1681 deaths
Counts of Hungary
Hungarian soldiers
Hungarian Roman Catholics
Counter-Reformation
Adam Forgach
Judges royal