The Battle of Guruslău or Battle of Goroszló ( hu, goroszlói csata) was fought on 3 August 1601, between the troops of the Habsburg monarchy led by Giorgio Basta, the Cossacks and

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and s ...

led by

Michael the Brave Michael the Brave ( ro, Mihai Viteazul or ; 1558 – 9 August 1601), born as Mihai Pătrașcu, was the Prince of Wallachia (as Michael II, 1593 – 1601), Prince of Moldavia (1600) and ''de facto'' ruler of Transylvania (1599 – 1600). ...

on one side, and the

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the ...

n troops led by

Sigismund Báthory Sigismund Báthory ( hu, Báthory Zsigmond; 1573 – 27 March 1613) was Prince of Transylvania several times between 1586 and 1602, and Duke of Racibórz and Opole in Silesia in 1598. His father, Christopher Báthory, ruled Transylvania as v ...

on the other side. It was part of a series of military encounters between the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

and opposing European states during 1591–1606 (see also The Long War).

Background

Michael asked for assistance from

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother ( e ...

Rudolf II Rudolf II (18 July 1552 – 20 January 1612) was Holy Roman Emperor (1576–1612), King of Hungary and Croatia (as Rudolf I, 1572–1608), King of Bohemia (1575–1608/1611) and Archduke of Austria (1576–1608). He was a member of the Hou ...

during a visit in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

between 23 February and 5 March 1601. The visit was granted when the emperor heard that General Giorgio Basta had lost control of

to the Transylvanian Hungarian nobility led by

, who accepted Ottoman protection. Meanwhile,

n forces loyal to Michael and led by his son, Nicolae Pătrașcu, drove out Simion Movilă from

Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centra ...

and prepared to re-enter Transylvania.

Battle

The battle was carried out by two armies, those of

(Wallachians and Cossacks) together with Giorgio Basta, on one side and those of

on the other side. The battle happened between 9am and 7pm on 3 August 1601. The Battle of Guruslău took place in the plain of the river Guruslău, a small right tributary of the

Zalău Zalău (, unofficial and former official name: ro, Zălau (; german: Zillenmarkt or , hu, Zilah, tr, Zile) is the seat of Sălaj County, Romania. In 2011, its estimated population was 56,202. History Ancient times Zalău is situated in the ...

Legacy

monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, hist ...

was built to commemorate the victory of Michael the Brave.Guruslau, Monument Mihai Viteazul
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Gallery

File: Guraslau-1601.jpg, File: Guraslau1601.jpg, Michael and Basta defeating the Hungarian nobility of Transylvania Image:Hans von Aachen - Allegory of the Turkish war- Battle of Kronstadt (Braşov).jpg,

Battle of Braşov A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

(1603): Different flags captured in 1601 by Michael and Basta

External links

The representation of Guruslau battle: 3 August 1601

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goroszlo 1601 1601 in Europe Battles involving Austria Battles involving Wallachia Battles involving Transylvania Military history of Romania Conflicts in 1601 Battles of the Middle Ages Principality of Transylvania (1570–1711) Battles of the Long Turkish War History of Sălaj County