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 Giorgio Basta, Count of Huszt, Gjergj Basta or Gheorghe Basta (1550 – 1607) was an Italian general, diplomat, and writer of Arbëreshë origin, employed by the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II to command Habsburg forces in the Long War of 1591– ...

, 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 Ap ...

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 vo ...

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 sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

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 Hous ...

during a visit in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

between 23 February and 5 March 1601. The visit was granted when the emperor heard that General

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 Nicolae Pătrașcu, Petrașco, or Petrașcu, also styled Nicolae Vo(i)evod ( Church Slavonic and Romanian Cyrillic: or ; ca. 1580 – late 1627), was the titular Prince of Wallachia, an only son of Michael the Brave and Lady Stanca, and a putativ ...

, drove out

Simion Movilă Simion Movilă (after 1559 14 September 1607), a boyar of the Movileşti family, was twice Prince of Wallachia (November 1600 – June 1601; October 1601 – July 1602) and Prince of Moldavia from July 1606 until his death. Family He was the gra ...

from

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

and prepared to re-enter Transylvania.

Battle

The battle was carried out by two armies, those of

(Wallachians and Cossacks) together with

, 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
/ref>

Gallery

File: Guraslau-1601.jpg, File: Guraslau1601.jpg,

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...

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 (1603): Different flags captured in 1601 by

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