The Battle of Szina or Seňa took place near Szina in the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...

(present-day Seňa, in

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

). The battle was fought on 20 March 1528 between two rival kings of Hungary

John Zápolya John Zápolya or Szapolyai ( hu, Szapolyai/ Zápolya János, hr, Ivan Zapolja, ro, Ioan Zápolya, sk, Ján Zápoľský; 1490/91 – 22 July 1540), was King of Hungary (as John I) from 1526 to 1540. His rule was disputed by Archduke Fer ...

and Ferdinand I. The latter's forces under command of

Bálint Török Bálint Török de Enying (25 September 1502 in Szigetvár – 1551 in Istanbul) was a Hungarian aristocrat, Ban of Nándorfehérvár (Belgrade), and between 1527–1542 the Lord of Csesznek Csesznek (; german: Zeßnegg, hr, Česneg, sk, Če ...

and

Johann Katzianer Johann Katzianer ( sl, Ivan Kacijanar), or Hans Katzianer, Freiherr zu Katzenstein und Fledingen (1491, Begunje (german: Vigaun) – 27 October 1539, Hrvatska Kostajnica) was a Carniolan aristocrat and an Imperial Army commander. History He i ...

, a Styrian mercenary commander defeated John's army; the battle was the second military defeat for John Zápolya during the civil war.

Preparations

After the

Battle of Mohács The Battle of Mohács (; hu, mohácsi csata, tr, Mohaç Muharebesi or Mohaç Savaşı) was fought on 29 August 1526 near Mohács, Kingdom of Hungary, between the forces of the Kingdom of Hungary and its allies, led by Louis II, and thos ...

, where King

Louis II of Hungary Louis II ( cs, Ludvík, hr, Ludovik , hu, Lajos, sk, Ľudovít; 1 July 1506 – 29 August 1526) was King of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia from 1516 to 1526. He was killed during the Battle of Mohács fighting the Ottomans, whose victory led to t ...

was killed, John Zápolya,

Voivode of Transylvania The Voivode of Transylvania (german: Vojwode von Siebenbürgen;Fallenbüchl 1988, p. 77. hu, erdélyi vajda;Zsoldos 2011, p. 36. la, voivoda Transsylvaniae; ro, voievodul Transilvaniei) was the highest-ranking official in Transylvania wit ...

, ascended to the Hungarian throne. However, Archduke Ferdinand of Austria also claimed the throne through the

House of Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

intermarriages with Louis II's

Jagiellon dynasty The Jagiellonian dynasty (, pl, dynastia jagiellońska), otherwise the Jagiellon dynasty ( pl, dynastia Jagiellonów), the House of Jagiellon ( pl, Dom Jagiellonów), or simply the Jagiellons ( pl, Jagiellonowie), was the name assumed by a cad ...

. In 1527, Ferdinand invaded Hungary and defeated John in the

Battle of Tarcal The Battle of Tarcal or Battle of Tokaj ( hu, Tarcali csata) was a battle fought on 27 September 1527 near Tokaj between the Habsburg-German-Hungarian forces of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria and an opposing Hungarian army under the command of J ...

(near

Tokaj Tokaj () is a historical town in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county, Northern Hungary, 54 kilometers from county capital Miskolc. It is the centre of the Tokaj-Hegyalja wine district where Tokaji wine is produced. History The wine-growing area w ...

). Zápolya recruited a new army, and in 1528 advanced into Hungary with approximately 15,000 men, including Transylvanian, Polish, and Serbian troops, but few Hungarians. Carniolan Johann Katzianer and Bálint Török marched against Zápolya with an army recruited from Hungary,

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, and the German states of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...

, numbering approximately 13,000–14,000 men. They met Zápolya's army near Kassa (modern Košice, Slovakia).

The battle

The presence of Török and Katzianer near Kassa prevented Zápolya's army from marching on the capital city Buda. In the meantime, discord broke out in Zápolya's army between the Serbian and Polish mercenaries. Zápolya's cavalry and infantry was less skilled than the German infantry (the

landsknecht The (singular: , ), also rendered as Landsknechts or Lansquenets, were Germanic mercenaries used in pike and shot formations during the early modern period. Consisting predominantly of pikemen and supporting foot soldiers, their front lin ...

s), but the Polish mercenaries fought gallantly against the Austrians. In Zápolya's army, 300 Polish soldiers and a few thousand other men were killed. After Zápolya's defeat, he was pursued by Bálint Török and Lajos Pekry; he fled into

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

seeking help. When Polish King Sigismund I the Old declined to proclaim war against Austria, Zápolya turned to Suleiman I, Sultan of Ottomans for help. Suleiman then sent

Petru Rareş Petru is a given name, and may refer to: * Petru I of Moldavia (Petru Mușat, 1375–1391), ruler of Moldavia * Petru Aron (died 1467), ruler of Moldavia * Petru Bălan (born 1976), Romanian rugby union footballer * Petru Cărare (1935–2019), wri ...

, the Voivode of

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 ...

, into Transylvania. Petru Rareş defeated Ferdinand in the Battle of Földvár ( hu, Földvári csata, german: Schlacht bei Marienburg, ro, Bătălia de la Feldioara), and the Ottoman army (including Moldavians and Serbs) lay Siege of Vienna.

Sources

Sándor Szilágyi: History of the Hungarian Nation (A Magyar Nemzet Története)
* Military History of Hungary, Editor: Ervin Liptai Zrínyi Military Publisher,

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

1985. {{DEFAULTSORT:Szina, Battle Conflicts in 1528 Battles involving Hungary Battles involving the Holy Roman Empire Battles involving Austria Battles involving Poland 1528 in Hungary Hungarian campaign of 1527–1528