The Battle of Szőlős or Battle of Seleš ( hu, Szőlősi csata, sr, Селешка битка (Seleška bitka)) was fought on May 1, 1527 between the ethnic Serbian Rebels and Hungarian nobility. The commander of the Serb forces was

Emperor Jovan Nenad Jovan Nenad ( sr-cyr, Јован Ненад; hu, Fekete Iván or ; ca. 1492 – 26 July 1527), known as ''the Black'' was a Serb military commander in the service of the Kingdom of Hungary who took advantage of a Hungarian military defeat at Moh ...

, while the Hungarians were led by

Péter Perényi Péter Perényi de Nagyida (died around 1423), son of Simon of the Perényi branch of the Šubić clan, was the head (or ''ispán'') of Temes County from the end of the 14th century into the start of the 15th century. He also commanded Golubac ...

of Transylvania. The Hungarian army suffered a total defeat while Perényi barely escaped alive.

Background to battle

In late 1526. Bálint Török attacked Szabadka (

Subotica Subotica ( sr-cyrl, Суботица, ; hu, Szabadka) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the North Bačka District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. Formerly the largest city of Vojvodina region, ...

), the capital of the newly formed province in the wake of 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 those ...

, with 67 elite cavalry knights. The Serbs fortified the city and halted the attack. When László Csáky arrived with another 300 Hungarian cavalrymen, the Serbs retaliated with full force. Csáky was defeated and executed. These events alarmed the Hungarian nobility, and

János Szapolyai János or Janos may refer to: * János, male Hungarian given name, a variant of John Places * Janos Municipality, a municipality of Chihuahua ** Janos, Chihuahua, town in Mexico ** Janos Biosphere Reserve, a nature reserve in Chihuahua * Janos ...

appointed Péter Perényi as leader of an army set to destroy the new state at its heart. Meanwhile, Jovan Nenad, aware of the Hungarians' intentions, mustered a substantial force and marched to meet his enemy.

The battle

Perényi's army numbered some 2,000 infantry and 10,000 cavalry (Transylvanian Hungarians and Saxons) together with few a thousand conscripts and nobility from the

Tisza The Tisza, Tysa or Tisa, is one of the major rivers of Central and Eastern Europe. Once, it was called "the most Hungarian river" because it flowed entirely within the Kingdom of Hungary. Today, it crosses several national borders. The Tisza be ...

area. Jovan's army numbered 15,000 infantry and cavalry. Jovan attacked first, concentrating his force on the Hungarian infantry, and then managed to rout the Transylvanian cavalry. Around 3,000 Hungarians and Saxons fell in battle, while Jovan's army suffered minimal casualties.

Sources

* 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:Szolos, Battle Battles involving Hungary Battles involving Serbia Conflicts in 1527 1527 in the Ottoman Empire 16th century in Hungary History of Banat Hungarian campaign of 1527–1528