György Szondy (1500 – 9 July 1552) was a Hungarian soldier and the

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

of Drégely Castle. He was a respected soldier, even by his Turkish foes, whose recognition can be seen by his burial by Hadim Ali Pasha with full military honours.

Family

Szondy's origin is obscure. Hontvármegye, and he either came from a peasant or a civic family. According to other sources, he was a yeoman of

Turóc County Turóc (Hungarian language, Hungarian, historically also spelled ''Túrócz''), , /''comitatus Thurociensis'', ) was an administrative county (Comitatus (Kingdom of Hungary), comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory is now in north-we ...

with original name Juraj Šucha. After the sudden death of his mother he joined the army at the age of 15 with his younger brother Jakab where he met

Ferenc Révay Ferenc Révay de Szklabina et Blatnicza, (1489 – 1 November 1553, Pozsony (today Bratislava, Slovakia)) was the Palatinal Governor () in the Kingdom of Hungary, thus was ranking third to the Kings Number. Biography Révay was the s ...

, a

general officer A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

from a prominent Hungarian noble family. Révay saw great potential in Szondy and took him under his wing. Révay made Szondy into a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

of the

Hungarian Hussar A hussar, ; ; ; ; . was a member of a class of light cavalry, originally from the Kingdom of Hungary during the 15th and 16th centuries. The title and distinctive dress of these horsemen were subsequently widely adopted by light cavalry ...

s at the age of 21. After taking part in campaigns against the

Ottoman Turks The Ottoman Turks () were a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group in Anatolia. Originally from Central Asia, they migrated to Anatolia in the 13th century and founded the Ottoman Empire, in which they remained socio-politically dominant for the e ...

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

and

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

, where he and his brother both served, Szondy decided that he should spend the rest of his service as an

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

man. Szondy became a

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

after he showed his military genius and courage in a courageous night assault at a Turkish camp, in an attempt to demoralise the Turkish forces after the catastrophic

Battle of Mohács The Battle of Mohács (; , ) took place on 29 August 1526 near Mohács, in the Kingdom of Hungary. It was fought between the forces of Hungary, led by King Louis II of Hungary, Louis II, and the invading Ottoman Empire, commanded by Suleima ...

Role in History

After becoming the captain of

Drégely Castle Drégely Castle () is a 13th-century hilltop castle in Nógrád County, Hungary. It is in ruins, but being restored. Geography The ruin of Drégely Castle sits on a peak of the Börzsöny mountains in Hungary. The area is in the administrative ...

in 1544, which had a small garrison of only sixty men, six small cannon and twelve castle guns, Szondy was faced with the task of defending it. Drégely Castle was of strategic importance not only to the Hungarians but also to the Turks as a base for raids into Upper Hungary. After hearing that a Turkish force of great numbers was heading towards Drégely, Szondy sent a letter to Erasmus Teuffel, the Captain of the castle in Léva (today

Levice Levice (; , Hungarian pronunciation: ; ) is a town in western Slovakia. The town lies on the left bank of the lower Hron river. The Old Church Slavonic, Old Slavic name of the town was ''Leva'', which means "the Left One". The town is located i ...

, Slovakia), to send reinforcements. Teuffel could only supply him with 146 soldiers. The Siege of Drégely began on 6 July 1552 when an Ottoman armyMúlt-kor historical porta
Hétvégi várkalauz: Drégely
/ref> of 12,000 men led by Hadim Ali Pasha arrived at the gates of Drégely Castle. In that afternoon the first wave of Turkish cannon fire brought down the decayed castle walls and the

Janissaries A janissary (, , ) was a member of the elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman sultan's household troops. They were the first modern standing army, and perhaps the first infantry force in the world to be equipped with firearms, adopted du ...

captured the lower castle courtyard without a fight. The next morning the Turks attacked but were defeated by Szondy and his infantrymen, the Hajdús. Despite outnumbering them by 12 to 1, the Janissaries were defeated by Szondy's 100 Hajdús. After acknowledging the bravery of his opponent Ali Pasha decided to launch a full-scale cannonade the next day. The walls were destroyed by noon on 8 July. DregelypalankiSzondiEmlekmu

On 9 July 1552 Ali Pasha prayed to

Allah Allah ( ; , ) is an Arabic term for God, specifically the God in Abrahamic religions, God of Abraham. Outside of the Middle East, it is principally associated with God in Islam, Islam (in which it is also considered the proper name), althoug ...

in the early morning and requested victory. He decided to send the local

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

priest to Szondy and offer him a choice: either to surrender and be given safe passage and escort to Upper Hungary, or to perish. Szondy sent his scribe and servant with his answer to Ali Pasha saying "Spare the boys and let God settle the fate of this castle". In the afternoon the Janissaries attacked and Szondy ordered the last cannonade to be fired and ordered a full-scale attack against the Turks. Four hours of intensive fighting ensued until Szondy's forces were reduced to sixty men. Szondy led the attack and was shot through the knee and fought even on his knees until he was brought down by the Turks. One of the Janissaries cut off his head and brought it to Ali Pasha.Origo.h
Drégely várának története
/ref> Ten of Szondy's Hajdús survived and were granted safe passage back to Upper Hungary. Ali Pasha acknowledged Szondy's bravery, and ordered an ornate marble

sarcophagus A sarcophagus (: sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a coffin, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek language, Greek wikt:σάρξ, σάρξ ...

to be made for Szondy and for him to be buried with full military honours.

Legacy

After being given the news of Szondy's demise by the ten remaining Hajdús, the news of his bravery spread beyond

Upper Hungary Upper Hungary (, "Upland"), is the area that was historically the northern part of the Kingdom of Hungary, now mostly present-day Slovakia. The region has also been called ''Felső-Magyarország'' ( literally: "Upper Hungary"; ). During the ...

: it became an example also in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

and even in the farthest corners of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. His name was often used by

impostor An impostor (also spelled imposter) is a person who pretends to be somebody else, often through means of disguise, deceiving others by knowingly falsifying one or more aspects of their identity. This is in contrast to someone that honestly belie ...

s. Even now, between 6 and 9 July every year Slovaks and Hungarians alike celebrate the life of the great warrior at his sarcophagus in

Drégelypalánk Drégelypalánk is a village in Nógrád County, Hungary. It was first recorded in 1274 and was created as a merger of two settlements named Drégely and Palánk. The river Ipoly flows past the Börzsöny hills here. The village features a primary ...

, Hungary.

References

External links

Drégelypalánk's website

Szondi Tourist Center

Drégely Castle
{{DEFAULTSORT:Szondy, Gyorgy 16th-century Hungarian people Hungarian soldiers 1500 births 1552 deaths