György Szondy was a
Hungarian soldier and the
captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
of Drégely Castle. He was a respected soldier, even by his
Turkish
Turkish may refer to:
*a Turkic language spoken by the Turks
* of or about Turkey
** Turkish language
*** Turkish alphabet
** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
*** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey
*** Turkish communities and mi ...
foes, whose recognition can be seen by his burial by
Hadim Ali Pasha
Hadim is a town and district of Konya Province in the Akdeniz region of Turkey. According to 2000 census, population of the district is 59,941 of which 16,620 live in the town of Hadim. History
The area now known as Hadim was settled by a tribe o ...
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, historically also spelled ''Túrócz''), , /''comitatus Thurociensis'', ) was an administrative county (comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory is now in north-western Slovakia, where the corresponding Slovak name ...
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 ( hu, nádori helytartó) in the Kingdom of Hungary, thus was ranking third to the Kings Number.
Biogr ...
, a
general officer
A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry.
In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED O ...
from a prominent Hungarian noble family.
Révay saw great potential in Szondy and took him under his wing. Révay made Szondy into a
lieutenant of the
Hungarian Hussars at the age of 21. After taking part in campaigns against the
Ottoman Turks
The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922).
Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...
in
Serbia and
Transylvania, where he and his brother both served, Szondy decided that he should spend the rest of his service as an
infantryman. Szondy became a
Captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
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 (; 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 ...
.
Role in History
After becoming the captain of
Drégely Castle
Drégely Castle ( hu, Drégely vára) 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 i ...
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
Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (; ; English: Erasmus of Rotterdam or Erasmus;''Erasmus'' was his baptismal name, given after St. Erasmus of Formiae. ''Desiderius'' was an adopted additional name, which he used from 1496. The ''Roterodamus'' wa ...
, the Captain of the castle in Léva (today
Levice
Levice (; hu, Léva, Hungarian pronunciation: ; german: Lewenz, literally lionesses) is a town in western Slovakia. The town lies on the left bank of the lower Hron river. The Old Slavic name of the town was ''Leva'', which means "the Left One ...
, Slovakia), to send reinforcements. Teuffel could only supply him with 146 soldiers.
The Siege of Drégely began on 6 July 1552 when an Ottoman army
[Múlt-kor historical porta]
Hétvégi várkalauz: Drégely
/ref> of 12,000 men led by Hadim Ali Pasha
Hadim is a town and district of Konya Province in the Akdeniz region of Turkey. According to 2000 census, population of the district is 59,941 of which 16,620 live in the town of Hadim. History
The area now known as Hadim was settled by a tribe o ...
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 ( ota, یڭیچری, yeŋiçeri, , ) was a member of the elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman Sultan's household troops and the first modern standing army in Europe. The corps was most likely established under sultan Orhan ( ...
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.
On 9 July 1552 Ali Pasha prayed to Allah
Allah (; ar, الله, translit=Allāh, ) is the common Arabic word for God. In the English language, the word generally refers to God in Islam. The word is thought to be derived by contraction from '' al- ilāh'', which means "the god", an ...
in the early morning and requested victory. He decided to send the local Catholic 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 (plural sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a box-like funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek ...
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: it became an example also in Poland and even in the farthest corners of the Ottoman Empire.
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. Their objective is usually to try to gain financial or social advantages through social engineering, but also often for purposes ...
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, 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