The Battle of Gorjani ( hr, Bitka kod Gorjana, german: Schlacht bei Gorjani) or Battle of

Đakovo Đakovo (; hu, Diakovár) is a town in the region of Slavonia, Croatia. Đakovo is the centre of the fertile and rich Đakovo region ( hr, Đakovština ). Etymology The etymology of the name is the gr, διάκος (diákos) in Slavic form đ ...

( hu, Diakovári csata) was a battle fought on 9 October 1537 at

Gorjani Gorjani ( hu, Gara; german: Gerendau, Görrach) is a municipality in Osijek-Baranja County, Croatia. There are 1,550 inhabitants, 97% of whom are Croats (2011 census). Gorjani village was the seat of the House of Garai (Garay). Name The name of ...

, a place in present-day

Slavonia Slavonia (; hr, Slavonija) is, with Dalmatia, Croatia proper, and Istria, one of the four historical regions of Croatia. Taking up the east of the country, it roughly corresponds with five Croatian counties: Brod-Posavina, Osijek-Baranja ...

(today in eastern

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

), between the towns of

and

Valpovo Valpovo is a town in Slavonia, Croatia. It is close to the Drava river, northwest of Osijek. The population of Valpovo is 7,406, with a total of 11,563 in the municipality. Name In Hungarian the town is known as ''Valpó'' and in German as ''Wa ...

, as part of the

Little War in Hungary Little is a synonym for small size and may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Little'' (album), 1990 debut album of Vic Chesnutt * ''Little'' (film), 2019 American comedy film *The Littles, a series of children's novels by American author John P ...

as well as the

Hundred Years' Croatian–Ottoman War The Hundred Years' Croatian–Ottoman War ( hr, Stogodišnji hrvatsko-turski rat, links=no,
Kratka politicka i kulturna povijest ...

Background

After seven years of war and the failed Siege of Vienna in 1529, the Treaty of Konstantiniyye was signed, in which

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 Ferd ...

was recognized by the Austrians as King of Hungary as an Ottoman vassal, and the Ottomans recognized Habsburg rule over Royal Hungary. This treaty satisfied neither John Zápolya nor Austrian Archduke

Ferdinand Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "protection", "peace" (PIE "to love, to make peace") or alternatively "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "co ...

, whose armies began to skirmish along the borders. Ferdinand decided to strike a decisive blow in 1537 at John, thereby violating the treaty.

Battle

Ferdinand sent an army of 24,000 men (from

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 ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

Tyrol Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...

, and

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

) under the command of the

Carniola Carniola ( sl, Kranjska; , german: Krain; it, Carniola; hu, Krajna) is a historical region that comprised parts of present-day Slovenia. Although as a whole it does not exist anymore, Slovenes living within the former borders of the region sti ...

n nobleman

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 ...

to take

Osijek Osijek () is the fourth-largest city in Croatia, with a population of 96,848 in 2021. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja ...

. The siege came to nothing and because of the appearance of the Ottoman cavalry sent by the governor of Belgrade, the army had to withdraw. The Ottoman army reached the Austrians near the swamps of

, near

and

on the Drava river. Katzianer noticed that the Ottoman army was smaller than he had expected, and ordered his fastest units to attack the Ottoman cavalry. The Ottoman cavalry fell back, but only to lure the Austrian cavalry into a trap. The Osijek garrison, as well as the Ottoman cavalry promptly attacked from both sides and the front, killing much of the Austrian cavalry. The Ottomans then launched a counterattack against Katzianer’s now defenseless infantry. The Austrians were severely defeated and Katzianer fled with the remaining cavalry and abandoned his army. The entire force was annihilated. A reported 20,000 men were killed, including generals Ludwig Lodron and

Pavle Bakić Pavle Bakić ( sr, Павле Бакић, hu, Bakics Pál; (ca. 1484 – 9 October 1537) was the last titular Despot of Serbia. He was one of the most notable military commanders among Serbian nobility in the Kingdom of Hungary, and fought again ...

. Bakić's severed head was taken to Constantinople.

Aftermath

This campaign was a disaster of similar magnitude to that of

Mohács Mohács (; Croatian and Bunjevac: ''Mohač''; german: Mohatsch; sr, Мохач; tr, Mohaç) is a town in Baranya County, Hungary, on the right bank of the Danube. Etymology The name probably comes from the Slavic ''*Mъchačь'',''*Mocháč'': ...

and therefore nicknamed ''the Austrian Mohacs''. The news of the defeat came as a shock in Vienna and a new

Treaty of Nagyvárad The Treaty of Nagyvárad (or Treaty of Grosswardein) was a secret peace agreement between Emperor Ferdinand I and John Szapolyai, rival claimants to the Kingdom of Hungary, signed in Grosswardein / Várad (modern-day Oradea, Romania) on February 2 ...

was signed in 1538. Katzianer was arrested, and

Nikola Jurišić Baron Nikola Jurišić ( hu, Jurisich Miklós; – 1545) was a Croatian nobleman, soldier, and diplomat. Early life Jurišić was born in Senj, Croatia. He is first mentioned in 1522 as an officer of Ferdinand I of Habsburg's troops deployed ...

took his place as the commander of Croatian defence. Some time later, Katzianer escaped the Vienna prison and hid at the

Zrinski Zrinski () was a Croatian- Hungarian noble family, a cadet branch of the Croatian noble tribe of Šubić, influential during the period in history marked by the Ottoman wars in Europe in the Kingdom of Croatia's union with the Kingdom of Hungar ...

estates, until he lost Zrinski's favor, and was thus executed.

References

Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gorjani, Battle of 1537 in Europe Conflicts in 1537 Battles involving Habsburg Croatia Battles involving Hungary Battles involving the Holy Roman Empire Battles involving Austria Battles involving the Ottoman Empire 1537 in the Ottoman Empire 16th century military history of Croatia