Orban, also known as Urban ( hu, Orbán; died 1453), was an

iron founder An iron founder (also iron-founder or ironfounder) in its more general sense is a worker in molten ferrous metal, generally working within an iron foundry. However, the term 'iron founder' is usually reserved for the owner or manager of an iron foun ...

and

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considerin ...

from Brassó,

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the A ...

, 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 Hungarian monarch, c ...

(today Brașov,

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

), who cast large-calibre artillery for the Ottoman siege of Constantinople in 1453. Dardanelles Gun Turkish Bronze 15c

Orban was Hungarian, according to most modern authors, while some scholars also mention his potential

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

ancestry. Alternative theories suggest he had

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and s ...

n roots. Laonikos Chalkokondyles used the term ''

Dacia Dacia (, ; ) was the land inhabited by the Dacians, its core in Transylvania, stretching to the Danube in the south, the Black Sea in the east, and the Tisza in the west. The Carpathian Mountains were located in the middle of Dacia. It ...

n'' to describe him. He had offered his services to the Byzantines in 1452, a year before the Ottomans attacked the city, but the Byzantine emperor

Constantine XI Constantine XI Dragases Palaiologos or Dragaš Palaeologus ( el, Κωνσταντῖνος Δραγάσης Παλαιολόγος, ''Kōnstantînos Dragásēs Palaiológos''; 8 February 1405 – 29 May 1453) was the last List of Byzantine em ...

could not afford Orban's high salary nor did the Byzantines possess the materials necessary for constructing such a large siege cannon. Orban then left

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

and approached the Ottoman sultan

Mehmed II Mehmed II ( ota, محمد ثانى, translit=Meḥmed-i s̱ānī; tr, II. Mehmed, ; 30 March 14323 May 1481), commonly known as Mehmed the Conqueror ( ota, ابو الفتح, Ebū'l-fetḥ, lit=the Father of Conquest, links=no; tr, Fâtih Su ...

, who was preparing to besiege the city. Claiming that his weapon could blast 'the walls of

Babylon ''Bābili(m)'' * sux, 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠 * arc, 𐡁𐡁𐡋 ''Bāḇel'' * syc, ܒܒܠ ''Bāḇel'' * grc-gre, Βαβυλών ''Babylṓn'' * he, בָּבֶל ''Bāvel'' * peo, 𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢 ''Bābiru'' * elx, 𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷 ''Babi ...

itself', Orban was given abundant funds and materials by the sultan. Orban managed to build the giant gun within three months at

Adrianople Edirne (, ), formerly known as Adrianople or Hadrianopolis ( Greek: Άδριανούπολις), is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian border ...

, whence sixty

oxen An ox ( : oxen, ), also known as a bullock (in BrE, AusE, and IndE), is a male bovine trained and used as a draft animal. Oxen are commonly castrated adult male cattle; castration inhibits testosterone and aggression, which makes th ...

dragged it to

. Orban also produced other, smaller cannons used by the Turkish siege forces. Bombarding technology similar to Orban's had first been developed for the Hungarian Army. It rose in popularity during the early 1400s all over western Europe, transforming siege warfare. Examples of pieces similar to Orban's productions like the Faule Mette,

Dulle Griet The Dulle Griet ("Mad Meg", named after the Flemish folklore figure Dull Gret) is a medieval large-calibre gun founded in Gent (Ghent). History Three cannons were founded: one resides now in Edinburgh and is called "Mons Meg", and the la ...

, Mons Meg and the Pumhart von Steyr are still extant from the period. Orban, along with an entire crew, was probably killed during the siege when one of his cannons exploded, which was not an unusual occurrence during that time.

In popular culture

* Master Orban was played by Burhanettin Üskan in the 1951 Turkish film, '' İstanbul'un Fethi''. * Erdoğan Aydemir played Orban in the 2012 film '' Fetih 1453''. In the film, Orban makes a sketch for the Doge of Genoa ( Ali Ersin Yenar), but the Doge isn't interested in his sketch. Orban has an adopted daughter named Era (

Dilek Serbest Dilek Serbest is a Turkish actress and model. She is best known for portraying the role of "İzadora" in the historical drama series '' Diriliş: Ertuğrul''. She also portrayed the role of "Era" in the historical film ''Fetih 1453''. She has also ...

) who has a romantic relationship with Ulubatlı Hasan (

İbrahim Çelikkol İbrahim Çelikkol (born February 14, 1982) is a Turkish TV series and film actor, former player of The Turkey national under-20 basketball team and fashion model. His maternal family is of Pomak origin who immigrated from Thessaloniki, Greece. ...

). * Master Orban is played by Tansu Biçer in the 2020 Netflix production, '' Rise of Empires: Ottoman''. * In the video game ''Europa Universalis IV'', the Ottoman nation can get a bonus unique to it early in the game, called the "Guns of Urban", which will help it greatly when besieging enemy forts.

References

Sources

* * * * * * {{authority control 1453 deaths 15th-century Hungarian people Hungarian engineers Hungarian inventors People from Brașov Year of birth unknown Fall of Constantinople 15th-century inventors