Baron István Dobó de Ruszka (c. 1502 - Szerednye (today, Середнє (Szerednye / Serednie,

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

), mid-June 1572) was a Hungarian soldier, best known as the successful defender of

Eger Eger ( , ; ; also known by other #Names and etymology, alternative names) is the county seat of Heves County, and the second largest city in Northern Hungary (after Miskolc). A city with county rights, Eger is best known for Castle of Eger, its ...

against the Ottomans in 1552. Dobó was a member of the Hungarian land-owning nobility, with holdings in northern Hungary. In the dynastic succession struggles after the

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 ...

in 1526, Dobó was consistently on the side of the Habsburg King Ferdinand I rather than that of

John Zápolya John Zápolya or Szapolyai (; ; ; ; 1487 – 22 July 1540), was King of Hungary (as John I) from 1526 to 1540. His rule was disputed by Archduke Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor, Ferdinand I, who also claimed the title King of Hungary. He wa ...

Life

Dobó was the son of Domonkos (Dominic) Dobó, who married Zsófia (Sophie) Cékei in 1498. There were six children from the marriage: Ferenc, László, István, Domokos, Anna and Katalin. István Dobó married his wife Sára Sulyok on 17 October 1550. They had three children: Ferenc, Damján and Krisztina. Dobó became the commander of Eger Castle in 1549. He became famous as a result of his successful defence of the castle during the 1552 Siege of Eger, in which 2,100 defenders were able to withstand the onslaught of 80,000 Ottoman soldiers. This event was celebrated in

Géza Gárdonyi Géza Gárdonyi, born Géza Ziegler (3 August 1863 – 30 October 1922) was a Hungarian writer and journalist. Although he wrote a range of works, he had his greatest success as a historical novelist, particularly with '' Eclipse of the Cres ...

's classic novel "Egri Csillagok" (''

Eclipse of the Crescent Moon ''Eclipse of the Crescent Moon'' ( lit. ''"Stars of Eger"'', ) is a historical novel by the Hungarian writer Géza Gárdonyi. It was first published in 1899 and is one of the most popular and widely recognized novels in Hungary. Background Th ...

''). As a reward, Ferdinand donated to Dobó the ownership of the

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 ...

n castles of

Déva Deva (; Hungarian: ''Déva'', Hungarian pronunciation: ; German: ''Diemrich'', ''Schlossberg'', ''Denburg''; Latin: ''Sargetia''; is a city in Romania, in the historical region of Transylvania, on the left bank of the river Mureș. It is the c ...

(now Deva, Romania) and

Szamosújvár Gherla (; ; ) is a municipiu, municipality in Cluj County, Romania (in the historical region of Transylvania). It is located from Cluj-Napoca on the river Someșul Mic, and has a population of 19,873 as of 2021. Three villages are administered by ...

(now Gherla, Romania). Dobó was also appointed as voivod (viceroy) of Transylvania in 1553. When Transylvania was separated from Hungary in 1556, Dobó was given ownership of the castle of Léva (now: Levice, Slovakia) in compensation. Accused of treason against the King, Dobó spent several years imprisoned in the castle of

Pozsony Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...

(now Bratislava, Slovakia). His health was seriously impaired by his imprisonment, and he died in his home soon after his release from captivity.

References

1500s births 1572 deaths People from Zakarpattia Oblast Voivodes of Transylvania Hungarian soldiers 16th-century soldiers People from Eger 16th-century Hungarian nobility Hungarian landowners Lord-lieutenants of a county in Hungarian Kingdom {{Hungary-mil-bio-stub