The Battle of Szávaszentdemeter, 6-7 August 1523

The summary of the battle:

The period after the death of King Matthias is remembered as a kind of “downhill slide”, whose important milestones are the “Peasant War” of 1514 and the fall of Nándorfehérvár (Belgrade) in 1521, as well as the final point of the Battle of Mohács in 1526.

In reality, the situation and state of the Kingdom of Hungary at this time is somewhat more complicated. The fact is that the succession issue was finally settled in a way that was not without consequences, the negative effects of which were felt by the country’s economy. The economic downturn also affected the Borderlands’ castle system, as mercenary payments and the lack of supplies to the castles resulted in garrisons of low combat value and fewer than necessary. Despite this, the fortresses were still able to fulfill their original function, as they had the infrastructure for active defense. This seems to be confirmed by the fact that victories were achieved even after the fall of Nándorfehérvár, as the battle of Szávaszentdemeter-Nagyolaszi is a good example. You can locate the scene on the map near Rednek Castle: https://tinyurl.com/5n8syyjc

With the loss of the central stronghold of the frontier line, a very large gap appeared in the southern defensive line of the Kingdom of Hungary. Several fortresses of the Szerémség (Sirmium) fell (Szávaszentdemeter, Kölpény, Berekszó, Barics, etc.) and only in Nándorfehérvár and Szabács the Ottomans left a garrison, the other occupied objects were destroyed.

In 1522 the immediate borders of the Kingdom of Hungary were not attacked by the Ottomans, but a year later Pétervárad was besieged by the troops of the commander of the garrison of Nándorfehérvár, Báli. The siege, which began in March, had to be abandoned, but Báli retreated only as far as Szalánkemén. Probably he was waiting for reinforcements led by the new Szendrő’s (Smederovo) Sanjak Bey, Ferhat Pasha.

The aim of Bali and Ferhat may have been to secure a marching route by occupying or destroying the surrounding castles. They numbered about 10-12,000, while the Hungarian side, according to current historiography, numbered about 4000. Tomori Pál was the commander-in-chief of the lower parts at that time, he was not on the spot but directed the defense from Temesvár. This is understandable because in the first days of August, the purpose of the Ottoman troops was not yet clear, so he probably waited to see where he would have to intervene with a larger force. The Hungarian troops on the scene were under the command of a certain military officer named Bárdi István.

The battle was essentially a series of major clashes in the triangle formed by Szávaszentdemeter-Nagyolaszi-Rednek [today: Sremska Mitrovica, Manđelos, Vrdnik (Serbia)]. The exact date of these is unknown, but they likely took place around 6-7 August. The Ottoman troops left Szávaszentdemeter on August 4-5. They marched in three groups, except for a small force left behind to defend the supply flotilla. Bárdi’s men attacked and wiped out this group first. The news reached the main force, which turned back before being ambushed by an unknown number of peasant soldiers (mobilized for border defense).

They attacked one of the columns. The Hungarian main force intervened in time and smashed this column and soon after the second one. By this time they were aware of the (impressive) extent of the damage caused, which led to a loosening of discipline and a disruption of the battle order. Just then, they were ambushed by the third Ottoman group, which was repulsed with heavy losses. The Ottoman army led by Bali and Ferhat was completely wiped out.

The victory of the Hungarian army against a threefold overwhelming force was undoubtedly significant, but it came at a high price: the loss of 700 men may not seem like much in numerical terms, but the Hungarian army lost experienced soldiers in the final battle who could not be fully replaced. Nevertheless, it can be said that the Ottoman grip was loosened, albeit briefly.

The battle by Szerecz Miklós:

While telling you this story, I would also like to rely on the thoughts of a Hungarian historian, Szerecz Miklós about the victorious Battle of Szávaszentdemeter: he compared the Turks’ attack to “wolves sneaking in the garden” („lupum proclamare”). Yes, the Ottoman raids intensified after 1521 and the “wolves” were threatening distant lands that had been in peace since the Mongolian invasion of 1241-1242.

However, in this battle, a superior Ottoman army was humiliated and beaten unit by unit, not much before the disastrous Battle of Mohács in 1526. Many people think that the Hungarians suffered a defeat at Mohács because they wanted to apply the same tactic that they had used at Szávaszentdemeter. (Please, note that I use the Oriental name order for Hungarians where family names come first.)

Right away, we have three historians’ opinions: Szerecz Miklós is calling our attention to the study of Csorba Dávid which is about an eastern tale or Turkish tradition appearing in the Chronicle of Hungary written by the Renaissance historian Szerémi György (1490-1538). Csorba emphasizes that Szerémi had been biased enough against General Tomori Pál (the commander of the Hungarian army at the Battle of Mohács in 1526) and said we should scrutinize Szerémi`s text because he was not always telling the truth. Yet, sometimes some very interesting elements of Eastern tradition were mentioned regarding the Battle of Szávaszentdemeter in 1523.

Szerémi tells us the events by recalling the conflict between Pasha Ferhád (the son-in-law of Sultan Selim the „Savage”, the brother-in-law of the young Sultan Suleiman I) and Bey Bali who was in charge of Szendrő (Smederovo) and Nándorfehérvár (Belgrade) Castles. According to Csorba, the story goes on from here like a Turkish tale.

It was Bey (Jahja Pasha-záde) Bali who warned Pasha Ferhát who was about to set out against the Southern Borderland of Hungary, by telling him: „Indeed, my lord, it is scary to go there because there are evil wolves who will eat up the Turks.”
Csorba mentions here that the wolf is always the symbol of the savage opponent and war. Yet, he says this animal can be seen also in the coat of arms of the Tomori family.

We also know that the two opponents, Tomori and Bali knew each other quite well. Bali had been even thinking about making a „brother-friendly alliance” with the Hungarian commander. (Bali used to be a man of Bosnian origin.)

Having taken Nándorfehérvár (Belgrade) in 1521, the soft belly of the kingdom was open to Ottoman raids. The Ottomans in 1523 set out to take Rednek Castle, with altogether 12,000 soldiers. It was the ad-hoc collected army of Tomori’s Hussar captain, Bárdi István who hurried to stop them.

Pasha Ferhád, the leader of Bosnia, sent Bey Bali as the vanguard of his army. In the first clash, it was Bali who won the fight and the Hungarians withdrew into the vineyards on the bank of the Száva River to take cover there. Yet, it appears to have been only a classical military trick and the Hungarians might have been luring the Turks after them.

Pasha Ferhád became over-enthusiastic because of the initial success of Bey Bali and walked into the trap of the Hungarians and suffered a major defeat. According to some sources, he fell in the battle but the Chronicle of Szerémi says he was hiding in the vineyard and the soldiers of Bey Bali found him just three days later, half-dead of fear.

 The more reliable Ottoman sources say that Ferhád was executed in Istanbul because of the failure of the Battle of Szávaszentdemeter which coincides with the name-day of Farkas (Wolf) in the Hungarian calendar.

Csorba mentions the „Tales of the 1,000 Nights” where Seherezade tells the tale of how the wolf and the fox allied against the man (149th and 150th tales):

„The fox, having been exhausted of the cruelty and anger of his overlord, the wolf, all the more because he was ceaselessly intervented the rights of the foxes, tried to get rid of the power of the wolf as revenge against his pride and cheekiness. The fox offered his alliance to the wolf against the man (Ibn Adam) but the wolf was so conceited that beat the fox, and then sent him forward as a vanguard The wolf ordered him to report immediately if he met any prey. Upon arriving at a vineyard, the fox notices a trap and goes back to the wolf, saying: „The weather is fine today and all animals are happy because the owner of the winery is dead.” Saying so, he led the wolf to the trap that fell into it. Then, they began to bargain and the wolf listened to three tales of the fox, about the ungratefulness, and stupidity, and finally, the howling of the wolf woke the attention of the master of the vineyard. 

In the Chronicle of Szerémi György, Pasha Ferhád was scolding Bey Bali just before the battle like this: „Where are those wolves whom you had mentioned to me, you rogue?” He did not notice the Hungarians who had withdrawn into the vineyards. The answer was: „When the lion sets out to hunt, the wolf runs away from him…”

Dávid Csorba also mentions the name-giver of Pasha Ferhád (of Albanian origin) who was a hero of the Ottoman tradition according to Alisir Neváni (1441-1501) in the story of Ferhád and Sirin.

Why did the Bosnian commander set out to the Száva River? According to Szerémi, Pasha Ferhád kept on swearing that he would retake the booty and would take revenge on the Hungarians. (Previously, the Hungarians had taken 400 horses and captured many Turkish warriors.) The Sultan got happy for these words and they were merry-making for three days, then the Sultan authorized Ferhád to set out on the campaign. Ferhád ordered the beys along the border (including Bali): „Get ready and come with me to the field of Szerém where the Hungarians and the Turks had had a battle before.” Bali answered: „My Lord, verily, it is scary to go there because there are evil wolves who will eat up the Turks.” The Bosnian Pasha began to scold the bey like that: „Come with me and show me those wolves, let me see them!”

Bey Bali immediately set out with his 500 riders. They crossed the Száva River and made camp near the market town of Szávademeter. It was the place where Bey Bali sent a Serbian messenger to Tomori Pál „to get ready because the Omnipotent God was going to send them a great booty again because they are the righteous ones. New Turks are coming to the battle from overseas. There are 1,500 cavalrymen, and they were sent here with rich attire and supplies.” Tomori was glad and gave a rich gift to the messenger. When the Christian army set out, they „looked like Angels”. All of them were seasoned and experienced hussars of the Borderland. (My remark: did they have wings attached? Perhaps that was why they looked like angels.)

After a week, Pasha Ferhád found no trace of the Hungarians and addressed Bey Bali like this (by Szerémi):
„Where are those wolves whom you had mentioned to me, are you a rogue who has got womanish? They used to frighten you but do not be afraid now.” Bali replied: „If it is the will of Your Highness, I can go and find them and get the news to Your Highness.”
Ferhád remarked that he could not face the Sultan without scattering the Hungarians. „…when Ferhád left the camp, after five miles he immediately noticed the army of the Christians (…) Bey Bali said to him: „Yet, my Lord, the wolves have arrived, look what will you do next?”

The Hungarians – some 300 infantrymen who had been hiding in the vineyards – withdrew after the first clash. Yet, they proved superior in the second clash when the rest of them joined the battle. Bali fled to Nándorfehérvár (Belgrade) and Pasha Ferhád disappeared. No one has heard of him for three days. The men of Bey Bali found him on the fourth day, all hungry and thirsty. „He got sick in Nándorfehérvár, out of the fear from the wolves, and died eight days later.” (A Turk source says he was executed because of the defeat.)

Here is more about Rednek Castle:

https://www.facebook.com/pg/hungarianturkishwars/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1786636334719061

We know that Bárdi attacked the Turks at Rednek Castle and beat them in a three-day-long battle near Nagyolasz and Szávaszentdemeter. Bárdi lost 700 Serbians and Hungarians while the Turks lost thousands (perhaps 7,000) and their boats on the Száva River.

The victory was received in Buda with great joy, it was considered a miracle: perhaps it was why the Hungarian soldiers thought before the Battle of Mohács (1526) that they could scatter a lot bigger Ottoman force, beating them unit by unit before they could be properly deployed…

In a nutshell, Bárdi used to ambush and defeat the Turks while crossing the river, unit by unit. It was the same that Tomori wanted to carry out later at Mohács in 1526 but he had the wrong information and didn’t know that the entire Ottoman army had already crossed the river: it became a fatal mistake.

Source: Szerecz Miklós

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