Nikola Zrinski was a great Croatian warrior who still gets great respect today, Even an opera was dedicated to him God save us all Greets and cheers ✌️✝️🇭🇷👍 + MIK +
Kings and Generals thank you from a croat for covering this battle. You have no idea what it means to me, a history fanatic, to see this event about my small but proud country on your channel. Thank you!
@Rex Croatorum tvoji napadi na mene ne mjenjaju činjenicu. Sakrio se Nikola Šupčić Zrinski kao pacov u tvrđavi i pokusavao odatle po malo raditi dok nije sam Sulejman skrenuo vosku da mu mater jebe. Uglavu mu pucali i otkinuli je i Bosanac Mehmed Paša Sokolović je odnio novom sultanu Selimu.
Another Croatian warrior in the fight against the Ottoman Turks was Baron Nikola Jurišić (1490 to 1545 AD). He and his several hundred men defended the small Hungarian fort at Siege of Güns (Kőszeg) in 1532 AD, against an estimated Ottoman Turkish army of 120,000-140,000 who were advancing towards Vienna. I read somewhere Baron Jurišić survived 20 assaults on the fort before the Ottoman Turks decided to withdraw.
These types of battles are what I love about history and warfare. Nothing is more badass then being outnumbered and laughing in the face of death, before fighting to the last man. God bless the heroes of Szigetvar.
This is what the Croatian military borderr is used to. Hopelessly outnumbered, grinning contemptuously in the face of the enemy and death. That's what my ancestors (all military borderers) did for more than 400 years. Laughed in the face of the Ottoman Empire. I did that myself in 1991/92 against the Serbs. Das ist es, woran der kroatische Militärgrenzer gewohnt ist. Zahlenmäßig hoffnungslos unterlegen, dem Feind und den Tod verachtend ins Gesicht grinsen. Das haben meine Vorfahren (allesamt Militärgrenzer) mehr als 400 Jahre lang getan. Dem Osmanischen Reich ins Gesicht gelacht. Das habe ich selbst 1991/92 gegenüber den Serben gemacht.
@Crvenkapica IV. ZNGwell,that is just like any other balkan people of that time-kicking the shit out of the ottomans while heavily outnumbered,all in vain,as they sent another, and another army... May the memory of our brave ancestors live on,greetings from Moldova
Nikola Šubić Zrinski was a Croatian noble in charge of a fortress in Hungary. He had enlarged prepared his garrison for just this; it numbered 2500 troops, about a third of them Hungarian, the rest being Croatian. He has been celebrated since as a hero both by Croatians and Hungarians (they call him Miklos Zrinyi). In the late 19th century his deeds were made into an opera by Ivan pl. Zajc (a rather good one). By a freak occurrence, the finale of this work was spread to Japan at the end of WW1 by some Austro-Hungarian sailors; the Japanese learned it by heart, but would not learn of its origin for another 60 years after 10 years of research. Today it is the anthem of the prestigious Kwansei Gakuin University in Kobe.
His great grandson by the same name wrote a grand epic about the siege in hungarian, which was published in 1647-48, and translated to croatian by the brother of the author.
As a Turk, I admired Zrinski for his superior effort and courage. He bravely defended Zigetvar against the Turkish army much larger than him and died. The life of our Sultan Suleyman was spent on horseback and on expeditions. He died during his last expedition. Undoubtedly, Sultan Suleyman is a magnificent leader and has written his name in gold letters in Turkish and world history. may Zrinski and Sultan Süleyman rest in peace.
Nikola Šubić Zrinski comes from an old Croatian noble family which is one of the Twelve noble tribes of Croatia and a great noble house that constituted Croatian statehood in the Middle Ages. They held the county of Bribir (Varvaria) in inland Dalmatia. From them branched the prominent Zrinski family. Count Nikola IV Zrinski (born 1508) was the Ban of Dalmatia, Slavonia and Croatia, the commander of Szigetvár (from 1561), and the Habsburg commander in western Hungary (from 1563). He is considered the most courageous and prominent member of the Zrinski family, which together with the Frankopans was the most distinguished and famous noble family in Croatian history.
@Colorful Escapades everyone can get your ass because you're that easy. Don't recall seeing a statue of tuđman and building a monument to pavelić is literally illegal
Suliman to his Pashas, "This is Zrinski, the man will fight to the bitter end...and then some!" Zrinski to the Austrians, "I don't think I can hold Szigetvar indefinitely, but I do believe I can make it a name that makes Ottoman Sultans cry at night."
@the omen king it is indeed that quote and I see you too are a True Bannerman of the Rightful King. However given Zrinski's iron heroism and unbending nature in this siege I felt the man worthy of such a comparison to the King I declared for.
Zrinskis great-grandson, Peter Zrinski, was also a military mastermind, in 1663 he ambushed around 10 000 bosnian/otoman raiders with only around 2500 men, 8000 enemies were killed
Min Tin Yeah, there might be some bias but as far as im aware there is no otoman empire anymore, btw i hate when someone replies to my comment and youtube doesn't notify me at all...
@Ahmad ashraf imo they were as equaly bad as the western catholics (at that time period, approximately...). Serbia for example chose to become a vassal of the otomans rather than becoming a catholic vassal (otomans gave serbs freedom of religion, western catholics would have likely converted them from ortodoxy to catholicism). Maybe your otoman ancestors would have accomplished something if they werent messing with the slavs 😂, one who tries to conquer slavic lands always ultimately looses.
@Radogost I think Serbia chose to become a vassal of the ottomans because they had no choice... There was no other stronger empire in that region. After the great Turkish war from which point the Habsburgs gained the upper hand, many Serbs fled to Habsburg empire. The Austrians were tolerant of the Serbs. In fact many Serbs regarded Austrians as their liberators from the ottomans. Relations between Austria and Serbia only became bad after Serbia gained its independence from the ottomans and the promotion of pan slavic ideology,which would indirectly lead to the great war
He is in the hungarian textbooks too, along with his great-grand son (also) Nikola Zrinski, who was a famous poet, writer and military commander. The Zrinski family is well liked in Hungary too, as many of them held the title of comes of Zala and Somogy counties in Hungary, captains of hungarian transdanubia, or even the captain of all hungarian forces, like the Nikola mentioned above.
Respect for Zrinski for his superior effort and courage. Even after they all were killed, they manage to kille 3000 more, that's just insane. It must been rigged or some suicide bomber, that did that. So many interresting stories and people that gave their life that is out their, it should be a Hollywood movie but unfortunely Hollywood only do same movie over and over, is sad.
Women who remained in the citadel locked themselves inside the powder depot. When the ottomans advanced in order to capture them, the women agreed on a sort of mass suicide ritual, in order to avoid being raped and enslaved by the ottomans.
Interesting facts about battle of Siget in 1566: 1. In the early stages of the battle Zrinski and his knights would ride out to raid Suleimans army and would come back to the fort with the heads of the Turks they killed tied to their horses. 2. After refusing the offer of surrender Zrinski said to the defenders the reason why he refused the offer of becoming the overlord of whole croatia, he said: "No one will ever point at my children in discontent" 3.Before the last stand and the breach to a heroic death Zrinski embroidered gold coins inside his robes as a reward to the man who kills him. 4. He sentenced to death some of the inhabitants for looting during the fires and chaos of the battle
Well he got his head later sent to istanbul where they did not even bother to hang it at the gate of the city like they used to do to every important enemy they fought, so i guess the ottomans were better at that one. And even though he was a brave general i don't get the logic, he refused to be a vassal of the ottomans which could have granted him or his children the chance to break later from the rule of the sultan who was sick at the time( as far as he knew at that time) and knowing that his son was incompetent so i guess he had an excess of pride that denied him and his people their independence for over 400 years. I respect the coins move though, men like him on the battlefield are sometimes more precious than their kings who sit in their thrones and feast while their men die fighting their wars.
@DominikJAX well still does not explain it, he has no problem with remaining under austrian rule with no chance to break free instead of falling under ottoman rule and having the chance to break up soon after.
On one university in Japan, a song U Boj, from Opera Nikola Subic Zrinski is popular and all graduates are singing it. It is interesting how they learned about the song.. After the I WW, ship from Austrian Navy, was stuck in one coastal city in Japan, needed maintenance & repair, so the sailors stayed there for some time. Most of the sailors were Croats, Checks, Hungarians etc, and since they would sing a song about Zrinski, locals learnt it as well. Just recently, few years ago, the quire from Japanese university visited Croatia and sung the song about Zrinski, that they learnt from sailors after I WW. They performed in national opera house in Zagreb, and their performance was more then stunning.
Another fun fact: The great grandson of Nikola Zrinski (or Zrínyi Miklós in Hungarian), named also Nikola Zrinski, wrote the well-known Hungarian epic poem, The Peril of Sziget (Szigeti veszedelem), roughly 100 years later, as a commemoration of his ancestor's bravery, and to raise the spirit of the Hungarian nation that was by that time all but overwhelmed by the Ottomans.
@Don't search Documenting Reality well even if they were crotian they were under hungarian rule right? even in the ottoman or any other empires there are lots of commanders or soldiers that their ethnic roots are diffirent from their rulers.
We Croats were on the border with ottomans during the 15th and 16th century and often acted as the last bastion of Christianity between the Ottomans and the rest of the Europe. We were devout Christians and consider it a duty to defend to the last man if needed, however it has to be said that Ottomans were very often respectful and offered good treaties and held onto their words. In many ways I consider Ottomans to be among the most honourable and reasonable nations during medieval era, and they often offered really good terms to anyone who would show a degree of honor themselves.
12:38 that's in between epic and hillarious Not even death could prevent a man of rejoicing after such a play. I'll remember Zrinski, and Sziegtvár. Great video guys
I can't of course verify that this siege was a direct tactical inspiration, but it is remarkably similar to the siege of Mesologgi during the greek war of independence 250 years later. The defenders even sallied out against the ottoman-egyptian army and a lot of them even made it out. This event is also immortalised in many paintings which also look similar to the picture shown in the video. Man, I hope we get to see that event later on in the series.
All that I can say to Croatian bro's: Thanks to joined and lead the army of Szigetvar (gave us Miklós Zrínyi). What an epic battle was that (20.000 losses for the Ottoman army, unfortunately almost the entire defender army died) . This is one of the reason why I'm really happy that the Hungarian army modernization program called Zrinyi 2026.
Sandor Kovacs Just don’t forget that Hungary 🇭🇺 is an observer country at Turkic Council (Ural-Altaic Kurultaj) Hopefully Huns of Attila and, Bulgars of Volga 🇧🇬 will be strong again, religions age is over, Hajra Turan!
Oh wow, there is an extremely similar Chinese quote: 'The heavens are high and the emperor is far away." But it is more in the context of the central government failing to curb corruption or lawlessness.
He didn't say "God is too high we are on our own." He said: "Emperor is too far away,but God is in the sky" (meaning He will be watching them and will be on their side during the battle,and that they are NOT on their own)
I'm usually into more ancient or recent history, so I never knew much about the Ottoman invasions beyond a little involving Vlad the Impaler, but this has probably become my favorite series. The epic stories of bravery and sacrifice are incredible and I usually end up watching these with tears in my eyes. Thank you for making these!
if you look at the map of Ottoman conquets in Europe, the part they held for a long time is the most poor and underdeveloped in Europe.We still suffer the consuequences of 500 years of struggle to survive the invasions
@tomo123igen, mert az oszmán birodalom szélein mindig fejletlenebb egy ország. Nézd meg, az őrségben csak a -60-as években vezették be a villanyt, határsáv volt!
Nikola Šubić Zrinski and his men are true heroes of their time. He is immortal and in company with true God now, The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit and all the heavenly host. He is an embodiment of true christian, a knight. Thanks K&G, I was waiting for this for a long time. Greeting from Croatia! +++ DEUS VULT +++
The last charge of Zrinski reminds me of helms deep when aragorn rallies the troops to ride out one more time. Sad that there was no Gandalf to help Zrinski.
@LuftWaffe ME 109bf U R right. Taxation of the rajas is more profitable... Don't worry about decimated nations, and slavery and such nuances. Advanced social behavior is what matters.
@LuftWaffe ME 109bf You have some points, but consider this; even today the areas that were under Ottomans are much less financially capable of those under Austro-Hungary or West European powers in general. It might be because Ottomans did not industrialise as well. And don't think its naive to dislike the Turks, it was hundreds of years of war, kidnapping children as in blood tax for them to become janissaries, the Croat mothers either tattooed their children or cut off a finger so the Turks don't take them. And for punishment they hang people on large meat hooks inserted beneath the ribs. So yeah it wasn't paradise or hell but there are two sides of every story and at the end war is either for conquest/gains or survival, and Croatians were on the defensive side.
It's fascinating to see so many similarities in the course of events between the siege of Szigetvar and the siege of Messolongi during the Greek war of independence of 1821. Both sieges cost the Ottomans a great deal of men and time and ended in a heroic exodus.
Josip koju povijest da nauci, ovu jugokomunjarsku s kojom su nas trovali u skolama i pricali nam o madjarima kao vjekovnim neprijateljima, umjesto da su pricali to isto ali o turcima?
@Merciful Angel dobar savjet gospon. A po tim evropskim kljigama Madari nama nikad nisu bili prijatelji niti su to danas. Nikad se nisu mogli pomiriti sa cinjenicom, da smo mi Hrvati slobodan, suveren narod. Izgleda, da je to i vama promaklo. Ako su vam Madari najbolji prijatelji izvolite se preseliti u Madarsku.
Mislim, manje-vise dobro se slazemo tu u Baranji i sjevernoj Slavoniji i Osijeku, ali to je samo lokalno prijateljstvo i definitivno se ne odnosi na cijelu Hrvatsku. I činjenica je da su Mađari na crno nama prodavali oruzje za vrijeme embarga na Jugoslaviju 90-ih
Awesome defiance in the face of certain death. Seems an even greater feat of courage and grit and stubbornness than the 300 Spartans. 20,000+ wins by a massively outnumbered army. Truly awe-inspiring.
To be fair,what the fuck else can you do when all the diplomatic bridges have been burned? You'll be killed even if you surrender,so you might as well go down fighting like there's no tomorrow (because there literally isn't).
As a Turk, I'd like to say that Zrinski is a real hero for Christians. I respect him because he was a brave commander. May both Sultan Suleiman and Zrinski rest in peace. They played their roles in this world and passed away. No need to have more clashes between people. This is history and past is past.
You need to do one on Gvozdansko, it was far more gruesome and symbollic of resistance! The defenders literally died on the walls from exposure rather than give up their castle. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Gvozdansko
According to some Turkish sources, the target of the campaign was Eger, which was previously besieged but not conquered. However in the meantime, Zrinksi was raiding into Ottoman territory, so they wanted to punish him. Overall historians also often mention that, there was peace with Habsburgs at that time, campaign was already needless and meant to be a respond to popular unrest due to unsuccessful Malta Siege, previous year. Suleiman was already very ill at the beginning of the campaign and prebably knew he won't see Istanbol again. He stilled marched at the head of army at the age of 72, which was very old for that century (still old as well) btw Eastern Hungary (Erdel) was an Ottaman vassal just like Wallachia and Moldovia. The map has a problem there.
The Subic family one of the most influential and powerful aristocrat family from Croatia. Wiith the union of Hungary and Croatia they retained their powerful positions. For example Charles I of Hungary became king thanks to the support Paul I Subic. Later a cadet branch of the family recieved the Castle of Zrin as a fief. So they take the name Zrinski (Hungarian: Zrínyi) meaning "those of Zrin". The Zrinski family was a staunch supporter of the Habsburg family, until theeir fall from grace in the beginning of the 18th century.
Centuries of warfare defending the border between Christian Europe and Islamic invaders from Asia tend to do that...my ancestors fought for centuries on that same border. Later they were used in various conflicts around Europe such as Napoleonic wars....I had at least three members of my family (that I know of) who lost their lives in those conflicts...two in Netherlands and one in Switzerland.
Joe Kerr only good for war and nothing else. We croatians are not ment to be independent. Thats why we were under monarchy and other western rulers and the world called us white word mercenaries
Thanks for the respect you show us but name me 1 country existing today that didn't had similar out of this world historical characters. We can say we are all, all nations, existing on shoulders of giants that came before us. Somewhat arguable but mostly true !
We DEFINITELY need more of this in the modern world. Too many people are afraid to "die with their boots on". Detonating the powder magazine after the final charge was nice little F you to the besieging army.
Popular aria "U boj, u boj" from opera "Nikola Šubić Zrinski" is sung and known even today in Japan. This battle was such an inspiration that even during and after WW1 Czech legion was singing it, eventually ending in Japan where Japanese liked it so much they still preform it today. You can look it up on YT as well.
The defenders fought with a Samurai-like dedication. Very impressive. A repeated theme in these battles with the Ottoman Empire seems to be the slaughter of the elite Jannitsar troops used as cannon fodder in the frontlines.
Not really, i mean these were all siege battles, which were incredibly hard for attackers. I doubt other units could pull off such attacks on fortified positions.
@Arda Gurbuz with all due respect for assaulting strong points, there was no given outcome. First of all many defenders would have surrendered long before these guys did. And the Turks could have opted for a lot more artillery preparations before they launched their assaults.
On the other hand, the Ottomans deserve credit for such dedicated assaults. I have seen some siege battles in this war series were the defenders gave up way earlier. These men fought to the last.
@Thabo Muso Indeed, the garrison was really brave. Some other garrisons didn't even put up a fight. And i agree, i made my first comment before watching the video but that ambitious Ottoman general seems like he really used his best troops as cannonfodder, still impressive of those Janniseries to capture first two towns in a short time though. Many other units of the empire would probably lose morale after all those relentless assaults and eventually break off.
That was not medieval time. It was still a new age, who started after fall of Constantinople at 29 of May, 1453. 30 of May, 1453 was a first day of new age. Or, if you like, by the Americans new age start in the year 1492. Year 1566 isnt medieval time.
Another phenomenal video with amazing production from the narration and research to the epic score that highlights the critical moment of the battle when the end is near. With all the elements coming together the hair stand up on the back of you neck and you live in hope for the miracle or are filled with inspiration at the last stand. Finally I love the sneaky powder keg tactics of the Hapsburg army.
"When I die, show one of my hand out of the coffin. Let people see that even Sultan Suleiman went away from this world empty-handed" Suleiman the Magnificent
@eri How could alexander steal a quote from suleiman when alexander had been dead for thousands of years before suleiman was even born? That makes no sense. Also turkish culture is a blend of other cultures itself; taking bits and bobs from each country it conquered.
That last war part when zwrinsky's Cannons charge over the bridge and zwrinsky himself charge passing through the bridge for the final assault, is something to be made into a movie.
@KingsAndGenerals - I'm currently rewatching quite a lot of your documentaries as they appear in my suggested list, and as they're always nice to watch (I've watched the documentary of the siege of Malta like 5 times by now ^^). One tiny detail, though: at 13:40, the Treaty of Adrianople was signed with Maximilian II, not Maximilian I who died almost half a century before these events. :)
After watching video of "Siege of Vienna" couple weeks ago I commented how they constantly avoiding to mention or realis the video of "Battle of Siget" where 4000 Croatian fought against 100,000 Turks and surely there it is, thank you Kings and Generals
This age, gave birth many heroes in Hungary. An equally epic and sad battle was the siege of Drégely during the Ottoman-Hungarian Wars. The captain of the castle, Szondy György and his warriors also chose death instead. Remember the Heroes!
Because of battle of Siget and because of Zrinski Croatia is called the Wall of Christianity and Zrinski is immortalised by Croatias famous composer Ivan Plemeniti Zajc in the famous opera Nikola Šubić Zrinjski.
@Kkkkk no, Croatia, because the most and the longest defending battles with around 500 years agains the ottomans were led along today's border region between Croatia and Bosnia
Such a fascinating page of History....and inspirationnal for us, love the diversity of the Ottoman army, just perfect for our miniatures...Top notch video once again, love the animations and maps!😍😍😍
Brothers forever🇭🇺❤🇭🇷 Zrinski's speech before the final charge: “Let us go out from this burning place into the open and stand up to our enemies. Who dies, he will be with God. Who dies not, his name will be honored. I will go first, and what I do, you do as well. And God as my witness - I will never leave you, my brothers and knights!”
György Szondy was a Hungarian soldier and the captain of Drégely Castle. He defended the castle with 146 soldiers against 12000 ottoman army in 1552. The battle hold for 4 days. He was a respected soldier, even by his Turkish foes, whose recognition can be seen by his burial by Hadim Ali Pasha with full military honours. Ali Pasha acknowledged Szondy's bravery, and ordered an ornate marble sarcophagus to be made for Szondy.
@kokosova livada Yeah, because you think that only the Croats fought against the Turks, not the Hungarians. This Croatian self-painting that goes here is ridiculous, forgetting that Szigetvár is still in Hungary, as is Kőszeg.
@Józsi Nagy hahah not at all man! Ofc it is in Hungary and he is also Hungarian hero as well. I dont know ethnic composition of his soldiers but still you should be very proud of him and his soldiers. It is both part of Croatian and Hugarian heritage and history.
Great video!! And I really hoped you'd talk about the siege of Szigetvar for a long long time. Loved this! BUT... Is this the last we'll see of Suleiman? You guys mentioned making a video about his campaign against the Safavids during your video about the sieges of Eger and Buda. I was wondering you were going to do it like the Mongol Invasion of Vietnam, which you covered after the invasion of Japan where it was already mentioned that Kublai Khan died.
Its funny how in LOTR movies the rohirrim cavalry charge at Minas Tirith is based on cavalry charge of Vienna, while the last charge of rohirrim through Helms Deep gates is probably based on Zrinskis last charge as seen here. Except, you know, no magical wizard with plot armor cavalry reinforcements to save the day.
That fortress looked so interesting that I had to look it up, and see what it's like today. Only one of the three sections still stands and the lake has been drained. And now I'm sad. Thanks a lot, Kings and Generals!
It's midnight in Eastern Europe. And I'm thinking. May I reward myself with another Kings n Generals video or do I watch it before work tommorow? God damn, Kings n generals, the content which you put in those videos are priceless. Bless you man for giving us all this information for free and puting so much time in this. Your videos became like a stronghold for me once bad mood or negativity affects me. You cheer me up. God bless you homie.
We don't. You must have conflated itwith a letter written by Petar Zrinski in 1671. to his wife Katarina, after he was caught by Austrians for inciting a rebellion against Wienna (with some help of the Ottomans also, to be fair) and sentenced to death, called "Moje drago serce" (My love"). That letter was part (i guess today also) of a high-school literature curriculum when I went to high-school, not the one from Nikola.
To the best of my of my knowledge, I can assure you that your coverage of the Siege of Siget puts Croatian educational system to shame! Well done KaG! 👋
We have a lengthy baroque epic in Hungarian about this siege, written by Zrínyi's grandson, who himself was a renowned warrior and poet. It's as over-the-top and bloody as you would expect from baroque :D Would make for a nice movie if it has the right budget.
I don't think they expected to be short as Szigetvar is a though castle composed of 3 different islands. Plus, their enemy knew the territory better than them, they probably expected to have more casualties but maybe not that many. This was Suleiman's last attempt to die as a soldier rather than on his deathbed. But, it made a great history and gave change Hungarians to defend their castle bravely.
Lile Stojkovic And of course there has to be a serb who calls croats fascists while popular parties in your country have absolutely no problem burning the croatian flag in the middle of the capital city...
In a period of more than 400 years, no one in my family knew his grandfather. I don't know mine either. For more than 400 years, my ancestors led the lance for the Holy Roman Empire. As the last my great-grandfather in the first WW as Imperial Royal Ulan. Siget is not the only example of Croatian courage, Croatian determination. We have dozens of such examples. Sisak, Sinj to name just two others. We are the wall of Christendom. In einer Periode von mehr als 400 Jahren kannte niemand in meiner Familie seinen Großvater. Auch ich kenne meinen nicht. Mehr als 400 Jahre lang führten meine Vorfahren die Lanze für das Heilige Römische Reich. Als letzter mein Urgroßvater im I. WW als Kaiserlich Königlicher Ulan. Siget ist nicht das einzige Beispiel für kroatischen Mut, kroatische Entschlossenheit. Wir haben Dutzende solcher Beispiele. Sisak, Sin um nur zwei weitere zu nennen. Wir sind der Wall der Christenheit.
If you see the map you notice a strange emptyness at the corner of the citadel. (by the way citadel means per definition a castle on a mountain top and Szigetvar is a water surrounded plain fortress, no mountains even hills there). So in reality an inner castle was at the strange corner what was the fourth bastion of the fortress. This inner castle's gate was the scene where Zrinyi died.
Most famous Croatian stand off. Glorious Croatian noble Nikola Subic Zrinski. I wish more people learn about this. That final explosion killing few thousands yannisaries was intentional. There was a person inside that lit the fuse leading to massive explosion.
"To battle, to battle" (U boj, u boj) from the "Nikola Šubić Zrinski" opera (that is about this battle) is one of the best (if not the best) and most famous Croatian arias. This video eould be even better with it.
Nikola Zrinski/Zrínyi Miklós is one of the greatest heroes in Croation and Hungarian history and a great example of courage and honor in a time when nationalism didn't matter that much. Back then every subject of the old Hungarian Kingdom protected his home against the foreign invaders. That's why we see Croats, Hungarians, Slovaks, Serbs, Poles, Czechs, Romanians fighting against the Ottomans under one banner. That's why we used to say in Hungarian: "they were between two pagans (Germans and Turks), fighting for one country".
Serbs never fought against the Ottomans until 18th century. They were traitors to Europe and Christendom. Battle of Nicopolis being one of the best examples of that when Serbs changed sides mid battle and brought centuries of struggle against foreign Islamic invader.
@Joe Kerr I disagree. Serbs fought Turks in the 14th and 15 century. After their defeat in the battle of Kosovo (1389) some of the Serbian leaders allied themselves with the Hungarians and fought against the Turks. But after the Hungarian defeat of Mohács in 1526 the Serbs couldn't expect much help from Christian nations, thus they had to cooperate with Turks in order to survive. Wedged between to bigger force, no wonder they had to comprimise. We Hungarians also fought with the Turks against Christain powers occasionally.
@Zoltan Katona History disagrees with you. Name me one battle where Serbs resisted the Ottomans...you can't because there isn't one. Even at Kosovo they actually divided and betrayed each other, one side fighting with the Turks. They even fought entire battles for them such as Battle of Ankara. They allied themselves with Turks long before Mohacs. All in all their myths how they resisted and fought the Turks are just plain and simple outright lie and not just that, they are complete reversal and fallacy of historical facts.
Josip hey man, you are aware that nationalism as an ideology was popularized in the late 18th century, and Hungary only got national self-rule in the 1860s. Magyarization policies did not come into being until the 1870s, and were actually probably the most mild form of expansionist nationalism that we have ever witnessed on earth. That is: requiring the speaking of a central language in order to be granted the right to vote, and government business being done in that language - contrast this with what we generally witnessed at the time being done by any nation capable of doing so: ethnic cleansing, forced imprisonment, the tearing apart of families and sending children off to schools away from their families and having their culture ripped from them (in fact, it was exactly these tactics employed by most post-Trianon nations against the Hungarian majorities living in the lands taken away from the Kingdom, though not Croatia). Hell we see these actions even today/far more recently (Azerbaijan, Turkey, Serbia, Iraq, China, Burma, Indonesia), and the reality dawns that Magyarization is not as abhorrent as it was made out to be, despite its very overt philosophical backing that Hungarian culture was superior to neighbouring Slavic cultures (in particular the attempts at Magyarization in Croatia were relatively minor, but ill-advised anyways because it was so overwhelmingly Croatian, and had a clear historical border with Hungary proper). This lasted a whole of 40 years out of a history between the people that is more than 1000 years long, which was overwhelmingly one of working together to fight against shared opponents. Hell, Hungary and Croatia are the Catholic border of Europe to the South and the East, and this was in a time when religion was far more important than nationality. Both countries suffered a similar fate - being forced to bleed out slowly over time as a consequence of being the frontline between the Ottoman Empire and Central Europe - and consequently having their development and people halted for 400 years. Horvath (the Hungarian word for Croat) is actually one of the most common surnames in Hungary and Croats are seen as brothers. Croatia is also the goto vacation destination :P.
![[BE ORIGINAL] XG 'PUPPET SHOW' (4K)](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/txpq9DS1qXM/mqdefault.jpg)
We have finally been upgraded from killing the envoys to killing the personal doctors. GREAT SUCCESS!
Oh, and, another video on Monday!
W00t!
Thanks for the upload! 👍
Plz do a anglo-indian war series(anglo-maratha, anglo-mysore,anglo-sikh,paika rebellion and Indian war or independence)
Still can’t wait for Spartacus baby 😁👍
Will it be about the 3 crusade?
As a Turkish i knew we had a victory on zigetvar but never knew how steel balled the defenders were. Huge respects to Zrynski and his soldiers
Respect
Z R I N S K I ❤️🇭🇷
+1
@Mirjana Matolic he was mixed croat hungarian
Zrinski i samo Zrinski... 👍🇭🇷🇭🇷🇭🇷😍🙏👍
Nikola Zrinski was a great Croatian warrior who still gets great respect today,
Even an opera was dedicated to him
God save us all
Greets and cheers ✌️✝️🇭🇷👍
+ MIK +
Kings and Generals thank you from a croat for covering this battle. You have no idea what it means to me, a history fanatic, to see this event about my small but proud country on your channel.
Thank you!
Sjebali smo Zrinskog ;)
@Master 30 Dijete popij mlijeko i legni. Nije ti ovdje mjesto.
@Rex Croatorum tvoji napadi na mene ne mjenjaju činjenicu. Sakrio se Nikola Šupčić Zrinski kao pacov u tvrđavi i pokusavao odatle po malo raditi dok nije sam Sulejman skrenuo vosku da mu mater jebe. Uglavu mu pucali i otkinuli je i Bosanac Mehmed Paša Sokolović je odnio novom sultanu Selimu.
Another Croatian warrior in the fight against the Ottoman Turks was Baron Nikola Jurišić (1490 to 1545 AD). He and his several hundred men defended the small Hungarian fort at Siege of Güns (Kőszeg) in 1532 AD, against an estimated Ottoman Turkish army of 120,000-140,000 who were advancing towards Vienna.
I read somewhere Baron Jurišić survived 20 assaults on the fort before the Ottoman Turks decided to withdraw.
700-800 Croats vs 100000-120000 Ottomans
These types of battles are what I love about history and warfare. Nothing is more badass then being outnumbered and laughing in the face of death, before fighting to the last man. God bless the heroes of Szigetvar.
If only you arrived
@Tomislav Međeral LoL.
This is what the Croatian military borderr is used to. Hopelessly outnumbered, grinning contemptuously in the face of the enemy and death. That's what my ancestors (all military borderers) did for more than 400 years. Laughed in the face of the Ottoman Empire. I did that myself in 1991/92 against the Serbs.
Das ist es, woran der kroatische Militärgrenzer gewohnt ist. Zahlenmäßig hoffnungslos unterlegen, dem Feind und den Tod verachtend ins Gesicht grinsen. Das haben meine Vorfahren (allesamt Militärgrenzer) mehr als 400 Jahre lang getan. Dem Osmanischen Reich ins Gesicht gelacht. Das habe ich selbst 1991/92 gegenüber den Serben gemacht.
@Crvenkapica IV. ZNGwell,that is just like any other balkan people of that time-kicking the shit out of the ottomans while heavily outnumbered,all in vain,as they sent another, and another army...
May the memory of our brave ancestors live on,greetings from Moldova
Nikola Šubić Zrinski was a Croatian noble in charge of a fortress in Hungary. He had enlarged prepared his garrison for just this; it numbered 2500 troops, about a third of them Hungarian, the rest being Croatian. He has been celebrated since as a hero both by Croatians and Hungarians (they call him Miklos Zrinyi).
In the late 19th century his deeds were made into an opera by Ivan pl. Zajc (a rather good one). By a freak occurrence, the finale of this work was spread to Japan at the end of WW1 by some Austro-Hungarian sailors; the Japanese learned it by heart, but would not learn of its origin for another 60 years after 10 years of research. Today it is the anthem of the prestigious Kwansei Gakuin University in Kobe.
Zrinyi indulo, for as I know is one of the Hungarian versions of the melody
You mean mixed his mother was from Széchy family a hungarian family
His great grandson by the same name wrote a grand epic about the siege in hungarian, which was published in 1647-48, and translated to croatian by the brother of the author.
Bushido code, greatest honor is to die for your people. I am not suprised that Japanese would like this opera.
Fatali khan khoyski 🇦🇿 No he mom was hungarian
As a Turk, I admired Zrinski for his superior effort and courage. He bravely defended Zigetvar against the Turkish army much larger than him and died. The life of our Sultan Suleyman was spent on horseback and on expeditions. He died during his last expedition. Undoubtedly, Sultan Suleyman is a magnificent leader and has written his name in gold letters in Turkish and world history. may Zrinski and Sultan Süleyman rest in peace.
They were both great men, valiant and proud to be sure. History is all the richer to study for such figures.
You have F.C. Zrinjski in Mostar in normal Croatian Bosna.Luka Modrić play there
At the last charge, Zrinski filled his coat with gold coins saying that the man who killed him would not go unrewarded for killing a commander.
Chwała Honoru Zrinskiemu!
As a Croatian i can say that we all knew and admire Nikola Šubić Zrinski. Honour to the fallen
Nikola Šubić Zrinski comes from an old Croatian noble family which is one of the Twelve noble tribes of Croatia and a great noble house that constituted Croatian statehood in the Middle Ages. They held the county of Bribir (Varvaria) in inland Dalmatia. From them branched the prominent Zrinski family. Count Nikola IV Zrinski (born 1508) was the Ban of Dalmatia, Slavonia and Croatia, the commander of Szigetvár (from 1561), and the Habsburg commander in western Hungary (from 1563). He is considered the most courageous and prominent member of the Zrinski family, which together with the Frankopans was the most distinguished and famous noble family in Croatian history.
Very interesting and informative
He was Serbian
@Mr Bullet only in parallel servian universe
@Mr Bullet 😂😂😂
I live in Croatia, near the place where Zrinski lived. We have a statue of him and celebrate him as one of national heroes
Selim Sultan Akbar Did you not watch the video? :D
The Senate what would croatian star wars fan choose for his avatar ? Sith lord character ofcourse haha
There is a Zrinyi street in every Hungarian town and village.
Finally Croatia in the Kings and Generals! More videos about Croatia please 😊
Nikola Subic Zrinski is one of Croatia‘s greatest national heroes. You can see his monuments even today in Zagreb, Vienna and Budapest
Yeah my ass you can ...all overshadowed by Tudjman and Pavelic
@Colorful Escapades everyone can get your ass because you're that easy. Don't recall seeing a statue of tuđman and building a monument to pavelić is literally illegal
Zrinski literally held out long enough to see the Sultan die of old age
He didnt knew the sultan was dead tho, no one knew it
Suliman to his Pashas, "This is Zrinski, the man will fight to the bitter end...and then some!"
Zrinski to the Austrians, "I don't think I can hold Szigetvar indefinitely, but I do believe I can make it a name that makes Ottoman Sultans cry at night."
Zrinski legendary says"GOOD is to high and the empire too far!
Imagine, he nearly of the st peters gate, and there is the Sultan, speaking with the angels, and both look each other and greeting in respect.
@the omen king it is indeed that quote and I see you too are a True Bannerman of the Rightful King.
However given Zrinski's iron heroism and unbending nature in this siege I felt the man worthy of such a comparison to the King I declared for.
Zrinskis great-grandson, Peter Zrinski, was also a military mastermind, in 1663 he ambushed around 10 000 bosnian/otoman raiders with only around 2500 men, 8000 enemies were killed
Min Tin Yeah, there might be some bias but as far as im aware there is no otoman empire anymore, btw i hate when someone replies to my comment and youtube doesn't notify me at all...
@Ahmad ashraf imo they were as equaly bad as the western catholics (at that time period, approximately...). Serbia for example chose to become a vassal of the otomans rather than becoming a catholic vassal (otomans gave serbs freedom of religion, western catholics would have likely converted them from ortodoxy to catholicism). Maybe your otoman ancestors would have accomplished something if they werent messing with the slavs 😂, one who tries to conquer slavic lands always ultimately looses.
@Radogost I think Serbia chose to become a vassal of the ottomans because they had no choice... There was no other stronger empire in that region. After the great Turkish war from which point the Habsburgs gained the upper hand, many Serbs fled to Habsburg empire. The Austrians were tolerant of the Serbs. In fact many Serbs regarded Austrians as their liberators from the ottomans. Relations between Austria and Serbia only became bad after Serbia gained its independence from the ottomans and the promotion of pan slavic ideology,which would indirectly lead to the great war
Nice to see this battle showcased. Nikola Zrinski is indeed a massive historical figure in Croatian textbooks.
He is in the hungarian textbooks too, along with his great-grand son (also) Nikola Zrinski, who was a famous poet, writer and military commander. The Zrinski family is well liked in Hungary too, as many of them held the title of comes of Zala and Somogy counties in Hungary, captains of hungarian transdanubia, or even the captain of all hungarian forces, like the Nikola mentioned above.
Hrvatski heroj
@Don't search Documenting Reality Cristian hero.
Benedek Nagy Croatian soldier with Croatian soldiers 😉
Güzel mücadele etmiş ama sonunda öldürülmüş bir kahraman. Bu savaşta zafer pahalı da olsun patron Türklere ait.
Fun fact There is Croatian football club in Herzegovina name after him and it is most successful club in Bosnia
Zrinjski Mostar I guess ??
@shirsak majumder yes.
Respect for Zrinski for his superior effort and courage. Even after they all were killed, they manage to kille 3000 more, that's just insane. It must been rigged or some suicide bomber, that did that. So many interresting stories and people that gave their life that is out their, it should be a Hollywood movie but unfortunely Hollywood only do same movie over and over, is sad.
Women who remained in the citadel locked themselves inside the powder depot. When the ottomans advanced in order to capture them, the women agreed on a sort of mass suicide ritual, in order to avoid being raped and enslaved by the ottomans.
Interesting facts about battle of Siget in 1566:
1. In the early stages of the battle Zrinski and his knights would ride out to raid Suleimans army and would come back to the fort with the heads of the Turks they killed tied to their horses.
2. After refusing the offer of surrender Zrinski said to the defenders the reason why he refused the offer of becoming the overlord of whole croatia, he said: "No one will ever point at my children in discontent"
3.Before the last stand and the breach to a heroic death Zrinski embroidered gold coins inside his robes as a reward to the man who kills him.
4. He sentenced to death some of the inhabitants for looting during the fires and chaos of the battle
Well he got his head later sent to istanbul where they did not even bother to hang it at the gate of the city like they used to do to every important enemy they fought, so i guess the ottomans were better at that one. And even though he was a brave general i don't get the logic, he refused to be a vassal of the ottomans which could have granted him or his children the chance to break later from the rule of the sultan who was sick at the time( as far as he knew at that time) and knowing that his son was incompetent so i guess he had an excess of pride that denied him and his people their independence for over 400 years. I respect the coins move though, men like him on the battlefield are sometimes more precious than their kings who sit in their thrones and feast while their men die fighting their wars.
@The statistician well one could say he was a real life Eddard "Ned" Stark , his honor was not for sale i guess :)
@The statistician The ottomans respected an enemy who was worth fighting
@DominikJAX well still does not explain it, he has no problem with remaining under austrian rule with no chance to break free instead of falling under ottoman rule and having the chance to break up soon after.
@Evan Syed he was a devout christian and ottomans did torture his lands for 150 years before that, for me that would be reason enough
On one university in Japan, a song U Boj, from Opera Nikola Subic Zrinski is popular and all graduates are singing it.
It is interesting how they learned about the song.. After the I WW, ship from Austrian Navy, was stuck in one coastal city in Japan, needed maintenance & repair, so the sailors stayed there for some time. Most of the sailors were Croats, Checks, Hungarians etc, and since they would sing a song about Zrinski, locals learnt it as well. Just recently, few years ago, the quire from Japanese university visited Croatia and sung the song about Zrinski, that they learnt from sailors after I WW. They performed in national opera house in Zagreb, and their performance was more then stunning.
Love Japan from Croatia
How can university have national anthem?
Magic Johnson i thought all universitites have anthems wtf, your uni doesn't?
@Don't search Documenting Reality yeah, but it's not "national" anthem, it's university anthem
Magic Johnson yeah he probably meant uni anthem
Another fun fact:
The great grandson of Nikola Zrinski (or Zrínyi Miklós in Hungarian), named also Nikola Zrinski, wrote the well-known Hungarian epic poem, The Peril of Sziget (Szigeti veszedelem), roughly 100 years later, as a commemoration of his ancestor's bravery, and to raise the spirit of the Hungarian nation that was by that time all but overwhelmed by the Ottomans.
Finally! Small Croatia receives some recognition! Thank you!
They are a small people today because of the 4+ centuries of sacrifice to fight the Ottomans. But they were a great people before the invasion.
Find war story about Gvozdansko , you will see again what is croatian heroism.
We are small but We have balls
@Kristina Lacić ti ih sigurno nemaš 😂
@Ho lee Phuk ima moj muž, koji je i komentirao ovo, a nije primjetio biser da je na mom profilu 🙈
Im Croatian and honored to see you portray Zrinski correctly!
It's shame the title is in hungarian, it should be Siget, and Nikola Zrinski and his army was entirely Croatian.
@Don't search Documenting Reality well even if they were crotian they were under hungarian rule right? even in the ottoman or any other empires there are lots of commanders or soldiers that their ethnic roots are diffirent from their rulers.
@Don't search Documenting Reality Many Hungarian blood was spilled for Szigetvár too
D. A. Not really
Enes Akhan it was personal union with Hungary, but later we joined Habsburgs.
We Croats were on the border with ottomans during the 15th and 16th century and often acted as the last bastion of Christianity between the Ottomans and the rest of the Europe. We were devout Christians and consider it a duty to defend to the last man if needed, however it has to be said that Ottomans were very often respectful and offered good treaties and held onto their words. In many ways I consider Ottomans to be among the most honourable and reasonable nations during medieval era, and they often offered really good terms to anyone who would show a degree of honor themselves.
12:38 that's in between epic and hillarious
Not even death could prevent a man of rejoicing after such a play.
I'll remember Zrinski, and Sziegtvár.
Great video guys
What a great story! Thank you for popularizing such honorable men and their deeds!
I can't of course verify that this siege was a direct tactical inspiration, but it is remarkably similar to the siege of Mesologgi during the greek war of independence 250 years later. The defenders even sallied out against the ottoman-egyptian army and a lot of them even made it out. This event is also immortalised in many paintings which also look similar to the picture shown in the video. Man, I hope we get to see that event later on in the series.
A pretty impressive video. The defenders were heroic to the end. My compliments to them.
The Kings and Generals Ottoman series is one of the greatest historical docuseries no cap
Abid Abrar Milky 2 And almost İtaly
Boris Erdogan Only death of Sultan Mehmet halted the progress.
SKANDERBEG
All that I can say to Croatian bro's: Thanks to joined and lead the army of Szigetvar (gave us Miklós Zrínyi). What an epic battle was that (20.000 losses for the Ottoman army, unfortunately almost the entire defender army died) . This is one of the reason why I'm really happy that the Hungarian army modernization program called Zrinyi 2026.
Sandor Kovacs Just don’t forget that Hungary 🇭🇺 is an observer country at Turkic Council (Ural-Altaic Kurultaj) Hopefully Huns of Attila and, Bulgars of Volga 🇧🇬 will be strong again, religions age is over, Hajra Turan!
When his soliders asked are there any reinforcements coming, Zrinjski said: "The king is too far and God is too high (in the sky), we are on our own"
Croatians fight to the death!
Oh wow, there is an extremely similar Chinese quote: 'The heavens are high and the emperor is far away." But it is more in the context of the central government failing to curb corruption or lawlessness.
He didn't say "God is too high we are on our own."
He said: "Emperor is too far away,but God is in the sky" (meaning He will be watching them and will be on their side during the battle,and that they are NOT on their own)
a poemic way of saying "guys we are screwed" :D :D
I'm usually into more ancient or recent history, so I never knew much about the Ottoman invasions beyond a little involving Vlad the Impaler, but this has probably become my favorite series. The epic stories of bravery and sacrifice are incredible and I usually end up watching these with tears in my eyes. Thank you for making these!
if you look at the map of Ottoman conquets in Europe, the part they held for a long time is the most poor and underdeveloped in Europe.We still suffer the consuequences of 500 years of struggle to survive the invasions
@tomo123igen, mert az oszmán birodalom szélein mindig fejletlenebb egy ország. Nézd meg, az őrségben csak a -60-as években vezették be a villanyt, határsáv volt!
What an absolute mad lad. The type of figure the world needs to remember.
Nikola Šubić Zrinski and his men are true heroes of their time. He is immortal and in company with true God now, The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit and all the heavenly host. He is an embodiment of true christian, a knight.
Thanks K&G, I was waiting for this for a long time. Greeting from Croatia!
+++ DEUS VULT +++
The last charge of Zrinski reminds me of helms deep when aragorn rallies the troops to ride out one more time. Sad that there was no Gandalf to help Zrinski.
@LuftWaffe ME 109bf You take sides if you are croatian like I am ;)
@LuftWaffe ME 109bf I'm with ya on that, though I'm a history major myself, lol
Well said Luftwaffe. Spoken like a true student of history.
@LuftWaffe ME 109bf U R right. Taxation of the rajas is more profitable...
Don't worry about decimated nations, and slavery and such nuances. Advanced social behavior is what matters.
@LuftWaffe ME 109bf You have some points, but consider this; even today the areas that were under Ottomans are much less financially capable of those under Austro-Hungary or West European powers in general. It might be because Ottomans did not industrialise as well.
And don't think its naive to dislike the Turks, it was hundreds of years of war, kidnapping children as in blood tax for them to become janissaries, the Croat mothers either tattooed their children or cut off a finger so the Turks don't take them. And for punishment they hang people on large meat hooks inserted beneath the ribs. So yeah it wasn't paradise or hell but there are two sides of every story and at the end war is either for conquest/gains or survival, and Croatians were on the defensive side.
It's fascinating to see so many similarities in the course of events between the siege of Szigetvar and the siege of Messolongi during the Greek war of independence of 1821. Both sieges cost the Ottomans a great deal of men and time and ended in a heroic exodus.
We owe a lot to Zrinsky. What a hero.
Amazing video, explaining everything very well and detailed.
Long live Croatia and Hungary in brotherhood.
Hungarian arent our friends
Josip koju povijest da nauci, ovu jugokomunjarsku s kojom su nas trovali u skolama i pricali nam o madjarima kao vjekovnim neprijateljima, umjesto da su pricali to isto ali o turcima?
@Merciful Angel dobar savjet gospon. A po tim evropskim kljigama Madari nama nikad nisu bili prijatelji niti su to danas. Nikad se nisu mogli pomiriti sa cinjenicom, da smo mi Hrvati slobodan, suveren narod. Izgleda, da je to i vama promaklo. Ako su vam Madari najbolji prijatelji izvolite se preseliti u Madarsku.
Mislim, manje-vise dobro se slazemo tu u Baranji i sjevernoj Slavoniji i Osijeku, ali to je samo lokalno prijateljstvo i definitivno se ne odnosi na cijelu Hrvatsku. I činjenica je da su Mađari na crno nama prodavali oruzje za vrijeme embarga na Jugoslaviju 90-ih
Awesome defiance in the face of certain death. Seems an even greater feat of courage and grit and stubbornness than the 300 Spartans. 20,000+ wins by a massively outnumbered army. Truly awe-inspiring.
To be fair,what the fuck else can you do when all the diplomatic bridges have been burned? You'll be killed even if you surrender,so you might as well go down fighting like there's no tomorrow (because there literally isn't).
As a Turk, I'd like to say that Zrinski is a real hero for Christians. I respect him because he was a brave commander. May both Sultan Suleiman and Zrinski rest in peace. They played their roles in this world and passed away. No need to have more clashes between people. This is history and past is past.
Amen
@Blandie HAHAHAHAHAHAH that's a good one pal
bravo
best comment here
Zrinski was above all a Croat. He’s a national hero of Croatia until today
You need to do one on Gvozdansko, it was far more gruesome and symbollic of resistance! The defenders literally died on the walls from exposure rather than give up their castle.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Gvozdansko
According to some Turkish sources, the target of the campaign was Eger, which was previously besieged but not conquered. However in the meantime, Zrinksi was raiding into Ottoman territory, so they wanted to punish him.
Overall historians also often mention that, there was peace with Habsburgs at that time, campaign was already needless and meant to be a respond to popular unrest due to unsuccessful Malta Siege, previous year.
Suleiman was already very ill at the beginning of the campaign and prebably knew he won't see Istanbol again. He stilled marched at the head of army at the age of 72, which was very old for that century (still old as well)
btw Eastern Hungary (Erdel) was an Ottaman vassal just like Wallachia and Moldovia. The map has a problem there.
Zrinski's head was later returned and buried in the Zrinski family tomb in Cakovec.
the museum there also holds his sabre
House of Subic to which Zrinski belonged was from Bribir in the background of Zadar in Dalmatia, not from Cakovec. Zrinski was Dalmatian.
I understand less than 80% of what either of you said,
But I feel smarter for have read your comments.
:)
*Between Zadar and Šibenik
Zasto pisete na engleskom,kad ste Hrvati
@Don't search Documenting Reality so that whole world can understand us.
The Subic family one of the most influential and powerful aristocrat family from Croatia. Wiith the union of Hungary and Croatia they retained their powerful positions. For example Charles I of Hungary became king thanks to the support Paul I Subic. Later a cadet branch of the family recieved the Castle of Zrin as a fief. So they take the name Zrinski (Hungarian: Zrínyi) meaning "those of Zrin". The Zrinski family was a staunch supporter of the Habsburg family, until theeir fall from grace in the beginning of the 18th century.
Elite Mangudai Look up Türkenhilfe
Pavao( Paul ) was actually de facto ruler of Croatia in 14th century.
Habsburgs gave the Croats to Italian nobles as pesants.
Excellent historic analysis and very objective. Nicely done! :)
My primary school in Hungary was named after Zrínyi, and I hope you know that he was a poet as well.
You guys never disappoint. Keep up the great work!
Always wondered where the famed toughness of the Croatians came from. That resilience was forged centuries ago.
Centuries of warfare defending the border between Christian Europe and Islamic invaders from Asia tend to do that...my ancestors fought for centuries on that same border. Later they were used in various conflicts around Europe such as Napoleonic wars....I had at least three members of my family (that I know of) who lost their lives in those conflicts...two in Netherlands and one in Switzerland.
Joe Kerr only good for war and nothing else. We croatians are not ment to be independent. Thats why we were under monarchy and other western rulers and the world called us white word mercenaries
Back when Croats had honor... and balls
@Vuk Davidovic we beat the invaders in the 90's as well. Everything is still there.
Thanks for the respect you show us but name me 1 country existing today that didn't had similar out of this world historical characters. We can say we are all, all nations, existing on shoulders of giants that came before us. Somewhat arguable but mostly true !
We DEFINITELY need more of this in the modern world. Too many people are afraid to "die with their boots on".
Detonating the powder magazine after the final charge was nice little F you to the besieging army.
Popular aria "U boj, u boj" from opera "Nikola Šubić Zrinski" is sung and known even today in Japan. This battle was such an inspiration that even during and after WW1 Czech legion was singing it, eventually ending in Japan where Japanese liked it so much they still preform it today. You can look it up on YT as well.
The defenders fought with a Samurai-like dedication. Very impressive.
A repeated theme in these battles with the Ottoman Empire seems to be the slaughter of the elite Jannitsar troops used as cannon fodder in the frontlines.
Not really, i mean these were all siege battles, which were incredibly hard for attackers. I doubt other units could pull off such attacks on fortified positions.
@Olcay Alp Bayram This was the case sometimes but mostly they died because taking fortified positions in those years was simply damn too hard.
@Arda Gurbuz with all due respect for assaulting strong points, there was no given outcome.
First of all many defenders would have surrendered long before these guys did.
And the Turks could have opted for a lot more artillery preparations before they launched their assaults.
On the other hand, the Ottomans deserve credit for such dedicated assaults.
I have seen some siege battles in this war series were the defenders gave up way earlier. These men fought to the last.
@Thabo Muso Indeed, the garrison was really brave. Some other garrisons didn't even put up a fight. And i agree, i made my first comment before watching the video but that ambitious Ottoman general seems like he really used his best troops as cannonfodder, still impressive of those Janniseries to capture first two towns in a short time though. Many other units of the empire would probably lose morale after all those relentless assaults and eventually break off.
A true medieval "Thermopylae". Respect! 🇦🇱🇭🇷
@Ibras Croatia and Albania are natural allies in the illyric peninsula. Respect 🇭🇷🇦🇱💪
That was not medieval time. It was still a new age, who started after fall of Constantinople at 29 of May, 1453. 30 of May, 1453 was a first day of new age. Or, if you like, by the Americans new age start in the year 1492. Year 1566 isnt medieval time.
Finally, I thought: "How long till another Ottoman episode?" - this series is AWESOME!!!
You and me both buddy.
Me too
Me too 😂
Totally agreed! It'd be much harder to follow via reading like 20 books.
this entire series has so many crazy siege battles! love it
Another phenomenal video with amazing production from the narration and research to the epic score that highlights the critical moment of the battle when the end is near. With all the elements coming together the hair stand up on the back of you neck and you live in hope for the miracle or are filled with inspiration at the last stand. Finally I love the sneaky powder keg tactics of the Hapsburg army.
Fun fact: After this battle Zrinski was compared to Leonidas and this whole battle was compared to the Battle of Thermopylay
It was also what I thought about
Sto ti dode Jure?
"When I die, show one of my hand out of the coffin. Let people see that even Sultan Suleiman went away from this world empty-handed"
Suleiman the Magnificent
Same as Alexander the Great! Unbelievable
@liagoutas liagoutas cuz Süleyman had read the history of Alexander the great
seems like stealing other people history and culture has deep roots in turkish culture
@eri How could alexander steal a quote from suleiman when alexander had been dead for thousands of years before suleiman was even born? That makes no sense. Also turkish culture is a blend of other cultures itself; taking bits and bobs from each country it conquered.
That last war part when zwrinsky's Cannons charge over the bridge and zwrinsky himself charge passing through the bridge for the final assault, is something to be made into a movie.
@KingsAndGenerals - I'm currently rewatching quite a lot of your documentaries as they appear in my suggested list, and as they're always nice to watch (I've watched the documentary of the siege of Malta like 5 times by now ^^). One tiny detail, though: at 13:40, the Treaty of Adrianople was signed with Maximilian II, not Maximilian I who died almost half a century before these events. :)
After watching video of "Siege of Vienna" couple weeks ago I commented how they constantly avoiding to mention or realis the video of "Battle of Siget" where 4000 Croatian fought against 100,000 Turks and surely there it is, thank you Kings and Generals
Now on to the Siege of Gvozdansko, another epic battle of few against many worthy of a movie spectacle that none knows about.
This age, gave birth many heroes in Hungary. An equally epic and sad battle was the siege of Drégely during the Ottoman-Hungarian Wars. The captain of the castle, Szondy György and his warriors also chose death instead. Remember the Heroes!
Huge respect for brave Zrinyi and brave people 👏👏
Because of battle of Siget and because of Zrinski Croatia is called the Wall of Christianity and Zrinski is immortalised by Croatias famous composer Ivan Plemeniti Zajc in the famous opera Nikola Šubić Zrinjski.
You mean Hungary
@Kkkkk what Hungary?
@Kkkkk no, Croatia, because the most and the longest defending battles with around 500 years agains the ottomans were led along today's border region between Croatia and Bosnia
Such a fascinating page of History....and inspirationnal for us, love the diversity of the Ottoman army, just perfect for our miniatures...Top notch video once again, love the animations and maps!😍😍😍
Brothers forever🇭🇺❤🇭🇷
Zrinski's speech before the final charge:
“Let us go out from this burning place into the open and stand up to our enemies. Who dies, he will be with God. Who dies not, his name will be honored. I will go first, and what I do, you do as well. And God as my witness - I will never leave you, my brothers and knights!”
Do the siege of Gvozdansko next!!!
György Szondy was a Hungarian soldier and the captain of Drégely Castle. He defended the castle with 146 soldiers against 12000 ottoman army in 1552. The battle hold for 4 days. He was a respected soldier, even by his Turkish foes, whose recognition can be seen by his burial by Hadim Ali Pasha with full military honours. Ali Pasha acknowledged Szondy's bravery, and ordered an ornate marble sarcophagus to be made for Szondy.
Wow I never knew that! Greetings from Croatia!
@kokosova livada Yeah, because you think that only the Croats fought against the Turks, not the Hungarians. This Croatian self-painting that goes here is ridiculous, forgetting that Szigetvár is still in Hungary, as is Kőszeg.
@Józsi Nagy hahah not at all man! Ofc it is in Hungary and he is also Hungarian hero as well. I dont know ethnic composition of his soldiers but still you should be very proud of him and his soldiers. It is both part of Croatian and Hugarian heritage and history.
@kokosova livada That is right.
@Józsi Nagy chill out bro, what's the problem? There is no problem
I am honored that my children bear this honorable Croatian surname .
Just came here to say that IM PROUD TO BE CROAT! 🇭🇷🇭🇷🇭🇷🇭🇷
What a legendary defence and battle , may they never be forgotten
Great video!! And I really hoped you'd talk about the siege of Szigetvar for a long long time. Loved this!
BUT...
Is this the last we'll see of Suleiman? You guys mentioned making a video about his campaign against the Safavids during your video about the sieges of Eger and Buda. I was wondering you were going to do it like the Mongol Invasion of Vietnam, which you covered after the invasion of Japan where it was already mentioned that Kublai Khan died.
Its funny how in LOTR movies the rohirrim cavalry charge at Minas Tirith is based on cavalry charge of Vienna, while the last charge of rohirrim through Helms Deep gates is probably based on Zrinskis last charge as seen here. Except, you know, no magical wizard with plot armor cavalry reinforcements to save the day.
That fortress looked so interesting that I had to look it up, and see what it's like today. Only one of the three sections still stands and the lake has been drained. And now I'm sad. Thanks a lot, Kings and Generals!
As soon as I saw the name of the video, I immediately clicked on the video :)
Also please do the battle of Sisak in 1593 :)
Love you guys! ❤❤❤❤
It sue be but still battle of lepanto and battles with persia in 1580s
"Suleiman expected it to be a short siege"
Say what you like but this guy did not learn from his mistakes
Great content as usual! I found the soldiers jumping from the ladder hilarious 7:44
It's midnight in Eastern Europe. And I'm thinking. May I reward myself with another Kings n Generals video or do I watch it before work tommorow? God damn, Kings n generals, the content which you put in those videos are priceless. Bless you man for giving us all this information for free and puting so much time in this. Your videos became like a stronghold for me once bad mood or negativity affects me. You cheer me up. God bless you homie.
A small victory for a high price. Well done,Croats and Hungarians!
Being helpless enough to be happy to defeat :)
Have a look at this SLAVe being content after a defeat. Ironic
m. 7ero you call this a victory hahah
Here in Croatia we have to learn the speech of Zrinski by heart. Its quite epic.
We don't. You must have conflated itwith a letter written by Petar Zrinski in 1671. to his wife Katarina, after he was caught by Austrians for inciting a rebellion against Wienna (with some help of the Ottomans also, to be fair) and sentenced to death, called "Moje drago serce" (My love"). That letter was part (i guess today also) of a high-school literature curriculum when I went to high-school, not the one from Nikola.
@Čovjek apsurda no, it was the speech or oath to his troops in siget. Well sorry for generalizing but in my school we had to.
@Dario Was it in a literature book or on your teacher own demand?
Koji k pricate engleski kad oba znate hrv
@Filip Soldić da ameri razumiju kako smo pametni :)
To the best of my of my knowledge, I can assure you that your coverage of the Siege of Siget puts Croatian educational system to shame! Well done KaG! 👋
My respect for the great general Zrinski
May the Lawgiver rest in peace as his life ended in bitterness. He truly deserved his title of Magnificent
The moment you mentioned Zrinski I somehow knew he would be a badass, and my god he was.
We have a lengthy baroque epic in Hungarian about this siege, written by Zrínyi's grandson, who himself was a renowned warrior and poet. It's as over-the-top and bloody as you would expect from baroque :D Would make for a nice movie if it has the right budget.
We are very grateful to you as Turks. Because you are very successful about reality and provide unbiased and accurate information.
Ottoman army: ''This will be a short siege.''
Every singel defender of Szigetvar: ''So I took that personaly.''
I don't think they expected to be short as Szigetvar is a though castle composed of 3 different islands. Plus, their enemy knew the territory better than them, they probably expected to have more casualties but maybe not that many. This was Suleiman's last attempt to die as a soldier rather than on his deathbed. But, it made a great history and gave change Hungarians to defend their castle bravely.
Fun fact: the Hungarian Military Academy is to this day named after Zrinski (Zrínyi Miklós -- his Hungarian name).
Funny how they named it after a Croat..respect from Croatia.
It is named after the poet and military strategist, not this hero, but same name so no fuss :D
@András Knuth Yes, it s named after his grandson if I am not mistaken.
Vödör Dárt it aint my fault hungarians dont have a hero so you try to steal one from us.. HE WAS CROATIAN.
István Czap back then it wasn't called Austria-Hungary, it was Habsburg Empire
Salute the guy who fought so bravely. I admire brave and committed people.
This is the definition of courage, heroism, and self-sacrifice
We Croatians are like that
@Don't search Documenting Reality I saw that in the balkan war! 1991-1995
@Don't search Documenting Reality Proud to hear that
Lile Stojkovic And of course there has to be a serb who calls croats fascists while popular parties in your country have absolutely no problem burning the croatian flag in the middle of the capital city...
In a period of more than 400 years, no one in my family knew his grandfather. I don't know mine either. For more than 400 years, my ancestors led the lance for the Holy Roman Empire. As the last my great-grandfather in the first WW as Imperial Royal Ulan. Siget is not the only example of Croatian courage, Croatian determination. We have dozens of such examples. Sisak, Sinj to name just two others. We are the wall of Christendom.
In einer Periode von mehr als 400 Jahren kannte niemand in meiner Familie seinen Großvater. Auch ich kenne meinen nicht. Mehr als 400 Jahre lang führten meine Vorfahren die Lanze für das Heilige Römische Reich. Als letzter mein Urgroßvater im I. WW als Kaiserlich Königlicher Ulan. Siget ist nicht das einzige Beispiel für kroatischen Mut, kroatische Entschlossenheit. Wir haben Dutzende solcher Beispiele. Sisak, Sin um nur zwei weitere zu nennen. Wir sind der Wall der Christenheit.
If you see the map you notice a strange emptyness at the corner of the citadel. (by the way citadel means per definition a castle on a mountain top and Szigetvar is a water surrounded plain fortress, no mountains even hills there). So in reality an inner castle was at the strange corner what was the fourth bastion of the fortress. This inner castle's gate was the scene where Zrinyi died.
Most famous Croatian stand off. Glorious Croatian noble Nikola Subic Zrinski. I wish more people learn about this. That final explosion killing few thousands yannisaries was intentional. There was a person inside that lit the fuse leading to massive explosion.
If i remember correctly that person was Zrinski's wife.
He was half hungarian
Siege of guns-nikola jurišić
Thank you so much!I'm so pleased that you guys had done that so great and without holding a side and ı'm a Turk too by the way keep up the good work!
Zrinski was a total badass. great video.
Well done. Fascinating story well told.
"To battle, to battle" (U boj, u boj) from the "Nikola Šubić Zrinski" opera (that is about this battle) is one of the best (if not the best) and most famous Croatian arias. This video eould be even better with it.
Nikola Zrinski/Zrínyi Miklós is one of the greatest heroes in Croation and Hungarian history and a great example of courage and honor in a time when nationalism didn't matter that much. Back then every subject of the old Hungarian Kingdom protected his home against the foreign invaders. That's why we see Croats, Hungarians, Slovaks, Serbs, Poles, Czechs, Romanians fighting against the Ottomans under one banner.
That's why we used to say in Hungarian: "they were between two pagans (Germans and Turks), fighting for one country".
Serbs never fought against the Ottomans until 18th century. They were traitors to Europe and Christendom. Battle of Nicopolis being one of the best examples of that when Serbs changed sides mid battle and brought centuries of struggle against foreign Islamic invader.
@Joe Kerr I disagree. Serbs fought Turks in the 14th and 15 century. After their defeat in the battle of Kosovo (1389) some of the Serbian leaders allied themselves with the Hungarians and fought against the Turks. But after the Hungarian defeat of Mohács in 1526 the Serbs couldn't expect much help from Christian nations, thus they had to cooperate with Turks in order to survive. Wedged between to bigger force, no wonder they had to comprimise. We Hungarians also fought with the Turks against Christain powers occasionally.
@Zoltan Katona History disagrees with you. Name me one battle where Serbs resisted the Ottomans...you can't because there isn't one. Even at Kosovo they actually divided and betrayed each other, one side fighting with the Turks. They even fought entire battles for them such as Battle of Ankara. They allied themselves with Turks long before Mohacs. All in all their myths how they resisted and fought the Turks are just plain and simple outright lie and not just that, they are complete reversal and fallacy of historical facts.
Josip hey man, you are aware that nationalism as an ideology was popularized in the late 18th century, and Hungary only got national self-rule in the 1860s. Magyarization policies did not come into being until the 1870s, and were actually probably the most mild form of expansionist nationalism that we have ever witnessed on earth. That is: requiring the speaking of a central language in order to be granted the right to vote, and government business being done in that language - contrast this with what we generally witnessed at the time being done by any nation capable of doing so: ethnic cleansing, forced imprisonment, the tearing apart of families and sending children off to schools away from their families and having their culture ripped from them (in fact, it was exactly these tactics employed by most post-Trianon nations against the Hungarian majorities living in the lands taken away from the Kingdom, though not Croatia).
Hell we see these actions even today/far more recently (Azerbaijan, Turkey, Serbia, Iraq, China, Burma, Indonesia), and the reality dawns that Magyarization is not as abhorrent as it was made out to be, despite its very overt philosophical backing that Hungarian culture was superior to neighbouring Slavic cultures (in particular the attempts at Magyarization in Croatia were relatively minor, but ill-advised anyways because it was so overwhelmingly Croatian, and had a clear historical border with Hungary proper).
This lasted a whole of 40 years out of a history between the people that is more than 1000 years long, which was overwhelmingly one of working together to fight against shared opponents. Hell, Hungary and Croatia are the Catholic border of Europe to the South and the East, and this was in a time when religion was far more important than nationality. Both countries suffered a similar fate - being forced to bleed out slowly over time as a consequence of being the frontline between the Ottoman Empire and Central Europe - and consequently having their development and people halted for 400 years. Horvath (the Hungarian word for Croat) is actually one of the most common surnames in Hungary and Croats are seen as brothers. Croatia is also the goto vacation destination :P.
Just when you think the guy had nothing left he throws you a giant middle finger and kills 3,000 of your troops
The Ottomans literally lost half of their army by the end of August. For a little castle, they sacrificed more than 20,000 of their soldiers