Hungarian Towns Against the Ottoman Advance in the Middle Ages: the Cases of Pécs, Szeged and Temesvár

Abstract

The study aims to demonstrate the geographical, legal and political status of three southern Hungarian towns and the role that these towns played in the wars against the Ottomans from the late 14th to the early 16th century. Pécs, located in the Transdanubian part of the realm was a rich episcopal city, while Szeged lying at the confluence of the Rivers Tisza and Maros was a thriving royal free town of the Great Hungarian Plain. The third town, Temesvár (today Timişoara, Romania) located on the eastern fringe of the Great Hungarian Plain was a royal seigneurial town, the seat of the powerful counts of Temes which served as the gateway of the realm to the Balkans. The study consists of three chapters: the first analyses the development and characteristics of the towns under scrutiny in the Middle Ages, the second outlines Ottoman – Hungarian relations between the late 14th and the mid-16th century, while the third examines the role that these towns played in the anti-Ottoman wars.