The Battle of Mohács, 1526

The Battle of Mohács on 29 August 1526 marked the beginning of the Habsburgs’ Turkish Wars, which lasted until well into the eighteenth century and reached their climax in the two Turkish sieges of Vienna, the first in 1529, the second in 1683. The battle, which led to some 10,000 people being killed or driven from their homes, resulted in an expansion of the Habsburg territories. Among the dead was King Louis II of Hungary and Bohemia; his territories passed to Ferdinand I, a Habsburg who later became Holy Roman Emperor.