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The Battle of Guruslău or Battle of Goroszló (Hungarian: goroszlói csata) was fought on 3 August 1601, between the troops of the Habsburg monarchy led by Giorgio Basta, the Cossacks and Wallachia led by Michael the Brave on one side, and the Transylvanian troops led by Sigismund Báthory on the other side. It was part of a series of military encounters between the Ottoman Empire and opposing European states during 1591–1606 (see also The Long War).
| Battle of Guruslău | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Long War (Ottoman wars) | |||||||||
 Center: Discordia, holding some of the 110 flags captured by Michael and Basta (left: Moldavia, right: Odorhei, center: Báthory's flag). Right: Transylvanian prisoners sitting under a round shield with Transylvanian symbols: a hand, a bird, a donkey, a sheep. Left: Diana, holding a spear with the imperial twin-headed eagle, under the Capricorn, Emperor Rudolph II's astrological sign. By Hans von Aachen, 1603–1604 | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
|
Wallachia Habsburg Monarchy Cossacks |
Principality of Transylvania Moldavia | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
|
Michael the Brave Giorgio Basta | Sigismund Báthory | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| 20,000 |
40,000 45 cannons | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| Unknown | 10,000, all cannons captured | ||||||||
Background
editMichael asked for assistance from Emperor Rudolf II during a visit in Prague between 23 February and 5 March 1601. The visit was granted when the emperor heard that General Giorgio Basta had lost control of Transylvania to the Transylvanian Hungarian nobility led by Sigismund Báthory, who accepted Ottoman protection. Meanwhile, Wallachian forces loyal to Michael and led by his son, Nicolae Pătrașcu, drove out Simion Movilă from Moldavia and prepared to re-enter Transylvania.[1]
Battle
editThe battle was carried out by two armies, those of Michael the Brave (Wallachians and Cossacks) together with Giorgio Basta, on one side and those of Sigismund Báthory on the other side. The battle happened between 9 am and 7 pm on 3 August 1601. The Battle of Guruslău took place in the plain of the river Guruslău, a small right tributary of the Zalău.[2]
Legacy
editA monument was built to commemorate the victory of Michael the Brave.[3]
Gallery
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Battle of Braşov (1603): Different flags captured by Giorgio Basta
External links
editNotes
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- ^ Dinu C. Giurescu, Stephen Fischer-Galați. Romania, p. 141. East European Monographs, 1998. pp. 201–205
- ^ Constantin C. Giurescu, Istoria Românilor, 1943
- ^ (in English) Guruslau, Monument Mihai Viteazul