Military leader, Voivode of Transylvania, governor of Hungary, Lord Lieutenant of Temes County
One of the greatest military leaders of his time called „the Turkish defeater”. Between 1441-1456 he was the Voivode of Transilvania and the Lord Lieutenant of Temes County.
He was the son of Vajk and Erzsébet Morzsinay. According to Romanian sources Vajk (Jánk/Janu) was Romanian, other sources say he might have been of Kun ethnicity. In 1409 the count of Luxemburg gave him the fortress of Hunyad (today Hunedoara, Romania) and its surrounding estates and that was where Hunyadi’s family name came from. There is a lot of uncertainty regarding his birthplace: some say he was born in the fortress of Hollós in Hunyad County, according to other sources he was born in Hunyad or Hátszeg. Jenő Szentkláray, the renowned historian of Banat county states that he was born in Hollós, a place between Kikinda and Szőlős (Nákófalva). His year of birth is also uncertain: some historian’s place it in 1400 others in 1407.
In 1432 Hunyadi married Erzsébet Horogszegi Szilágyi and they had two sons: László (1433) and Mátyás (1443). In 1438 king Albert and his younger brother János jr. appointed him governor of Szörény (Severin) and Lord Lieutenant of Temes County. The king, on his deathbed, nominated Hunyadi the tutor of his child to be born. Since the young László was under age, the country would have been governed by a woman, which János Hunyadi wanted to avoid so he did everything in his power to get the Polish king, László I to be elected king of Hungary. László I was crowned in 1440. King László I appointed Hunyadi captain of Nándorfehérvár (Belgrade) and jointly with Miklós Ujlaki the Voivode of Transylvania.
He began his military career serving as a page, then entered the service of the Serbian despot Stefan Lazarević. From 1427 entered the service of László Újlaki and later on the one of Demeter Csupor. In 1430 he entered the service of King Sigismund. Later he became member in the royal council. He followed the king in Rome, Bazel and Czech. Hunyadi got familiar with the most up-to-date Italian, Hussite and Turkish war tactics.
In 1441 he defeated the Turkish troops, which were devastating Serbia and also the troops of the Turkish governor Isák (Iszhák) at Szendrő. In 1442 he won several battles over the Turkish troops at Marosszentimre and near Szeben (Sibiu). On September 6, 1442 at the Iron Gate, near Zajkány with his 12-15000 men Hunyadi defeated the Turkish troops of 810000 soldiers. In the battle fought near the mountain pass most of the Turkish soldiers, were killed. In 1443 László decided to attack the Turkish troops. He appointed János Hunaydi as the Chief Commander of his troops. He left Buda with 20000 Hungarian and Polish soldiers; another 100000 Serbian and Bosnian soldiers joined them. He defeated the united Turkish troops at the Morava River and took over Sofia. In winter, due to food shortages, they had to go back, but Hunyadi managed to get back from the Sultan the fortresses of Szendrő and Galambóc to Serbia by offering him a 10-year-truce. The Sultan also paid 100000 gold as a compensation to King László.
The several victories over the Ottoman troops raised hope for a decisive victory. In spite of the peace treaty with Sultan Murad in Adrianople, the troops lead by King László and János Hunaydi attacked the Turkish troops. Sultan Murad’s troops reacted promptly, which took Hunyadi’s men by surprise and on November the 10 in the Battle of Varna he defeated his attackers. King László also lost his life in the battle. Since the king didn’t have descendents, the crown was inherited by Albert and Elisabeth’s 4-year-old son, who was entrusted by his mother to the German king Frederick III, together with the crown. Hunyadi managed to get László V appointed by the Parliament regent of Hungary in spite of his underage.
In September 1447 Hunyadi got the fortress of Buda as well. He was also made prince, but he never used his title. In 1448 János Hunyadi, together with the Turkish governor Skander of Albania was planning to fight the Turkish troops. But the Sultan challenged Hunaydi to battle before the arrival of the Turkish governor. The Turkish forces outnumbered Hunyadi’s troops and thus, won the battle. In 1450, in the treaty concluded with the emperor, Hunyadi was compelled to recognize László V’s right to the throne. In 1453 he resigned as a governor during a Parliament session but he kept his rank of captain and remained Lord Lieutenant of Temes County. László, as a reward for Hunyadi’s services, named him count of Beszterce and Captain General of the kingdom. The king also expanded his coat-of-arms with the so-called Beszterce Lions.
In 1454, at Krusevac, the troops led by Hunyadi defeated the forces of the Turkish governor Feriz. Hunyadi suggested a force made up by 100,000 soldiers to be recruited to drive the Turks out from Europe. He did not get any support; in 1456 the sultan’s troops attacked Belgrade, which was defended by garrison under the command of his brother-in-law Mihály Szilágyi.
Hunyadi assembled all the flotillas from the Danube and the Tisa and attacked the Turkish flotilla. “After the fight there was plenty of fish food left from both parties” wrote the Thuróczy chronicle. On July 20, at noon, the Turkish troops attacked the already destroyed fortress. The crusade troops arrived led by the Franciscan friar Giovanni Capistrano and by next morning there was no Turkish soldier left in the fortress.
This was Hunaydi’s greatest and in the same times his last victory because plague broke out in Hunyadi’s camp after siege as a consequence of the huge amount of corpses still lying on the battlefield. Hunyadi died of plague. Three weeks after his death, Giovanni da Capistrano also died. It is said that the reason why the bells of every European church are rung every day at noon is to commemorate this victory. But the bells had already been rung one month before Hunyadi’s victory. But Calixtus III ordered the feast of the Transfiguration to be held to commemorate the victory.
János Hunyadi was buried inside the Cathedral of Alba Iulia. The epitaph on his tombstone says: “the light of the world has passed away”.
