ON THE VERGE OF A NEW ERA

The Battle of Mohács (29 August 1526) is a singular event of symbolic significance for Hungary and the whole of Central Europe. Over the last thirty years, extensive work by Hungarian historians to revise the “dark legend” of Mohács has resulted in a much more balanced account of the ruling Jagiellonian dynasty (1490–1526) and the thirtyfive years that preceded the battle. The battle itself also has come to be viewed differently: having been previously dismissed by military historians as an “insignificant” encounter (where the “obsoletemedieval Hungarian military organization” met its end), Mohács has been revealed as one of the largest battles of the early modern period, fought between two armies that were equally “modern”. This book attempts to give further points of reference for connecting the battle to general military history. The authors present the military organizations and armies of the principal European empires and states, examining how they fought their wars, at a time whe