Ottoman-Habsburg Wars (1521-1791)
Images from eight wars fought between 1570 and 1718
Siege of Esztergom, 1595
LA VERA DESCRITIONE DELLA ANTIQVA CITTA DI STRIGONIA Resa a’ Christiani il di primo di 7bre 1595
1595 or laterEngraving; printed on paper; gilt edges left, bottom and right | 30.7 x 41.6 cm (image) | RCIN 721084
A view of the siege of Esztergom, 1 July-1 September 1595, by Christian forces of the Imperial army who re-took the fortress from the Turks. Ottoman-Habsburg Wars: The Long War (1591/3-1606). Oriented with east to top.
The fortress of Esztergom was the most important of those protecting Buda and the river in that area. In the foreground, riding between two formations of soldiers of the Papal States is the Governor-General of the Papal army, Giovanni Francesco Aldobrandino (d.1595), nephew of Pope Clement VIII, who commanded about 12,000 men at this siege; the Turkish garrison of about 3,000 was commanded by Kara Ali Bey, while the Turkish relief army from Buda, under Hassan Pasha numbered 15-16,000.
Anonymous (cartographer)
Watermark: Fleur-de-lys on three hills in circle
Condition: one fold line; not mounted; no pressure marks
26.7 x 41.6 cm (neatline)
30.7 x 41.6 cm (image)
30.9 x 41.9 cm (platemark)
39.1 x 54.5 cm (sheet)
Printed title:
LA VERA DESCRITIONE DELLA ANTIQVA CITTA DI STRIGONIA Resa a’ Christiani il di primo di 7bre 1595. [across top of map, in a panel]
Additional text:
[below map, a key, A-I, K-P:] DESCRITIONE DELLI LVOCHI PRINCIPALI DELLA CITTA DI STRIGONIA fondata da S. Stefano primo Re de Ungheria presa da turchi l'anno 1543 / regnando Sultan Solimano.
Annotations:
George III heading: Gran 1595.
Other annotations: (Recto) [bottom right, black pencil:] 1595. (Verso) [bottom right, black pencil, erased:] ?/50; [bottom right, red pencil:] 1/76; [bottom right, black pencil, erased:] I/80.
George III catalogue entry:
Gran Descritione della Citta di Strigonia (Gran) presa a Christiani il di 1.mo di 7.bre 1595.
Subject(s)
Esztergom, Komárom-Esztergom, Hungary; also known as Gran; Strigonia (7°47ʹ34ʺN 18°44ʹ29ʺE)
Bibliographic reference(s)
P.Z. Bagi, 'The siege of Esztergom in 1595', AETAS – Journal of History and Related Disciplines, no. 4, 1999, pp. 50-55
P. Laszlo, 'Esztergom Castle and the first detailed mapping of unknown fortification plan. Pompei Floriano MS drawings of the 1595 recapture', Hadtörtéelmi Közlemények a Hadtörténeti Intézet és Múzeum folyóirata [Military History Institute and Museum of Military History Magazine], vol.113, 2000, (accessed 9 Jan 2016)
M. McDonald, The Print Collection of Cassiano dal Pozzo. Part II, Architecture, Topography and Military Maps, 3 vols, London 2019, cat. no. 2730
Page revisions
14 March 2024
Current version
