Ottoman-Habsburg Wars (1521-1791)
Images from eight wars fought between 1570 and 1718
Siege of Sziget, 1566
Il Vero ritratto de Zhiget. con Il suo Castello, / fortezza nuoua, Paludi, Lago fiume e ponte, e / altre Cose Notabile per lettere annotate, con / monstra del monte fatto da Turchi, e / con l’asalto datogli da essi
1566; re-published 1602Etching; printed on paper; not mounted but with the ink framing lines of Mount Type A drawn directly onto the margins; gilt edge to right | Scale: 1:3,750 approx. | RCIN 721044
A low oblique view of the siege of Austrian Habsburg Szigeth, commanded by the Croatian General Nikola Šubić Zrinski (1508-7 September 1566), from 6 August to 8 September 1566, by the Ottoman forces under Suleiman I [the Magnificent] (6 November 1494-7 September 1566) who died of natural causes just before the Ottoman victory at the Battle of Szigeth on 7 September, the day before the end of the siege. Ottoman Wars in Europe: Suleiman’s later wars in Europe (1537-1566). Oriented with north to top (compass rose).
Although the Ottomans won this battle, it exhausted their resources and stopped their advance on Vienna which remained safe from Ottoman threats until the Great Siege of 1683 (see RCINs 724018-724024).
This map shows the tripartite division of old Szigetvár, set in the midst of marshes and a lake, the walled and bastioned town and castle, flying the standard of the Holy Roman Empire, and the Christian cross, to the west which is connected by a wooden walkway to the central part of the new fortification which, in turn, is connected by a short wooden walkway to the easternmost area of the fort. This view shows a late stage in the siege: the Turks, encamped to the north, and firing volleys of cannon shot from an artificially made mound, have breached a bastion and are pouring through the defences of the eastern fortress.
Antoine Lafréry (1512-77) (publisher) [top left, bottom of title panel:] Ant. Lafrerij Formis Romae ¥DLXVI
Hendrik van Schoel (d. 1622) (publisher) [above Lafreri imprint:] Henricus van Schoel formis romae 1602.
Watermark: Anchor in circle, a six-pointed star above [see Woodward nos 158-176]
Condition: mount slightly creased; brown discolouration; surface dirt
Scale: 1:3,750 approx. Scale bar: Schala Ogni ponto sie. 25. passa. [10 mm =]
34.2 x 49.3 cm (image and neatline)
34.5 x 49.7 cm (platemark)
38.6 x 53.4 cm (sheet)
Printed title:
Il Vero ritratto de Zhiget. con Il suo Castello, / fortezza nuoua, Paludi, Lago fiume e ponte, e / altre Cose Notabile per lettere annotate, con / monstra del monte fatto da Turchi, e / con l’asalto datogli da essi. [top left, in a rectangular panel ornamented with strapwork]
Annotations:
George III heading: Zigeth attacked by the Turks 8 Augt 1566.
Other annotations: (Recto) [top, erased, black pencil:] taken by the Turks 1566. (Verso) [top left, red pencil:] 1/40; [top left, black pencil:] II/41; [top right, black pencil, erased:] Zeghet.
George III catalogue entry:
Zigeth Ritratto de Zighet con il suo Castello, Fortezza nuova, Paludi, Lago, Fiume et Ponte, con monstra del Monte fatto da Turchi et con l’asalto dato gli da esso (8 Agosto 1566) da Ant. Lafreri, 1566; apresso H. van Schoel, 1602.
Subject(s)
Szigetvár, Baranya, Hungary (46°02ʹ55ʺN 17°48ʹ19ʺE)
Bibliographic reference(s)
M. McDonald, The Print Collection of Cassiano dal Pozzo. Part II, Architecture, Topography and Military Maps, 3 vols, London 2019, cat. no. 2692
R.V. Tooley, ‘Maps in Italian atlases of the sixteenth century, being a comparative list of the Italian maps issued by Lafreri, Forlani, Duchetti, Bertelli and others, found in atlases’, Imago Mundi III, 1939, pp. 12-47, no. 545
Page revisions
14 March 2024
Current version
