Battle of Pozazin

The Battle of Pozazin was a military engagement which took place east of Smederevo in 1460. Ottoman forces commanded by Mihaloğlu Ali Bey defeated a Hungarian army lead by Michael Szilágyi. The Hungarian leader and many of his followers were captured and later excecuted on orders of Mehmed II.^[1]

After King Matthias of Hungary rejected a peace proposal from Sultan Mehmed II, the sultan ordered renewed large-scale military preparations for a raid into Hungarian territory. In response, Michael Szilágyi, accompanied by Gergely Lábatlani, positioned himself near Keve Castle (now Kovin, Serbia) with a comparatively small force, intending to prevent the Ottoman army from crossing the border. An Ottoman contingent of significantly greater strength, led by the Mihaloğlu brothers, Ali Bey and Skander Bey, crossed the Danube near Smederevo. Szilágyi was lured into an ambush at Pozazin (Alsópozsgás) (now Pojejena, Romania), where his forces were surrounded. After an engagement, Szilágyi and Lábatlani were captured. Both men were taken to Constantinople. On the orders of Sultan Mehmed II, Szilágyi was executed by beheading. Lábatlani, however, was spared after being exchanged for the son of an Ottoman pasha held in Hungarian captivity. This marked his second survival of Ottoman captivity, having previously been captured and released following the Battle of Varna.^[2]