A Historical and Archival Guide to Székesfehérvár (Székesfehérvár, 2003)

A SUMMARY OF THE HISTORY OF SZÉKESFEHÉRVÁR

on 2 September. Commander György Varkocs, who got stuck in Buda suburb, was killed in the battle at the Buda gate. The body of magistrates handed over the castle on 3 September. Gelalzade Mustafa reported on the Turkish occupation of the once coronation town. The defenders were granted free withdrawal, and the Johannite convent fled with them. Prior Sebestyén Dalmady managed to be granted free withdrawal, thus the priceless documents of the loca credibilia survived destruction. The Turks broke their promise later, and killed the inhabitants brutally; they did not even spare the royal tombs. They threw out János of Szapolya's bodv of the royal basilica; Tamás Szigethv town magistrate buried his body in Saint Nicolas church. Székesfehérvár, Istolni Belgrad remained an important administrative chief town during the Turkish rule, it was the military and at the same time administrative district-headquarters of Buda vilayet. There are few sources of the town under the Turkish rule. We can count among them the treasure land-register of the Turkish era. A relatively full picture unfolds itself of Istolni Belgrad. The register of properties sold by auction tells us about the quarter and street names. The localisation of the Christian inhabitants can be seen in the polltax list. The royal troops could not liberate the town for more than a half century. Hungarian town dwellers regularly informed the border castles nearby. Chief Constable Lőrinc Fejér sent two residents in secret to the commander of Palota György Thury in 1565. They were considering the town dwellers' uprising against the garrison, which was reduced in numbers; however, they did not get support from outside. In 1566 the commander of Győr Salm attempted to relieve the town but his army, which was encamped at Sóstó, did not start the battle. Subsequently, the Turks started to fortify the castle in 1572. In 1587 the commander of Komárom Miklós Pálffy took another unsuccessful siege, but the Turkish defenders smashed the offensive troops. In 1598 and 1599 the troops of Nádasdy and Schwarzenberg tried to recapture the town. Their attempt ended without success. Fehérvár was recaptured in September 1601. On 14 September General Russworm succeeded in crossing the swamp which had been considered impenetrable before, and he captured the Sziget suburb. The siege of the castle