page_title: John Hunyadi
section_title: Governorship (1446–1453)
hierarchical_section_title: John Hunyadi / General and politician / Governorship (1446–1453)
caption_attribution_description: English: The gate of Huniazilor Castle - Hunedoara, Romania This is a photo of a historic monument in județul Hunedoara, classified with number HD-II-m-A-03344
context_page_description: John Hunyadi was a leading Hungarian military and political figure in Central and Southeastern Europe during the 15th century. According to most contemporary sources, he was the son of a noble family of Romanian ancestry. He mastered his military skills on the southern borderlands of the Kingdom of Hungary that were exposed to Ottoman attacks. Appointed voivode of Transylvania and head of a number of southern counties, he assumed responsibility for the defense of the frontiers in 1441.
  Hunyadi adopted the Hussite method of using wagons for military purposes. He employed professional soldiers, but also mobilized local peasantry against invaders. These innovations contributed to his earliest successes against the Ottoman troops who were plundering the southern marches in the early 1440s. Although defeated in the battle of Varna in 1444 and in the second battle of Kosovo in 1448, his successful "Long Campaign" across the Balkan Mountains in 1443–44 and defence of Belgrade in 1456, against troops led personally by the Sultan established his reputation as a great general.
context_section_description: The Estates of the realm proclaimed Hunyadi regent, bestowing the title "governor" upon him on 6 June 1446. His election was primarily promoted by the lesser nobility, but Hunyadi had by that time become one of the richest barons of the kingdom. His domains covered an area exceeding 800,000 hectares (2,000,000 acres). Hunyadi was one of the few contemporaneous barons who spent a significant part of their revenues to finance the wars against the Ottomans, thus bearing a large share of the cost of fighting for many years.
  As governor, Hunyadi was authorized to exercise most royal prerogatives for the period of King Ladislaus V's minority. For instance, he could make land grants, but only up to the size of 32 peasant holdings. Hunyadi attempted to pacify the border regions. Soon after his election, he launched an unsuccessful campaign against Ulrich II, Count of Celje. Count Ulrich administered Slavonia with the title ban (which he had arbitrarily adopted) and refused to renounce of it in favor of Hunyadi's appointee. Hunyadi could not force him to submit.
  Hunyadi persuaded John Jiskra of Brandýs—a Czech commander who controlled the northern regions (in present-day Slovakia)—to sign an armistice for three years on 13 September. However, Jiskra did not keep the truce, and armed conflicts continued. In November Hunyadi proceeded against Frederick III of Germany, who had refused to release Ladislaus V and seized Kőszeg, Sopron and other towns along the western border. Hunyadi's troops plundered Austria, Styria, Carinthia and Carniolia, but no decisive battle was fought. A truce with Frederick III was signed on 1 June 1447. Although Frederick renounced of Győr, his position as the minor King's guardian was confirmed. The Estates of the realm were disappointed and the Diet elected Ladislaus Garai—a leader of Hunyadi's opponents—Palatine in September 1447.
  Hunyadi accelerated his negotiations, which had been commenced in the previous year, with Alfonso the Magnanimous, King of Aragon and Naples. He even offered the crown to Alfonso in exchange for the King's participation in an anti-Ottoman crusade and the confirmation of his position as governor. However, King Alfonso refrained from signing an agreement.
  Hunyadi invaded Wallachia and dethroned Vlad Dracul in December 1447. According to the contemporaneous Polish chronicler Jan Długosz, Hunyadi had "the very man he promised to make voivode" blinded, and planned "to appropriate" Wallachia for himself. Hunyadi styled himself "voivode of the Transalpine land" and referred to the Wallachian town, Târgoviște as "our fortress" in a letter of 4 December. It is without doubt that Hunyadi installed a new voivode in Wallachia, but modern historians debate whether the new voivode was Vladislav II (to whom Hunyadi referred as his relative in a letter) or Dan (who seems to have been a son of Basarab II).  In February 1448 Hunyadi sent an army to Moldavia to support the pretender Peter in seizing the throne. In exchange, Peter acknowledged Hunyadi's suzerainty and contributed to the installation of a Hungarian garrison in the fort of Chilia Veche on the Lower Danube.
  Hunyadi made a new attempt to expel Count Ulrich of Celje from Slavonia, but could not defeat him. In June Hunyadi and the Count reached an agreement, which confirmed Count Ulrich's position of Ban in Slavonia. In short time Hunyadi sent his envoys to the two most prominent Albanian leaders—Scanderbeg and his father-in-law, Gjergj Arianiti—to seek their assistance against the Ottomans. Pope Eugenius suggested that the anti-Ottoman campaign should be postponed. However, Hunyadi stated, in a letter dated 8 September 1448, that he "have had enough of our men enslaved, our women raped, wagons loaded with the severed heads of our people" and expressed his determination to expel "the enemy from Europe". In the same letter, he explained his military strategy to the Pope, stating that "[p]ower is always greater when used in attack rather than in defence".
  Hunyadi departed for the new campaign at the head of an army of 16,000 soldiers in S
caption: Main entrance of the Hunyad Castle (in present-day Hunedoara, Romania)
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