Ave!

Battle Axe, Hungarian Army, Battle of Gorjani, ca. 1537, RARE!

Iron; 7 inches width / 1pound 2 oz. - Handle; 18 inches

Con/ Axe tip (battle broken?) missing, otherwise, fully restored by David Roeder. The handle is long enough to be used either on horseback or on foot.

Provenance - Ground found at the battle site. See the Map and Read below!

In 1537, after prevailing over Zapolya in Civil War and as a result of continuous pressure from the Croatian nobility, Ferdinand Habsburg named one of his seasoned commanders Johann Katzianer as supreme royal captain "of our Slavonian kingdom" on joint Croatian-Slavonian parliament held in Križevci in spring of 1537. This Croatian-Slavonian parliament proclaimed the general insurrection. The Bishop of Zagreb, Simon Erdody, was charge for the logistics of the upcoming campaign. The same parliament, however, refused to confirm Katzianer as supreme commander, which left this important matter unresolved before launch of the offensive. 

An army of 24 000 men assembled near Koprivnica and marched off to Slavonia in order to chase away the Ottoman Turks, with their main objective being the town of Osijek. As the Hapsburg army reached Virovitica, the conflicts between different commanders inflamed, and the army ran out of food. The autumn rains also caused maladies among the soldiers, which decimated the army. 

Meanwhile. the Osijek Turkish garrison had been reinforced by the Ottoman General Mehmed-beg Jahjapaši and thus became too strong to besiege it. Katzianer ordered a withdrawal. His army was intercepted by Turks and eventually ended up near Gorjani. Top commanders such as Katzianer and Bishop Erdody escaped a night before the battle, while what remained of Katzianer's army was completely destroyed by the Ottomans in the Battle of Gorjani on 9 October 1537!

Seller's Note/ Most likely the man who carried this bearded battle axe into battle, was just a common man-at-arms and, sadly for him, was slain. See the final photo for the 'as arrived' condition.