Mohacs and the Death of a King

August 29, 1526

Suleiman's army annihilated the Hungarians on a marshy plain south of Mohacs in less than two hours. King Louis II, twenty years old, drowned fleeing in his armor. Hungary was partitioned between Ottomans and Habsburgs, and Central Europe's defensive shield lay in splinters. The battle partitioned Hungary into three zones: Ottoman center, Habsburg west, and the semi-autonomous principality of Transylvania.