A very rare thaler, minted to commemorate the anniversary of the Battle of Hermannstadt.
Transylvania
Gabriel Bathory (1698-1613), Thaler 1611, Hermannstadt mint
Obverse: three conjoined coats-of-arms, crown above, CIBI below
GABRIEL D G PRIN TRAN PAR REG HVN D ET SI COM
Reverse: inscription in four lines, date below
PRO PATRIA ARIS ET FOCIS
Weight 25.97 g
In 1438 Ottoman marauders attacked Transylvania, where in 1437 the Ottomans had been beaten by an uprising under Antal Nagy de Buda. For up to 45 days the Ottomans without let or hindrance attacked the Transylvanian Saxon lands and Hungarian villages and market towns. In 1441 John Hunyadi came to power. Hunyadi attacked the Ottomans in Serbia and at the Battle of Smederevo got the best of Ishak bey. The Ottoman Sultan, Murad II, proclaimed in the autumn of 1441 that a raid into Hungarian Transylvania would take place in March 1442. In early March 1442, the marcher lord Mezid Bey led 16,000 akinji cavalry raiders into Transylvania, crossing the Danube to Wallachia at Nicopolis and marching north in formation. On March 18 bishop György Lépes' forces (2,000 men) clashed with Mezid near Sântimbru. The Ottomans won by forces of numbers and Hunyadi was forced to retreat, but Mezid did not pursue Hunyadi. Lépes was taken prisoner and Mezid beheaded the bishop. Hunyadi's army regrouped near Hermannstadt. Simon Kamonyai swapped his armour for Hunyadi's armour so that the Turks would believe he was Hunyadi. Kamonyai was to execute a head-on attack, while Hunyadi went around Mesid's army. Kamonyai was killed in action, however Hunyadi with the Hungarian heavy cavalry charged Mesid, crushed the Turks and killed Mezid.
