Hunyadi János

born 1407?, Hunyad, Transylvania

died Aug. 11, 1456, Belgrade

Hungarian general.

Son of a knight, he saw military service under King Sigismund. While in Italy he learned new military techniques from Francesco Sforza; returning to southern Hungary, he repelled Turkish attacks (1437–38) and was made governor of Transylvania. With aid from Venice and the pope, he mounted a campaign against the Turks (1441–43) that broke the Ottoman Empire's hold on the Balkan states, though he was defeated in a Turkish counterattack at the Battle of Varna (1444). In 1446 he was elected regent for the young king, Laszlo V, and he served as governor of the kingdom of Hungary 1446–52. In 1456 he raised the Turkish siege of Belgrade before dying of disease. For stopping the supposedly invincible Turkish armies, he is considered a Hungarian national hero.

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