Siege of Belgrade (1521)
The siege of Belgrade in 1521 is an event that followed as a result of the third major Ottoman attack on this Hungarian stronghold in the Ottoman–Hungarian wars at the time of the greatest expansion of the Ottoman Empire to the west. Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent decided that the first targets of his military campaigns would be Rhodes and Belgrade, a place that his ancestor Mehmed the Conqueror (1451–1481) failed to conquer. Suleiman launched his army in mid-May 1521, and the main objective of this march was to conquer Belgrade. The Hungarian state was almost in disarray and unable to effectively counter the Ottoman army. Unlike previous campaigns, the Sultan decided this time that the main direction of attack was to go from the Sava. To do this, the Ottoman army first had to capture Srem, which was eventually done. Belgrade defenders persisted in resisting, but due to lack of manpower and war material, they had to surrender the city on 28/29 August 1521.