Atlas of Battles

siege, landmark, medieval

Siege of Belgrade

Siege of Belgrade was a siege conducted on 4 July 1456 at Belgrade, in what is now Serbia; it lasted 18 days. It was part of the Serbian–Ottoman Wars, which ran from 1352 to 1913. The recorded result: Hungarian victory.

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Siege of Belgrade
Wikimedia Commons, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought4 July 1456lasted 18 days
WhereBelgrade, Serbia44.817N, 20.467E
OutcomeHungarian victory
BelligerentsKingdom of Hungary; Serbian DespotateagainstOttoman Empire
Part ofSerbian–Ottoman Wars1352 to 1913

Where it sits in the Serbian–Ottoman Wars

Battle of Maritsa, 1371Siege of Belgrade, 1440Siege of Novo Brdo, 1455Siege of Belgrade, 145613711456Siege of Belgrade, 1456
4 placed engagements of the Serbian–Ottoman Wars in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date4 July 1456
to 22 July 1456
PlaceBelgrade, Serbia
44.817N, 20.467E
KindSiege, medieval
Strength7,000 Castle defenders of Michael Szilágyi; 10,000–12,000 Professional army of John Hunyadi (mostly cavalry); A motley army about 30,000–60,000 recruited Crusaders (with only some professional units); 200 boats (only 1 galley); 40 boats from the city; Artillery30,000; 60,000; higher estimates of 100,000; 21–200 vessels; 300 cannons (22 large ones), 7 siege engines (2 mortars)
Casualties and losses4,000 men; or <10,00013,000; 3 large galleys sunk, 24 vessels captured (4 large, 20 smaller); 300 cannons
Commanders
  • John Hunyadi
  • Michael Szilágyi
  • John of Capistrano
  • John IV Kórógyi
Siege of BelgradeSiege of BelgradeSiege of BelgradeSiege of BelgradeSiege of BelgradeSiege of BelgradeSiege of BelgradeSiege of BelgradeSarajevoTimișoaraNovi SadČačakTuzlaOsijekReșițaKragujevac100 km44.817N, 20.467E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.
The battle of Belgrade 1456.
The battle of Belgrade 1456.. Sten Porse, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Siege of Belgrade
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 25 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Siege of Belgrade today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2025-09-22. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2025.

The recorded site stands at about 100 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 59 to 260 m, 201 m of relief, hilly country and today it is 52% built-up, 25% tree cover, 16% water.

built-up: 52%tree cover: 25%water: 16%grassland: 6%built-up 52%tree cover 25%water 16%grassland 6%
west to east, 10.0 km68 to 131 mnorth to south, 10.0 km68 to 173 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

Contested ground: this site was fought over 15 times between AD 592 and 1944.

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1456

Siege of Belgrade is one of 743 engagements of the 15th century in the atlas and one of 115 in present-day Serbia.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q244980, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Siege of Belgrade (1456), revision 1384653185, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.