Ránki György (szerk.): Hungarian history, world history - Indiana University studies on Hungary 1. (Budapest, 1984)
Peter F. Sugar: Comments on the Papers Dealing with the Ottoman Period in Hungarian History
tion which made the Hungarian victory so important in the eyes of Europe. Yet the battle remains crucial, one of the great battles in world history. Hungary can, indeed, claim that she defended the rest of Europe when she fought this battle. The failure to conquer the city convinced Mehmed II that Hungary was too strong for the forces he could mobilize against her at the moment. No Turkish armies appeared in Hungary for twelve years, and no major campaign was undertaken against her until 1476. By that time, Hungary had, once again, a strong ruler and a good army and could resist the Ottoman attacks successfully. The impression gained by Mehmed II in 1456 made him move in the wrong direction, westward through Croatia towards Italy, at a time when Hungary was relatively weak. The victory of 1456 was a very important one, although for reasons different from those usually assumed. It was an event of worldwide significance. Professor Bayerle's paper was, as could be expected, thoroughly researched and factually correct. But keeping in mind the guidelines I set myself for commenting on the studies before us, I feel that his presentation was much too narrowly focused. The timar system, with its numerous military, administrative and economic implications, was a crucial Ottoman institution whose decline signalled the end of the glorious period in the history of the Ottoman Empire. Yet, the timars situated in Hungary, a country that had only marginal economic value for the Ottomans, were of much lesser importance for the stability of the empire than were those situated elsewhere, primarily in the Balkans. The soil and the demographic conditions in the special administrative system established in the Hungarian pasaliks — to mention only two of the major considerations — account for this difference. Numerous scholars have discussed these problems, and I will refrain from echoing them. The point is that whether the timar system functioned well or badly was less crucial for life in Hungary than it was in other Ottoman provinces. While timars were important in Hungary, too, it is difficult to study them meaningfully in the Hungarian context alone. As a matter of fact, the Hungarian timarcrisis was simply the local manifestation of the general crisis of the entire 45