Siege of Jajce
Date 10 July – 22 August 1464 Location Jajce Fortress Hungarian banate of Jajce[a] (modern-dayBosnia and Herzegovina) Result Hungarian victory
Belligerents
Ottoman Empire	Hungary
Commanders and leaders
Mehmed II Mehmed Bey	Emeric Zápolya
Strength
30,000 men[2]	Unknown

Thesiege of Jajce took place between 10 July and 22 August 1464, during theOttoman conquest of Bosnia and Herzegovina, when anOttoman army underSultanMehmed II made a new attempt to conquerBosnia and take control of the strategicfortress ofJajce, south ofBanja Luka, at the time under Hungarian control.^[b]

Despite massive bombardment, the final Ottoman assault was heavily repulsed and after hearing thatKing Mathias of Hungary was approaching with a relief army, Mehmed abandoned the siege.

In 1463 Mehmed II invaded and occupied Bosnia, at the time under Hungarian suzerainty, executing its catholic KingStephen Tomašević, despite promising him safety if he surrendered.^[4]

In September 1463, under the aegis ofPope Pius II and the (Habsburg) Holy Roman Empire, Hungary and Venice (as well asPhilip the Good'sDuchy of Burgundy^[5]) forged an alliance to resist Ottoman Turkish conquests in Serbia. In December 1463 the strategic fortress ofJajce, south ofBanja Luka, was retaken by KingMatthias Corvinus of Hungary,John Hunyadi's son, aftera siege that followed a counterattack into Bosnia in late September 1463.^[6]

After the reconquest of Jajce, numerous other Bosnian fortified towns opened their doors to the Hungarian troops. The part of Bosnia reconquered from the Ottomans was organized into a banate with Jajce as its capital andEmeric Zápolya as its governor.^[6]

In July 1464, Ottoman SultanMehmed II, determined to take back Jajce, ordered a fresh offensive into Bosnia.^[6] Mehmed personally commanded a force including 30,000 men and a large siege train,^[2] including six stone throwing cannons.^[7]

The Ottoman army had probably set out from Edirne in late May according toC. Imber, 'since Malipiero dates the siege of Jajce to between 10 July and 24 August, and Enveri [...] also says that it began in July'.^[8]

The main body of the Ottoman army reachedJajce on 10 July 1464.^[9] In spite of more than six weeks of massive mining and bombardment, the Hungarian defence held up managing to repulsed Turkish attacks. On 22 August Mehmed ordered an assault for the next morning on three sides, following heavy casualties the Ottomans were again driven back.^[10] As news of King Corvinus' advance with a relief force from theSava reached the Ottoman army, Mehmed II decided to abandon thebaggage train, throw his cannons into the river,^[c] and retreat toSofia on 22 August^[6][d] where the army wintered.^[13]

Mehmed Bey Minnetoğlu was appointed the governor ofBosnia after this second siege of Jajce.^[14]

Although Hungarian forces successfully maintained control over Jajce and portions of northern Bosnia, the remaining territory succumbed to the Ottomans, who achieved complete dominance by 1483 after the fall of Herzegovina.^[15]

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• Conflicts in 1464
• 1464 in Europe
• Sieges involving Hungary
• Sieges involving the Ottoman Empire
• Ottoman period in the history of Bosnia and Herzegovina
• History of Jajce
• Battles of Mehmed the Conqueror
• Battles of the Ottoman–Hungarian Wars