“The captive begs were so late” The two victims of politics at the eve of the Fifteeen Years War

Abstract

The study treats two beys (Hasan and Mahmud) captured at the battle of Kacorlak (August 1587). This issue was connected with the sending of annual honorary present (30,000 ducats) to the Porte which Emperor Rudolph stopped. The peace treaty was renewed in November 1590, but the two beys were not released. Due to the attacks of the Bosnian Hasan Pasha, the sending of the annual tribute and the liberation of the two beys meant serious problems again. Grand Vezier Sinan Pasha demanded both, but the defeat of Hasan Pasha at Sisek (June 22, 1593) became the casus belli. The Long War between the Ottoman and Habsburg Empires in Hungary started in July 1593.