1. Banderia - The nobility of the Transylvanian Principality maintained, until the second half of the Seventeenth century, an important military role (Personalis insurectio), they served mostly on horseback, in general armed with lance, shield, helmet and cuirass and chainmail, while major magnates also came with their retinues (Banderium), especially those with large estates in Royal Hungary. In 1595, “Sigismund’s soldiers from Transylvania and Hungary amounted to around 7,000 riders (…) These are armed with long lances, as long as medium pikes of 25 hands long, they have a mace at the saddle and yatagan at the hip, as well as a straight sword, on the other side of the saddle. They use it when on horseback and the yatagan while on foot. They protect their life and chest with a chainmail shirt, breastplate and back plate with sleeves and gloves from chainmail, and a Hungarian style helmet that cover their entire neck and face.” At the same campaign, “the nobleman Bocskay from Oradea came with 800 riders, all lancers and 1,200 footmen, all with harquebuses. … His Highness courtiers numbered 2,000 riders.” For the campaign from 1607, comitatenses nobility contributed with 500 riders and 500 infantrymen, Saxons paid for the equipment of 1,000 riders, while Szekelys contributed with 2,000 riders and 1,000 infantrymen.
2. Portalis Militia – an auxiliary unit raised from among the peasants on nobles estates proportionally to the size of estates divided in portalis (a porta, or "gate," being a taxable unit). In late 16th century, those recruited in this fashion were footmen, either armed with firearms or with spears and swords, but also light cavalrymen. Starting from the second quarter 17th century, Transylvanian diet often voted to pay a certain sum per fiscal unit in order to allow recruitment of mercenaries instead of milita portalis. In the campaign from 1595 in Wallachia, there were ”5,000 Hungarian footmen, which lack protective covers, but a part of them have harquebuses and the other have short pikes, but all of them have yatagans on the left hip and a hatchet, hanging on the belt. “
3. Székely militia – Székely were obliged to provide significant military contingents in exchange for their administrative privileges. Szekely militia is recorded as being made up of three distinct groups, those that serve with three other mounted men, individual horsemen and finally infantry. There were three orders of rank, the Primores, the Primipili and the communitas. The Primores were equivalent to Nobles, though Chieftains would probably be more accurate. They provided the military leadership. The Primipili represented the landowners class which had the possibility of serving on horse ( Székely lófők), while communitas the bulk of the Szekely Nation, served on foot. Veres darabontok (Red Trabanten), also known as Pixdari, they served as footmen and were recruited from among the Székely, ethnic group located on the eastern border of the Transylvania, they played a key role in the defense of the principality They were described being dressed in red, having few harquebuses, armed with short axes or hatchets, curved swords (yatagans) and hatchets hanging at the hip.During Sigismund Bathory’s campaigns in late 16th century were over 22,000 Székely, of which 8,200 armed with harquebuses and the rest armed with spears or with scythes, as well as lancers. In the campaign from 1595 in Walalchia, there were “more than 6,000 Székely without any protection, with few harquebuses and all of them with short sickles and with yatagan and hatchets at the hip. “
4. Sachsen Trabanten Saxon cities from Transylvania were obliged to send a set number of infantrymen in support of specific campaigns. At the campaign of 1595 were Saxon cities provided 1,000 trabanten from Sibiu, dressed in black, blue for Brasov, green for Sighisoara&Medias, red from Bistrita, mostly armed with harquebuses. These cities also had the duty to ensure their own garrison. At the campaign from 1595, Saxon cities provided the following contingents: city of Sibu, 1,000 black trabanten, Brasov, 1,000 blue trabanten, Medias and Sighisoara with 1,00 green trabanten, all harquebusiers, Bistrita …1,000 red footmen…1,000 blue trabanten from Prince’s Court, Orastie, Sebes, Scaunul Miercurei and Scaunul Cincul Mare sent 500 harquebusiers.Other militia units were formed by towns with fiscal autonomy. The major ones like Cluj, Oradea and Targu Mures had each permanent garrisons of 200 men, each.
5. Hajduks - Transylvania (Hajdú ) were irregular or mercenary soldiers, included ruined peasants, runaway serfs or refugees from the Ottoman empire or Hapsburg lands. Located in the mainly in the western borderlands of Transylvania, they were receiving wages during campaigns, and also received a share of the plunder. Serving both on foot and on horse, they were experienced irregular fighters. Bethlen Gábor (Gabriel Bethlen), in 1620s used 4-5,000 haidones liberi (free hajduks).
6. Mercenaries. In Transylvania, mercenaries constituted the standing army of the principality, which amounted to 4,000 elite cavalrymen and several detachments of infantrymen, in 1583. In 1595, Sigismund had 1,500 imperial Reiters, pistol armed cavalry, and 148 Scottish mercenaries and also recruited mercenaries from Italy and Germany. While in 1599, Andrei Bathory had 300 mercenary heavy cavalrymen from Poland. During a campaign in 1620, prince Bethlen had 2,000 mercenary cavalrymen and the same number of mercenary infantrymen.
7. The Guard corps of Transylvanian Prince. Kek darabontok, Transylvanian Prince guard also included 1,000 trabanten dressed in blue and all armed with harquebuses. In 1595, prince Sigismund Bathory had “2,000 trabanten armed like the previous mentioned soldiers, but all of them have harquebuses … they were the personal infantry guard of the Transylvanian Prince”. The prince’s guard included 600 mercanry lancers. . Székely also had the duty to send 100 cavalrymen to serve in the Prince’s guard corps.
Campidoctor
Re: 1648: The Two Towers
Campidoctor
Biarchus
Originally Posted by k/t
Miles
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
