Siege of Esztergom (1241)

Mongols siege of Esztergom
Part of Mongol Invasion of Europe
Mongol invasion in the plains of Hungary
Date January 1242 Location Esztergom, Hungary[1] 47°47′8″N 18°44′25″E / 47.78556°N 18.74028°E / 47.78556; 18.74028 Result City devastated but Mongols Defeated
Belligerents
Mongol Empire	Kingdom of Hungary
Commanders and leaders
Batu Khan[1] Subutai	Count Simon[1][2]
Units involved
Dismounted heavy cavalry Dismounted horse archers catapults[1]	Crossbowmen few knights
Strength
Unknown 30 catapults[1]	Unknown
Casualties and losses
Unknown	300 nobles killed almost all of the population is annihiliated[1]

The siege of Esztergom took place in the winter of 1241. Following the hard-fought but decisive Mongol victory at the Battle of Mohi, Batu Khan pillaged the lands of the Kingdom of Hungary, with particular focus on soft targets such as small villages and towns. One exception was Esztergom, the capital and largest, wealthiest city in the Kingdom of Hungary until its destruction. It was the last city to be looted and destroyed by Batu Khan before he sent a reconnaissance party against the Holy Roman Empire and later withdrew all of the Mongol forces from central Europe back to Russia.^[3] Most of the information on the siege and its aftermath comes from the chronicle of Roger of Torre Maggiore, the Italian (Apulian) archbishop of Split.