Spies and News about the Ottomans on the Southern Frontier of the Hungarian Kingdom until 1526

Abstract

The issue of news about Ottomans in Transylvanian territories was not subject of Romanian or Hungarian scholars’ debate. The Turkish threat was permanent and became „intimate” at the southern borders of the Hungarian kingdom in the 15th and 16th centuries. As part of the kingdom, Transylvanians were directly involved in fighting the Ottomans, but also in a huge network of spies and news about the Crescent. The proximity and the close connections with Wallachia and Moldavia of the Saxon towns in the south Transylvania, allowed them to inform the Transylvanian or even Hungarian central authorities about Ottomans. A lot of news described troop movements, its number or possible invasions in different parts of the Hungarian Kingdom. In reality, most of this news was just rumors’, but produced fear and the feeling of insecurity for both offi cials and ordinary people.