The Battle of Şelimbăr (Hungarian: Sellenberk; German: Schellenberg) was one of the great events in medieval Romanian history. It took place on 18 October 1599 between the Wallachian army of Michael the Brave (Romanian: Mihai Viteazul) and the Transylvanian-Hungarian army of Andrew Bathory. The battleground was fought at the town of Şelimbăr near Sibiu, not far from the Iron Gates, the traditional gateway to Transylvania. October 18 is the 291st day of the year (292nd in Leap years). ... Events Swedish King Sigismund III Vasa is replaced by his brother Charles IX of Sweden. ... Map of Romania with Wallachia in yellow. ... Michael the Brave (Mihai Viteazul) (1558 - August 9, 1601), Prince of Wallachia (1593-1601), of Transylvania (1599-1600), and of Moldavia (1600), one of the greatest Romanias national heroes, who united for the first time the three Romanian principalities under his rule. ... Sibiu (Hungarian: Nagyszeben, German: Hermannstadt) is a city in Transylvania, Romania with a population of 170,000. ... The Iron Gate upstream The Iron Gate (Romanian: Porţile de Fier, Serbian: Gvozdena Vrata, Hungarian: Vaskapu, German: Eisernes Tor) is a gorge on the Danube River. ... Transylvania (Romanian: Transilvania or Ardeal, Hungarian: Erdély, German: Siebenbürgen, Serbian: Transilvanija, Turkish: Erdel, Slovak: Sedmohradsko or Transylvania, Polish: Siedmiogród) is a historic region that forms the western and the central parts of Romania. ...

Michael the Brave marched into Transylvania to unite it with Wallachia and later Moldavia to fight against Ottoman aggression. The neighboring rulers Andrew Bathory in Transylvania and Ieremia Movila in Moldavia were friendly toward the Ottomans, thus threatening the anti-Ottoman stancelaunched by Michael at the beginning of his reign. Michael had approximately 40,000 men at his command. Many of them did not fight, however, preferring instead to remain in the camp and protect the women and children of the boyari, who had joined them in this campaign out of the fear of possible Tatar attacks in Wallachia. Michael the Brave (Mihai Viteazul) (1558 - August 9, 1601), Prince of Wallachia (1593-1601), of Transylvania (1599-1600), and of Moldavia (1600), one of the greatest Romanias national heroes, who united for the first time the three Romanian principalities under his rule. ... Map of Romania with Wallachia in yellow. ... Moldavia (Moldova in Romanian) was a Romanian principality, originally created in the Middle Ages, now divided between Romania, Moldovan Republic and Ukraine. ... The Ottoman Empire at the height of its power Imperial motto El Muzaffer Daima The Ever Victorious (as written in tugra) Official language Ottoman Turkish Capital İstanbul ( Constantinople/Asitane/Konstantiniyye ) Sovereigns Sultans of the Osmanli Dynasty Population ca 40 million Area 12+ million km² Establishment 1299 Dissolution October 29, 1923... The term Tatar may refer to A member of the Tatars, Kazan Tatars, Crimean Tatars Tatar language, Crimean Tatar language Native people of Crimea, Tatarstan See also: Turkic peoples, Turkic languages. ...

The army of Andrew Bathory numbered approximately 30,000 men, but in the course of the battle many defected and joined the army of Michael, including Szekely Hungarians who despised the ruling Báthory family. The Wallachians gained the upper hand at the beginning of the battle, but were pushed back quickly by the charge of the Hungarian Hussars. The Hungarians then had the opportunity to win the battle, but Andrew Bathory refused to send the rearguard into the battle, thus giving the Wallachians a chance to regroup. The resulting charge against the Hungarian army was a success, Andrew Bathory fled from the field (only to be later assassinated), and Michael headed with his victorious army to the city of Alba Iulia. Casualties were at least 1,200 to 1,500 on the Hungarian side, and 200 to 1,000 men killed on the Wallachian side. Michael's victory resulted in the first instance when the principalities of Wallachia, Moldavia, and Transylvania were united under one ruler. The Székely (Szeklers in English, Secui in Romanian) are a Hungarian-speaking ethnic group, historically centered in the Transylvanian town of Székelyudvarhely, (now Odorheiu Secuiesc, Harghita county, Romania). ... The Báthory (Polish Batory) was a Hungarian aristocratic family of significant influence in late mediæval Central Europe. ... Polish Hussar Hussar (original Hungarian spelling: huszár, plural huszárok) refers to a number of types of cavalry used throughout Europe since the 15th century. ... Alba Iulia (Hungarian: Gyulafeh r, German: Karlsburg) is a city in Alba county, Transylvania, Romania with a population of 66,369, located on the Mureş river. ...

Especially during the period of the Romanian national awakening, his victories were interpreted as the first unification of the Romanian people, and Michael remains a Romanian national hero. During the period of Austro-Hungarian rule in Transylvania and Ottoman suzerainty over Wallachia and Moldavia, most Romanians were in the situation of being second-class citizens (or even non-citizens) in their own country. ...