Giorgio Basta

Giorgio Basta (1544-1607), was a general of Albanian descent, employed by the Holy Roman Emperor to command Habsburg forces in the Long War of (1591-1606) and later to administer Transylvania as an Imperial vassal. On his orders, his ally Michael of Wallachia, who unified Transylvania, Wallachia and Moldavia was murdered days after a joint victory at Goroszló (now Gurăslău, Hereclean commune, Sălaj county) in 1601. This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired in the United States and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years. ... This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired in the United States and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years. ... Events April 11 - Battle of Ceresole - French forces under the Comte dEnghien defeat Imperial forces under the Marques Del Vasto near Turin. ... Events January 20 - Tidal wave swept along the Bristol Channel, killing 2000 people. ... The Holy Roman Emperor was, with some variation, the ruler of the Holy Roman Empire, the predecessor of modern Germany, during its existence from the 10th century until its collapse in 1806. ... The Long War was fought between the Habsburgs and the Ottoman Empire from 1593 to 1606, mostly in the Balkans. ... Michael the Brave (Mihai Viteazul) was one of the greatest of Romanias national heroes. ... For other uses, see Transylvania (disambiguation). ... 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. ... Sălaj (Hungarian: Szilágy) is a county (judeÅ£) in North-Western Romania, in the Transylvania region, with the capital city at Zalău (population: 71,580). ... Events February 8 - Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, rebels against Elizabeth I of England - revolt is quickly crushed February 25 - Robert Devereux beheaded Jesuit Matteo Ricci arrives in China Bad harvest in Russia due to rainy summer Dutch troops drive Portuguese from Málaga Battle of Kinsale, Ireland Births...

Hungarian and Romanian historians alike portray Basta as a treacherous, licentious and violent man, motivated by a pathological hatred of Magyars. During his brief period of control over Transylvania, the principality descended into chaos. In the anarchic terror imposed by his marauding, lawless armies of mercenaries and bandits, Transylvania lost a third of its population, including most of the nobility.

After his experiences of warfare in Eastern Europe, Basta wrote several military manuals, the best known of which is his 'Il maestro di campo generale...'(Venice 1606), and his posthumous work 'Il governo della cavalleria leggiera' (Venice 1612).