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Ottoman Wars in Europe
The Liberation of Raab - 29 March 1598

421, Lot: 714. Estimate $500.
Sold for $950. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

OTTOMAN WARS IN EUROPE (Türkenkriege), Hungary. Raab (Györ). Besieged by the Austrians and Hungarians under the command of Adolf von Schwarzenberg, 1598. Cast AR Medal (33mm, 11.34 g, 12h). Issued to commemorate the relief of the city, 29 March 1598. After Valentin Maler. Dated 1598 (in Roman numerals). OMNIS VICTORIA A DOMINO ·, aerial view of the siege of Raab; CVM PRIVI ·/CAE · in two lines in exergue / ANNO · M · D · XCVIII/IST DIE VESTVNG RA=/AB DEN · 29 · MARTI · N · C ·/DVRCH WVNDER HILFF GOTTES AVSS DESS TVRC/KEN GEWALT WIDER=/VMB ER OBERT DARVMB/GOTT ALLEIN/DIE EHR./V.M. in ten lines; floral ornament above. Montenuovo 655. VF, toned. With original suspension loop. Extremely rare.


As part of the wars between the Habsburgs and the Ottoman Empire, known variously as “The Long War” or the Thirteen Years’ War (1591-1606). a number of cities in the region of modern Hungary and Romania were besieged. These cities included the Habsburg capital of Vienna in 1598 (see CNG 108, lot 1005), as well as the northwest Hungarian city of Raab, commemorated on this medal. Raab was a city particularly hard-hit by the conflict. In 1529, the city commander, Kristóf Lamberg, set fire to the town, rather than engage in a futile attempt to defend it. He set fire to the town and its fortress, leaving the Turks with nothing but charred remains. As a result, the Turks called the site Yanık kale (“burnt castle”) during their occupation. The town and fortress, however, were rebuilt by the Hungarians, using the latest military technology and the designs of Italian architects. Now under the command of Count János Cseszneky de Milvány et Csesznek, the Ottomans were unable to take the newly fortified site. Following the Count’s death in 1594, Raab again came under Ottoman control until the Austrian and Hungarian army under Adolf von Schwarzenberg successfully besieged and captured the city in 1598.