500 Years of Defeat: The Battle of Mohács and Evolving Cultural Memory

The year 2026 will mark five hundred years since the Battle of Mohács, a conflict allegedly immortalized in the words of Hungary’s national poet as the “graveyard of Hungarian grandeur” (Lendvai 2021). The ignominious death of King Louis II to the invading Ottoman armies marked the end of the Hungarian empire, and for some, represented Western Europe’s abandonment of Hungary to the marauding Ottoman armies (Lendvai 2021). Hungary is no stranger to using history in its political rhetoric, and in recent years utilizing medieval history has become popular among the governing party Fidesz, as well as alt-right revanchist parties like Mi Hazánk. Against the backdrop of the rising politicization of history and the 500th anniversary anniversary of Mohács, how has the historiography of this battle changed?

My investigation was conducted through a dozen interviews with politicians, historians and museum curators, and supplemented with secondary literature. As this project represents a historiographical analysis, it is very well-suited to a poster, as it can be arranged chronologically. Differing perspectives on Mohács will be coupled visually with cultural representations: monuments, artwork, and political posters which represent differing conceptions of Mohács. This will allow me to directly counterpose the two main narratives of my poster: Mohács as an evolving history, and Mohács as cultural and political memory.

Early conceptions of Mohács adopted a strong anti-Ottoman perspective, reflecting the Hungarian cultural memory of Ottoman occupation. This became coupled with ideas of Western betrayal, as many historians viewed the defeat at Mohács as a result of refused support from Western Europe. Recent study has turned towards an understanding of the Hungarian army as a multiethnic project. Moreover, many Hungarian scholars point to financial and military contributions from the Habsburg Empire, arguing that the West’s supposed treachery was not as clear-cut as previously indicated (Pálffy 2025). Finally, interviews were conducted with leading scholars regarding the 2026 Mohács commemoration by the current Hungarian government, which involves a closer rapprochement with Turkey and their Balkan allies, and less with the West. This narrative is coupled with a recent ideological reconnection with Turanism, a largely debunked theory of common origin between Hungarians and Turkic peoples (Ablonczy 2022). The Hungarian-Turkic connection has resurfaced in discussions of Mohács amongst Hungarian political leaders, drawing fraternal connections with Turkey.

In 2026, the commemoration of Mohács is less about the East, and more about the West, and how it has failed the Hungarians – running in direct contrast to the current historical moment. Thus, the academic and public commemoration of these events have become divorced from each other: as the most recent academic theory considers Central and Eastern Europe in its totality, the politicized version of this history has extended past Europe entirely, drawing on cultural kinship with the descendants of the Ottomans who were so hated in Mohács’ initial history. This topic thus becomes both a novel exploration of the subject, and an extremely important turn, as historians navigate their response to the politicization of history – be it good or bad.