Urban of Hungary

Biography

Urban was a Hungarian or Transylvanian cannon-founder — one of the best in Europe — who first offered his services to the Byzantine Emperor Constantine XI. Constantine, chronically unable to pay his debts, could not meet Urban's fee or provide the raw materials he needed. Urban turned to Mehmed II, who offered three times the requested salary and all the metal he could use. The result was the greatest siege artillery ever assembled. Urban cast the bombards at Edirne and supervised their transport to Constantinople — an engineering feat nearly as remarkable as building Rumeli Hisarı. The largest cannon was approximately 27 feet long, fired stone balls weighing up to 1,200 pounds, and required 700 men and 14 oxen to move. It could fire only seven to fourteen times per day; after each shot, it had to cool for hours before reloading. The recoil cracked the ground; nearby houses shook. Nothing like it had been seen in European warfare. Urban died during the siege — his largest bombard reportedly exploded while firing, killing him and a number of his crew. It made no difference: the Theodosian Walls had already been irreparably compromised. His cannons had done what fifteen centuries of besiegers had failed to accomplish. The age of the castle wall was over.

Key Battles