Why a Hungarian King Abandoned His Crusade to Invade a Fellow Christian Kingdom
Matthias Corvinus was once the defender of Christendom against the Ottoman Turks. Yet, by 1468, he pivoted his military might toward Bohemia. Driven by religious pretexts and geopolitical frustration, he launched a decade-long conflict that reshaped Central Europe, proving that even the most pious crusaders were ultimately ruled by ambition.
Matthias Corvinus, the king of Hungary, initially followed his father John Hunyadi’s legacy by positioning his realm as the primary bulwark against Ottoman expansion. However, after years of grueling annual campaigns, Matthias concluded that permanently expelling the Turks from Europe was an impossible task. Frustrated by the immense financial burden of border defense and irritated by the interference of neighbors like Frederick III, Matthias made a radical strategic pivot. He reached an entente with the Sultan, freeing his forces to turn westward toward the Kingdom of Bohemia.
The invasion of Bohemia, which began in 1468, was officially justified as a mission to return the land to Catholicism. The Bohemian king, George of Poděbrady, had become a vulnerable target after alienating two successive Popes and isolating himself from his Catholic neighbors. Matthias successfully seized control of Moravia and Silesia, even proclaiming himself the Czech king. Despite these territorial gains, the core Bohemian lands centered on Prague remained firmly in the hands of the Hussites, and Matthias was never able to capture the capital.
The conflict persisted even after the death of George of Poděbrady in 1471, as his successor Vladislaus II continued the resistance. The stalemate finally concluded in 1478 with the treaties of Brno and the Olomouc, which forced Vladislaus to formally recognize the Hungarian king's territorial acquisitions. The long-term irony of the war was cemented in 1490 upon the death of Matthias; Vladislaus II ultimately succeeded him, uniting the crowns of both Hungary and Bohemia under a single ruler, effectively ending the rivalry that had defined the previous decade.
