A
Franco-Hungarian alliance was formed in October 1528 between
Francis I of FranceFrancis I was King of France from 1515 until his death. During his reign, huge cultural changes took place in France and he has been called France's original Renaissance monarch...
and
John ZápolyaJohn Zápolya was King of Hungary from 1526 to 1540. His rule was disputed by Archduke Ferdinand I, who also claimed the title King of Hungary between 1526 and 1540. He was the voivode of Transylvania before his coronation.- Biography :...
, king of
HungaryHungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
.
Background
France had already been looking for allies in
Central EuropeCentral Europe or alternatively Middle Europe is a region of the European continent lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe...
. His ambassador,
Antonio RinconAntonio Rincon , also Antoine de Rincon, was a Spanish-born diplomat in the service of France An influential envoy from the King of France to Sultan Soleyman I of the Ottoman Empire, he made various missions to Istanbul between 1530 and 1541....
, was employed on several missions to
PolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
and
HungaryHungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
between 1522 and 1525. At that time, following the 1522 Battle of Bicoque, Francis was attempting to ally with King
Sigismund I the OldSigismund I of Poland , of the Jagiellon dynasty, reigned as King of Poland and also as the Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1506 until 1548...
of Poland.
In 1524, a Franco-Polish alliance was signed between Francis and Sigismund, but the agreement fell through when Francis was vanquished by
Charles VCharles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...
at the
Battle of PaviaThe Battle of Pavia, fought on the morning of 24 February 1525, was the decisive engagement of the Italian War of 1521–26.A Spanish-Imperial army under the nominal command of Charles de Lannoy attacked the French army under the personal command of Francis I of France in the great hunting preserve...
in 1525.
Alliance with Hungary
From 1526, Francis I again started to look for allies in
Central EuropeCentral Europe or alternatively Middle Europe is a region of the European continent lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe...
, this time turning his attention to
HungaryHungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
. In 1528,
John ZápolyaJohn Zápolya was King of Hungary from 1526 to 1540. His rule was disputed by Archduke Ferdinand I, who also claimed the title King of Hungary between 1526 and 1540. He was the voivode of Transylvania before his coronation.- Biography :...
was in a very vulnerable position, since he had been defeated by
Ferdinand of AustriaFerdinand I was Holy Roman Emperor from 1558 and king of Bohemia and Hungary from 1526 until his death. Before his accession, he ruled the Austrian hereditary lands of the Habsburgs in the name of his elder brother, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor.The key events during his reign were the contest...
, his rival claimant to the throne of Hungary, at the Battle of Tokay in August 1527. In addition to the French alliance, Zapolya also chose to become a vassal to the
Ottoman EmpireThe Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
in February 1528, through the negotiations of Jerome Laski. Rincon went to Istanbul to bring the document. This event triggered the development of relations between France and the Ottoman Empire.
The treaty was signed in France at
FontainebleauFontainebleau is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a sub-prefecture of the Seine-et-Marne department, and it is the seat of the arrondissement of Fontainebleau...
and
ParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
on 23 and 28 October 1528. It was then ratified by Zapolya at
BudaFor detailed information see: History of Buda CastleBuda is the western part of the Hungarian capital Budapest on the west bank of the Danube. The name Buda takes its name from the name of Bleda the Hun ruler, whose name is also Buda in Hungarian.Buda comprises about one-third of Budapest's...
on 1 September 1529. Through the treaty Francis promised to help Zapolya financially and through other means. In exchange, Zapolya agree to continue the fight against
Ferdinand of AustriaFerdinand I was Holy Roman Emperor from 1558 and king of Bohemia and Hungary from 1526 until his death. Before his accession, he ruled the Austrian hereditary lands of the Habsburgs in the name of his elder brother, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor.The key events during his reign were the contest...
and to provide Hungarian troops to Francis in Italy.
In the
Little War in HungaryThe Little War is a name given to a series of conflicts between the Habsburgs and their allies and the Ottoman Empire between 1529 and 1552...
, France fought side by side with Zapolya and
Suleiman the MagnificentSuleiman I was the tenth and longest-reigning Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1520 to his death in 1566. He is known in the West as Suleiman the Magnificent and in the East, as "The Lawgiver" , for his complete reconstruction of the Ottoman legal system...
against the Habsburg. A French artillery unit was dispatched to the war in Hungary in 1543–1544 and attached to the Ottoman Army.