Battle of Zernest

The Battle of Zernest was fought on 11 August 1690, near the city of Zernest in Transylvania (today part of Romania), between the allied forces of Transylvania and the Holy Roman Empire, and the allied forces of the Ottoman Empire, Tatar allies, Wallachians and Hungarian Kurucs.

Imre Thököly aspired to proclaim himself Prince of Transylvania; allied with the Turks, he had campaigned unsuccessfully in 1686 and 1688 to win the Transylvanian crown. In 1690 he launched another campaign. The Sultan gave him command of a 16,000-man (mostly Ottomans, Tatars, Romanians and some Kurucs) army with which he penetrated to Transylvania.

In the battle fought near the city of Zernest, he defeated the united Habsburg-Transylvanian army. Following his victory, a Diet called in Kereszténysziget elected him Prince of Transylvania; nevertheless, he could only maintain his position against the Habsburg armies with the utmost difficulty. In 1691 he quit Transylvania altogether.