King Lajos II is the minor antagonist of Magnificent Century TV show. He is a Hungarian king, who opposes Sultan Suleyman Khan. He is portrayed by Turkish stage actor Kadir Çermik.
Biography[]
Origin[]
Louis was born on 1 July 1506 to the Hungarian King Vladislav II Jagiellon and his wife Anne of Foix.
To ensure Lajos's succession to the throne, he was crowned with the Hungarian crown at the age of two and the Czech crown at the age of three, but he formally ascended his father's throne only upon reaching adulthood.
At the time of Vladislav's death, Louis was only ten years old. His uncle, the Polish King Sigismund I, became the young monarch's guardian. In January 1522, he was declared an adult and crowned in Székesfehérvár. In addition, he inherited from his father the crown of Bohemia, which Vladislav had received in 1471.
Louis lived mainly in Hungary, in Buda, and rarely visited Bohemia. At that time, the Czech political scene was in the midst of a struggle between powerful groups of nobles and hereditary aristocrats. Louis tried to restore the king's power and demanded the return of the royal castles and lands occupied by the nobility. He rejected delegations of officials and appointed new people to government positions. While the king was abroad, the country was to be governed by a government headed by Prince Karel of Minsterberg, grandson of King George of Podebrady. However, as soon as the king left Bohemia, the country again plunged into civil strife.
The Hungarian state was also in a state of anarchy. Even a noble opposition formed against the king. However, the main issue that Louis had to resolve was the advance of the Ottoman Turks from the Balkans into Central Europe. Louis had failed to organize a resistance to the expansion of Suleiman the Magnificent. The pressure intensified after 1521, when Suleiman captured the fortress of Belgrade and opened the way to Hungary. That same year, the Hungarian parliament decided to impose a tax to hire an army of mercenaries, but most of the money ended up in the hands of the nobility. As a result, the Hungarians were left to rely only on foreign aid.
In early 1526, rumors of an approaching Turkish army reached Hungary. Louis turned to a number of European rulers for help: the Pope, the Doge of Venice, the English King Henry VIII, and his relatives, the Polish King Sigismund I and the Austrian Archduke Ferdinand. Help came, but not enough. Hungary was left alone against the Turks. Louis failed to gather a large enough army, and many nobles ignored his call to arms. In addition, Louis did not have a clear plan of action against the Turkish Sultan's army, which was twice as large and well trained. On August 29, 1526, the Hungarian army was routed at Mohács. The king himself died by drowning while crossing the Danube, and his remains were found only two months later. On November 10, 1526, his body was buried in the basilica of Székesfehérvár.
Magnificent Century Series[]
Lajos is first mentioned in episode 2 of the series: Sultan Suleiman listens to Ahmed Pasha's report at a council, who reports that there are problems with the King of Hungary, Lajos, who does not want to pay taxes. The vizier suggests that the Sultan go to war against Hungary, but Piri Pasha decides to send an ambassador to Lajos first.
Meanwhile, in Hungary, King Lajos talks about the greatness of the dynastic families of Europe and the insignificance of the Ottomans. His inspired speech is interrupted by the news of the arrival of the Ottoman ambassador. The monarch decides to receive him, and Behram Chavush demands that Lajos pay the debt. Otherwise, the Sultan will collect from Hungary in a different way. The latter message enrages the king, and he executes the envoy, and later orders that his head be sent to Suleiman and that the Vatican and Emperor Charles be informed of the answer the ruler of the Hungarians gave to the Ottomans. After some time, Lajos receives a letter from Emperor Charles, which states that the Emperor approves of the response that the Hungarians gave to the Ottomans and will support Lajos in the event of war. However, the Venetian ambassador in Istanbul believes that the Hungarian king made a mistake by insulting the Ottoman Sultan and advises the Doge to protest his actions. Lajos enjoys life and is proud of his deed. The King mocks Sultan Suleiman and dreams of teaching him a lesson. The king's confidant Andre tells Lajos that the Vatican believes that they made a mistake by sending back Behram Chavoush's head, but the pompous King is not interested in the Vatican's opinion. Later, Lajos learns that the Sultan is going to war against him, but does not take this news seriously. The King continues to mock the Ottomans even after it becomes known that they have set out on a campaign and are marching against him. One evening, the king goes to the Zemun fortress, where the wedding of Count Ariel and Lady Victoria is being celebrated. Lajos promises the newlyweds a luxurious wedding in Buda as soon as they free their lands from the hated Ottomans. A feast begins, during which the king asks the groom for permission to remove the bride's veil from him. Having received consent, the ruler of Hungary uncovers Victoria's face, admires her beauty and gives the girl a necklace. Everyone is just starting to eat, when suddenly the Ottoman attack begins. The king runs in fear along a secret passage, the sultan pursues him, but Lajos manages to escape. Even after the capture of Belgrade, Lajos continues to take the Ottomans lightly. He reassures himself that the Turks were supposedly afraid to go to Buda. The courtiers do not share the ruler's optimism. However, in reality, Lajos is not idle: he decides to take advantage of Victoria's grief, who lost her husband during the attack on Zemun, and sends her as a spy to the Ottoman Empire. Victoria's task is to kill Suleyman and avenge Ariel's death. However, Victoria fails to complete the task. The Sultan personally neutralizes her. She is later executed. In response to the assassination attempt, the Sultan decides to go to war with Hungary. Lajos sends his men to kill the Sultan, but they fail because Bali Bey intervenes. The Sultan and his subordinates develop a brilliant plan to fight the Hungarians. The Ottoman army wins. King Lajos dies, and his army is routed.
Personality[]
The serial role of King Lajos completely contradicts his historical personality, described by his contemporaries. In the series, he is shown as an extremely irritable and sullen ruler, capable of executing even the most loyal servant in a fit of anger. He is very demanding of his confidants and does not tolerate any objections from them. Unlike, for example, Sultan Suleyman, he is a very bad tactician and strategist and, to put it mildly, not a model monarch. He does not care at all about anyone's opinion except his own. He also constantly fails to listen to warnings, no matter how reasonable are they (which often backfires on him).
Trivia[]
- In real life, he was only 20 years old, when he was killed in the Battle of Mohács and was mourned even by Sultan Suleyman himself, while in Magnificent Century, he is shown as a quite adult person and an unpleasant figure.
- He can be seen as villainous opposite of Sultan Suleyman Khan in several ways:
- Sultan Suleyman Khan is a benevolent (yet paranoid) ruler, who does the best for his subjects, while Lajos doesn't care about anyone but himself. He even abandons his subjects when they enter the fight with Sultan Suleyman and his army.
- Sultan Suleyman is a brilliant tactican and strategist and he always thinks ahead, while Lajos relies too much on chance.
- Sultan Suleyman sees his enemies as equals and teaches his subjects to do so, while Lajos constantly underestimates the threat.
- While Sultan Suleyman calls non-Muslims as infidels, he isn't a xenofobe, as he is shown to make alliances with non-Muslim countries and allows non-Muslims to live in his empire, while Lajos is a complete xenofobe as he detests the Ottomans, who didn't do anything bad to him.