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Camilo Cienfuegos

Camilo Cienfuegos Gorriarán (6 February 1932 – 28 October 1959) was a Cuban revolutionary. One of the major figures of the Cuban Revolution, he was considered second only to Fidel Castro among the revolutionary leadership.

The son of Spanish anarchists, Cienfuegos engaged with left-wing politics from an early age, going on to join the opposition movement against the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista. He joined Castro's 26th of July Movement on its expedition to Cuba and was one of the few survivors of the Landing of the Granma. He quickly distinguished himself as one of the top commanders of the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces and a popular leading figure of the revolution, becoming close friends with Che Guevara during their guerrilla campaign in Las Villas. After winning the Battle of Yaguajay in December 1958, Cienfuegos led the capture of Matanzas and Havana, where he was appointed as commander-in-chief of the armed forces by the new revolutionary government. He oversaw the reorganization of the armed forces, in order to purge leading figures of the Cuban National Army and replace them with guerrilla commanders more loyal to Fidel Castro.

When Huber Matos objected to Castro's consolidation of power, he was arrested by Cienfuegos. While flying back from Matos' former headquarters at Camagüey, Cienfuegos' plane disappeared over the Straits of Florida. After a few days of an attempted search and rescue operation, he was presumed dead by the Cuban government. His disappearance quickly spawned a number of conspiracy theories, many of which speculated Fidel or Raúl Castro to have been responsible, but no proof of such has been discovered. Cienfuegos has since become known as a revolutionary martyr in Cuba, with a number of institutions being dedicated to his name, including a Military Schools System and an Order of Merit.

Cienfuegos was a popular figure in Cuba, due to his cheerful and carefree personality, which contrasted sharply with the strict austerity of his comrade Guevara. Although he was claimed by different factions to have been a communist, an anti-communist or an anarchist, he never publicly expressed any political ideology. The soldiers that fought for him remembered him for his friendly and paternal leadership style, while the Cuban government upheld him as a loyal supporter of Fidel Castro. Every year, on 28 October, Cuban children throw flowers into the rivers and seas, in tribute to him.

Early life
In 1932, Camilo Cienfuegos was born into a working-class family, the son of Spanish anarchists who had immigrated to Cuba. His father Ramón Cienfuegos worked as a tailor in Havana and was involved in left-wing political activism, working with Solidaridad Internacional Antifascista (SIA) and the Asociacíon Libertaria de Cuba (ALC). While Camilo was still an infant, his father took him along with him to raise money for the Republicans during the Spanish Civil War.

Camilo's older brother Osmany Cienfuegos, who had graduated as an architect, became a communist activist, at a time when student dissidents were highly active and increasingly being repressed by the anti-communist regime of Fulgencio Batista. Having himself enrolled in an art school to study sculpture, in December 1955, Camilo participated in a series of student demonstrations that were violently broken up by the authorities. After laying a wreath at a monument to Antonio Maceo, while walking back to their university, he and his fellow students were shot and wounded by police. He was eventually forced to drop out of school due to financial difficulties and began working at the same clothing shop as his father. He also briefly emigrated to the United States, where he worked illegally for a period. In 1956, Cienfuegos moved to Mexico and joined Fidel Castro's 26th of July Movement for its expedition back to Cuba.

Landing and first offensive
After the landing of the Granma on 2 December 1956, 26 July Movement made its way into the Sierra Maestra, where they were Battle of Alegría de Pío by the Cuban National Army on 5 December. Many of the guerrillas were captured and killed, forcing the rest to escape into the mountains. Cienfuegos' small group wandered around the area for days, eventually being pointed in Castro's direction by local peasants. He found himself to be one of only twelve men that had survived the initial expedition.

During the set up for an ambush of the National Army, Cienfuegos accidentally almost shot Che Guevara, who was disguised as a National Army officer. Despite this mistake, the ambush went ahead successfully. The ranks of the rebels soon grew, as they gained the support of the local peasantry. Relations with new recruits didn't start off well, as the veterans were frustrated by their lack of experience, knowledge and proper equipment. This larger revolutionary armed force was divided into three companies, while Cienfuegos took command of a small special vanguard unit. It was also brought under the command of an inner council, of which Cienfuegos was also a member. With Fidel Castro as commander-in-chief, all of the leading commanders of the revolutionary armed forces shared equal rank: that of major.

In March 1957, the National Army initiated a counter-offensive against the rebels, confidently declaring victory over them by early April. Within weeks, the rebels returned to Pico Turquino, supported by the local population. There they made efforts to combat the chronic malnutrition and illness of the peasantry, carried out agrarian reform and taught classes on Marxist theory. By May 1957, the rebels were marching east, planning to launch another attack against the army. With Castro having appointed Cienfuegos as commander of the Second Column, on 28 May, the rebels surrounded the Uvero barracks and began firing on it. Despite some losses, the rebels were victorious and quickly looted the barracks, taking supplies and prisoners of war back into the mountains with them.

In Guevara's Column
With the rebellion well under way, both the National and Revolutionary armies were now attempting to assert their rule over the Sierra Maestra. In the absence of firm state control, the region fell into chaos, as various armed groups committed a litany of abuses. The rebels themselves had a code of conduct and Che Guevara in particular was committed to strict discipline, which caused tensions with the recruits when rebel commander Lalo Sardiñas shot a disobedient soldier. Castro defended the killing as a disciplinary action, managing to persuade a majority of the soldiers to vote for his demotion. Many of those in the minority that had wanted to see him executed subsequently left the rebel forces.

Sardiñas was stripped of command and replaced by Cienfuegos, who was made captain of Guevara's vanguard platoon. Cienfuegos' and Guevara's leadership styles proved complementary, as "Camilo's devil-may-care personality helped offset Che's strictness", and the two became fast friends. Castro ordered Cienfuegos to pursue and neutralise a group of "bandits", who they wanted to try for abuses being committed under the revolutionary banner. The column went to Mount Caracas, where they captured the Chinese Cuban bandit leader Chino Chang, tried him by revolutionary tribunal and executed him. Three of Chang's young followers were subjected to a mock execution, after which they were invited to join the revolutionary army. They also captured and executed some young bandits that had stolen from the revolutionaries, as well as a rapist that had impersonated Guevara. When interviewed about the executions, Castro downplayed the number and justified the documented cases. In October 1957, Guevara pulled back and began looking to establish industrial infrastructure in the region, so that the guerrilla war could be materially sustained. Before long, the revolutionaries had managed to establish an entire insurgent economy in El Hombrito, complete with a dam, a hospital, farms, factories and workshops.

The following month, they received news that Ángel Sánchez Mosquera was leading the National Army through the adjacent valley and destroying the local peasantry's homes there. Cienfuegos was dispatched to ambush them from behind, but the engagement was quick and only resulted in one National soldier's death before both sides withdrew. Cienfuegos then attempted a second attack, taking up position near the National Army camp while waiting for reinforcements from Guevara's column. On 29 November, the rebels set their ambush, covering all routes of escape and concealing themselves in the trees. Most of the National Army soldiers were gunned down in the farmhouse they were stationed in, while guerrilla patrols attempted to hold back reinforcements from arriving. After a bloody day of fighting, the rebels were forced to retreat, having lost a number of men. They were pursued along the way by Sánchez Mosquera's forces, as their defensive lines collapsed.

Again, they attempted to set up an ambush. Cienfuegos was to fire the starting shot at point-blank range from behind a tree, following which partially-concealed sharpshooters would open fire on the road. During the subsequent fire fight, Guevara was hit in the foot, lost his rifle and was again forced to pull back. Guevara went to request urgent reinforcements from Castro, but found that the National Army had withdrawn from the area. He was initially pleased and after his foot was operated on, returned to his base camp in El Hombrito, which he found completely destroyed. As the new year of 1958 dawned, Guevara's column began establishing a new base camp in La Mesa.

In February 1958, Guevara's armory began preparing supplies for the rebel forces' first offensive of the year, a planned attack on a National Army company at Pino del Agua. On 16 February, the rebels attacked the army camp with explosives, overrunning the guard posts. After initial rebel successes, National reinforcements arrived and Cienfuegos was shot twice, while attempting to retrieve a machine gun. At Guevara's command, the rebels attempted to rout the National Army, but ultimately decided to pull back as they did not have support from the wounded Cienfuegos. The rebels retreated into the hills again, where they carried out a series of sabotage attacks against the army.

Independent command
With rebel activity increasing around the country, Castro moved to extend their theatre of operations. On 27 February, he appointed Cienfuegos, Juan Almeida and Raúl Castro to command their own columns. While Raúl and Almeida were dispatched to carry out guerrilla activities in Oriente, Cienfuegos was left to recover from his wounds. Meanwhile, Castro himself began consolidating his authority within the "free territory" that had been carved out of the Sierra Maestra.

In March 1958, the Catholic Church in Cuba began calling for peace negotiations and the formation of a national unity government, but the initiative was rejected by Castro. As Fulgencio Batista attempted to salvage the situation, on 12 March 26 July Movement and the Revolutionary Directorate signed a joint manifesto that called for a general strike and "total war" against the Batista regime. But the call for a general strike was disregarded by the trade unions, as many workplaces remained open and any workers taking strike action were shot by Batista's death squads. The failure of the general strike was a blow to the revolutionaries, with different factions blaming each other, while Batista received new arms shipments from Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo. In response, 26 July Movement and the Popular Socialist Party formed an alliance against the regime, with many communists joining the army.

On 16 April, Cienfuegos returned to active combat in the Sierra, with Castro appointing him as commander of the guerrilla warfare in the area between Bayamo, Manzanillo and Las Tunas. There he was directed to sabotage the National Army, take over supply lines, implement agrarian reform and a new civil code. Castro aimed to defend Sierra Maestra, as it became clear that Batista was planning a new offensive. Castro and Guevara subsequently moved their headquarters into the hills, where they clashed with Sánchez Mosquera's forces. After Guevara had set up camp, Castro tasked him with establishing and running a military school in order to train new recruits. He had hoped to reunite on the front lines with Cienfuegos, who consoled his friend with a letter:

"Che. Soul brother: I see Fidel has put you in charge of the Military School, which makes me very happy because now we can count on having first-class soldiers in the future... You've played a very principal role in this showdown and if we need you in this insurrectional stage, Cuba needs you even more when the war ends, so the Giant [Fidel] does a good thing in looking after you. I would like to be always at your side, you were my chief for a long time and you will always continue to be. Thanks to you I now have the opportunity to be more useful, I'll do the unspeakable to not make you look bad. Your eternal chicharrón, Camilo."

On 24 May 1958, the National Army launched Operation Verano, an offensive into the Sierra that aimed to cut off Castro's supply lines and weaken his forces. When the National Army advanced in the foothills along the northern front, Castro was forced to withdraw all of his forces from the south, as he only had 300 soldiers for the defense. On 26 June, Cienfuegos' patrol group was recalled from Holguín, in order to reinforce the revolutionary forces against the national offensive. The revolutionaries were then able to continuously ambush the army, which mostly focused on guarding coffee and sugar plantations, while their own insurgent economy only grew.

Las Villas Operation
By August 1958, the National Army had finally withdrawn from the Sierra and Castro began to plan new offensive operations. By this time, independent insurrections had broken out in the Escambray Mountains of Central Cuba. Castro decided to send Che Guevara and Cienfuegos west, in an attempt to bring the direction of the fighting under their command. Cienfuegos himself was directed to lead his 82-strong Antonio Maceo Column across the island towards Pinar del Río, in emulation of his column's namesake.

Together with Guevara's own column, they left the revolutionary headquarters on foot, as their vehicles had been rendered useless by a National Army ambush. The two columns travelled together for a while, wading through rice paddies and swamps, while attempting to evade the National Army and any aerial bombardment. They advanced into Camagüey on 7 September and clashed with the National Army at Santa Cruz del Sur. The revolutionaries pressed on despite the poor conditions of the expedition, with Cienfuegos reporting in October:

"Forty days of march, often with the south coast and a compass as the only guide. During fifteen days we marched with water and mud up to the knees, travelling by night to avoid ambushes... during the thirty-one days of our journey across Camagüey we ate eleven times. After four days of famine we had to eat a mare... Almost all our animals were left in the marsh."

During the "Westward March of Che and Camilo", the revolutionaries took control of a number of towns, cities and transportation hubs. Further clashes occurred during the expedition and sometimes it was necessary to stop and dispense justice, with Cienfuegos being noted to have shot two of his men for looting. In Camagüey, they received assistance from local communists, who helped produce propaganda leaflets for 26 July Movement.

Before the arrival of Guevara and Cienfuegos in Las Villas, the insurrection there was mostly directed by independent groups such as the Revolutionary Directorate and the Second National Front of Escambray, as well as small detachments of the Popular Socialist Party and 26 July Movement. Although these groups had accomplished little before, the new leadership of Guevara and Cienfuegos would transform the revolutionary situation in Las Villas and prove instrumental to the adhesion of the Communists to the movement. Cienfuegos' and Guevara's columns arrived in Las Villas on 14 October 1958, gaining strength from National Army deserters and local 26 July Movement activists along the way. There Cienfuegos' column was joined by another commanded by the Communist Félix Torres, who subordinated himself to Cienfuegos' command. Together they clashed with a 450-strong detachment of the National Army and faced difficulties with a local unit of the Revolutionary Directorate, with Enrique Oltuski coming to them from Trinidad, in Sancti Spíritus Province, to mediate the dispute, and in the process meeting Guevara and Cienfuegos.

Cienfuegos' column was supplied with provisions by the local communist militants such as Armando Acosta, who became Guevara's personal aide. Cienfuegos spent much of his time there organising regular collective reading sessions, dedicated to studying the works of Cuban national heroes José Martí and Antonio Maceo, the latter of whom Cienfuegos read aloud himself "in a deep voice". The revolutionaries also implemented a programme of agrarian reform in Las Villas, with Cienfuegos organising local sugar workers to hold a national conference later in the year. As Guevara attempted to form an alliance with the Directorate, Cienfuegos apparently displayed "no eagerness" to move on to his destination of Pinar del Río.

When the 1958 Cuban general election was held, Guevara and Cienfuegos organised a boycott in Las Villas and attempted to prevent voting urns from being brought to the province. Cienfuegos was ordered to attack towns in the north of the province, which succeeded in bringing provincial traffic to a standstill on the day of the election. In an attempt to appeal for US support, president-elect Andrés Rivero Agüero initially promised to negotiate a peaceful solution to the political crisis in the country, but quickly re-committed to Batista's plan of forcefully suppressing the uprising.

In November 1958, the National Air Force began bombarding Guevara's forces daily and the National Army moved several heavily armed companies towards their positions. Cienfuegos brought his Column to reinforce Guevara and the two sides battled for a week. On 4 December 1958, the National Army's offensive was halted and they were then pushed back to Fomento, with the revolutionaries capturing a large amount of territory and materiel. As Cienfuegos and Guevara continued to see success against the National Army, Cienfuegos' column was ordered to remain in the province, rather than pushing on to Pinar del Río.

Instead, Cienfuegos and Guevara aimed to cut the island in half by definitively capturing the province. Guevara captured Fomento on 18 December, and Cabaiguán and Guayos on 21 December, before moving on to capture the junction at Placetas. By Christmas Day, they had captured most of the province, leaving only the major cities in the hands of the regime. Meanwhile, Cienfuegos' column moved to the north of the province and launched an attack on the National Army garrison at Yaguajay. During the ensuing Battle of Yaguajay, Cienfuegos' column captured 250 men and 375 rifles, before moving on.

This offensive proved to be the coup de grâce of the Batista regime, with the President himself deciding to flee the country. By the end of December 1958, Las Villas was completely under revolutionary control, cutting communications between the National Army in the east and the west. Guevara then began making preparations for their final campaign. Guevara and Cienfuegos received orders from Castro, directing them to advance on Havana, while specifying that it "be carried out exclusively by the 26th of July forces. Camilo's column should be in the lead, the vanguard, to take over Havana when the dictatorship falls, if we don't want the weapons from Camp Columbia [military headquarters] to be distributed among all the various groups, which would present a very serious problem in the future."

Revolutionary victory
On 2 January 1959, Cienfuegos' and Guevara's columns finally moved on the Cuban capital of Havana, with Guevara capturing the fortress of La Cabaña. That day, Cienfuegos' column arrived at Matanzas, where they accepted the unconditional surrender of the local regiment. The soldiers were disarmed of their rifles but allowed by Cienfuegos to keep their pistols. Cienfuegos' column then moved on and occupied Camp Columbia in Havana, which Cienfuegos received command over from Ramón Barquín. When Carlos Franqui arrived in Havana, he reported of Cienfuegos' Camp Columbia that:

"The gloomy Camp Columbia, mother of the tyranny and of crime, which I had known as a prisoner, was now almost a picturesque theater, impossible to imagine. On the one hand, the bearded rebels with Camilo, no more than five hundred of them, and on the other hand, twenty thousand army soldiers intact — generals, colonels, majors, captains, corporals, sergeants, and privates. When they saw us walk by, they stood at attention. It was enough to make you burst out laughing. In the comandant's office was Camilo, with his romantic beard, looking like Christ on a spree, his boots thrown on the floor and his feet up on the table, as he received his excellency the ambassador of the United States."

The following day, 26 July Movement called for a general strike to mark the final blow to the Batista regime, with the old institutions falling to the revolution with each passing hour. As Batista's former soldiers defected en masse to the revolution, the newly installed revolutionary president Manuel Urrutia appointed Cienfuegos as commander-in-chief of the Revolutionary Armed Forces. On 5 January, Cienfuegos welcomed members of the new revolutionary Council of Ministers as they arrived in Havana, where they awaited Castro.

While Castro delayed in reaching the capital, Cienfuegos became the public face of the revolution in Havana. When visited in Camp Columbia by television reporters, who broadcast the interaction to thousands of viewers, he made a point to release a number of parrots from their birdcages, declaring "these also have a right to liberty". Cienfuegos' "easy manners" quickly became emblematic of the revolutionaries, who Havana was pleasantly surprised to find on good behavior; neither drinking alcohol nor looting the city after its capture. Due to the saturation of radio and television access in Cuba, before long, "everyone knew who Camilo Cienfuegos was" and could easily identify the rebel commander. Castro himself preferred Cienfuegos taking the center stage over the foreign communist Guevara, as the "handsome, Stetson-wearing, baseball-playing, womanizing, humorous Camilo was Cuban, not known to be a Communist, and had already become a popular folk hero."

Tensions had not yet subsided, as the Revolutionary Directorate held on to the Presidential Palace and refused to vacate it for the arrival of the new president, with Cienfuegos considering an attack against the palace. According to Franqui: "Camilo, half joking and half serious, said a couple of cannonballs should be fired off as a warning. [...] As I was not an admirer of the palace, I said it seemed like a good idea, but Che, with his sense of responsibility, told us it wasn't the right time to waste cannonballs, and he patiently returned to the palace, met Faure Chomón, and matters were straightened out. Camilo always listened to Che." The situation was thus diffused and the palace was peacefully handed over to Urrutia. On 8 January, Fidel Castro finally arrived in Havana, meeting with Urrutia at the presidential palace and giving a speech at Cienfuegos' Camp Columbia. During the rally, Castro interrupted his speech to ask Cienfuegos "¿Voy bien, Camilo?" ("Am I doing all right, Camilo?") Cienfuegos responded in kind, "Vas bien, Fidel!" ("You are doing fine, Fidel!")

Initial activities
In the wake of the revolution, most political parties dissolved themselves voluntarily, hoping to make way for a "new political order". By 10 January 1959, Cienfuegos had legalized the Popular Socialist Party (PSP), declaring that it "would have rights to organize themselves like all other democratic parties providing that they did not represent the interests of a foreign power". Che supported Cienfuegos' decision, himself considering the PSP to have proven themselves worthy of participating in the government and aiding them in their early operations. Meanwhile, Camilo solicited his brother Osmany Cienfuegos, a member of the PSP, to establish a Cultural Section of the Revolutionary Armed Forces that would oversee the Cuban literacy campaign. According to Julio García Espinosa, Cienfuegos also commissioned a number of PSP members as officers in the army, even though they hadn't fought in the war. Cienfuegos also participated in talks between 26 July Movement and the Popular Socialist Party, which aimed at merging the two organisations.

Having declared victory for the Revolution, Cienfuegos never ended up taking an official position within the government. He instead preferred to enjoy Havana's nightlife, going to clubs and reveling in his status as "the spoiled darling of the masses". In February 1959, Cienfuegos surprised Guevara by arranging a free flight for Guevara's family to come see him from Argentina. If Guevara had known about it, he may not have allowed it, due to his self-imposed austerity. When Guevara married Aleida March on 2 June, Cienfuegos arrived with bottles of rum "to liven up" the wedding reception. Shortly after the wedding, Guevara went to Egypt to meet with state representatives of the Bandung Pact. While away, Guevara's men began to worry that he had been removed by Castro, protesting to Cienfuegos when an unpopular commander was named as his substitute. But Cienfuegos proved unmoved by their complaints and reprimanded the soldiers for not obeying orders.

On the anniversary of the attack on the Moncada Barracks that had started the Revolution, the revolutionary government went to mass, where they commemorated those that fell during the revolution, before presiding over a mass demonstration at Plaza de la Revolución, followed by a military parade. Later that night, they held a baseball game at the Estadio Latinoamericano, where Cienfuegos and Castro played for a team called "Los Barbudos". Baseball quickly became a fixture of post-revolutionary Cuban culture, with United States ambassador Philip Bonsal observing: "The spectacle of the Prime Minister, alleged by his admirers to have been a promising pitcher of big league caliber, throwing a few curves to Major Camilo Cienfuegos, a former minor-leaguer, and generally clowning about on the diamond was a feature of the pregame show of many important contests."

Consolidation of the Revolution
Before long, Cienfuegos was observing the beginnings of Castro's consolidation of power. Castro quickly tasked Cienfuegos, Ramiro Valdés and Victor Pina with establishing a new Intelligence Directorate, which Valdés took charge of. Castro also began reorganizing the armed forces, purging the officers of the old National Army and replacing them with a new military elite of ex-guerrillas that were personally loyal to Castro.

Although Cienfuegos originally envisioned an equitable merger of the Revolutionary and National Armies, Castro quickly convinced him that it was "necessary to reorganize the armed forces with men loyal to the Revolution, and not accomplices of tyranny." In the process, Cienfuegos was appointed as the chief of staff of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, replacing Colonel José Rego Rubido. In September 1959, Cienfuegos joined the Castro brothers in going to Santa Clara, where they sacked the provincial heads of 26 July Movement, the revolutionary army and Instituto Nacional de Reforma Agraria (INRA), replacing them with more loyal supporters of Castro.

During this time, Castro also dispatched a group of 200 Dominicans and 10 Cuban guerrillas to invade the Dominican Republic and oust Rafael Trujillo. Almost all of them were captured, tortured and killed. Before it was carried out, Sacha Volman had begged Cienfuegos to call off the expedition, fearing it to be doomed. Cienfuegos agreed and attempted to convince Castro to call it off, but he pushed forward with the plan. Volman later claimed that the expedition was "set up to fail".

The conflict between Castro and the liberal president Manuel Urrutia, in which the former rallied his supporters to oust the latter, lay the foundations for the construction of an authoritarian state, with Castro dissolving all remaining institutions of civilian government. Cienfuegos complained during the events that "[t]his Fidel really likes to fuck around".

Huber Matos affair
Castro's consolidation of power, as well as the increasing role of the Popular Socialist Party in government, began to worry some officers in the Revolutionary Army. The provincial commander of Camagüey, Huber Matos, shared his own concerns with Cienfuegos, who promised to investigate the situation.

In October 1959, Raúl Castro was promoted to Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, formally demoting Cienfuegos, who had previously been his superior officer. This triggered the resignation of Huber Matos, who accused Fidel Castro of "burying the revolution". Fidel responded by publicly denouncing Matos for treason. Cienfuegos, along with Guevara and President Osvaldo Dorticós, considered Castro's denunciations of Matos to have been a mistake and attempted to persuade Fidel to be lenient while prosecuting him. When Raúl Castro ordered Cienfuegos to arrest Matos, he initially refused, only reluctantly accepting the order when Fidel gave it personally.

Fidel dispatched Cienfuegos to Camagüey, where he found that Matos' forces remained loyal to their commander. Matos ordered his officers to treat Cienfuegos' arrival with respect, so as to make it clear that there was no conspiracy against the government, but they instead resigned en masse. Cienfuegos arrested Matos and his fellow dissidents without resistance, refusing to handcuff his former comrade and walking side-by-side with him in front of the press. Matos was then taken back to Havana. Cienfuegos remained behind in Camagüey to take over Matos' command, overseeing the complete reorganization of the province's armed forces.

Disappearance
On 28 October 1959, Cienfuegos' Cessna 310 took off from Camagüey, headed for Havana. Cienfuegos disappeared along the way, his plane apparently having been lost in the Caribbean Sea.

News of his disappearance was not reported until 30 October. When news of it was brought to the Cabinet by Raúl Castro, Fidel seemed surprised and visibly upset, and the government quickly ordered a search and rescue operation. Throughout the country, Catholics held mass processions in honour of Cienfuegos and the political leadership widely publicised their concern for their lost comrade. The military followed any leads they could, speaking with peasants that claimed to have witnessed a plane crash and even consulting a spiritualist. According to United States ambassador Philip Bonsal, he had provided a number of American planes to cooperate in the search efforts, but the Cuban government assigned them to a location where it was unlikely the plane could have been. Castro never mentioned American assistance in his report of the search efforts.

For publicity, Castro was filmed searching for Cienfuegos with his parents, who posed for pictures searching the skies for their lost son. But some of those who accompanied Castro on these search flights claimed that he never appeared to be emotionally invested in the search and seemed indifferent to Cienfuegos' fate. While himself investigating the disappearance, Cienfuegos' former aide Major Cristóbal Naranjo was murdered by Captain Manuel Beatón, apparently during a drunken argument after Beatón was passed over for a promotion. After escaping into the Sierra Maestra and becoming a bandit, Beatón was himself assassinated the following year, prompting many to suspect foul play in the disappearance of Cienfuegos.

Cienfuegos was falsely reported to have been found on 5 November, and work stopped throughout the country as people came out into the streets to celebrate. Ruby Hart Phillips reported that "merchants were forced to close their stores because the clerks deserted. I was surprised to learn that Major Cienfuegos was so popular." Many Catholics credited Our Lady of Charity or Jude the Apostle for the miracle.

But in reality, no sign of a plane wreckage had actually been found. Hours after the report of Cienfuegos' discovery, the Revolutionary Armed Forces denied its validity, alleging it to have been counter-revolutionary propaganda that had aimed to assassinate Castro. The Cuban government subsequently declared Camilo Cienfuegos to be presumed dead. His body has never been discovered and the official story has neither been proven nor disproven.

While Matos was given a show trial by a revolutionary tribunal, Cienfuegos was made into a revolutionary martyr. Fidel Castro accelerated his consolidation of power after Cienfuegos' death, using it as a reason to convince Cubans of the need to "defend the Revolution at all costs". This meant the end of judicial independence and the re-establishment of revolutionary tribunals, which expanded the definition of "counter-revolutionary" by criminalising strike action, eliminating the category of "political prisoner" and assuming collective guilt by association. After the Prensa Libre reported on allegations of rising tensions between them and Cienfuegos, the Castros also began to campaign against freedom of the press.

Personality
To Cuban-American historian Samuel Farber, Cienfuegos "exemplified the quintessential native, male, urban Cuban with his sense of humor, great interest in dancing and baseball, good looks, love of women, and overall joie de vivre". According to British historian Hugh Thomas, Cienfuegos, "with his open, jovial manner and warm smile, bid fair to become almost as popular as Castro himself". To American historian Robert E. Quirk, Cienfuegos' "easygoing and friendly demeanor and Old Testament beard combined to project a popular counterimage alongside that of the July 26 leader."

United States ambassador Earl E. T. Smith, who met Cienfuegos at Camp Columbia in January 1959, thought him to be "courteous if aloof". To Smith's successor Philip Bonsal, "Cienfuegos was gay and forthcoming. He had proved himself as a leader of men but he did not have any irresistible urge to the exercise of power. He liked the fleshpots, the gay life. He may have had a penchant for friendships and associations deemed undesirable by some of his more austere revolutionary comrades." While to the British ambassador Leycester Coltman "Camilo's austere figure, black beard and gentle, dignified manner gave him an even more Christ-like appearance than Castro."

Finance Minister Raúl Chibás described him as "a childlike fellow, always playing with guns", while his successor Rufo López-Fresquet described him as a "gay, happy-go-lucky, adventuresome sort". The newspaper Bohemia also compared him to Robinson Crusoe. Cienfuegos' "devil-may-care personality" was often contrasted with Guevara's "strictness", although the two would become fast friends after joining the revolutionary leadership.

Political ideology
Cienfuegos wasn't openly committed to any political ideology and appeared not to hold any strong political beliefs, although he remained personally loyal to Castro. Farber commented that he "remained less politically sophisticated than the Castro brothers as well as Che Guevara." Cienfuegos himself considered the Cuban Revolution to have been anti-authoritarian and "non-Communist", and continued to reiterate this view even after Castro's line on the matter changed. To Cienfuegos, the Revolution was "cubanísima [Cuban to the extreme] [...] as Cuban as the palm trees, uniquely and exclusively Cuban." This was the version of the revolution that he vowed to die for "whenever the moment should demand it".

Many have speculated about his possible communist allegiances, but no solid evidence of such has been found. Although described as a "closet Communist" by The New York Times journalist Tad Szulc, to Castro's biographer Georgie Anne Geyer, "[t]hat Camilo was far more a romantic revolutionary than a Communist is beyond question." While Fidel Castro himself described Cienfuegos as "a pure revolutionary soul, Communist timber", he also speculated that he could have been removed from command due to his "low political level". Others claimed him to be an anti-communist or referred to him in neutral terms. Some have also pointed out the influence of his older brother Osmany Cienfuegos, who was a committed communist.

The son of Spanish anarchists, many within the international anarchist movement claimed Cienfuegos himself to have also been an anarchist. The Cuban government even played up his libertarian credentials in order to garner international support. But Cuban-American historian Frank Fernández has disputed this characterisation, questioning whether Cienfuegos was ever involved with the Cuban anarchist movement.

Leadership style
During the Cuban Revolution, he quickly distinguished himself as one of the most popular revolutionary leaders. As a key lieutenant of Fidel Castro, Cienfuegos was comparable in rank and fame to Che Guevara and Raúl Castro, in some cases even being considered second only to Fidel himself. Although his campaign in Las Villas was not as well-conducted as Guevara's, Cienfuegos' actions in the last months of the war earned him particular distinction as a revolutionary leader.

While a capable military commander, Cienfuegos never demonstrated an authoritarian desire to exercise power over others. After the revolution, Cienfuegos was remembered fondly by his soldiers, who compared his affectionate leadership style to that of a parent or a teacher, rather than that of a "chief", recalling that "he even insisted that prisoners should eat first". On the question of tactics, he departed from many others in the revolutionary movement in rejecting violence and revenge. In October 1958, when a Cuban Masonic organization expressed concern that someone captured by the rebels might be tortured and killed, he replied that he wouldn't even have considered such an act, which he thought would have lowered the revolutionaries' methods to the level of their opponents.

Speculation about disappearance
Almost immediately after Cienfuegos disappeared, many people began to speculate about the events and some even suspected foul play. The pilot of Cienfuegos' plane had been inexperienced, and although the government claimed that the plane had been taken down by a squall, the weather that day had actually been clear for flying. The area that his plane was flying would also have been covered by radar. The captain of the base that Cienfuegos' plane took off from, Roberto de Cárdenas, alleged that the flight's fate had been plotted, claiming that nobody had seen Cienfuegos in the airplane and that others on the base were either killed or overpowered.

Some alleged he had been assassinated by his rival Raúl Castro. Proponents of this hypothesis included Huber Matos himself, who was convinced that his arrest and Camilo's disappearance were related. Carlos Franqui suspected the intelligence agent Osvaldo Sánchez, who had been charged with ensuring the security of Cienfuegos by Raúl Castro. Others suspected that Fidel Castro himself ordered the assassination of Cienfuegos, speculating that it had something to do with his apparent reluctance to arrest Matos, or that Cienfuegos was growing too popular for Castro's liking. Some skeptics speculated that Castro had falsely announced that Cienfuegos was found in order to gauge the public's feelings about him.

Some critics of Castro claimed that while he had not killed Cienfuegos himself, "one of the specialties of Fidel is to send people to be killed." José Pardo Llada, who was with Castro during the search for Cienfuegos, later said that "He [Castro] may not have killed Camilo, but he certainly didn't feel his death". Che Guevara himself never suspected the Castros of involvement in Cienfuegos' disappearance and remained personally loyal to Fidel for years afterwards. Philip Bonsal also never considered foul play by the Castros to have been a possibility, as he believed that "Cienfuegos was no threat to any one."

Another speculation was that his plane had been mistaken for a hostile aircraft and shot down by a Cuban Air Force pilot. There has also been speculation that Cienfuegos faked his death and fled to the US, as some speculate it may have been to Ybor City in Tampa. In 1960, a former nurse from Havana that had fled to Miami claimed she had nursed Cienfuegos, but she was later declared "insane". British historian Hugh Thomas himself speculated whether the mystery of Cienfuegos' disappearance would ever be solved.

Friends and family
Shortly after Camilo's death, his brother Osmany Cienfuegos was appointed as Minister of Public Works, replacing the engineer Manuel Ray Rivero. He served in the position until February 1966, when he was appointed as president of the Communist Party's foreign relations commission. He also joined the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and, in 1976, became a member of the Council of State and secretary of the Council of Ministers.

Che Guevara named his son Camilo after Cienfuegos and kept a picture of him on his study wall after leaving Cuba. Guevara also dedicated his 1961 book Guerrilla Warfare to Cienfuegos, a picture of whom adorned the cover.

Memorial dedications
On 28 October each year, school children throughout Cuba throw flowers into the sea or a river to honor Camilo Cienfuegos, repeating the spontaneous tribute of the Cubans who tossed flowers into the ocean when they heard his plane had been lost over the Cuba Florida Strait. To mark the 50th anniversary of his death, on 28 October 2009, a steel outline of Cienfuegos' face and the words "Vas bien, Fidel" were added to the side of the Ministry of Communications (Cuba) building on the Plaza de la Revolución.

After the revolution, streets and buildings throughout Cuba were renamed after heroes of the Revolution, including Cienfuegos himself. A village previously known as "Hershey", in the municipality of Santa Cruz del Norte, was renamed to Camilo Cienfuegos in his honour. A museum dedicated to Cienfuegos was built in Yaguajay, at the site of the barracks of the Batista's forces during the 1958 battle. The museum includes a diorama of the battle, as well as material relating to Cienfuegos' life before, during, and after the revolution. A large statue of him stands in front of the museum.

As part of a campaign to improve the standards of living in rural areas, in July 1960, Fidel Castro dedicated the Camilo Cienfuegos Mountain Boarding School, which was established as a school for the largely-uneducated peasant children of the Sierra Maestra. In 1966, the Camilo Cienfuegos Military Schools System was also established to provide military education to students aged 11 to 17. Graduates from these high schools received priority admission to cadet schools, such that within five years, 74% of students at the military technological institute were graduates from the Camilo Cienfuegos Schools. The University of Matanzas also bears the name "Camilo Cienfuegos".

On 10 December 1979, the Cuban government decreed the establishment of the Order of Cienfuegos, a socialist order of merit named in his honour. Camilo is also remembered on the 20 Cuban peso bill and the 20 Cuban convertible peso bill. He was also pictured on the 40-cent coins, now discontinued.

Popular culture
Cienfuegos has also been depicted on revolutionary murals, which sometimes assigned to him a religious significance. In the 2008 film Che, the character of Cienfuegos was "played with great verve" by Santiago Cabrera.

title: Camilo Cienfuegos


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John Hunyadi

John Hunyadi (Hunyadi János; Ioan de Hunedoara; Janko Hunjadi; Сибињанин Јанко; c. 1406 – 11 August 1456) was a leading Hungarian military and political figure during the 15th century, who served as regent of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1446 to 1453, under the minor Ladislaus V.

According to most contemporary sources, he was the member of a noble family of Wallachian ancestry. Through his struggles against the Ottoman Empire, he earned for himself the nickname "Turk-buster" from his contemporaries. Due to his merits, he quickly received substantial land grants. By the time of his death, he was the owner of immense land areas, totaling approximately four million cadastral acres, which had no precedent before or after in the Kingdom of Hungary. His enormous wealth, his military and political weight were primarily directed towards the purposes of the Ottoman wars.

Hunyadi mastered his military skills on the southern borderlands of the Kingdom of Hungary that were exposed to Ottoman attacks. Appointed Ban of Szörény in 1439, appointed Voivode of Transylvania, Counts of the Székelys and Chief Captain of Nándorfehérvár (now Belgrade) in 1441 and head of a several of southern counties of the Kingdom of Hungary, he assumed responsibility for the defense of the frontiers. He adopted the Hussite method of using wagons for military purposes. He employed professional soldiers, but also mobilized local peasantry against invaders. These innovations contributed to his earliest successes against the Ottoman troops who were plundering the southern marches in the early 1440s.

In the year of 1442, Hunyadi won four victories against the Ottomans, two of which were decisive. In March 1442, Hunyadi defeated Mezid Bey and the raiding Ottoman army at the Battle of Szeben in the south part of the Kingdom of Hungary in Transylvania. In September 1442, Hunyadi defeated a large Ottoman army of Beylerbey Şehabeddin, the Provincial Governor of Rumelia. This was the first time that a European army defeated such a large Ottoman force, composed not only of raiders, but of the provincial cavalry led by their own sanjak beys (governors) and accompanied by the formidable janissaries. Although defeated in the battle of Varna in 1444 and in the second battle of Kosovo in 1448, his successful "Long Campaign" across the Balkan Mountains in 1443–44 and defence of Belgrade (Nándorfehérvár) in 1456, against troops led personally by the sultan, established his reputation as a great general. The pope ordered that European churches ring their bells at noon to gather the faithful in prayer for those who were fighting. The bells of Christian churches are rung at noon to commemorate the Belgrade victory.

John Hunyadi was also an eminent statesman. He actively took part in the civil war between the partisans of Wladislas I and the minor Ladislaus V, two claimants to the throne of Hungary in the early 1440s, on behalf of the former. Popular among the lesser nobility, the Diet of Hungary appointed him, in 1445, as one of the seven "Captains in Chief" responsible for the administration of state affairs until Ladislaus V (by that time unanimously accepted as king) came of age. The next Diet went even further, electing Hunyadi as sole regent with the title of governor. When he resigned from this office in 1452, the sovereign awarded him with the first hereditary title (perpetual count of Beszterce/Bistrița) in the Kingdom of Hungary. He had by this time become one of the wealthiest landowners in the kingdom, and preserved his influence in the Diet up until his death.

This Athleta Christi (Christ's Champion), as Pope Pius II referred to him, died some three weeks after his triumph at Belgrade, falling to an epidemic that had broken out in the crusader camp. However, his victories over the Turks prevented them from invading the Kingdom of Hungary for more than 60 years. His fame was a decisive factor in the election of his son, Matthias Corvinus, as king by the Diet of 1457. Hunyadi is a popular historical figure among Hungarians, Romanians, Serbs, Bulgarians and other nations of the region.

Childhood (c. 1406 – c.  1420)
A royal charter of grant issued on 18 October 1409 contains the first reference to John Hunyadi. In the document, King Sigismund of Hungary bestowed Hunyad Castle (in present-day Hunedoara, Romania) and the lands attached to it upon John's father, Voyk and Voyk's four kinsmen, including John himself. According to the document, John's father served in the royal household as a "court knight" at that time, suggesting that he was descended from a respected family. Two 15th-century chroniclers—Johannes de Thurocz and Antonio Bonfini—write that Voyk had moved from Wallachia to Hungary upon King Sigismund's initiative. László Makkai, Malcolm Hebron, Pál Engel and other scholars accept the two chroniclers' report of the Wallachian origin of John Hunyadi's father. In contrast with them, Ioan-Aurel Pop says that Voyk was a native of the wider region of Hunyad Castle.

Antonio Bonfini was the first chronicler to have made a passing remark of an alternative story of John Hunyadi's parentage, soon stating that it was just a "tasteless tale" fabricated by Hunyadi's opponent, Ulrich II, Count of Celje. According to this anecdote, John was actually not Voyk's child, but King Sigismund's illegitimate son. The story became especially popular during the reign of John Hunyadi's son, Matthias Corvinus who erected a statue for King Sigismund in Buda. The 16th-century chronicler Gáspár Heltai repeated and further developed the tale, but modern scholars—for instance, Cartledge, and Kubinyi—regard it as an unverifiable gossip. Hunyadi's popularity among the peoples of the Balkan Peninsula give rise to further legends of his royal parentage.

The identification of John Hunyadi's mother is even less certain. In connection with King Sigismund's supposed parentage, both Bonfini and Heltai say that she was the daughter of a rich boyar, or nobleman, whose estates were located at Morzsina (present-day Margina, Romania). Pop proposes that she was called Elisabeth. According to historian László Makkai, John Hunyadi's mother was a member of the Muzsina (or Mușina) kenez family from Demsus (Densuș, Romania), but Pop refuses the identification of the Morzsina and Muzsina families.

With regard of John Hunyadi's mother, Bonfini provides an alternative solution as well, stating that she was a distinguished Greek lady, but does not name her. According to Kubinyi, her alleged Greek origin may simply refer to her Orthodox faith. In a letter of 1489, Matthias Corvinus wrote that his grandmother's sister, whom the Ottoman Turks had captured and forced to join the harem of an unnamed Sultan, became the ancestor of Cem, the rebellious son of Sultan Mehmed II. Based on this letter, historian Kubinyi says that the "Greek connection cannot be discounted entirely". If Matthias Corvinus' report is valid, John Hunyadi—the hero of anti-Ottoman wars—and the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II were first cousins. On the other hand, historian Péter E. Kovács writes that Matthias Corvinus's story about his family connection with the Ottoman Sultans was nothing but a pack of lies.

Hunyadi's year of birth is uncertain. Although Gáspár Heltai writes that Hunyadi was born in 1390, he must have actually been born between around 1405 and 1407, because his younger brother was only born after 1409, and a difference of almost two decades between the two brothers' age is not plausible. The place of his birth is likewise unknown. The 16th-century scholar, Antun Vrančić wrote that John Hunyadi had been "a native" of the Hátszeg region (now Țara Hațegului in Romania). Hunyadi's father died before 12 February 1419. A royal charter issued on this day mentions Hunyadi, Hunyadi's two brothers (John the younger and Voyk) and their uncle Radol, but does not refer to their father.

Youth (c. 1420–1438)
Andreas Pannonius, who served Hunyadi for five years, wrote that the future commander "accustomed himself to tolerate both cold and heat in good time". Like other young noblemen, John Hunyadi spent his youth serving in the court of powerful magnates. However, the exact list of his employers cannot be completed, because 15th-century authors recorded contradictory data on his early life.

Filippo Scolari's biographer, Poggio Bracciolini writes that Scolari—who was responsible for the defense of the southern frontier as Ispán, or head, of Temes County—educated Hunyadi from his very youth, suggesting that Hunyadi was Scolari's page around 1420. On the other hand, John of Capistrano writes, in a letter of 1456, that Hunyadi started his military career serving under Nicholas of Ilok. For Nicholas of Ilok was at least six year younger than Hunyadi, historian Pál Engel writes that Capistrano confused him with his brother, Stephen of Ilok. Finally, Antonio Bonfini says that at the beginning of his career Hunyadi worked either for Demeter Csupor, Bishop of Zagreb or for the Csákys.

According to the Byzantine historian Laonikos Chalkokondyles, the young Hunyadi "stayed for a time" at the court of Stefan Lazarević, Despot of Serbia, who died in 1427. Hunyadi's marriage with Elisabeth Szilágyi substantiates Chalkokondyles' report, because her father, Ladislaus was the Despot's familiaris around 1426. The wedding took place around 1429. While still a young man, Hunyadi entered the retinue of King Sigismund. He accompanied Sigismund to Italy in 1431 and upon Sigismund's order he joined the army of Filippo Maria Visconti, Duke of Milan. Bonfini says that Hunyadi "served two years" in the Duke's army. Modern scholars—for instance, Cartledge, Engel, Mureşanu and Teke—say that Hunyadi familiarized himself with the principles of contemporary military art, including the employment of mercenaries, in Milan.

Hunyadi again joined the entourage of Sigismund, who had in the meantime been crowned Holy Roman Emperor in Rome, at the very end of 1433. He served the monarch as a "court knight". He loaned 1,200 gold florins to the Emperor in January 1434. In exchange, Sigismund mortgaged Papi—a market town in Csanád County—and half of the royal incomes from a nearby ferry on the Maros River to Hunyadi and his younger brother. The royal charter of the transaction mentions Hunyadi as John the Vlach (Romanian). In short, Sigismund granted Hunyadi further domains, including Békésszentandrás, and Hódmezővásárhely, each incorporating about 10 villages.

Antonio Bonfini writes of Hunyadi's service in the retinue of one "Francis Csanádi" who "became so fond of him that treated him as if he were his own son". Historian Engel identifies Francis Csanádi with Franko Talovac, Croatian nobleman and Ban of Severin, who was also Ispán of Csanád County around 1432. Engel says that Hunyadi served in the Ban's retinue for at least one and a half years from around October 1434. A Vlach district of the Banate of Severin was mortgaged to Hunyadi in this period.

Sigismund, who entered Prague in the summer of 1436, hired Hunyadi and his 50 lancers for three months in October 1437 for 1,250 gold florins, implying that Hunyadi had accompanied him to Bohemia. Hunyadi seems to have studied the Hussites' tactics on this occasion, because he later applied its featuring elements, including the use of wagons as a mobile fortress. On 9 December 1437 Sigismund died; his son-in-law, Albert was elected King of Hungary in nine days. According to historians Teke and Engel, Hunyadi soon returned to the southern frontiers of the kingdom which had been subject to Ottoman raids. In contrast with them, Mureşanu says that Hunyadi served King Albert in Bohemia for at least a year, until the end of 1438.

First battles with the Ottomans (1438–1442)

The Ottomans had occupied the larger part of Serbia by the end of 1438. In the same year, Ottoman troops—supported by Vlad II Dracul, Prince of Wallachia—made an incursion into Transylvania, plundering Hermannstadt/Nagyszeben, Gyulafehérvár (present-day Alba Iulia, Romania) and other towns. After the Ottomans laid siege to Smederevo, the last important Serbian stronghold in June 1439, Đurađ Branković, Despot of Serbia fled to Hungary to seek military assistance.

King Albert proclaimed the general insurrection of the nobility against the Ottomans, but few armed noblemen assembled in the region of Titel and were ready to fight. A notable exception was Hunyadi, who made raids against the besiegers and defeated them in smaller skirmishes, which contributed to the rise of his fame. The Ottomans captured Smederevo in August. King Albert appointed the Hunyadi brothers Bans of Severin, elevating them to the rank of "true barons of the realm". He also mortgaged a Vlach district in Temes County to them.

King Albert died of dysentery on 27 October 1439. His widow, Elisabeth—Emperor Sigismund's daughter—gave birth to a posthumus son, Ladislaus. The Estates of the realm offered the crown to Vladislaus, King of Poland, but Elizabeth had his infant son crowned king on 15 May 1440. However, Vladislaus accepted the Estates' offer and was also crowned king on 17 July. During the ensuing civil war between the two kings' partisans, Hunyadi supported Vladislaus. Hunyadi fought against the Ottomans in Wallachia, for which King Vladislaus granted him five domains in the vicinity of his family estates on 9 August 1440. Hunyadi, together with Nicholas of Ilok, annihilated the troops of Vladislaus' opponents at Bátaszék at the very beginning of 1441. Their victory effectively put an end to the civil war. The grateful King appointed Hunyadi and his comrade joint Voivodes of Transylvania and Counts of the Székelys in February. In short, the King also nominated them Ispáns of Temes County and conferred upon them the command of Belgrade and all other castles along the Danube.

Since Nicholas of Ilok spent most of his time in the royal court, in practice Hunyadi administered Transylvania and the southern borderlands alone. Soon after his appointment, Hunyadi visited Transylvania where the child Ladislaus V's partisans had maintained a strong position. After Hunyadi pacified Transylvania, the regions under his administration remained undisturbed by internal conflicts, enabling Hunyadi to concentrate on the defence of the borders. By effectively defending the interests of local landowners at the royal court, Hunyadi strengthened his position in the provinces under his administration. For instance, he obtained land grants and privileges for local noblemen from the King.

Hunyadi set about repairing the walls of Belgrade, which had been damaged during an Ottoman attack. In retaliation for Ottoman raids in the region of the river Sava, he made an incursion into Ottoman territory in the summer or autumn of 1441. He scored a pitched battle victory over Ishak Bey, the commander of Smederovo.

Early the next year, Bey Mezid invaded Transylvania with a force of 17,000 soldiers. Hunyadi was taken by surprise and lost the first battle near Marosszentimre (Sântimbru, Romania). Bey Mezid lay siege to Hermannstadt, but the united forces of Hunyadi and Újlaki, who had in the meantime arrived in Transylvania, forced the Ottomans to lift the siege. The Ottoman forces were annihilated at Gyulafehérvár on 22 March.

Pope Eugenius IV, who had been an enthusiastic propagator of a new crusade against the Ottomans, sent his legate, Cardinal Giuliano Cesarini to Hungary. The Cardinal arrived in May 1442 tasked with mediating a peace treaty between King Vladislaus and Dowager Queen Elisabeth. The Ottoman Sultan, Murad II dispatched Şihabeddin Pasha—the governor of Rumelia—to invade Transylvania with a force of 70,000. The Pasha stated that the mere sight of his turban would force his enemies to run far away. Although Hunyadi could only muster a force of 15,000 men, he inflicted a crushing defeat on the Ottomans at the Ialomița River in September. John Hunyadi and his 15,000 men defeated the 80,000-strong army of Begler Bey Sehabeddin at Zajkány (today's Zeicani), near the Iron Gate of the Danube river in 1442. Hunyadi placed Basarab II on the princely throne of Wallachia, but Basarab's opponent Vlad Dracul returned and forced Basarab to flee in early 1443.

Hunyadi's victories in 1441 and 1442 made him a prominent enemy of the Ottomans and renowned throughout Christendom. He established a vigorous offensive posture in his battles, which enabled him to counteract the numerical superiority of the Ottomans through decisive maneuver. He employed mercenaries (many of them recently disbanded Czech Hussite troops), increasing the professionalism in his ranks and supplementing the numerous irregulars mustered from local peasantry, whom he had no reservations about employing in the field.

The "Long Campaign" (1442–1444)
In April 1443 King Vladislaus and his barons decided to mount a major campaign against the Ottoman Empire. With the mediation of Cardinal Cesarini, Vladislaus reached a truce with Frederick III of Germany, who had been the guardian of the child Ladislaus V. The armistice guaranteed that Frederick III would not attack Hungary in the subsequent twelve months.

Spending around 32,000 gold florins from his own treasury, Hunyadi hired more than 10,000 mercenaries. The King also mustered troops, and reinforcements arrived from Poland and Moldavia. The King and Hunyadi departed for the campaign at the head of an army of 25–27,000 men in the autumn of 1443. In theory, Vladislaus commanded the army, but the true leader of the campaign was Hunyadi. Despot Đurađ Branković joined them with a force of 8,000 men.

Hunyadi commanded the vanguards and routed four smaller Ottoman forces, hindering their unification. He captured Kruševac, Niš and Sofia. However, the Hungarian troops could not break through the passes of the Balkan Mountains towards Edirne. Cold weather and the lack of supplies forced the Christian troops to stop the campaign at Zlatitsa. After being victorious in the Battle of Kunovica, they returned to Belgrade in January and Buda in February 1444.

Battle of Varna and its aftermath (1444–1446)
Although no major Ottoman forces had been defeated, Hunyadi's "long campaign" stirred enthusiasm throughout Christian Europe. Pope Eugenius, Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy and other European powers demanded a new crusade, promising financial or military support. The formation of a "party"—a group of noblemen and clerics—under Hunyadi's leadership can be dated to this period. Their main purpose was the defence of Hungary against the Ottomans. According to a letter of Đurađ Branković, Hunyadi spent more than 63,000 gold florins to hire mercenaries in the first half of the year. An eminent representative of Renaissance humanism in Hungary, John Vitéz became Hunyadi's close friend around that time.

The advance of Christian forces in Ottoman territory also encouraged the peoples of the Balkan Peninsula to revolt in the peripheries of the Ottoman Empire. For instance, Skanderbeg, an Albanian noble, expelled the Ottomans from Krujë and all other fortresses once held by his family. Sultan Murad II, whose main concern was a rebellion by the Karamanids in Anatolia, offered generous terms of peace to King Vladislaus. He even promised to withdraw the Ottoman garrisons from Serbia, thus restoring its semi-autonomous status under Despot Đurađ Branković. He also offered a truce for ten years. The Hungarian envoys accepted the Sultan's offer in Edirne on 12 June 1444.

Đurađ Branković, who was grateful for the restoration of his realm, donated his estates at Világos (present-day Șiria, Romania) in Zaránd County to Hunyadi on 3 July. Hunyadi proposed King Vladislaus to confirm the advantageous treaty, but Cardinal Cesarini urged the monarch to continue the crusade. On 4 August Vladislaus took a solemn oath of launching a campaign against the Ottoman Empire before the end of the year even if a peace treaty were concluded. According to Johannes de Thurocz, the King appointed Hunyadi to sign the peace treaty on 15 August. In a week, Đurađ Branković mortgaged his extensive domains in the Kingdom of Hungary—including Debrecen, Munkács (present-day Mukacheve, Ukraine), and Nagybánya (present-day Baia Mare, Romania)—to Hunyadi.

King Vladislaus, whom Cardinal Cesarini urged to keep his oath, decided to invade the Ottoman Empire in autumn. Upon the Cardinal's proposal, he offered Hunyadi the crown of Bulgaria. The crusaders departed from Hungary on 22 September. They planned to advance towards the Black Sea across the Balkan Mountains. They expected that the Venetian fleet would hinder Sultan Murad from transferring Ottoman forces from Anatolia to the Balkans, but the Genoese transported the Sultan's army across the Dardanelles. The two armies clashed near Varna on 10 November.

Although outnumbered by two to one, the crusaders initially ruled the battlefield against the Ottomans. However, the young King Vladislaus launched a premature attack against the janissaries and was killed. Taking advantage of the crusaders' panic, the Ottomans annihilated their army. Hunyadi narrowly escaped from the battlefield, but was captured and imprisoned by Wallachian soldiers. However, Vlad Dracul set him free before long.

At the next Diet of Hungary, which assembled in April 1445, the Estates decided that they would unanimously acknowledge the child Ladislaus V's rule if King Vladislaus, whose fate was still uncertain, had not arrived in Hungary by the end of May. The Estates also elected seven "Captains in Chief", including Hunyadi, each being responsible for the restoration of internal order in the territory allotted to them. Hunyadi was assigned to administer the lands east of the river Tisza. Here he possessed at least six castles and owned lands in about ten counties, which made him the most powerful baron in the region under his rule.

Hunyadi was planning to organize a new crusade against the Ottoman Empire. For this purpose, he barraged the Pope and other Western monarchs with letters in 1445. In September he had a meeting, at Nicopolis, with Waleran de Wavrin (nephew of the chronicler Jean de Wavrin), the captain of eight Burgundian galleys, and Vlad Dracul of Wallachia, who had seized small fortresses along the Lower Danube from the Ottomans. However, he did not risk a clash with the Ottoman garrisons stationed on the south bank of the river, and returned to Hungary before winter. Vlad Dracul soon concluded a peace treaty with the Ottomans.

Governorship (1446–1453)
The Estates of the realm proclaimed Hunyadi regent, bestowing the title "governor" upon him on 6 June 1446. His election was primarily promoted by the lesser nobility, but Hunyadi had by that time become one of the richest barons of the kingdom. His domains covered an area exceeding 800000 ha. Hunyadi was one of the few contemporaneous barons who spent a significant part of their revenues to finance the wars against the Ottomans, thus bearing a large share of the cost of fighting for many years.

As governor, Hunyadi was authorized to exercise most royal prerogatives for the period of King Ladislaus V's minority. For instance, he could make land grants, but only up to the size of 32 peasant holdings. Hunyadi attempted to pacify the border regions. Soon after his election, he launched an unsuccessful campaign against Ulrich II, Count of Celje. Count Ulrich administered Slavonia with the title ban (which he had arbitrarily adopted) and refused to renounce of it in favor of Hunyadi's appointee. Hunyadi could not force him to submit.

Hunyadi persuaded John Jiskra of Brandýs—a Czech commander who controlled the northern regions (in present-day Slovakia)—to sign an armistice for three years on 13 September. However, Jiskra did not keep the truce, and armed conflicts continued. In November Hunyadi proceeded against Frederick III of Germany, who had refused to release Ladislaus V and seized Kőszeg, Sopron and other towns along the western border. Hunyadi's troops plundered Austria, Styria, Carinthia and Carniola, but no decisive battle was fought. A truce with Frederick III was signed on 1 June 1447. Although Frederick renounced of Győr, his position as the minor King's guardian was confirmed. The Estates of the realm were disappointed and the Diet elected Ladislaus Garai—a leader of Hunyadi's opponents—Palatine in September 1447.

Hunyadi accelerated his negotiations, which had been commenced in the previous year, with Alfonso the Magnanimous, King of Aragon and Naples. He even offered the crown to Alfonso in exchange for the King's participation in an anti-Ottoman crusade and the confirmation of his position as governor. However, King Alfonso refrained from signing an agreement.

Hunyadi invaded Wallachia and dethroned Vlad Dracul in December 1447. According to the contemporaneous Polish chronicler Jan Długosz, Hunyadi had "the very man he promised to make voivode" blinded, and planned "to appropriate" Wallachia for himself. Hunyadi styled himself "voivode of the Transalpine land" and referred to the Wallachian town, Târgoviște as "our fortress" in a letter of 4 December. It is without doubt that Hunyadi installed a new voivode in Wallachia, but modern historians debate whether the new voivode was Vladislav II (to whom Hunyadi referred as his relative in a letter) or Dan (who seems to have been a son of Basarab II). In February 1448 Hunyadi sent an army to Moldavia to support the pretender Peter in seizing the throne. In exchange, Peter acknowledged Hunyadi's suzerainty and contributed to the installation of a Hungarian garrison in the fort of Chilia Veche on the Lower Danube.

Hunyadi made a new attempt to expel Count Ulrich of Celje from Slavonia, but could not defeat him. In June Hunyadi and the Count reached an agreement, which confirmed Count Ulrich's position of Ban in Slavonia. In short time Hunyadi sent his envoys to the two most prominent Albanian leaders—Scanderbeg and his father-in-law, Gjergj Arianiti—to seek their assistance against the Ottomans. Pope Eugenius suggested that the anti-Ottoman campaign should be postponed. However, Hunyadi stated, in a letter dated 8 September 1448, that he "have had enough of our men enslaved, our women raped, wagons loaded with the severed heads of our people" and expressed his determination to expel "the enemy from Europe". In the same letter, he explained his military strategy to the Pope, stating that "[p]ower is always greater when used in attack rather than in defence".

Hunyadi departed for the new campaign at the head of an army of 16,000 soldiers in September 1448. About 8,000 soldiers from Wallachia also joined his campaign. For Đurađ Branković refused to assist the crusaders, Hunyadi treated him as the Ottoman's ally and his army marched through Serbia plundering the countryside. In order to prevent the unification of the armies of Hunyadi and Skanderbeg, Sultan Murad II joined battle with Hunyadi on Kosovo Polje on 17 October. The battle, which lasted for three days, ended with the crusaders' catastrophic defeat. Around 17,000 Hungarian and Wallachian soldiers were killed or captured and Hunyadi could hardly escape from the battlefield. On his way home, Hunyadi was captured by Đurađ Branković who kept him prisoner in the fort of Smederevo. The Despot was initially contemplating to surrender Hunyadi to the Ottomans. However, the Hungarian barons and prelates who assembled at Szeged persuaded him to make peace with Hunyadi. According to the treaty, Hunyadi was obliged to pay a ransom of 100,000 gold florins and to return all the domains that he had acquired from Đurađ Branković. Hunyadi's oldest son, Ladislaus was sent to the Despot as a hostage. Hunyadi was released, and he returned to Hungary in late December 1448.

His defeat and his humiliating treaty with the Despot weakened Hunyadi's position. The prelates and the barons confirmed the treaty and assigned Branković to negotiate with the Ottomans, and Hunyadi resigned from the office of Voivode of Transylvania. He invaded the lands controlled by John Jiskra and his Czech mercenaries in the autumn of 1449, but could not defeat them. On the other hand, the rulers of two neighboring countries—Stjepan Tomaš, King of Bosnia, and Bogdan II, Voivode of Moldavia—concluded a treaty with Hunyadi, promising that they would remain loyal to him. In early 1450 Hunyadi and Jiskra signed a peace treaty in Mezőkövesd, acknowledging that many prosperous towns in Upper Hungary—including Pressburg/Pozsony (present-day Bratislava, Slovakia) and Kassa (present-day Košice, Slovakia)—remained under Jiskra's rule.

Upon Hunyadi's demand, the Diet of March 1450 ordered the confiscation of Branković's estates in the Kingdom of Hungary. Hunyadi and his troops departed for Serbia, forcing Branković to release his son. Hunyadi, Ladislaus Garai and Nicholas Újlaki concluded a treaty on 17 July 1450, promising each other assistance to preserve their offices in case King Ladislaus V returned to Hungary. In October Hunyadi made peace with Frederick III of Germany, which confirmed the German monarch's position as guardian of Ladislaus V for further eight years. With the mediation of Újlaki and other barons, Hunyadi also concluded a peace treaty with Branković in August 1451, which authorized Hunyadi to redeem the debated domains for 155,000 gold florins. Hunyadi launched a military expedition against Jiskra, but the Czech commander routed the Hungarian troops near Losonc (present-day Lučenec, Slovakia) on 7 September. With the mediation of Branković, Hungary and the Ottoman Empire signed a three-year truce on 20 November.

The Austrian noblemen rose up in open rebellion against Frederick III of Germany, who governed the duchy in the name of Ladislaus the Posthumus at the turn of 1451 and 1452. The leader of the rebellion, Ulrich Eizinger sought the assistance of the Estates of Ladislaus's two other realms, Bohemia and Hungary. The Diet of Hungary, which assembled in Pressburg/Pozsony in February 1452, sent a delegation to Vienna. On 5 March the Austrian and Hungarian Estates jointly requested Frederick III to renounce the guardianship of their young sovereign. Frederick, who had been crowned Holy Roman Emperor, initially refused to satisfy their demand. Hunyadi convoked a Diet to discuss the situation, but before the Diet made any decision the united troops of the Austrian and Bohemian Estates forced the Emperor to hand over the young monarch to Count Ulrich of Celje on 4 September. In the meantime, Hunyadi had met Jiskra in Körmöcbánya (present-day Kremnica, Slovakia) where they concluded a treaty on 24 August. According to the treaty, Jiskra retained Léva (present-day Levica, Slovakia) and his right to collect the "thirtieth"—a custom duty—at Késmárk (present-day Kežmarok, Slovakia) and Ólubló (present-day Stará Ľubovňa, Slovakia). In September Hunyadi sent envoys to Constantinople and promised military assistance to the Byzantine Emperor Constantine XI. In exchange, he demanded two Byzantine forts on the Black Sea, Silivri and Misivri, but the Emperor refused.

Hunyadi convoked a Diet to Buda, but the barons and the prelates preferred to visit Ladislaus V in Vienna in November. At the Diet of Vienna, Hunyadi renounced the regency, but the King appointed him "captain general of the kingdom" on 30 January 1453. The King even authorized Hunyadi to keep the royal castles and royal revenues that he possessed at that time. Hunyadi also received Beszterce (present-day Bistrița, Romania)—a district of the Transylvanian Saxons—with the title "perpetual count" from Ladislaus V, which was the first grant of a hereditary title in the Kingdom of Hungary.

Conflicts and reconciliations (1453–1455)
In a letter of 28 April 1453, Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini—the future Pope Pius II—stated that King Ladislaus V's realms were administered by "three men": Hungary by Hunyadi, Bohemia by George of Poděbrady, and Austria by Ulrich of Celje. However, Hunyadi's position gradually weakened, because even many of his former allies considered his acts to retain his power with suspicion. The citizens of Beszterce forced him to issue a charter confirming their traditional liberties on 22 July. Hunyadi's longtime friend, Nicholas Újlaki made a formal alliance with Palatine Ladislaus Garai and Judge royal Ladislaus Pálóci, declaring their intention to restore royal authority in September.

Hunyadi accompanied the young King to Prague and concluded a treaty with Ulrich Eizinger (who had expelled Ulrich of Celje from Austria) and George of Poděbrady at the end of the year. Having returned to Hungary, Hunyadi convoked, in the name of the King but without his authorization, a Diet in order to make preparations for a war on the Ottomans who had in May 1453 captured Constantinople. The Diet ordered the mobilization of the armed forces and Hunyadi's position of supreme commander was confirmed for a year, but many of the decisions was never carried out. For instance, the Diet obliged all landowners to equip four cavalrymen and two infantrymen for every hundred peasant households on their domains, but this law was never applied in practise.

Ladislaus V convoked a new Diet which assembled in March or April. At the Diet, his envoys—three Austrian noblemen—announced that the King was planning to administer royal revenues through officials elected by the Diet and to set up two councils (also with members elected by the Estates) in order to assist him in governing the country. However, the Diet refused to ratify most of the royal proposals, only the establishment of a royal council consisting of six prelates, six barons and six noblemen was accepted. Hunyadi, who was well aware that the King attempted to limit his authority, demanded an explanation, but the King denied that he had knowledge of his representatives' act. On the other hand, Jiskra returned to Hungary upon Ladislaus V's request and the King entrusted him with the administration of the mining towns. In response, Hunyadi persuaded Ulrich of Celje to cede him a number of royal fortresses (and the lands pertaining to them) which had been mortgaged in Trencsén County.

The Ottoman Sultan, Mehmed II invaded Serbia in May 1454 and laid siege to Smederevo, thus violating the truce of November 1451 between his empire and Hungary. Hunyadi decided to intervene and started to assemble his armies at Belgrade, forcing the Sultan to lift the siege and leave Serbia in August. However, an Ottoman force of 32,000 strong continued to pillage Serbia up until Hunyadi routed them at Kruševac on 29 September. He made a raid against the Ottoman Empire and destroyed Vidin before returning to Belgrade.

Emperor Frederick III convoked the Imperial Diet to Wiener Neustadt to discuss the possibilities of a new crusade against the Ottomans. At the conference, where the envoys of the Hungarian, Polish, Aragonese and Burgundian monarchs were also present, no final decisions were made, because the Emperor refrained from a sudden attack against the Ottomans. According to Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini, the Emperor hindered Hunyadi from participating at the meeting. In contrast with the Emperor, the new Pope, Callixtus III was a fierce supporter of the crusade.

King Ladislaus V visited Buda in February 1456. Ulrich of Celje, who accompanied the King to Buda, confirmed his former alliance with Ladislaus Garai and Nicholaus Újlaki. The three barons turned against Hunyadi and accused him of abusing his authority. A new Ottoman invasion against Serbia promoted a new reconciliation between Hunyadi and his opponents, and Hunyadi resigned the administration of part of the royal revenues and three royal fortresses, including Buda. On the other hand, Hunyadi, Garai and Újlaki made an agreement that they would refrain the King from employing foreigners in the royal administration in June 1455. Hunyadi and Count Ulrich were also reconciled in next month, when Hunyadi's younger son, Matthias and the Count's daughter, Elizabeth were engaged.

Belgrade victory and death (1455–1456)
Envoys from Ragusa (Dubrovnik, Croatia) were the first to have informed the Hungarian leaders of the preparations that Mehmed II had made for an invasion against Hungary. In a letter addressed to Hunyadi, whom he styled as "the Maccabeus of our time", the papal legate, Cardinal Juan Carvajal made it clear that there was not much chance of foreign assistance against the Ottomans. With the Ottomans' support, Vladislav II of Wallachia even plundered the southern parts of Transylvania in late 1455.

John of Capistrano, a Franciscan friar and papal inquisitor, started to preach an anti-Ottoman crusade in Hungary in February 1456. The Diet ordered the mobilization of the armed forces in April, but most barons failed to obey and continued to war against their local adversaries, including the Hussites in Upper Hungary. Before departing from Transylvania against the Ottomans, Hunyadi had to face a rebellion by the Vlachs in Fogaras County. He also supported Vlad Dracula—a son of the late Vlad Dracul—to seize the Wallachian throne from Vladislav II.

King Ladislaus V left Hungary for Vienna in May. Hunyadi hired 5,000 Hungarian, Czech and Polish mercenaries and sent them to Belgrade, which was the key fortress of the defense of Hungary's southern frontiers. The Ottoman forces marched through Serbia and approached Nándorfehérvár (modern-day Belgrade) in June. A crusade made up mostly of peasants from the nearby counties, who had been roused by John of Capistrano's fiery oratory, also started to assemble at the fortress in the first days of July. The Ottoman siege of Belgrade, which was personally commanded by Sultan Mehmed II, began with the bombardment of the walls on 4 July.

Hunyadi proceeded to form a relief army, and assembled a fleet of 200 ships on the Danube. The flotilla assembled by Hunyadi destroyed the Ottoman fleet on 14 July. This triumph prevented the Ottomans from completing the blockade, enabling Hunyadi and his troops to enter the fortress. The Ottomans started a general assault on 21 July. With the assistance of crusaders who were continuously arriving to the fortress, Hunyadi repulsed the fierce attacks by the Ottomans and broke into their camp on 22 July. Although wounded during the fights, Sultan Mehmed II, decided to resist, but a riot in his camp forced him to lift the siege and retreat from Belgrade during the night.

The crusaders' victory over the Sultan who had conquered Constantinople generated enthusiasm throughout Europe. Processions to celebrate Hunyadi's triumph were made in Venice and Oxford. However, in the crusaders' camp unrest was growing, because the peasants denied that the barons had played any role in the victory. In order to avoid an open rebellion, Hunyadi and Capistrano disbanded the crusaders' army.

Meanwhile, a plague had broken out and killed many people in the crusaders' camp. Hunyadi was also taken ill and died near Zimony (present-day Zemun, Serbia) on 11 August. He was buried in the Roman Catholic St. Michael's Cathedral in Gyulafehérvár (Alba Iulia).

"[Hunyadi] governed the country with an iron rod, as they say, and while the king was away he was regarded as his equal. After routing the Turks at Belgrade [...], he survived for a brief time before dying of disease. When he was ill, they say that he forbade the Body of Our Lord to be brought to him, declaring that it was unworthy for a king to enter the house of a servant. Although his strength was failing, he ordered himself to be carried out to church, where he made his confession in Christian way, received the divine Eucharist, and surrendered his soul to God in the arms of the priests. Fortunate soul to have arrived in Heaven as both herald and author of the heroic action at Belgrade."

Family
In 1432, Hunyadi married Erzsébet Szilágyi (c. 1410–1483), a Hungarian noblewoman. John Hunyadi had two children, Ladislaus and Matthias Corvinus. The former was executed on the order of King Ladislaus V for the murder of Ulrich II of Celje, a relative of the king. The latter was elected king on 20 January 1458, Matthias after Ladislaus V's death. It was the first time in the history of the Kingdom of Hungary that a member of the nobility, without dynastic ancestry and relationship, mounted the royal throne.

The noon bell
Pope Callixtus III ordered the bells of every European church to be rung every day at noon, as a call for believers to pray for the Christian defenders of the city of Belgrade. The practice of noon bell is traditionally attributed to the international commemoration of the Belgrade victory and to the order of Pope Callixtus III.

The custom still exists even among Protestant and Orthodox congregations. In the history of Oxford University, the victory was welcomed with a peal of bells and great celebrations in England too. Hunyadi sent a special courier (among others), Erasmus Fullar, to Oxford with the news of the victory.

The national hero
Along with his son Matthias Corvinus, Hunyadi is considered a Hungarian national hero and praised as its defender against the Ottoman threat.

Romanian historiography adopted Hunyadi and gives him a place of importance in the history of Romania too. However, Romanian national consciousness did not embrace him to the extent that Hungarian national conscience did. John Hunyadi, a Hungarian hero, was subordinated to the ideology of National Communism in the era of Ceaușescu and transmuted into a hero of Romania.

Pope Pius II writes that "Hunyadi did not increase so much the glory of the Hungarians, but especially the glory of the Romanians among whom he was born."

The French writer and diplomat Philippe de Commines described Hunyadi as "a very valiant gentleman, called the White Knight of Wallachia, a person of great honour and prudence, who for a long time had governed the kingdom of Hungary, and had gained several battles over the Turks".

Pietro Ranzano wrote in his work Annales omnium temporum (1490–1492) that John Hunyadi was commonly called "Ianco"' („Ioanne Huniate, Ianco vulgo cognominator). In chronicles written by Byzantine Greek authors (such as George Sphrantzes and Laonikos Chalkokondyles) he is called „Ianco/Iango", „Iancou/Iangou", „Iancos/Iangos", „Iancoula/Iangoula", „Gianco/Giango" and „Ghiangou"

Byzantine literature treated Hunyadi as a saint:

"First, I glorify the Emperor of Hellas who Alexander the Macedon, the son of Olympias. The Christian Emperor, who is the peak and the root and found the cross, the mighty Constantine. and the third one is the absolutely marvelous Emperor John. How to write a tribute for him and should my mind how rise to exalted praise? Because like the two Emperors mentioned above I also pay such respect to the above Emperor. It is worthy and appropriate that the Church of Rome and the whole generation of Eastern and Western Christians respectfully draw a full memory of the present. Who became famous in the battles of wars the brave and the timid ones and all the generations, I say, to fall before John of Hungary today, glorify him as a knight glorify him today as an Emperor, together with the ancient, mighty, and brave Samson, with the terrible Alexander and the mighty Constantine. I glorify the evangelists, I also glorify the prophets, and the mighty Saints fighting for Christ, and among them, I glorify Emperor John." Hunyadi was "recognised as being Hungarian..." and "frequently called Ugrin Janko, 'Janko the Hungarian'" in the Serbian and Croatian societies of the 15th century, while another bugarštica makes him of Serbian origin. According to a bugarštica (a Serbian popular poem), he was the son of Despot Stefan Lazarević and Stefan's alleged wife, a girl from Hermannstadt/Nagyszeben (present-day Sibiu, Romania). Actually, the Despot did not father any children. He is also portrayed as an ardent supporter of the Catholicization of Orthodox peoples.

In Bulgarian folklore, the memory of Hunyadi was preserved in the epic song hero character of Yankul(a) Voivoda, along with Sekula Detentse, a fictitious hero perhaps inspired by Hunyadi's nephew, Thomas Székely.

He was subsidiary to Roger de Flor as the role model for the fictional character of Tirant lo Blanc, the epic romance written by Joanot Martorell, published in Valencia in 1490. They both shared, for instance, the device of a raven on their shield.

Nicolaus Olahus was the nephew of John Hunyadi.

In 1515, the English printer Wynkyn de Worde published a long metrical romance called 'Capystranus', a graphic account of the defeat of the Turks.

In 1791, Hannah Brand produced a new play called 'Huniades or The Siege of Belgrade', which played to a packed house in the King's Theatre, Norwich.

Iancu de Hunedoara National College in Hunedoara, Romania is named after him.

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title: John Hunyadi