The Siege of Szigetvár or Battle of Szigeth (Hungarian: Szigetvári csata, Croatian: Bitka kod Sigeta or Sigetska bitka, Turkish: Zigetvar Kuşatması) was a siege of the fortress of Szigetvár which blocked Suleiman's line of advance towards Vienna in 1566 AD. The battle was fought between the defending forces of the Austrian Habsburg Monarchy under the leadership of Croatian ban Nikola Šubić Zrinski (Hungarian: Zrínyi Miklós), and the invading Ottoman army under the nominal command of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent (Ottoman Turkish: سليمان Süleymān).

After the Battle of Mohács in 1526, which resulted in the end of the independent Kingdom of Hungary, Ferdinand I was elected King by the nobles of both Hungary and Croatia. This was followed by a series of conflicts with the Habsburgs and their allies, fighting against the Ottoman Empire. In the Little War in Hungary both sides exhausted themselves after sustaining heavy casualties. The Ottoman campaign in Hungary ceased until the offensive against Szigetvár.

In January 1566 Suleiman went to war for the last time. The siege of Szigetvár was fought from 5 August to 8 September 1566 and, though it resulted in an Ottoman victory, there were heavy losses on both sides. Both commanders died during the battle—Zrinsky in the final charge and Suleiman in his tent from natural causes. More than 20,000 Turks had fallen during the attacks and almost all of Zrinsky's 2,300 man garrison was killed, with most of the final 600 men killed on the last day. Although the battle was an Ottoman victory, it stopped the Ottoman push to Vienna that year. Vienna was not threatened again until the Battle of Vienna in 1683.

The importance of the battle was considered so great that the French clergyman and statesman Cardinal Richelieu was reported to have described it as "the battle that saved civilization." The battle is still famous in Croatia and Hungary and inspired both the Hungarian epic poem Siege of Sziget and the Croatian opera Nikola Šubić Zrinski.

On 29 August 1526 the Hungarian forces led by King Louis II were defeated at the Battle of Mohács by Ottoman forces led by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. Louis was killed in the battle which resulted in the end of the independent Kingdom of Hungary, as he died without an heir. Both Hungary and Croatia became disputed territories with claims from both the Habsburg and Ottoman empires. Ferdinand I from the House of Habsburg, brother of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, married the sister of Louis II and was elected King by the nobles of both Hungary and Croatia.

The throne of Hungary became the subject of a dynastic dispute between Ferdinand and John Zápolya from Transylvania. Suleiman had promised to make Zápolya the ruler of all Hungary. Ferdinand set out to enforce his claim on Hungary and captured Buda from John Zápolya in 1527, only to relinquish his hold on it in 1529 when an Ottoman counter-attack stripped Ferdinand of all his territorial gains during 1527 and 1528. The Siege of Vienna in 1529 was the first attempt by Suleiman the Magnificent to capture the Austrian capital. This siege signalled the pinnacle of Ottoman power and the maximum extent of Ottoman expansion in central Europe.

The years from 1529 to 1552 were known as the "Little War". Following Suleiman's unsuccessful siege of Vienna in 1529 Ferdinand launched a counter-attack in 1530 to regain the initiative. An assault on Buda was driven off by John Zápolya, although Ferdinand was successful elsewhere—capturing Gran (Esztergom) and other forts along the Danube river, a vital strategic frontier.

Suleiman's response came in 1532 when he led a massive army of over 120,000 troops to besiege Vienna again. Ferdinand withdrew his army, leaving only 700 men with no cannons and a few guns to defend Güns (Koszeg) although Ibrahim Pasha, the Grand Vizier of the Ottomans, did not realize how poorly defended Koszeg was. Suleiman came to join him shortly after the siege had started. For more than twenty five days Croatian captain Nikola Jurišić and his garrison of 800 Croats held out against nineteen full-scale assaults and an incessant bombardment by the Ottomans. As a result the city was offered a surrender on favourable terms and, although the offer was rejected, the Ottomans retreated leading to a peace treaty between Ferdinand and Suleiman. John Zápolya was recognized as the King of Hungary by the Habsburgs, although as an Ottoman vassal.

The treaty did not satisfy either John Zápolya or Ferdinand and their armies began skirmishes along the borders. In 1537 Ferdinand attacked John's forces at Osijek in violation of the treaty. The siege was a disaster of similar magnitude to that of Mohács, with an Ottoman relief army smashing the Austrians. Rather than attack Vienna again Suleiman attacked Otranto in southern Italy. Nonetheless, an Ottoman victory at the naval Battle of Preveza (1538) gave the Habsburg-led coalition another defeat.

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