Egri Csillagok ("Eger Stars") by Géza Gárdonyi, one of the most recognized and widely read books in Hungarian literature, was first published in 1899. The historical novel is set in a Hungary defeated by the Ottoman Turks at Mohács in 1526 and torn apart by rival kings, the Hungarian King John Zápolya with his base in Transylvania and the Austrian Hapsburg Ferdinand. The novel reaches its climax with the successful Hungarian defense of Eger Castle in 1552 by some 2,000 defenders against an Ottoman army numbering over 40,000.