Giorgio Basta

Giorgio Basta, Count of Huszt (1544–1607) was an Arbëreshë general employed by the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II to command Habsburg forces in the Long War of 1591–1606. He was later sent to administer Transylvania as an Imperial vassal and to restore Catholicism as the dominant religion in the region.

Basta assassinated Romanian national hero Michael the Brave and established a ruthless regime of Catholic exclusivism in Transylvania. Basta was also the author of books on the art of military leadership.

Biography

Basta was born to an Arbëreshë family in La Rocca, modern day Roccaforzata, a village in Salento.

He began his military career in the service of Charles V and Philip II of Spain, mainly on the French front during the War of the Three Henrys and the Catholic League. In 1590 he joined the forces of Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma in Flanders. During the siege of Rouen he was almost killed by Sir Roger Williams, who sliced his neck in personal combat.

After the death of Farnese, on the recommendations of Philip II, he joined the army of Emperor Rudolf II, serving mainly in Hungary, commanding Habsburg forces during the "Long War" against the Ottoman Empire. Ambrogio Merodio in his Istoria Tarantina, calls him the "terror of Ottoman arms".