In the spring of 1420, a group of South Bohemian Hussites led by Petr Hromádka managed to seize the town of Sezimovo Ústí and the nearby Hradiště Castle. In this place they began to build the model Hussite town Hradiste Mount Tabor - shortened to Tábor - named after Mount Tabor in Galilee. Social and economic equality was promoted in the city and the Taborites addressed each other as brothers and sisters. Hussites flocked to Tábor from all over the country. Economically supported by Tábor's control of local gold mines, the citizens joined local peasants to develop a communal society. Taborites announced the Millennium of Christ and declared there would be no more servants and masters, all property would be held in common and there would be no more taxation. They promised that people would return to a state of pristine innocence. Some historians have found parallels to modern revolutionary movements.

Early Taborite Leadership

The Hussites from Plzeň, who set out for Tábor under the leadership of Břeňek Švihovský and Jan Žižka of Trocnov, also learned about the chosen city of Tábor. These Hussites were attacked by Catholic knights near Sudoměra on 25 March 1420. The repulse of the knights encouraged the Hussites, and they then managed to reach Tábor, which was under construction. The Taborites elected four military commanders (hetmans) among themselves. They were Jan Žižka, Mikuláš of Hus, Chval Řepický of Machovice and Zbyněk of Buchov. Under their leadership, the camps made many raids across southern Bohemia. At the end of May, the Tabor troops marched towards Prague, which was threatened by the armies of the First Crusade. In June, Tábor was unsuccessfully besieged by the troops of the South Bohemian nobleman Oldřich of Rožmberk. On 14 July, a battle took place on Vítkov Hill near Prague, in which Jan Žižek managed to thwart an attempt by King Sigismund of Hungary and King Sigismund of Luxembourg to take control of the capital. The Crusade then broke up without further fighting. In July, negotiations took place among the Hussites about a possible future successor to the Bohemian throne. Jan Žižka supported the candidacy of King Władysław II of Poland. Jagell or his son, the Lithuanian Grand Duke Vytautas. As a reaction to the Four Articles of Prague, the peasants in Prague published their twelve revolutionary articles. However, their demands were not met by the nobles of Prague. At the end of August, Jan Žižka launched a major offensive against the estates of Oldřich of Rožmberk. The governor seized Prachatice, Vodňany and Lomnice. On 18 November, young Rožmberk was forced to conclude a truce with Tabor until February 1421. Mikuláš of Pelhřimov was elected bishop of Tabor in September 1420.

The Twelve Articles of Prague

It expressed the hopes of the urban poor, small-scale artisans, and peasants. The Twelve Articles of Prague demanded that luxury, moral evil, and the like be done away with. A number of articles were directed against the Catholic Church (the abolition of the veneration of holy pictures and payments to priests). The seventh and main article demanded the abolition of “pagan and German law,” by which the Taborites meant the abolition of feudal law and all municipal jurisdiction, and was directed against the patriciate. This was essentially a demand for the revolutionary establishment in Prague of a community of equals, similar to the community of Tabor.

Jan Zizka

He was a Czech general – a contemporary and follower of Jan Hus and a Radical Hussite who led the Taborites. Žižka was a successful military leader and is now a Czech national hero. He was nicknamed "One-eyed Žižka", having lost one and then both eyes in battle.

He was born in the small village of Trocnov in the Kingdom of Bohemia into an aristocratic family. From his youth, he was attached to the royal court and held the office of Chamberlain to Queen Sofia of Bavaria.

He fought in the Battle of Grunwald (July 15, 1410), where he defended Radzyń against the Teutonic Order. Later he played a prominent role in the civil wars in Bohemia during the reign of Wenceslas IV. In the Battle of Kutná Hora (1421) he defeated the army of the Holy Roman Empire and the Hungarian Kingdom. The effectiveness of his field artillery against the royal cavalry in this battle made it a successful element of Hussite armies.

Žižka's tactics were unorthodox and innovative. In addition to training and equipping his army according to their abilities, he used armored wagons fitted with small cannons and muskets, anticipating the tank of five hundred years later. He exploited geographic features to the full and maintained good discipline in his armies. He had to quickly train peasants to repeatedly face highly trained and armored opponents who usually outnumbered his own troops.

A monument was erected on the Vítkov Hill in Prague to honor Jan Žižka and his victory on this hill in 1420. It is the third largest bronze equestrian statue in the world

Civil War Among the Hussites

Early in 1423, internal dissent among the Hussites led to civil war. Žižka, as leader of the Taborites, defeated the moderates of Prague and the Utraquist nobles at Hořice on April 20. Shortly afterwards came news that a new crusade against Bohemia was being prepared. This induced the Hussites to conclude an armistice at Konopiště on June 24. As soon as the crusaders had dispersed, internal dissent broke out anew. During his temporary rule over Bohemia, Prince Sigismund Korybut of Lithuania had appointed Bořek, the lord of Miletínek, governor of the city of Hradec Králové. Bořek belonged to a moderate Hussite faction, the Utraquist party. After the departure of Sigismund Korybut, the city of Hradec Králové refused to recognize Bořek as its ruler, due to the democratic party gaining the upper hand. They called Žižka to its aid. He acceded to the demand and defeated the Utraquists under Bořek at the farm of Strachov, near the city of Hradec Králové on August 4, 1423.

Žižka now attempted to invade Hungary, which was under the rule of his old enemy King Sigismund. Though this Hungarian campaign was unsuccessful owing to the great superiority of the Hungarians, it ranks among the greatest military exploits of Žižka, on account of the skill he displayed in retreat. In 1424, civil war having again broken out in Bohemia, Žižka decisively defeated the "Praguers" and Utraquist nobles at Skalice on January 6, and at Malešov on June 7. In September, he marched on Prague. On the 14th of that month, peace was concluded between the Hussite parties through the influence of John of Rokycany, afterwards Utraquist archbishop of Prague. It was agreed that the now reunited Hussites should attack Moravia, part of which was still held by Sigismund's partisans, and that Žižka should be the leader in this campaign. However, he died of the plague at Přibyslav on 11 October 1424 on the Moravian frontier.

Final Conclusion

Altogether, the Hussites expelled five Catholic crusades before succumbing to foreign powers and moderate Hussites who sought to rejoin the Catholic church.

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