The downfall of the Kingdom of Hungary was marked by the battle of Mohács (Hungary) where the royal army was annihilated by the Ottomans on August 29, 1526. Thereafter the noblemen's political factions engaged in conflict and elected two kings. One of them, John I Szapolyai (1526–1540) was supported by the lesser nobility, while Ferdinand I of Habsburg (1526–1564) was recognized mainly in the kingdom's western counties, but the Transylvanian Saxons also supported him. Seeking the assistance of the Ottomans, John I had to pay homage to the sultan at Mohács in 1529.