The Battle of Temesvár was a key battle in the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, fought on 9 August 1849 between the Austrian Empire, led by Field Marshal Julius Jacob von Haynau, and the Hungarian Revolutionary Army, led by Lieutenant General Józef Bem. Hungarian forces under Bem, together with siege corps led by Major General Károly Vécsey, totalled 55,000 soldiers. Austrian forces under Haynau totalled 38,000 soldiers, although their numerical disadvantage was mitigated by superior artillery. The battle resulted in an Austrian victory and was the decisive engagement of the war, which ended in defeat for the Hungarians.

Timișoara is the capital city of Timiș County, Banat, and the main economic, social and cultural centre in Western Romania. Located on the Bega River, Timișoara is considered the informal capital city of the historical Banat region. From 1848 to 1860 it was the capital of the Serbian Vojvodina and the Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Temeschwar. With 250,849 inhabitants at the 2021 census, Timișoara is the country's fifth most populous city. It is home to around 400,000 inhabitants in its metropolitan area, while the Timișoara–Arad metropolis concentrates more than 70% of the population of Timiș and Arad counties. Timișoara is a multicultural city, home to 21 ethnic groups and 18 religious denominations. Historically, the most numerous were the Swabian Germans, Jews and Hungarians, who still make up 6% of the population here.