János Bethlen de Bethlen (1613 – 13 February 1678)Markó 2006, p. 102. was a Hungarian noble in the Principality of Transylvania, who served as

Chancellor of Transylvania The following is the list of chancellors of Transylvania during the Principality of Transylvania. List of chancellors Principality of Transylvania Habsburg rule The Transylvanian Court Chancellery was established in 1694, according to the ' ...

from 1659 to 1678.

Life

János was the only son of Farkas Bethlen,

Ispán The ispánRady 2000, p. 19.''Stephen Werbőczy: The Customary Law of the Renowned Kingdom of Hungary in Three Parts (1517)'', p. 450. or countEngel 2001, p. 40.Curta 2006, p. 355. ( hu, ispán, la, comes or comes parochialis, and sk, župan)Kirs ...

(Count; ''comes'') of Küküllő County and Anna Kemény de Magyargyerőmonostor, sister of John Kemény,

Prince of Transylvania The Prince of Transylvania ( hu, erdélyi fejedelem, german: Fürst von Siebenbürgen, la, princeps Transsylvaniae, ro, principele TransilvanieiFallenbüchl 1988, p. 77.) was the head of state of the Principality of Transylvania from the last d ...

. He had three sisters. His parents died during his youth, he grew up in the court of Ferenc Macskási. Under the influence of his stepfather, he converted to

Calvinism Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

from

Unitarianism Unitarianism (from Latin ''unitas'' "unity, oneness", from ''unus'' "one") is a nontrinitarian branch of Christian theology. Most other branches of Christianity and the major Churches accept the doctrine of the Trinity which states that there i ...

. His educator was Pál Keresztúri. He studied for several years in the University of Frankfurt until September 1630 when returned to home. He married Borbála Várady (d. 1661) in 1637, they had two sons, including Miklós, future Chancellor of Transylvania, and two daughters. His second wife was Klára Fekete de Frics (since 1662), they had a son.

Political career

Bethlen was a member of the Royal Court of Justice from March 1648 to 1658. He served as Ispán of

Torda County Torda County (german: Komitat Torda,Fallenbüchl 1994, p. 153. hu, Torda vármegye, la, comitatus Thordensis) was a county in Transylvania between the 11th century and 1876. History Kingdom of Hungary Counties (districts formed around royal for ...

(1651–1656), Küküllő County (1656–1662; alongside Ferenc Pekry between 1658 and 1659) and Fehér County from September 1662 until his death. He functioned as envoy of

George II Rákóczi en, George II Rákóczi, house=Rákóczi, father=, mother= Zsuzsanna Lorántffy, religion=CalvinismGeorge II Rákóczi (30 January 1621 – 7 June 1660), was a Hungarian nobleman, Prince of Transylvania (1648-1660), the eldest son of George I ...

to the

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland ( pl, Królestwo Polskie; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a state in Central Europe. It may refer to: Historical political entities * Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom existing from 1025 to 1031 * Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom exi ...

in 1653. He participated in the failure campaign of Rákóczi against Poland in 1657. He was the military commander of the occupied

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

. He was a member of the Royal Countil since 1658 until his death. The new prince

Ákos Barcsay Ákos Barcsay (Achatius) (1619 ? - Kozmatelke July 1661) , was Prince of Transylvania from September 1658 to August 1659 and June to December 1660. Biography Barcsay was born in a respected noble family from Hunyad County. He grew up at the cou ...

appointed Bethlen as Chancellor in 1659. He had a significant role in the election of John Kemény in 1660. However he became a supporter of

Michael I Apafi Michael Apafi ( hu, Apafi Mihály; 3 November 1632 – 15 April 1690) was Prince of Transylvania from 1661 to his death. Background The Principality of Transylvania emerged after the disintegration of the medieval Kingdom of Hungary in the sec ...

after the Battle of Nagyszőlős (1662). He served as Captain General of

Udvarhelyszék Udvarhelyszék (; formerly called ''Telegdiszék'') was one of the Székely seats in the historical Székely Land. Situated on the western part of the Székely Land, it was the main seat ( hu, anyaszék, la, sedes principalis, ''sedes capitalis' ...

between June 1660 and 1667 (except the short period of Kemény's rule). He founded the Calvinist College in Székelyudvarhely (today: ''Odorheiu Secuiesc, Romania''). He reinstated the

Gabriel Bethlen Gabriel Bethlen ( hu, Bethlen Gábor; 15 November 1580 – 15 November 1629) was Prince of Transylvania from 1613 to 1629 and Duke of Opole from 1622 to 1625. He was also King-elect of Hungary from 1620 to 1621, but he never took control of th ...

College from

Kolozsvár ; hu, kincses város) , official_name=Cluj-Napoca , native_name= , image_skyline= , subdivision_type1 = County , subdivision_name1 = Cluj County , subdivision_type2 = Status , subdivision_name2 = County seat , settlement_type = City , l ...

(today: ''Cluj-Napoca, Romania'') to

Nagyenyed Aiud (; la, Brucla, hu, Nagyenyed, Hungarian pronunciation: ; german: Straßburg am Mieresch) is a city located in Alba County, Transylvania, Romania. The city's population is 22,876. It has the status of municipality and is the 2nd-largest c ...

(today: ''Aiud, Romania''). In 1676, he accused of having participated in the conspiracy of Pál Béldi, as a result he was deprived from his positions. The Chancellor rights were exercised by his distant relative Farkas Bethlen until the next year when János regained his office. However he completely lost his political influence.

Works

* ''Rerum Transylvanicarum libri quator'' (Nagyszeben, 1663) and (

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

, 1664). Translated into German by Johannes Tröster. The work confirmed the Turkish-friendly policy of Transylvania.

References

Sources

* Markó, László: A magyar állam főméltóságai Szent Istvántól napjainkig – Életrajzi Lexikon ''p. 102.'' ''(The High Officers of the Hungarian State from Saint Stephen to the Present Days – A Biographical Encyclopedia)'' (2nd edition); Helikon Kiadó Kft., 2006, Budapest; . * Trócsányi, Zsolt: Erdély központi kormányzata 1540–1690. Budapest, Akadémiai Kiadó, 1980. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bethlen, Janos 1613 births 1678 deaths People from Mureș County Hungarian politicians Hungarian nobility 17th-century Hungarian historians Chancellors of Transylvania Hungarian Unitarians Converts to Calvinism European University Viadrina alumni Janos