Nicholas of Ilok ( Hungarian: ''Újlaki Miklós'', Bosnian and

Croatian Croatian may refer to: * Croatia *Croatian language *Croatian people *Croatians (demonym) See also * * * Croatan (disambiguation) * Croatia (disambiguation) * Croatoan (disambiguation) * Hrvatski (disambiguation) * Hrvatsko (disambiguation) * S ...

: ''Nikola Iločki'', ; 1410–1477) was a Hungarian nobleman, Ban of Croatia,

Slavonia Slavonia (; hr, Slavonija) is, with Dalmatia, Croatia proper, and Istria, one of the four historical regions of Croatia. Taking up the east of the country, it roughly corresponds with five Croatian counties: Brod-Posavina, Osijek-Baranja, ...

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see names in other languages) is one of the four historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of the Adriatic Sea, stre ...

and Macsó, Voivode of Transylvania and titular King of Bosnia from 1471 until his death. A member of the

Újlaki family The Újlaki family ( hr, Iločki; ), in old sources ''de Illoch'', ''de Wylak'', ''de Voilack'' etc., '' Hungarian: ''Újlaki'')'' was a Croatian– Hungarian noble family, descended in the male line from Gug (in some sources ''Göge''), a mem ...

, he was one of the richest landowners in the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephe ...

and one of its most influential magnates. He held a reputation of a great hero and served under four kings of Hungary: Albert, Vladislaus I,

Ladislaus V Ladislaus the Posthumous( hu, Utószülött László; hr, Ladislav Posmrtni; cs, Ladislav Pohrobek; german: link=no, Ladislaus Postumus; 22 February 144023 November 1457) was Duke of Austria and King of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia. He was the ...

and Matthias I.

Early career

His parents were Ladislaus of Ilok, Ban of Macsó, and Anna Stiboriczi, daughter of

Stibor of Stiboricz Stibor of Stiboricz of Ostoja (also written in English as Scibor or Czibor; pl, Ścibor ze Ściborzyc, hu, Stiborici Stibor, ro, Știbor de Știborici, sk, Stibor zo Stiboríc; c. 1348 – February 1414) was an aristocrat of Polish origi ...

, Voivode of Transylvania. His father died shortly after his birth. He had four brothers: John,

Stephen Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; h ...

, Peter and Paul. His great-grandfather, Nicholas Kont, served as

palatine A palatine or palatinus (in Latin; plural ''palatini''; cf. derivative spellings below) is a high-level official attached to imperial or royal courts in Europe since Roman times.

to King Louis I of Hungary. Nicholas was the best known lord of the city of

Ilok Ilok () is the easternmost town in Croatia forming a geographic salient surrounded by Vojvodina. Located in the Syrmia region, it lies on a hill overlooking the Danube river, which forms the border with the Bačka region of Serbia. The popula ...

. While he was in power, the city experienced its golden age. In 1430, Nicholas' brother Stephen died and Nicholas succeeded him as Ban of Macsó. When King Albert died in 1439, Nicholas supported his widow, Elizabeth of Luxembourg, in her struggle to secure the Holy Crown of Hungary for her son, Ladislaus the Posthumous. As a reward, Queen Elizabeth had him knighted. However, Nicholas soon took the side of Vladislaus III of Poland and allied himself with

John Hunyadi John Hunyadi (, , , ; 1406 – 11 August 1456) was a leading Hungarian military and political figure in Central and Southeastern Europe during the 15th century. According to most contemporary sources, he was the member of a noble family of ...

. Upon becoming King of Hungary, Vladislaus gave Nicholas and Hunyadi extraordinary powers, appointing them as joint Voivodes of Transylvania.

Matthias' reign

In 1457, Nicholas took part in the liquidation of John Hunyadi's son,

Ladislaus Ladislaus ( or according to the case) is a masculine given name of Slavic origin. It may refer to: * Ladislaus of Hungary (disambiguation) * Ladislaus I (disambiguation) * Ladislaus II (disambiguation) * Ladislaus III (disambiguation) * Ladi ...

. The next year, Ladislaus' brother, Matthias Corvinus, was elected King of Hungary. However, various Hungarian and Croatian nobles refused to recognise him as their sovereign. The opposition was led by Nicholas himself and

Palatine A palatine or palatinus (in Latin; plural ''palatini''; cf. derivative spellings below) is a high-level official attached to imperial or royal courts in Europe since Roman times.

Ladislaus II Garay Ladislaus Garai, also Ladislas Garai, ( hu, Garai László; 1410 – February or April 1459) was Palatine of Hungary from 1447 to 1458, and Ban of Macsó between 1431 and 1441 and from 1445 and 1447. Childhood Ladislaus was the son of Nich ...

, who asked Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III for support. Matthias was, however, eventually recognised as king. He retained his influence throughout the reign of Matthias Corvinus, who created him perpetual ispán of Teočak in 1464, making him only the third person to bear such a title. In 1471, having settled his disputes with Nicholas, King Matthias I conferred upon him the title of King of Bosnia. He was crowned king in 1472 in the fortress of Jajce. Nicholas seems to have been made Ban of Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia by early 1472, probably in order to secure his loyalty to the King and to enable him to defend the region against the Ottomans. He had been named ban to replace Blaise Magyar, who had rebelled against the King. However, he did not retain that office for long; by the end of the same year, he was replaced by

Damian Horvat Damian ( la, links=no, Damianus) may refer to: *Damian (given name) *Damian (surname) *Damian Subdistrict, in Longquanyi District, Chengdu, Sichuan, China See also *Damiani, an Italian surname *Damiano (disambiguation) *Damien (disambiguation) *Dam ...

. As King of Bosnia, Nicholas even minted his own currency. However, Nicholas failed to defend his satellite kingdom, losing most of it to the Ottomans. The Hungarian Kingdom of Bosnia consisted of a few fortresses. Nicholas ruled those remnants and retained the kingly title until his death, styling himself "Nicholas, by the Grace of God King of Bosnia" (

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...

: ''Nicolaus Dei Gratia Rex Bosniae''). He was succeeded, as Ban of Macsó and Lord of Ilok, by his eldest surviving son,

Laurence Laurence is an English and French given name (usually female in French and usually male in English). The English masculine name is a variant of Lawrence and it originates from a French form of the Latin ''Laurentius'', a name meaning "man from ...

Marriages and issue

Nicholas was first married to Margit Rozgonyi ( fl 1441-1458). By his first wife, Nicholas had the following children: #Nicholas (fl 1452) #Stephen (fl 1459-1465) #Catherine (fl. 1448-1493), whose daughter's sons claimed their great-grandfather's inheritance #Euphrosyne (fl. 1458-1476) #Hieronyma (fl 1458-1460), married to Leonhard of Gorizia #Ursula (fl 1458-1476) He was married secondly to Dorottya Széchy de Felsőlendva (fl 1471-1495). Their children were: #

(1459–1524), Nicholas' successor, after whose death without surviving issue the family became extinct #Bernard (fl 1460)

References

External links

Nicholas of Ilok, Ban of Croatia, built the castle in Ilok in the 15th centuryNicholas of Ilok's kingship in Bosnia 1471-1477
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Nicholas Nicholas is a male given name and a surname. The Eastern Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Anglican Churches celebrate Saint Nicholas every year on December 6, which is the name day for "Nicholas". In Greece, the name and it ...

Bans of Croatia 15th-century Croatian nobility 1410 births 1477 deaths 15th-century Croatian people 15th-century Hungarian nobility Bans of Macsó Counts of the Székelys Ujlaki, Nicholas Pretenders to the Bosnian throne Bans of Slavonia