Nikola Stepanić Selnički ( lat, Nicolaus Zelniczey, hu, Zelniczey IV. Miklós) was a Catholic bishop of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Pécs The Roman Catholic Diocese of Pécs ( Hungarian: ''Pécsi Egyházmegye'', la, Dioecesis Quinque Ecclesiensis) is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic church in Hungary. The Cathedral of Pécs is dedicated to Saint Peter and Saint P ...

(1596-1598) and

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Zagreb The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Zagreb ( hr, Zagrebačka nadbiskupija, la, Archidioecesis Zagrebiensis) is the central archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Croatia, centered in the capital city Zagreb. It is the metropolitan see of Croatia, an ...

(1598-1602). With his 1598 and 1599 activities aimed to impose his feudal authority over Serbs who populated a year earlier vast territories in Slavonia, abandoned for more than 40 years, he initiated the "Vlach question".

Early life

According to Sakcinski, Selnički was born in Selnica near Konjšćina in 1553 in a family which is a branch of Turopolje nobility. According to some other sources Selnički was a son of Stephan from Bosnia, who descended from a noble family. He studied in at

University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

and in Bologne. He wrote a chronicle with detailed description of the 1593

Battle of Sisak The Battle of Sisak was fought on 22 June 1593 between Ottoman Bosnian forces and a combined Christian army from the Habsburg lands, mainly Kingdom of Croatia and Inner Austria. The battle took place at Sisak, central Croatia, at the confluence o ...

which is not preserved.

Vlach question

When Serb settlers came to Habsburg military frontier (in modern-day Croatia) they were settled on the land which remained vacant for more than 40 years. Soon after Serbs were settled in Slavonia, Selnički began with his activities against them. In 1598 Selnički received information that emperor Rudolf was going to grant Serbs privileges which would guarantee their status of people free from their feudal obligations. Selnički was the first of Croatian nobility who tried to impose his rule over Serb settlers. Furthermore, Selnički actually was the initiator of the "Vlach question" in Croatia with his intention to impose his feudal authority over Serbs, populated a year earlier on his estates by Varaždin general Sigismund. In July 1599 Selnički requested that Serbs (Vlachs) populated a year before on the territory of his estates should not be given any privileges.

References

Sources

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External links

Website of the Archdiocese of Zagreb, a page about Nikola Selnički
{{DEFAULTSORT:Selnicki, Nikola Stepanic 1553 births 1602 deaths 16th-century Hungarian Jesuits 17th-century Hungarian Jesuits Anti-Serbian sentiment