The Principality of Upper Hungary ( hu, Felső-Magyarországi Fejedelemség; ota, او رتا ماجار, Orta Macâr, lit=Middle Hungary) was a short-lived
Ottoman vassal state
A vassal state is any state that has a mutual obligation to a superior state or empire, in a status similar to that of a vassal in the feudal system in medieval Europe. Vassal states were common among the empires of the Near East, dating back to ...
ruled by
Imre Thököly
Imre is a Hungarian masculine first name, which is also in Estonian use, where the corresponding name day is 10 April. It has been suggested that it relates to the name Emeric, Emmerich or Heinrich. Its English equivalents are Emery and Henry ...
.
Background
After peace treaty of
Vasvár was signed in 1664, loyalty felt by Hungarians towards the
Habsburg dynasty was in decline. The Hungarian nobility was dissatisfied by
Emperor Leopold I
Leopold I (Leopold Ignaz Joseph Balthasar Franz Felician; hu, I. Lipót; 9 June 1640 – 5 May 1705) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia. The second son of Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor, by his first wife, Maria An ...
's refusal to capitalize on the victory at the
Battle of Saint Gotthard to liberate more of the Hungarian lands from the Ottomans, and the subsequent Imperial administration of Hungary was seen as acting against interests of the Hungarian estates. In 1671 a rebellion was successfully thwarted. However, a year later
Mihály Teleki
Mihály () is a Hungarian masculine given name, It is a cognate of the English Michael and may refer to:
* Mihály András (1917–1993), Hungarian cellist, composer, and academic teacher
* Mihály Apafi (1632–1690), Hungarian Prince of Transyl ...
led a more successful rebellion. In 1673 the Emperor appointed
Johann Caspar von Ampringen, the
Teutonic Grandmaster as governor of Royal Hungary, precipitating a harsh crackdown on disloyal nobles and Protestants which further increased the resentment of the Hungarian nobility against the Habsburgs. In 1680
Imre Thököly
Imre is a Hungarian masculine first name, which is also in Estonian use, where the corresponding name day is 10 April. It has been suggested that it relates to the name Emeric, Emmerich or Heinrich. Its English equivalents are Emery and Henry ...
became the leading figure of the rebellion, which started being supported and sustained by the
Ottoman state
The Ottoman Empire developed over the years as a despotism with the Sultan as the supreme ruler of a centralized government that had an effective control of its provinces, officials and inhabitants. Wealth and rank could be inherited but were j ...
and the
Principality of Transylvania.
Establishment and later history
The principality was established on 19 November 1682. The polity agreed to pay 20,000 gold coins to the Ottomans annually.
In 1685 Thököly was defeated
at Eperjes (present-day Prešov) and the Turks imprisoned him because of his previous negotiations with
Leopold therefore his realm ceased to exist.
See also
*
Captaincies of the Kingdom of Hungary
*
Eastern Hungarian Kingdom
References
{{coord missing, Europe
Ottoman period in Hungary
Ottoman period in Slovakia
1680s in Hungary
1682 establishments in Europe
1685 disestablishments in Europe
1682 establishments in the Ottoman Empire
1685 disestablishments in the Ottoman Empire
States and territories disestablished in 1685
States and territories established in 1682
Vassal states of the Ottoman Empire