Eastern Hungarian Kingdom
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The Eastern Hungarian Kingdom ( hu, keleti Magyar Királyság) is a modern term coined by some historians to designate the realm of
John Zápolya John Zápolya or Szapolyai ( hu, Szapolyai/ Zápolya János, hr, Ivan Zapolja, ro, Ioan Zápolya, sk, Ján Zápoľský; 1490/91 – 22 July 1540), was King of Hungary (as John I) from 1526 to 1540. His rule was disputed by Archduke Fer ...
and his son
John Sigismund Zápolya John Sigismund Zápolya or Szapolyai ( hu, Szapolyai János Zsigmond; 7 July 1540 – 14 March 1571) was King of Hungary as John II from 1540 to 1551 and from 1556 to 1570, and the first Prince of Transylvania, from 1570 to his death. He was ...
, who contested the claims of the
House of Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
to rule 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 Stephen ...
from 1526 to 1570. The Zápolyas ruled over an eastern part of Hungary, and the Habsburg kings (
Ferdinand Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "protection", "peace" (PIE "to love, to make peace") or alternatively "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "co ...
and
Maximilian Maximilian, Maximillian or Maximiliaan (Maximilien in French) is a male given name. The name " Max" is considered a shortening of "Maximilian" as well as of several other names. List of people Monarchs *Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (1459 ...
) ruled the west. The Habsburgs tried several times to unite all Hungary under their rule, but the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
prevented that by supporting the Eastern Hungarian Kingdom.Robert John Weston Evans, T. V. Thomas. ''Crown, Church and Estates: Central European politics in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries'', Macmillan, 1991, pp. 80–81 The exact extent of the Zápolya realm was never settled because both the Habsburgs and the Zápolyas claimed the whole kingdom. A temporary territorial division was made in the
Treaty of Nagyvárad The Treaty of Nagyvárad (or Treaty of Grosswardein) was a secret peace agreement between Emperor Ferdinand I and John Szapolyai, rival claimants to the Kingdom of Hungary, signed in Grosswardein / Várad (modern-day Oradea, Romania) on February 2 ...
in 1538. The Eastern Hungarian Kingdom is considered by some historians the predecessor of the
Principality of Transylvania (1570–1711) The Principality of Transylvania ( hu, Erdélyi Fejedelemség; la, Principatus Transsilvaniae; german: Fürstentum Siebenbürgen; ro, Principatul Transilvaniei / Principatul Ardealului; tr, Erdel Voyvodalığı / Transilvanya Prensliği) was a ...
, which was established by the Treaty of Speyer.


John I's reign

In 1526, Hungary was defeated by the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
at the
Battle of Mohács The Battle of Mohács (; hu, mohácsi csata, tr, Mohaç Muharebesi or Mohaç Savaşı) was fought on 29 August 1526 near Mohács, Kingdom of Hungary, between the forces of the Kingdom of Hungary and its allies, led by Louis II, and thos ...
, and King
Louis II of Hungary Louis II ( cs, Ludvík, hr, Ludovik , hu, Lajos, sk, Ľudovít; 1 July 1506 – 29 August 1526) was King of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia from 1516 to 1526. He was killed during the Battle of Mohács fighting the Ottomans, whose victory led to ...
was killed. The Ottomans withdrew their troops and did not then seek to conquer. Ferdinand of Austria, younger brother of
Emperor Charles V Charles V, french: Charles Quint, it, Carlo V, nl, Karel V, ca, Carles V, la, Carolus V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain ( Castile and Aragon) ...
, claimed the crown by right of his marriage to Louis' sister
Anne Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...
. But most Hungarian nobles opposed Ferdinand. They supported
John Zápolya John Zápolya or Szapolyai ( hu, Szapolyai/ Zápolya János, hr, Ivan Zapolja, ro, Ioan Zápolya, sk, Ján Zápoľský; 1490/91 – 22 July 1540), was King of Hungary (as John I) from 1526 to 1540. His rule was disputed by Archduke Fer ...
, former
Voivode of Transylvania The Voivode of Transylvania (german: Vojwode von Siebenbürgen;Fallenbüchl 1988, p. 77. hu, erdélyi vajda;Zsoldos 2011, p. 36. la, voivoda Transsylvaniae; ro, voievodul Transilvaniei) was the highest-ranking official in Transylvania wit ...
, the wealthiest landholder in the country. The Hungarian Diet proclaimed him king, but Ferdinand sent an army which drove John from the country by 1528. To counter the Habsburg influence, John formed an alliance with Ottoman Sultan Suleiman I in 1528, and even swore fealty to the sultan in 1529. John controlled
Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...
and the eastern part of the Hungarian plain; Ferdinand held
Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...
, the western part of the plain, and
Upper Hungary Upper Hungary is the usual English translation of ''Felvidék'' (literally: "Upland"), the Hungarian term for the area that was historically the northern part of the Kingdom of Hungary, now mostly present-day Slovakia. The region has also been ...
. In 1538, the two sides signed the
Treaty of Nagyvárad The Treaty of Nagyvárad (or Treaty of Grosswardein) was a secret peace agreement between Emperor Ferdinand I and John Szapolyai, rival claimants to the Kingdom of Hungary, signed in Grosswardein / Várad (modern-day Oradea, Romania) on February 2 ...
, which made this division official, and also made Ferdinand heir to John, who was childless.István Keul, ''Early modern religious communities in East-Central Europe: ethnic diversity, denominational plurality, and corporative politics in the principality of Transylvania (1526–1691)'', BRILL, 2009
pp. 40–61
/ref>


John II Sigismund's reign

The Nagyvárad agreement lasted only two years, until John I's son was born in 1540, only nine days before John I's death. The infant
John II Sigismund Zápolya John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...
was crowned by the Hungarian estates a few weeks later. For much of John II's reign, Eastern Hungary was governed by his mother,
Isabella Isabella may refer to: People and fictional characters * Isabella (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Isabella (surname), including a list of people Places United States * Isabella, Alabama, an unincorpor ...
, with Bishop
George Martinuzzi George Martinuzzi, O.S.P. (born Juraj Utješenović, also known as György Martinuzzi, Brother György, Georg Utiessenovicz-Martinuzzi or György Fráter, hu, Fráter György; 1482 – 16 December 1551), was a Croatian nobleman, Pauline m ...
as regent. They were supported by Sultan Suleiman, who recognized John II as king and his vassal. In 1541, Ferdinand invaded to enforce his claim. Martinuzzi called on Suleiman, who expelled Ferdinand, but took most of central Hungary under direct Ottoman rule as Budin Province. The eastern part of the Hungarian plain remained under Zápolya rule; after 1571 it became known as
Partium Partium (from Latin ''partium'', the genitive of '' pars'' "part, portion") or ''Részek'' (in Hungarian) was a historical and geographical region in the Kingdom of Hungary during the early modern and modern periods. It consisted of the eastern a ...
. During the 1540s, the Eastern Hungarian Kingdom included the counties of Máramaros, Szabolcs, Szatmár, Közép-Szolnok,
Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...
, Külső-Szolnok, Békés,
Csongrád Csongrád ( ro, Ciongrad; tr, Conğrad sr, Чонград, Čongrad, archaically also ''Црноград/Crnograd'') is a town in Csongrád County in southern Hungary. History At the time of the Hungarian Conquest (the end of 9th century) the ...
, Arad,
Csanád Csanád, also Chanadinus, or Cenad, was the first head ''(comes)'' of Csanád County in the Kingdom of Hungary in the first decades of the 11th century. Csanád defeated and killed Ajtony who had ruled over the region now known as Banat (in Rom ...
, and the Temesköz.László Makkai, András Mócsy, Béla Köpeczi
''History Of Transylvania Volume I. From the Beginnings to 1606''
Distributed by Columbia University Press, New York 2001 East European Monographs, No. DLXXXI
The bigger towns, such as
Várad Várad is a village in Baranya county, Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania t ...
or Lippa, were significant centers of state power, warranting predominance over the region's magnates. One of the wealthiest nobles,
Péter Petrovics Péter Petrovics ( hu, Petrovics Péter; sr, Петар Петровић/; ''c.'' 1486 – October 1557) was a Hungarian noble of Serb ethnicity from Banat, who was active in the 16th-century Transylvania. Biography Count Petrovics first appea ...
, was the absolute ruler of the Temesköz, but was loyal to the Zápolya family. He cooperated with the regent Martinuzzi. The region from Máramaros County to the Kraszna river was ruled by the Drágffy- Perényi family, Ecsed and Somlyó by the Báthory family, Békés county by the Patócsy, the
Maros Maros is a town in the South Sulawesi province of Indonesia close to the provincial capital of Makassar. It is the capital of the Maros Regency. Maros is the location of the Indonesian Cereals Research Institute, a branch of the Indonesia ...
river valley by the Jaksics family, and the town of
Debrecen Debrecen ( , is Hungary's second-largest city, after Budapest, the regional centre of the Northern Great Plain region and the seat of Hajdú-Bihar County. A city with county rights, it was the largest Hungarian city in the 18th century and i ...
by the Török family of
Enying Enying is a town in Fejér county, Hungary. The Olympian Géza Mészöly was born here. Twin towns – sister cities Enying is twinned with: * Bad Urach, Germany * Huedin, Romania * Świerklany, Poland * Yukamenskoye Yukamenskoye (russian: ...
. Zemplén, Borsod, and Abaúj Counties with their undefined borders were ruled by the Balassa, Losonci, Bebek, and
Drugeth The House of Drugeth was a powerful noble family (of French origin) of the Kingdom of Hungary in the 14th to 17th centuries whose possessions were located in the northeastern parts of the kingdom. The ancestors of the family left Apulia (Southern ...
families, but they possessed considerable autonomy. The army campaigns of 1543–44 left only one secure road link to Royal Hungary, along the Vág valley, and this further decreased Habsburg support in the kingdom. In August 1544, commissioners from the central parts of the medieval Hungarian kingdom as counties along the
Tisza The Tisza, Tysa or Tisa, is one of the major rivers of Central and Eastern Europe. Once, it was called "the most Hungarian river" because it flowed entirely within the Kingdom of Hungary. Today, it crosses several national borders. The Tisza be ...
river participated as equals in the Transylvanian Diet at Torda. The Transylvanian Diet thus became the legal successor of the Hungarian Diets. The chancellery and the high court at Buda disappeared during the political chaos of 1540-41 and Transylvania could not be administered by the central organs of the Hungarian Kingdom anymore. The apparatus of the ''voivode'' was inadequate to provide the task of administering a state. Martinuzzi formed a new administrative structure, and established the court at
Gyulafehérvár Alba Iulia (; german: Karlsburg or ''Carlsburg'', formerly ''Weißenburg''; hu, Gyulafehérvár; la, Apulum) is a city that serves as the seat of Alba County in the west-central part of Romania. Located on the Mureș River in the historical ...
. The feudal estates lost their power over cases of state. The Saxons were still Habsburg supporters and adopted a passive stance. Péter Haller, the royal magistrate at Szeben, was the only Saxon at the court of Gyulafehérvár. The Székelys had only few advocates in the circles around the regent and the queen. King John's supporters usually had no roots within the new confines of the country, however their relatives were found among the senior officials and courtiers in large numbers. The ruling class still expected the reunification of the country, and Martinuzzi always encountered the pressure of this wish and expectation.


Habsburg rule and war

Martinuzzi and Isabella fell out, and Martinuzzi also turned against the Ottomans. He allied instead with Ferdinand, and compelled Isabella to sign the Treaty of Nyírbátor in 1549, which ceded Transylvania to Ferdinand. Isabella opposed the dispossession of her son and informed the sultan immediately. A civil war followed between Isabella's forces and Martinuzzi's pro-Habsburg troops. Martinuzzi's army besieged the royal residence at Gyulafehérvár in 1550 and 1551. A Habsburg army marched into Transylvania and the Tisza region, under Giovanni Battista Castaldo. Martinuzzi continued his intrigues, sending feudal tribute to the sultan, and was killed by Castaldo in 1551. John II abdicated as king, and together with Isabella left for Poland. The sultan, feeling betrayed, sent his army against Hungary in 1552. Veszprém, Drégely, Szolnok, Lippa, Temesvár, Karánsebes, and Lugos fell in the course of the campaign. Only
Eger Eger ( , ; ; also known by other alternative names) is the county seat of Heves County, and the second largest city in Northern Hungary (after Miskolc). A city with county rights. Eger is best known for its castle, thermal baths, baroque build ...
castle, commanded by
István Dobó Baron István Dobó de Ruszka (c. 1502 - Szerednye (today, Середнє (Szerednye / Serednie, Ukraine), mid-June 1572) was a Hungarian soldier, best known as the successful defender of Eger against the Ottomans in 1552. Dobó was a member o ...
, withstood the Ottoman army. In 1553, Ferdinand withdrew Castaldo's troops from Transylvania. In 1554 the sultan launched another attack against Hungary, occupying Salgó and Fülek.


Restoration of John II

In 1556 the nobles of Transylvania recalled John II, and elected him
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 ...
at the Diet of Szászsebes; also again acknowledging him as King. In 1568, freedom of religion was formally recognized by John II in the
Edict of Torda The Edict of Torda ( hu, tordai ediktum, ro, Edictul de la Turda, german: Edikt von Torda) was a decree that authorized local communities to freely elect their preachers in the Eastern Hungarian Kingdom of John Sigismund Zápolya. The delegates ...
.Oksana Buranbaeva, Vanja Mladineo, ''Culture and Customs of Hungary'', ABC-CLIO, 2011,
p. 44
/ref>


Treaty of Speyer

In 1570, John II signed the Treaty of Speyer with Ferdinand's successor,
Maximilian Maximilian, Maximillian or Maximiliaan (Maximilien in French) is a male given name. The name " Max" is considered a shortening of "Maximilian" as well as of several other names. List of people Monarchs *Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (1459 ...
. John II again renounced his claim as king of Hungary in favor of Maximilian, thus ending the Eastern Hungarian Kingdom. John instead was recognized by Maximilian as "
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 ...
and the
Partium Partium (from Latin ''partium'', the genitive of '' pars'' "part, portion") or ''Részek'' (in Hungarian) was a historical and geographical region in the Kingdom of Hungary during the early modern and modern periods. It consisted of the eastern a ...
" (''princeps Transsylvaniae et partium regni Hungariae dominus''; that is, "Prince of Transylvania and Lord of part of the Kingdom of Hungary") from 1570 until his death (1571). This treaty, like the earlier
Treaty of Nagyvárad The Treaty of Nagyvárad (or Treaty of Grosswardein) was a secret peace agreement between Emperor Ferdinand I and John Szapolyai, rival claimants to the Kingdom of Hungary, signed in Grosswardein / Várad (modern-day Oradea, Romania) on February 2 ...
, endorsed the principle of a united Hungary. Partium and Transylvania were entrusted to John Sigismund Zápolya, as a vassal of Maximilian. As mentioned above, the Zápolyas had already held the Partium, but now the Habsburgs recognized their lordship. In a sense, John Sigismund traded title for territory. Thus the Eastern Hungarian Kingdom became the predecessor of the
Principality of Transylvania (1570–1711) The Principality of Transylvania ( hu, Erdélyi Fejedelemség; la, Principatus Transsilvaniae; german: Fürstentum Siebenbürgen; ro, Principatul Transilvaniei / Principatul Ardealului; tr, Erdel Voyvodalığı / Transilvanya Prensliği) was a ...
. Despite John Sigismund's profession of vassalage to Maximilian, the princes of Transylvania ruled with near complete autonomy, and often paid tribute to the Ottoman Empire. Austria and Turkey contended for supremacy there for nearly two centuries. All reference after 1570 to the king of Hungary refer to the territory known as "Royal Hungary"; references to a prince refer to the "Principality of Transylvania".


See also

*
Little War in Hungary Little is a synonym for small size and may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Little'' (album), 1990 debut album of Vic Chesnutt * ''Little'' (film), 2019 American comedy film *The Littles, a series of children's novels by American author John P ...
*
List of Hungarian rulers This is a list of Hungarian monarchs, that includes the grand princes (895–1000) and the kings and ruling queens of Hungary (1000–1918). The Principality of Hungary established 895 or 896, following the 9th-century Hungarian conquest of the ...
*
Kingdom of Hungary in the Middle Ages 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 Hungarian monarch, c ...
*
Ottoman Hungary Ottoman Hungary ( hu, Török hódoltság) was the southern and central parts of what had been the Kingdom of Hungary in the late medieval period, which were conquered and ruled by the Ottoman Empire from 1541 to 1699. The Ottoman rule covered ...
*
Ottomans The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922). Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...
*
Habsburgs The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...


References


Sources

* * * *


External links

{{coord missing, Hungary Eastern Hungarian Kingdom