Balthasar Báthory de Somlyó ( hu, Báthory Boldizsár; 1560 – 11 September 1594) was a

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 ...

n politician from the

Báthory family The Báthory family ( pl, Batory) was a Hungarian noble family of the Gutkeled clan. The family rose to significant influence in Central Europe during the Late Middle Ages, holding high military, administrative and ecclesiastical positions in ...

, and like his brother,

prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

Andrew Báthory Andrew Báthory ( hu, Báthory András; pl, Andrzej Batory; 1562 or 1563 – 3 November 1599) was the Cardinal-deacon of Sant'Adriano al Foro from 1584 to 1599, Prince-Bishop of Warmia from 1589 to 1599, and Prince of Transylvania in 1599. His ...

, an opponent of the

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 ...

in Transylvania.

Biography

Balthasar was born around 1560 to a wealthy and powerful family, as son of Hungarian captain Andrew Báthory and his wife Margarita Majláth de Szatmár. He was raised in

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 ...

, with his younger brother Andrew, at the court of his uncle

Stephen Báthory Stephen Báthory ( hu, Báthory István; pl, Stefan Batory; ; 27 September 1533 – 12 December 1586) was Voivode of Transylvania (1571–1576), Prince of Transylvania (1576–1586), King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania (1576–1586) ...

, who became

King of Poland Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electable position in Europe (16t ...

in 1576. By the time of Báthory's birth, 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 ...

was divided into three parts: A western under the control of the Habsburgs (who also had the title of

King of Hungary The King of Hungary ( hu, magyar király) was the ruling head of state of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1000 (or 1001) to 1918. The style of title "Apostolic King of Hungary" (''Apostoli Magyar Király'') was endorsed by Pope Clement XIII in 1758 ...

), a central control of the Ottoman Empire, and in the form of oriental Principality of Transylvania, ruled by the Hungarian nobility. Stephen Báthory was not only king of Poland at that time, but earlier, in 1571, was elected

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 ...

, which did not give up title even after leaving for Kraków. Since there, he ruled the two states, leaving as regent in Transylvania, his older brother

Christopher Báthory Christopher Báthory ( hu, Báthory Kristóf; 1530 – 27 May 1581) was voivode of Transylvania from 1576 to 1581. He was a younger son of Stephen Báthory of Somlyó. Christopher's career began during the reign of Queen Isabella Jagiellon, who ...

. The

voivode Voivode (, also spelled ''voievod'', ''voevod'', ''voivoda'', ''vojvoda'' or ''wojewoda'') is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe since the Early Middle Ages. It primarily referred to the me ...

died in 1581, after which Prince Stephen Báthory himself elected his nephew, the small child, 9-year-old noble:

Sigismund Báthory Sigismund Báthory ( hu, Báthory Zsigmond; 1573 – 27 March 1613) was Prince of Transylvania several times between 1586 and 1602, and Duke of Racibórz and Opole in Silesia in 1598. His father, Christopher Báthory, ruled Transylvania as voi ...

. Hoping that his family be consolidated into the power, and that the infant reached an older age to govern, Stephen continued to reign until his death in 1586. Sigismund reached the right age to govern itself without guardians in 1588, and that time Balthasar Báthory, when returned to Transylvania, become councilor of his cousin. Later he joined the opposition of

Sándor Kendi Sándor Kendi de Szarvaskend (''Kendy''; ? – 30 August 1594)Markó 2006, p. 113. was a Hungarian noble in the Principality of Transylvania, member of the Royal Council, who served as Governor of Transylvania for the underage voivode Sigi ...

(his father-in-law), who refused to attack the Turks, but aimed to reach an amicable solution to the conflict. Unable to allow for this, the Holy Empire decided to extend its influence over Transylvania, to get rid of the faint young Prince. Kendi's opposition strengthened more increasingly by eruption of internal conflicts until May 1594. Balthasar was the responsible for the politics of Transylvania for a short time. In August of that same year, Sigismund regained power, and imprisoned all noble opponents including cousin Balthasar, who was later strangled in his cell.

Sources

Magyar életrajzi lexikon

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bathory, Balthasar 1560 births 1594 deaths Hungarian nobility in Transylvania Hungarian politicians Executed Hungarian people Balthasar 16th-century executions by Hungary People executed by strangulation