George II Rákóczi (30 January 1621 – 7 June 1660), was a
Hungarian nobleman,
Prince of Transylvania (1648-1660), the eldest son of
George I and
Zsuzsanna Lorántffy.
Early life
He was elected Prince of Transylvania during his father's lifetime (19 February 1642). On 3 February 1643, he married
Sophia Báthory, a granddaughter of
Stephen Báthory IX. Their son was
Francis I Rákóczi.
War with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Preparation
On ascending the throne (October 1648), his first thought was to realize his father's ambitions in
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
. With this object in view, he allied himself, in the beginning of 1649, with the
Cossack hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky, and the
hospodars of
Moldavia
Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially in ...
and
Wallachia
Wallachia or Walachia (; ; : , : ) is a historical and geographical region of modern-day Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians. Wallachia was traditionally divided into two sections, Munteni ...
, (
Vasile Lupu and
Matei Basarab), but took no action for several years. On 6 December 1656, by the
Treaty of Radnot, he also allied with King
Charles X Gustav of Sweden against King
John II Casimir of Poland. Rákóczi was to seize the provinces of
Lesser Poland
Lesser Poland, often known by its Polish name ''Małopolska'' (; ), is a historical region situated in southern and south-eastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Kraków. Throughout centuries, Lesser Poland developed a separate cult ...
and
Mazovia, together with rich salt deposits in
Wieliczka and
Bochnia.
1657
In 1657, he invaded the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...
in the third part of the
Second Northern War
The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of ...
(1655–1660), also known as
the Deluge.
Spring
In late January 1657, Rákóczi's 25,000-strong army crossed the
Carpathian Mountains
The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe and Southeast Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Ural Mountains, Urals at and the Scandinav ...
near
Krosno
Krosno (in full ''The Royal Free City of Krosno'', ) is a historical town and Krosno County, county in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship, in southeastern Poland. The estimated population of the town is 47,140 inhabitants as of 2014.
The functional ...
. The Transylvanians headed towards
Medyka, where 10,000
Zaporozhian Cossacks under
Anton Zdanovich joined them. The Transylvanian-Cossack army approached
Lwów, but failed to capture the fortified city. Then it headed westwards, to
Kraków
, officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...
. The army's march was marked by atrocities, destruction, and looting. Rákóczi captured and destroyed
Dukla
Dukla is a town and an eponymous municipality in southeastern Poland, in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship. As of December 2021, the town has a population of 2,017. The total area of the commune is . Dukla belongs to Lesser Poland, and until the Pa ...
,
Lesko, and
Sanok, but failed to seize
Przemyśl
Przemyśl () is a city in southeastern Poland with 56,466 inhabitants, as of December 2023. Data for territorial unit 1862000. In 1999, it became part of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship, Subcarpathian Voivodeship. It was previously the capital of Prz ...
,
Krosno
Krosno (in full ''The Royal Free City of Krosno'', ) is a historical town and Krosno County, county in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship, in southeastern Poland. The estimated population of the town is 47,140 inhabitants as of 2014.
The functional ...
, and
Łańcut. On 21 March 1657, Rákóczi entered
Tarnów
Tarnów () is a city in southeastern Poland with 105,922 inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of 269,000 inhabitants. The city is situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship. It is a major rail junction, located on the strategic east– ...
, and seven days later reached Kraków, which was already under Swedish control. Kraków's Swedish garrison was reinforced by 2,500 Transylvanians under
János Bethlen
János Bethlen de Bethlen (1613 – 13 February 1678)Markó 2006, p. 102. was a Hungarian noble in the Principality of Transylvania, who served as Chancellor of Transylvania from 1659 to 1678.
Life
János was the only son of Farkas Bethle ...
, while the rest under Rákóczi headed northwards.
April
The Swedish garrison of Kraków was reinforced by 2,500 Transylvanians under
János Bethlen
János Bethlen de Bethlen (1613 – 13 February 1678)Markó 2006, p. 102. was a Hungarian noble in the Principality of Transylvania, who served as Chancellor of Transylvania from 1659 to 1678.
Life
János was the only son of Farkas Bethle ...
, while Rákóczi headed northwards. On 12 April, near
Ćmielów, the Transylvanians joined the Swedish army under
Charles X Gustav
Charles X Gustav, also Carl X Gustav (; 8 November 1622 – 13 February 1660), was King of Sweden from 1654 until his death. He was the son of John Casimir, Count Palatine of Kleeburg, John Casimir, Count Palatine of Palatinate-Kleeburg, Zweib ...
. The combined forces crossed the
Vistula
The Vistula (; ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest in Europe, at in length. Its drainage basin, extending into three other countries apart from Poland, covers , of which is in Poland.
The Vistula rises at Barania Góra i ...
at
Zawichost, on 19 April capturing
Lublin
Lublin is List of cities and towns in Poland, the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the centre of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin i ...
.
May
On 8 May the Swedish-Transylvanian army besieged
Brest Litovsk, capturing it two days later. After the siege, Rákóczi's soldiers plundered and looted intensely. The Transylvanians burned
Biała Podlaska
Biała Podlaska (; ) is a city in the Lublin Voivodeship in eastern Poland with 56,498 inhabitants It is the capital of Biała Podlaska County, although the city is not part of the county (it constitutes a separate city county). The city lies on ...
and
Brańsk
Brańsk (Podlachian language: ''Бранськ, Branśk'', , ) is a town in eastern Poland. It is situated within Podlaskie Voivodeship (province).
Etymology
The name of the town comes from the river Bronka, a nearby tributary of the Nurzec River ...
to the ground among other towns. On 20 May, news of the
Dano-Swedish War reached Charles X Gustav and the king decided to march towards
Swedish Pomerania, leaving
Gustaf Otto Stenbock in charge.
June
The army then marched towards
Warsaw
Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
, burning the towns of
Mielnik,
Drohiczyn,
Nur,
Brok, and
Pniewo. On 17 June, after a three-day siege, Rákóczi and Stenbock captured Warsaw. Swedish forces remained in Warsaw only for a few days, as on 22 June they left the city for
Stettin
Szczecin ( , , ; ; ; or ) is the capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the German border, it is a major seaport, the largest city of northwestern Poland, and se ...
, to join the war against Denmark. Since Rákóczi was well aware of the real quality of his army, he decided to abandon Warsaw as well, and head southeast.
July
Following an order of the Polish King
John II Casimir Vasa, the Transylvanians were followed by a 10,000-strong
Stefan Czarniecki
Stefan Czarniecki (Polish: of the Łodzia coat of arms, 1599 – 16 February 1665) was a Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Polish szlachta, nobleman, general and military commander. In his career, he rose from a petty nobleman to a magnate hol ...
's mounted army, supported by 's Lithuanians and Austrian allies. Simultaneously,
Jerzy Lubomirski's forces organized a revenge invasion of Transylvania, with widespread looting and destruction of Rákóczi's realm. On 8 July 1657 in Lancut, Polish leaders decided to split their forces. Stefan Czarniecki was to follow Rákóczi, while Jerzy Lubomirski and
Stanisław "Rewera" Potocki were to cut the Transylvanians and Cossacks from crossing the border and escaping Poland. On 11 July Czarniecki partly destroyed the Transylvanian army in the
Battle of Magierów. On 16 July, the Polish armies united and on 20 July Rákóczi was defeated in the
Battle of Czarny Ostrów.
= Rákóczi capitulates
=
After the defeat and subsequent retreat of his Cossack allies, Rákóczi withdrew towards the
Podolian town of Miedzyboz, where he capitulated to Jerzy Lubomirski (23 July), promising to break his alliance with Sweden, abandon the cities of Kraków and Brest Litovsk, and pay a contribution in the total amount of over 4 million
złotys.
= Final blow by the Crimean Tatars
=
Polish commanders allowed his forces to march towards Transylvania, but on 26 July, Rákóczi was attacked by the
Crimean Tatars
Crimean Tatars (), or simply Crimeans (), are an Eastern European Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group and nation indigenous to Crimea. Their ethnogenesis lasted thousands of years in Crimea and the northern regions along the coast of the Blac ...
, who at that time were Poland–Lithuania's allies. Rákóczi abandoned his army, leaving it in the hands of
János Kemény. The Transylvanian camp, located near
Trembowla, was captured by the Tatars on 31 July. Some 500 were killed, and about 11,000 Transylvanians were captured and taken to the Crimea. As a result, Rákóczi's army ceased to exist.
Depositions and reinstatements
On 3 November 1657, at the command of the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
(to which Transylvania was tributary), the
Diet deposed him for undertaking an unauthorized war and replaced him by
Francis Rhédey. But in January 1658 he was reinstated by a new session of the Diet at Medgyes. Again he was deposed by the Turkish
Grand Vizier
Grand vizier (; ; ) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. It was first held by officials in the later Abbasid Caliphate. It was then held in the Ottoman Empire, the Mughal Empire, the Soko ...
, and again reinstated as if nothing had happened.
War with the Ottomans
Finally the Turks invaded Transylvania, and Rákóczi died at Nagyvárad of wounds received at the
battle of Gyalu (May 1660).
Family
References
Sources
*
*
*
*Okmanytár II Rákóczi György diplomaciai összeköttetéseihez
esources about George Rákóczi's diplomatic relations(letters etc.).(1874).Editor: Szilágyi, Sandor. Budapest, Eggenberger fele akadémiai konyvkereskedes
*
*''Encyclopedia of Ukraine'' Editor in Chief Vladimir Kubiiovych. - Paris, New York: Young Life, 1954–1989.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rakoczi, George 02
Princes of Transylvania
1621 births
1660 deaths
People from Sárospatak
George 02
17th-century Hungarian people