Pál Márkházy
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Pál Márkházy, or Márkházi (died before 18 August 1595) was a Hungarian nobleman who tried to seize the Principality of Transylvania against
Sigismund Báthory Sigismund Báthory (; 1573 – 27 March 1613) was Prince of Transylvania several times between 1586 and 1602, and Duchy of Racibórz, Duke of Racibórz and Duchy of Opole, Opole in Silesia in 1598. His father, Christopher Báthory, ruled Transy ...
in 1581.


Early life

Pál Márkházy was born to a Hungarian noble family, named for Márkháza in
Nógrád County Nógrád (, ; ) is a counties of Hungary, county () of Hungary. It sits on the northern edge of Hungary and borders Slovakia. Description Nógrád county lies in northern Hungary. It shares borders with Slovakia and the Hungarian counties Pest ( ...
. His early life is undocumented. His relative, Orsolya Márkházy, was the wife of the commander of the fortress at Ajnácskő (now
Hajnáčka Hajnáčka (formerly: ; ; ) is a village and municipality in the Rimavská Sobota District of the Banská Bystrica Region of southern Slovakia. History In historical records the village was first mentioned in 1245 as ''Danuskue'' (1255 ''Kues'', ...
in Slovakia). The Ottomans captured her husband and she appointed Márkházy to command the garrison. After the Ottomans occupied the fortress on 24 April 1556, Márkházy was accused of treachery and his estates were confiscated in
Royal Hungary Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Roy ...
. He fled to
John Sigismund Zápolya John Sigismund Zápolya or Szapolyai (; 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 the only son of John I, King o ...
's "
Eastern Hungarian Kingdom The Eastern Hungarian Kingdom ( ) is a modern term coined by some historians to designate the realm of John Zápolya and his son John Sigismund Zápolya, who contested the claims of the House of Habsburg to rule the Kingdom of Hungary from 1526 ...
" and settled in Transylvania. Márkházy married the widow of Stanislaus Niszovzky, who had been a Polish courtier of Zápolya and Zápolya's mother, Queen Isabella. His wife, Saphira (or Zamfira), was the daughter of a
prince of Wallachia This is a list of princes of Wallachia, from the first mention of a medieval polity situated between the Southern Carpathians and the Danube until the union with Moldavia in 1859, which unification of Moldavia and Wallachia, led to the creation of ...
. Historian Sándor Papp associates her father with
Mircea the Shepherd Mircea the Shepherd (; died 25 September 1559) was the Voivode (or Prince) of Wallachia three times: January 1545 (he entered Bucharest on 17 March)–16 November 1552; May 1553–28 February 1554 (leaving Bucharest that March); and Jan ...
, who had ruled the principality from 1545 to 1552 and from 1553 to 1554.


Diplomat

Márkházy visited Istanbul several times. In the spring of 1575, he went to the Ottoman capital to buy horses and also to conduct business on behalf of Zápolya's successor,
Stephen Báthory Stephen Báthory (; ; ; 27 September 1533 – 12 December 1586) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania (1576–1586) as well as Prince of Transylvania, earlier Voivode of Transylvania (1571–1576). The son of Stephen VIII Báthory ...
. On this occasion, Márkházy met with David Ungnad, who was
Emperor Maximilian II Maximilian II (31 July 1527 – 12 October 1576) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1564 until his death in 1576. A member of the Austrian House of Habsburg, he was crowned King of Bohemia in Prague on 14 May 1562 and elected King of Germany (Kin ...
's ambassador. He convinced Ungnad that he had been baselesly accused of treachery, but he could not achieve the return of his confiscated estates. Márkházy was accused of treating his wife badly. Stephen Báthory's brother and deputy,
Christopher Báthory Christopher Báthory (; 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 administered the east ...
, ordered him to separate from his wife. Márkházy was also captured and held in prison for four years, but his wrongdoings were not proved. He decided to appeal to Stephen Báthory, but instead of visiting the king in Poland, he fled to the Ottoman Empire around 1578.


In Ottoman service

Márkházy received a ''
ziamet Ziamet was a form of land tenure in the Ottoman Empire, consisting in grant of lands or revenues by the Ottoman Sultan to an individual in compensation for their services, especially military services. The ziamet system was introduced by Osman I, ...
'' estate in
Syrmia Syrmia (Ekavian sh-Latn-Cyrl, Srem, Срем, separator=" / " or Ijekavian sh-Latn-Cyrl, Srijem, Сријем, label=none, separator=" / ") is a region of the southern Pannonian Plain, which lies between the Danube and Sava rivers. It is div ...
in
Ottoman Hungary Ottoman Hungary () encompassed the parts of the Kingdom of Hungary which were under the rule of the Ottoman Empire from the occupation of Buda in 1541 until the Treaty of Karlowitz in 1699. The territory was incorporated into the empire, under ...
. A rumor about the death of Christopher Báthory reached Istanbul in the second half of 1580. The influential
Koca Sinan Pasha Koca Sinan Pasha (, "Sinan the Great", ; c. 1506 – 3 April 1596) was an Albanian-born Ottoman Grand Vizier, military figure, and statesman. From 1580 until his death he served five times as Grand Vizier. Early life Sinan Pasha, also known ...
proposed Márkházy to achieve his appointment to rule Transylvania if he were willing to increase the annual tribute payable to the
Sublime Porte The Sublime Porte, also known as the Ottoman Porte or High Porte ( or ''Babıali''; ), was a synecdoche or metaphor used to refer collectively to the central government of the Ottoman Empire in Istanbul. It is particularly referred to the buildi ...
, but the rumor proved false. Fearing of Márkházy's ambitions, the Diet of Transylvania elected the ailing Christopher Báthory's minor son,
Sigismund Sigismund (variants: Sigmund, Siegmund) is a German proper name, meaning "protection through victory", from Old High German ''sigu'' "victory" + ''munt'' "hand, protection". Tacitus latinises it ''Segimundus''. There appears to be an older form of ...
, his co-ruler. Christopher Báthory died on 27 May 1581. Sinan Pasha had not returned from a military campaign against
Safavid Persia The Guarded Domains of Iran, commonly called Safavid Iran, Safavid Persia or the Safavid Empire, was one of the largest and longest-lasting Iranian empires. It was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often considered the beg ...
and the Imperial Council decided to confirm Sigismund Báthory's accession in his absence in early July. The Sultan's envoy departed from Istanbul to deliver the princely insignia to Sigismund. Sinan Pasha returned to Istanbul before 12 July. Márkházy soon approached him, offering 60,000 forints as a personal gift to him, and also proposing 100,000 forints as a single payment and the increase of the annual tribute from 15,000 to 100,000 forints. Sinan Pasha accepted the offer and Márkházy entered into negotiations with the
Phanariote Phanariots, Phanariotes, or Fanariots (, , ) were members of prominent Greek families in Phanar (Φανάρι, modern ''Fener''), the chief Greek quarter of Constantinople where the Ecumenical Patriarchate is located, who traditionally occupied ...
bankers about a loan to finance the transaction. A new Ottoman envoy was sent to Transylvania who demanded the same tribute that Márkházy had promised. The Diet refused to increase the annual tribute, but the Sultan's envoy handed over the princely insignia to Sigismund Báthory. Learning of the Transylvanians' disobedience, the Imperial Council decided to replace Sigismund Báthory with Márkházy on 20 August 1581. Sinan Pasha's opponents knew that Stephen Báthory who ruled 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 ...
would not allow to expel his nephew from Transylvania and they wanted to avoid an armed conflict with him. After the Transylvanian envoys who came to Istanbul to deliver the annual tribute agreed to increase it by 1,000 thalers, their offer was accepted. Sinan Pasha fell into disgrace and was imprisoned on 6 December 1582. Márkházy was also imprisoned, but Stephen Báthory could not achieve his extradition and he was released in 1583. Márkházy converted to Islam either during his captivity to avoid capital punishment, or soon after his release. İbrahim bey, as Márkházy was named after his conversion, ruled several ''
sanjak A sanjak or sancak (, , "flag, banner") was an administrative division of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans also sometimes called the sanjak a liva (, ) from the name's calque in Arabic and Persian. Banners were a common organization of nomad ...
s'' (or districts) in Ottoman Hungary and Croatia. He administered
Simontornya Simontornya is a town in Tolna County, Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the eas ...
from 1585 to 1587, he stayed in Zvornik from 1587 to 1589, and he was transferred to Borosjenő near the Transylvanian border (now
Ineu Ineu (; ) is a town in Arad County, western Transylvania, Romania. It is situated at a distance of from the county capital, Arad, it occupies a surface at the contact point of Crișul Alb Basin and Crișurilor Plateau. Ineu is the main entranc ...
in Romania) in the spring of 1589. According to the English diplomat, Edward Barton, İbrahim bey did much harm to his native country.


References


Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Markhazy, Pal Hungarian nobility in Transylvania 16th-century Hungarian nobility Converts to Sunni Islam from Christianity Hungarian Muslims