Stephen VII Báthory ( hu, Báthory István, links=no; died 3 May 1530) was a Hungarian nobleman and commander. His most prestigious position was

Palatine of Hungary The Palatine of Hungary ( hu, nádor or , german: Landespalatin, la, palatinus regni Hungariae) was the highest-ranking office in the Kingdom of Hungary from the beginning of the 11th century to 1848. Initially, Palatines were represe ...

. Stephen belonged to the Ecsed branch of the Báthory family. His father was Andrew Báthory and his uncle was

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 (1576–1 ...

, Hungarian commander and later Voivod of Transylvania. Stephen was Count of Temesvár and in 1514 fought against the rebellion of György Dózsa. He was elected

in 1519 but the opposition of the nobility, which accused him of avarice and licentiousness, resulted in his being temporarily deposed in 1523 and 1525. In 1526 fought in the disastrous

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 ...

against the Turks, in which King Louis II fell. Stephen managed to escape and became one of the leaders of the pro-Austrian party that wanted to honour the alliance between now extinct royal family and the

Habsburg dynasty 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 ...

. Together with King Louis' widow Queen Mary, he fled to Preßburg, where he organized the election of Ferdinand of Austria as King of Hungary. His siding with the Habsburgs cost him all his possessions within Turkish-controlled Hungary, for which Ferdinand compensated him with the castle Theben. Stephen married Sophia, daughter of the

Piast The House of Piast was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. The first documented Polish monarch was Duke Mieszko I (c. 930–992). The Piasts' royal rule in Poland ended in 1370 with the death of king Casimir III the Great. Branch ...

Conrad Duke of Masovia. Their daughter Clara was engaged to be married to Duke Carl of Münsterberg but died before the marriage, in 1535. Their son George was the father of

Elizabeth Báthory Countess Elizabeth Báthory de Ecsed ( hu, Báthori Erzsébet, ; sk, Alžbeta Bátoriová; 7 August 1560 – 21 August 1614) was a Hungarian noblewoman and alleged serial killer from the family of Báthory, who owned land in the Kingdom of ...

. Stephen died in Theben.

See also