Count Tamás Erdődy de Monyorókerék et Monoszló (, ; 1558 – 17 January 1624), also anglicised as Thomas Erdődy, was a Hungarian-Croatian nobleman, who served as

Ban of Croatia Ban of Croatia () was the title of local rulers or office holders and after 1102, viceroys of Croatia. From the earliest periods of the Croatian state, some provinces were ruled by Ban (title), bans as a ruler's representative (viceroy) and sup ...

between 1583-1595 and 1608-1615 and a member of the

Erdődy The House of Erdődy de Monyorókerék et Monoszló (also House of Erdödy) is the name of an old Hungarian people, Hungarian-Croats, Croatian noble family with possessions in Kingdom of Hungary, Hungary and Kingdom of Croatia (Habsburg), Croati ...

magnate The term magnate, from the late Latin ''magnas'', a great man, itself from Latin ''magnus'', "great", means a man from the higher nobility, a man who belongs to the high office-holders or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or ot ...

family. He scored significant victories in wars against 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 ...

's armies.

Biography

Tamás Erdődy was born in 1558 as the son of former ban

Péter Erdődy Péter II Erdődy (; 1504–1567) (Erdődy: a Hungarian noble family in the Kingdom of Hungary and Croatia since the Middle Ages) was the Ban of Croatia from 1557 to 1567 and the founding member of the Croatian branch of the Erdődy noble family ...

and Margit Tahy. He had two siblings. He married Maria Ungnad, the daughter of Croatian ban Krsto Ungnad, they had three sons (including ban

Zsigmond Erdődy 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 ...

) and four daughters. Through his sons, Tamás Erdődy was also a grandfather of Hungarian nobles György Erdődy and Imre Erdődy.Markó, László: ''A magyar állam főméltóságai Szent Istvántól napjainkig - Életrajzi Lexikon''. (2nd edition); Helikon Kiadó Kft., 2006, Budapest; . p. 354. He succeeded his father-in-law Krsto Ungnad as Ban of Croatia in 1583. His first victory occurred at the battle of Slunj in 1584. In 1591 he freed the

Moslavina Moslavina (), also known as Monoszló in Hungarian, is a microregion in Croatia centered on the central mountain of Moslavačka gora. It is administratively divided by the counties of Zagreb, Sisak-Moslavina and Bjelovar-Bilogora. The main cit ...

region. In 1592 he suffered his only great defeat at the battle of Brest. When Ottoman forces tried to retake the area in 1593, the

battle of Sisak The Battle of Sisak was fought on 22 June 1593 between Ottoman Bosnian forces and a combined Christian army from the Habsburg lands, mainly the Kingdom of Croatia and Inner Austria. The battle took place at Sisak, central Croatia, at the confl ...

ensued in which the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

defeated the

, severely hampering the Ottoman's ability to expand further into

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and triggering the

Long Turkish War The Long Turkish War (, ), Long War (; , ), or Thirteen Years' War was an indecisive land war between the Holy Roman Empire (primarily the Habsburg monarchy) and the Ottoman Empire, primarily over the principalities of Wallachia, Transylvania, ...

. For this victory Erdődy received congratulations from

Pope Clement VIII Pope Clement VIII (; ; 24 February 1536 – 3 March 1605), born Ippolito Aldobrandini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 30 January 1592 to his death in March 1605. Born in Fano, Papal States to a prominen ...

and was knighted into the Order of Saint Saviour by

Philip II of Spain Philip II (21 May 152713 September 1598), sometimes known in Spain as Philip the Prudent (), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from 1580, and King of Naples and List of Sicilian monarchs, Sicily from 1554 until his death in 1598. He ...

. The phrase "''In deo vici''" (

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

: ''In god I have won'') is attributed to him following the victory in Sisak. TamasErdodyInPrayer

He left his role as ban in 1595. He served as

master of the stewards The master of the stewards or master of the table (, , and ) was one of the high officials of the royal household in the Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 ...

between 1598 and 1603 then

master of the treasury The master of the treasury or treasurerSegeš 2002, p. 316.Rady 2000, p. 113. (Fallenbüchl 1988, p. 80. or , ,Zsoldos 2011, p. 61. , or , )General Encyclopedia of the Yugoslav Lexicographical Institute, second edition, sixth volume SKA-ŽV. p 3 ...

between 1603 and 1608. He participated in

Stephen Bocskay Stephen Bocskai or Bocskay (, ; 1 January 155729 December 1606) was Prince of Transylvania and Hungary from 1605 to 1606. He was born to a Hungarian noble family. His father's estates were located in the eastern regions of the medieval Kingdom ...

's War of Independence as an ally of the Habsburgs. Meanwhile, he was also a

perpetual count A perpetual count (, )Nemes 1989, p. 81. was a head or an ''ispán'' of a county in the Kingdom of Hungary (“Lord Lieutenant”) whose office was either hereditary or attached to the dignity of a prelate or of a great officer of the realm. The ear ...

Varaždin County Varaždin County () is a county in Hrvatsko Zagorje. It is named after its county seat, the city of Varaždin. Geography The county contains the city of Varaždin, the towns of: Ivanec, Ludbreg, Lepoglava, Novi Marof and Varaždinske Top ...

since 1607, which position became hereditary since then, given to the Erdődy family. Erdődy reclaimed the position of ban from 1608 to 27 November 1614 when he renounced his position, but held his rank at the request of the

Croatian Parliament The Croatian Parliament () or the Sabor is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Croatia. Under the terms of the Constitution of Croatia, Croatian Constitution, the Sabor represents the nation, people and is vested with legislative power. ...

until a new Ban, Benedek Thuróczy, was named on 16 February 1615.Ferdo Šišić, Povijest Hrvata; pregled povijesti hrvatskog naroda 600. - 1918., Zagreb, p. 310 Following that, Erdődy was made master of the treasury, holding the office until his death on 17 January 1624. During his lifetime he ran for the position of

Palatine of Hungary The Palatine of Hungary ( or , , ) was the highest-ranking office in the Kingdom of Hungary from the beginning of the 11th century to 1848. Initially, Palatines were representatives of the monarchs, later (from 1723) the vice-regent (vi ...

twice (1596, 1611), but the Protestant estates prevented his election referring to his "religious intolerance".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Erdody, Tamas Bans of Croatia Masters of the treasury (Kingdom of Hungary) Military commanders of Croatian kingdoms Tamas Counts of Croatia 16th-century Croatian nobility 16th-century Hungarian nobility 1558 births 1624 deaths Masters of the stewards Burials at Zagreb Cathedral