The Szapolyai or Zápolya family was a

noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Gr ...

family in the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

in the second half of the 15th century and in the early 16th century. A member of the family, John Szapolyai, was

King of Hungary The King of Hungary () was the Monarchy, ruling head of state of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1000 (or 1001) to 1918. The style of title "Apostolic King of Hungary" (''Magyarország apostoli királya'') was endorsed by Pope Clement XIII in 1758 ...

between 1526 and 1540, but he only ruled the central and eastern parts of the kingdom, because many Hungarian lords and prelates supported his opponent, Ferdinand of Habsburg.

Origins

The first known member of the family was one Ladislaus Vajdafi Szapolyai, who was a

Slavonia Slavonia (; ) is, with Dalmatia, Croatia proper, and Istria County, Istria, one of the four Regions of Croatia, historical regions of Croatia. Located in the Pannonian Plain and taking up the east of the country, it roughly corresponds with f ...

n nobleman with estates in former

Požega County Požega County (; ) was a historic administrative subdivision (''Counties of Croatia, županija'') of the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia. Croatia-Slavonia was an autonomous kingdom within the Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen (Transleithania ...

. Most notably the today small eponymous village Zapolje in

Rešetari Rešetari is a naselje, village and a municipality in Brod-Posavina County, Croatia. Demographics In 2021, the municipality had 3,852 residents in the following 7 settlements: *Adžamovci, population 446 *Brđani, Brod-Posavina County, Brđani, p ...

municipality,

Brod-Posavina county Brod-Posavina County () is the southern Slavonian county in Croatia. Its center is the city of Slavonski Brod and it spreads along the left bank of the Sava river, hence the name '' Posavina''. Other notable towns include Nova Gradiška. Geograp ...

. His eldest son, Emeric, was the first member of the family to achieve the status of "true baron of the realm" when

Matthias Corvinus Matthias Corvinus (; ; ; ; ; ) was King of Hungary and King of Croatia, Croatia from 1458 to 1490, as Matthias I. He is often given the epithet "the Just". After conducting several military campaigns, he was elected King of Bohemia in 1469 and ...

, appointed him high treasurer in 1459 or 1460. The sudden emergence of Emeric and his two brothersNicholas and

Stephen Stephen or Steven is an English given name, first name. It is particularly significant to Christianity, Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; he is w ...

during Matthias Corvinus's reign gave rise to scholarly theories about their kinship with the royal

Hunyadi family The House of Hunyadi was one of the most powerful noble families in the Kingdom of Hungary during the 15th century. A member of the family, Matthias Corvinus, was King of Hungary from 1458 until 1490, King of Bohemia (ruling in Moravia, Low ...

. The joint appearance of the Szapolyai, Hunyadi and Szilágyi coat-of-arms in certain places also support this theory, taking into account that Matthias Corvinus's mother was Elizabeth Szilágyi. The Szapolyai coat-of-arms (which depicted a wolf) appears together with the Hunyadi coat-of-arms on the tomb of Matthias Corvinus's father,

John Hunyadi John Hunyadi (; ; ; ; ; – 11 August 1456) was a leading Kingdom of Hungary, Hungarian military and political figure during the 15th century, who served as Regent of Hungary, regent of the Kingdom of Hungary (1301–1526), Kingdom of Hungary ...

, and with the Hunyadi and Szilágyi coat-of-arms in the Dominican monastery in

Buda Buda (, ) is the part of Budapest, the capital city of Hungary, that lies on the western bank of the Danube. Historically, “Buda” referred only to the royal walled city on Castle Hill (), which was constructed by Béla IV between 1247 and ...

and on a well in Matthias Corvinus's summer palace in Visegrád. According to one theory, John Hunyadi's mother was born to the Szapolyai family; according to a concurring scholarly view, Emeric Szapolyai was Matthias Corvinus's half-brother. None of the theories can be proven, because no member of the Szapolyai family referred to his kinship with the Hunyadis.

Notable members

Emeric Zápolya Emeric Zápolya or Imre Szapolyai (; died September 1487), was the Ban of Croatia, Ban of Croatia, Dalmatia and Slavonia between 1464 and 1465 and Palatine of Hungary, Palatine of the Kingdom of Hungary between 1486 and 1487. Notes Sources

...

* Stephen Zápolya * George Zápolya *

Barbara Zápolya Barbara Zápolya (, , 1495–1515) was Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania as the first wife of Sigismund I the Old from 1512 to 1515. Marriage to Barbara represented an alliance between Sigismund and the House of Zápolya against ...

, Queen of Poland *

John Zápolya John Zápolya or Szapolyai (; ; ; ; 1487 – 22 July 1540), was King of Hungary (as John I) from 1526 to 1540. His rule was disputed by Archduke Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor, Ferdinand I, who also claimed the title King of Hungary. He wa ...

, King of Hungary *

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 ...

, King of Hungary and Prince of Transylvania

References

Sources

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zapolya family

Origins

Notable members

See also

References

Sources