Francis II Rákóczi

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Francis II Rákóczi
Prince of Transylvania, Ruling Prince of Hungary in wartime
St. Elisabeth Cathedral, Kassa, Kingdom of Hungary (now Košice, Slovakia)
Spouse	Sarolta Amália (Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Wanfried)
Issue	Leopold Rákóczi József Rákóczi György Rákóczi Sarolta Rákóczi
House	Rákóczi
Father	Francis I Rákóczi
Mother	Ilona Zrínyi
Signature

Francis II Rákóczi (

His name is historically also spelled Rákóczy, in Hungarian: II. Rákóczi Ferenc, in Slovak: František II. Rákoci, in German: Franz II. Rákóczi, in Croatian: Franjo II. Rákóczy (Rakoci, Rakoczy), in Romanian: Francisc Rákóczi al II-lea, in Serbian: Ференц II Ракоци.

Although the Hungarian parliament offered Rákóczi the royal crown, he refused it, choosing instead the temporary title of the "Ruling Prince of Hungary". Rákóczi intended to bear this military-sounding title only during the anti-Habsburg war of independence. By refusing the royal crown, he proclaimed to Hungary that it was not his personal ambition that drove the war of liberation against the Habsburg dynasty.

He was the richest landlord in the

Upon Ferenc I's death, his widow requested guardianship of her children; however, the advisors of Emperor Leopold I insisted that he retain guardianship of both Ferenc and his sister, especially as Francis I had willed this before death. Despite further difficulties, Zrínyi was able to raise her children, while the Emperor retained legal guardianship. The family lived in the castle of Munkács (today Mukacheve, in Ukraine), Sárospatak and Regéc until 1680, when Ferenc's paternal grandmother, Sofia Báthory, died. Then, they moved permanently into the castle of Munkács. Rákóczi retained strong affection for this place throughout his life. Aside from his mother, Rákóczi's key educators were György Kőrössy, castellan to the family, and János Badinyi.

In 1686 Antonio Carafa besieged their residence, the castle of Munkács. Zrínyi successfully led the defence of the castle for three years, but capitulated in 1688. The two Rákóczi children fell again under the guardianship of Leopold I, and moved to Vienna with their mother. They regained their possessions, but could not leave the city without the Emperor's permission.

At the age of 17, the Emperor emancipated Rákóczi from his mother, thereby allowing him to own property. His sister Julianna had interceded for him after marrying a powerful Austrian, General Aspremont. Rákóczi lived with the Aspremonts until his marriage in September 1694, to 15-year-old Princess Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Wanfried, daughter of Charles, Landgrave of Hesse-Wanfried and a descendant of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary. The couple moved to the Rákóczi castle at Sárospatak, where Rákóczi began to manage his properties.

The

As the House of Habsburg was on the verge of dying out in Spain, France was looking for allies in its fight against Austrian hegemony. Consequently, they established contact with Rákóczi and promised support if he took up the cause of Hungarian independence. An Austrian spy seized this correspondence and brought it to the attention of the Emperor. As a direct result of this, Rákóczi was arrested on 18 April 1700, and imprisoned in the fortress of Wiener Neustadt (south of Vienna). It became obvious during the preliminary hearings that, just as in the case of his grandfather Péter Zrínyi, the only possible sentence for Ferenc was death. With the aid of his pregnant wife Amelia and the prison commander, Rákóczi managed to escape and flee to Poland. Here he met with Bercsényi again, and together they resumed contact with the French court. Three years later, the War of the Spanish Succession caused a large part of the Austrian forces in the Kingdom of Hungary to temporarily leave the country. Taking advantage of the situation, Kuruc forces began a new uprising in Munkács, and Rákóczi was asked to head it. He decided to invest his energies in a war of national liberation, and accepted the request. On 15 June 1703, another group of about 3000 armed men headed by Tamás Esze joined him near the Polish city of Ławoczne. Bercsényi arrived too, with French funds and 600 Polish mercenaries.

Most of the Hungarian nobility did not support Rákóczi's uprising, because they considered it to be no more than a peasant rebellion. Rákóczi's famous call to the nobility of

This placed Rákóczi into a difficult military and financial situation. French support gradually diminished, and a larger army was needed to occupy the already-won land. Meanwhile, supplying the current army with arms and food was beyond his means. He tried to solve this problem by creating a new copper-based coinage, which was not easily accepted in Hungary as people were used to silver coins. Nevertheless, Rákóczi managed to maintain his military advantage for a while – but after 1706, his army was forced into retreat.

A meeting of the Hungarian Diet (consisting of 6 bishops, 36 aristocrats and about 1000 representatives of the lower nobility of 25 counties), held near Szécsény (Nógrád County) in September 1705, elected Rákóczi to be the "vezérlő fejedelem" – (ruling) prince – of the Confederated Estates of the Kingdom of Hungary, to be assisted by a 24-member Senate. Rákóczi and the Senate were assigned joint responsibility for the conduct of foreign affairs, including peace talks.

Encouraged by England and the Netherlands, peace talks started again on 27 October 1705 between the Hungarians and the Emperor. Both sides varied their strategy according to the military situation. One stumbling block was the sovereignty over Transylvania – neither side was prepared to give it up. Rákóczi's proposed treaty with the French was stalled, so he became convinced that only a declaration of independence would make it acceptable for various powers to negotiate with him. In 1706, his wife (whom he had not seen in 5 years, along with their sons József and György) and his sister were both sent as peace ambassadors, but Rákóczi rejected their efforts on behalf of the Emperor.

In 1707 during the

On Rákóczi's recommendation, and with Bercsényi's support, another meeting of the Diet held at Ónod (

At the

The Ottoman Empire signed the Peace Treaty of Passarowitz with Austria on 21 July 1718. Among its provisions was the refusal of the Turks to extradite the exiled Hungarians. Two years later, the Austrian envoy requested that the exiles be turned over, but the Sultan refused as a matter of honor. Rákóczi and his entourage were settled in the town of Tekirdağ (Rodostó in Hungarian), relatively distant from the Ottoman capital, and a large Hungarian colony grew up around this town on the Sea of Marmara. Bercsényi, Count Simon Forgách, Count Antal Esterházy, Count Mihály Csáky, Miklós Sibrik, Zsigmond Zay, the two Pápays, and Colonel Ádám Jávorka were among many who settled there, sharing the sentiment of the writer Kelemen Mikes, who said, "I had no special reason to leave my country, except that I greatly loved the Prince."

Rákóczi lived in the Turkish town of Tekirdağ for 18 years. He adopted a set routine: rising early, attending daily Mass, writing and reading in the mornings, and carpentry in the afternoons; visited occasionally by his son, György Rákóczi. Further military troubles in 1733 in Poland awakened his hopes of a possible return to Hungary, but they were not fulfilled. Rákóczi was 59 years old when he died on 8 April 1735.

Rákóczi's last will, dated 27 October 1733, left something to all his family members as well as to his fellow exiles. He left separate letters to be sent to the Sultan and to France’s Ambassador to Constantinople, asking them not to forget about his fellow exiles. His internal organs were buried in the Greek church of

On 26 September 1694 in Cologne, he married Landgravine Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Wanfried, member of the Hesse-Wanfried branch of the House of Hesse, eldest daughter of Charles, Landgrave of Hesse-Wanfried by his second wife, Countess Alexandrine Juliane of Leiningen-Dagsburg (1651-1703). They had:

• Lipót Lajos György Rákóczi (1696-1699)
• Munkács
  (1700-1738), never married but had an illegitimate daughter:
  • Maria Elisabeta (1736-1786), a nun (Sister Josephine Charlotte), lived and died in Paris, France
• György Rákóczi, Duke of Makovica (1701-1752), married firstly Marquise de Béthune and had one son; married secondly Marguerite Suzanne Pinthereau de Bois I’Isle (1702-1768).
  • György Rákóczi(1740-1743)
• Sárolta Rákóczi (1706-1706)

• Confession d'un pécheur, translated from Latin by Chrysostome Jourdain. Critical edition produced under the direction of Gábor Tüskés. Foreword by Jean Garapon, studies by Ferenc Tóth, Gábor Tüskés, Ildikó Gausz, Csenge E. Aradi and Zsuzsanna Hámori-Nagy. Prepared and reviewed by Michel Marty. Paris, Honoré Champion, 2020.
• Mémoires du prince François II Rákóczi sur la guerre de Hongrie depuis 1703 jusqu'a sa fin, translated by István Vas. Afterword and commentary by Béla Köpeczi; text established and critical apparatus by Ilona Kovács. Budapest, Akadémiai, 1978. (Archivum Rákóczianum)
• Testament politique et moral du prince François II Rákóczi, translated by Nándor Szávai and Ilona Kovács. Study and commentary by Béla Köpeczi; Latin text by István Borzsák; French texts and critical apparatus by Ilona Kovács. Budapest, Akadémiai, 1984. (Archivum Rákóczianum)
• Méditations du prince François II Rákóczi, Latin text established and annotated by Balázs Déri; French text established and annotated by Ilona Kovács; with a study and summaries by Gábor Tüskés. Budapest: Balassi, 1997. (Archivum Rákóczianum)
• Aspirations du prince François II Rákóczi, Latin text edited and annotated by Balázs Déri; French text edited and annotated by Ilona Kovács; translated by Gáspár Csóka and Balázs Déri; notes by Lajos Hopp. Budapest, Akadémiai, Balassi, 1994. (Archivum Rákóczianum)
• Ferenc Rákóczi II: Confessio Peccatoris. The confession of a sinner, translated by Bernard Adams, preface by Robert Evans, essay by Gábor Tüskés. Budapest, Corvina, 2019.
• Ferenc Rákóczi II: Memoirs, translated by Bernard Adams, essay by Gábor Tüskés. Budapest, Corvina, 2019.
• Correspondance de François II Rákóczi et de la Palatine Elżbieta Sieniawska 1704-1727, publ. with collaboration of Gábor Tüskés by Ilona Kovács and Béla Köpeczi, Budapest, Balassi Kiadó, 2004.

• Horváth, Réka, Agents in the News: English Envoys and Imperial Diplomats in the London Periodical Press during the Peace Negotiations of Rákóczi’s War of Independence (1704–06), Journal of European Periodical Studies 9 : 2 (2025) pp. 77-90.
• Takács, László, Some Important Corrections in the Manuscript of Rákóczi's Confessio Peccatoris before and after Accusation of Jansenism, In: Tüskés, Gábor; Christoph Schmitt-Maaß; Michel Marty (Hrsg.), Jansenisms and Literature in Central Europe / Jansenismen und Literatur in Mitteleuropa / Jansénismes et littérature en Europe centrale, Bern, Berlin, Bruxelles, Peter Lang, 2023, pp. 495-504.
• Csatáry, György, Military supplies and the population at the beginning of the Rákóczi war of independence (1703–1704), Ukraine: Cultural Heritage National Identity Statehood 35 (2022) pp. 25-38.
• Csatáry, György, The Rákóczi war of independence (1703–1711) and its cult in Berehove, Transcarpathia (Ukraine), Ukraine: Cultural Heritage National Identity Statehood 34 (2021) pp. 13-27.
• Tüskés, Gábor, The Re-Evaluation of Ferenc Rákóczi II's Confessio peccatoris, Neulateinisches Jahrbuch – Journal of Neo-Latin Language and Literature 23 : 2021, pp. 279-289.
• Tüskés, Gábor, Ferenc Rákóczi II: Mémoires, In: Ferenc Rákóczi II, Memoirs, Budapest, Corvina, 2019, pp. 225-240.
• Tüskés, Gábor, Ferenc Rákóczi II and Confessio peccatoris, In: Ferenc Rákóczi II, Confessio peccatoris, Budapest, Corvina, 2019, pp. 367-387.
• Tóth, Ferenc, Emigré or Exile? Francis Rákóczi II and His Exile in France and Turkey, In: Philip, Mansel; Torsten, Riotte (ed.), Monarchy and Exile: The Politics of Legitimacy from Marie de Médicis to Wilhelm II, London, Palgrave Macmillan, 2011, pp. 91-102.
• Tóth, Ferenc (ed.), Europe and Hungary in the Age of Ferenc II Rákóczi, Budapest, Károli Gáspár Református Egyetem, 2006.

• Early life
  • 27 March 1676 – Rákóczi is born.
  • 26 January 1699 –
    Emmeric Thököly
    and Ilona Zrínyi into exile.
  • 11 February 1701 – Negotiations begin with
    Louis XIV
    concerning the Hungarian struggle for independence.
  • February, 1701 – Correspondence is seized by an Austrian spy. Rákóczi is jailed, but escapes being sentenced to death.
• The War of Independence
  • 15 June 1703 – Rákóczi meets Tamás Esze and his army on the Hungarian border.
  • 26 September 1703 – Large portions of Hungary are under Rákóczi's control.
  • 13 August 1704 – The Habsburgs (with British help) defeat the combined French-Bavarian army, thus depriving Rákóczi of an important ally.
  • 15 May 1705 – Death of Emperor Leopold I, accession of Joseph I to the throne.
  • 20 September 1705 – The Diet of Szécsény proclaims Rákóczi as the ruling Prince and establishes a governing structure for the country.
  • 27 October 1705 – Peace negotiations begin.
  • 13 June 1707 – The Diet of
    House of Habsburg
    from the Hungarian throne.
• End of the war, peace treaty
  • 3 August 1708 – Kuruc defeated at the Battle of
    Trencsén
    .
  • 22 January 1710 – Battle of Romhány, one of the last battles of the war (a Kuruc loss, or a draw).
  • 21 February 1711 – Rákóczi goes into exile.
  • 1 May 1711 – Hungarian forces surrender near
    Szatmár
    .
• Exile
  • 13 January 1713 – Rákóczi arrives in Dieppe, France.
  • 10 October 1717 – Rákóczi arrives in Turkey.
  • 8 April 1735 – Dies in Tekirdağ.

Francis II is remembered a Hungarian national hero, and is honored in various ways by modern Hungarians.

His equestrian statue with the famous motto Cum Deo Pro Patria et Libertate ("With God for

In Hungary two villages bear the name of Rákóczi.

Mount Bovcar (today Bovtsars'kyy Verkh in present-day Ukraine) and the neighbouring Bovcar Spring was named by the local Rusyn people after Rákóczi who drank from the spring on 18 February 1711. Bovcar (Бовцар) means "the Tsar was here" in Rusyn language.

The library of

The house in which he lived has been transformed into Rákóczi Museum, Tekirdağ, open to the visitors every day except Mondays.

Rákóczi's portrait can be found on Hungarian banknotes. Before it was withdrawn from circulation, it was on the 50-forint note. Since then it has been transferred to the 500-forint note.

A well-known patriotic tune of the 18th–19th centuries (composer unknown) is named after Rákóczi, as it was reputed to be his favourite, although actually it was composed only in the 1730s. Hector Berlioz orchestrated the piece, and it was also used by Franz Liszt as the basis of his Hungarian Rhapsody No.15. The Rákóczy March remains a popular piece of Hungarian state and military celebrations.

• Executioner's Bastion
• Rákóczi's sculpture in Košice
• Count of St. Germain theorized as son