Moses Székely

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Mózes Székely

Moses Székely (Hungarian: Székely Mózes; c. 1553 – 17 July 1603) was Prince of Transylvania in 1603.

He was a military leader under Prince

Habsburg general Giorgio Basta. In April 1603, Székely instigated the native Transylvanian forces to rebel and, with the support of Turkish-Tartarian auxiliary forces, routed Basta's troops. On 8 May 1603, Székely claimed the title of a Prince of Transylvania, but his rule proved unstable, as his Tartarian mercenaries outdid Basta's troops in cruelty and Radu Șerban, the new Voivode of Wallachia
attacked as an ally of the Habsburgs.

Mózes' own kinsmen, the Székely, joined forces with the invaders, who defeated and killed Mózes in the Battle of Brașov on 17 July 1603. Radu withdrew to Wallachia, making way for a return of Basta's mercenaries. Székely was the only Székely monarch of the Transylvanian Principality.

Early life

Moses Székely was born in

Székelyudvarhely (now Odorheiu Secuiesc in Romania) around 1553.[1][2] His father, János Literáti Székely, was a Székely nobleman (or primipilus).[1][2] His mother is unknown.[1][2] Moses had three brothers, István, János and Péter.[1][2]

John Sigismund Zápolya, who ruled the eastern territories of the medieval Kingdom of Hungary as vassal of the Ottoman Empire, made János Literáti the ispán (or head) of the chamber of salt in 1568.[1] According to the Transylvanian historian, István Szamosközy, Moses traded in salt in his youth.[3] After John Sigismund converted to Unitarianism in the late 1560s, Moses was one of the many Székely noblemen who also adopted the Anti-Trinitarian doctrine.[4]

Career

After the death of John Sigismund, the Diet of Transylvania elected

Radnót (now Iernut in Romania) with a sword in his mouth and killed one of Bekes's warriors in a duel.[8] His bravery was noticed by Báthory who made him the commander of his Székely guards.[9] Moses Székely was the first to lead an attack against Bekes's army in the decisive Battle of Kerelőszentpál, which ended with Báthory's triumph on 8 July.[10]

Stephen Báthory was elected ruler of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth on 15 December 1575.[11] Moses accompanied Báthory to Poland.[12] He was one of the commanders of the infantry during the siege of Danzig in 1577.[13] He was injured on his knee during the siege of Polotsk in August 1579.[14] He also participated in the siege of Pskov in 1581.[15] However, he had to leave the army after he cut the ear of a Hungarian nobleman in a duel.[15]

Moses was made the ispán of the salt mine at

Lövéte in the Principality of Transylvania (now Șimonești and Lueta in Romania) were granted to him.[17] His manor house was built in Siménfalva.[16] Moses married in late December 1584, but his wife died in the following year.[18] Historian Lukács Sándor Szekeres says that his wife is unknown,[18] but Judit Balogh associates her with Elisabeth Bodoni, a daughter of the captain of Udvarhelyszék.[19] Moses was mentioned as ispán for the last time on 5 February 1591, but he may have retained this office until 1594 or 1595, according to Szekeres.[20]

The Serbs who lived in the

Facsád (now Făget in Romania) without awaiting the arrival of the infantry.[22] The Transylvanian cavalry could not break into the fortress and Moses was injured which forced him to lift the siege on 30 November.[22] Moses never made a full recovery from the injury and he remained lame for the rest of his life.[22]

Moses participated in the war against the Ottomans in

Libaton in March 1598.[27]

Anarchy

Sigismund Báthory abdicated and transferred Transylvania to the

Voivode of Wallachia, asked the emperor to send Moses Székely to him to take charge of the command of the Wallachian army.[29]

Moses started secret negotiations with Sigismund Báthory's uncle,

István Bocskai, about the restoration of Báthory.[30] After Sigismund returned to Kolozsvár on 21 August 1598, Moses persuaded the Székely warriors to swear fealty to Sigismund in Szászsebes (now Sebeș in Romania).[30] Báthory sent Moses Székely and István Csáky at the head of an army against Várad (now Oradea in Romania), because its captain refused to do homage to him.[31] Before their arrival, an Ottoman army laid siege to Várad.[31] Moses and his Székely warriors routed a band of Ottoman and Tatar marauders near the town, and the Ottoman army withdrew from the principality.[31]

Sigismund Báthory again renounced Transylvania on 21 March 1599, but on this occasion in favor of his cousin,

Battle of Sellenberk.[35] After the battle was lost, Moses Székely sought shelter in the fortress of Görgény (now Gurghiu in Romania) on 29 October 1599.[36] Andrew Báthory, who tried to flee to Poland, was murdered by Székely commoners on 3 November.[36]

Rudolph II made Michael the Brave his governor in Transylvania.[37] After Michael appointed him the supreme commander of the Transylvanian army, Moses Székely joined him in Gyulafehérvár, but he had left his wife in Marosvásárhely (now Târgu Mureș in Romania) in the custody of her father.[38] Before long, Michael the Brave granted Teke and Mezőszilvás (now Teaca and Silivașu de Câmpie in Romania), and other estates in Kolozs County to Moses and his son.[39] On 24 January 1600, Michael the Brave issued a new charter, confirming the possessions that Moses had seized in Transylvania during the rule of the Báthorys.[40] On the other hand, the voivode who did not trust Moses always asked Rudolph's envoys not to talk about confidential issues if Moses was also attained their meeting.[41]

Michael the Brave invaded Moldavia in May 1600.[42] Moses, who had been made captain of Udvarhelyszék, was one of the commanders of Michael's troops.[42] After Michael returned to Transylvania, Moses stayed behind in Moldavia to command the voivode's army along with a Wallachian boyar, Mirza.[43] Michael could not stabilize his rule in Transylvania, although he forced more than a dozen Transylvanian noblemen to move to Wallachia.[43] Moses Székely returned to Transylvania in late summer 1600 to meet Gáspár Sibrik, György Makó and other Transylvanian noblemen in Burzenland.[44] Michael the Brave summoned them to the Diet to Gyulafehérvár in late August, but Moses and his allies fled to Poland to convince Sigismund Báthory to again lay claim to Transylvania.[45]

Family

Moses's elder son, Stephen, was only mentioned in Michael the Brave's charter on 1 December 1599, which shows that he died in infancy.[46] His younger son, Moses the Younger was born after his death.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Balogh 2012, p. 190.
  2. ^ a b c d Szekeres 2007, p. 34.
  3. ^ Szekeres 2007, p. 36.
  4. ^ Keul 2009, pp. 125–126.
  5. ^ Granasztói 1981, p. 401.
  6. ^ a b Barta 1994, p. 260.
  7. ^ Keul 2009, p. 126.
  8. ^ Szekeres 2007, p. 51.
  9. ^ Szekeres 2007, pp. 51–52.
  10. ^ Szekeres 2007, p. 52.
  11. ^ Barta 1994, p. 261.
  12. ^ Szekeres 2007, p. 55.
  13. ^ Szekeres 2007, pp. 55–56.
  14. ^ Szekeres 2007, p. 56.
  15. ^ a b Szekeres 2007, p. 57.
  16. ^ a b Szekeres 2007, p. 93.
  17. ^ Szekeres 2007, pp. 57, 93.
  18. ^ a b Szekeres 2007, p. 95.
  19. ^ Balogh 2012, p. 191.
  20. ^ Szekeres 2007, p. 100.
  21. ^ a b Szekeres 2007, p. 115.
  22. ^ a b c d Szekeres 2007, p. 116.
  23. ^ Balogh 2012, p. 192.
  24. ^ a b Szekeres 2007, p. 118.
  25. ^ Szekeres 2007, p. 119.
  26. ^ a b Szekeres 2007, p. 129.
  27. ^ Szekeres 2007, p. 133.
  28. ^ a b Szekeres 2007, p. 134.
  29. ^ a b Szekeres 2007, p. 135.
  30. ^ a b Szekeres 2007, p. 136.
  31. ^ a b c Szekeres 2007, p. 137.
  32. ^ Szekeres 2007, p. 138.
  33. ^ a b Szekeres 2007, p. 141.
  34. ^ Szekeres 2007, p. 142.
  35. ^ Szekeres 2007, p. 143.
  36. ^ a b Szekeres 2007, p. 144.
  37. ^ Szekeres 2007, p. 147.
  38. ^ Szekeres 2007, p. 148.
  39. ^ Szekeres 2007, p. 149.
  40. ^ Szekeres 2007, p. 150.
  41. ^ Szekeres 2007, p. 151.
  42. ^ a b Szekeres 2007, p. 152.
  43. ^ a b Szekeres 2007, p. 153.
  44. ^ Szekeres 2007, p. 154.
  45. ^ Szekeres 2007, pp. 154–155.
  46. ^ Szekeres 2007, pp. 149–150.

Sources

Further reading

  • Magyarország története 1526-1686. Akadémiai, Bp. 1985.
  • Jerzy Topolski: Lengyelország története. Gondolat, Bp. 1989.
  • Markó László: A magyar állam főméltóságai Szent Istvántól napjainkig. 2., bőv., jav. kiadás. Bp. 2006.
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