Sigismund Báthory
Sigismund Báthory | |
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Roman Catholic |
Sigismund Báthory (Hungarian: Báthory Zsigmond; 1573 – 27 March 1613) was Prince of Transylvania several times between 1586 and 1602, and Duke of Racibórz and Opole in Silesia in 1598. His father, Christopher Báthory, ruled Transylvania as voivode (or deputy) of the absent prince, Stephen Báthory. Sigismund was still a child when the Diet of Transylvania elected him voivode at his dying father's request in 1581. Initially, regency councils administered Transylvania on his behalf, but Stephen Báthory made János Ghyczy the sole regent in 1585. Sigismund adopted the title of prince after Stephen Báthory died.
The Diet proclaimed Sigismund to be of age in 1588, but only after he agreed to expel the
Early life
Sigismund was the son of
Sigismund's father and uncle were
Reign
Voivode
Christopher Báthory fell seriously ill after his wife's death.
The
Stephen Báthory who took charge of Sigismund's education confirmed the position of his Jesuit tutors, János Leleszi and Gergely Vásárhelyi.[9] According to Szamosközy, Stephen Báthory also ordered Sigismund's companions to talk of foreign lands, wars, and hunting with him during their dinners together.[9] He reorganized the government on 3 May 1583, charging Sándor Kendi, Farkas Kovacsóczy, and László Sombori with the administration of Transylvania during Sigismund's minority.[9][10] The Diet suggested to Stephen Báthory that he dismiss them, but he only dissolved the council on 1 May 1585.[11] He replaced the three councillors with the devout Calvinist János Ghyczy, making him regent for Sigismund.[1][11]
Prince under guardianship
Sigismund adopted the title of Prince of Transylvania after Stephen Báthory died on 13 December 1586.
Sigismund's cousins,
In October 1588 the Diet proposed to declare the sixteen-year-old Sigismund of age if he banished the Jesuits from Transylvania.[13] He did not accept the offer, mainly because he did not want to expel his confessor, Alfonso Carillo.[13] The Diet was dissolved, but Sigismund's cousins convinced him not to resist the Diet, which was dominated by Protestant delegates.[13] The Diet was again summoned in late 1588; on 8 December it ordered the expulsion of the Jesuits and declared Sigismund to be of age.[13][20]
Internal conflicts
Sigismund took the customary oath of the Transylvanian monarchs on 23 December 1588.
Sigismund made several attempts to strengthen the position of the Roman Catholic Church, especially by appointing Catholics to the highest positions of state administration.[23] Carillo and other Jesuit priests returned to Sigismund's court in disguise in early 1591.[20][24] Sigismund met Andrew and Balthasar Báthory in August to seek their support for the legalization of the Jesuits' presence, but they refused to stand by the priests at the Diet.[24]
Sigismund dispatched his favorite,
Gossip about conspiracies spread during the following months.[27] Sándor Kendi accused Sigismund's former tutor, János Gálffy, of deliberately stirring up debates between the prince and his cousins.[27] Other courtiers claimed that Balthasar Báthory was planning to dethrone Sigismund.[27] A Jesuit priest was informed at Vienna that Gálffy and his allies wanted to murder the prince and his cousins.[30] In late 1591 Sigismund stated that he was willing to renounce in favor of Balthasar if the members of the royal council favored his cousin.[31] His offer was refused, but during the debate Kendi referred to Sigismund and Balthasar as the "two monsters and greatest disasters of the Transylvanian realm".[31] Pope Clement VIII's legate, Attilio Amalteo, mediated a reconciliation between Sigismund and his cousins in the summer of 1592.[32] The pope also urged Sigismund to marry a Catholic princess from the House of Lorraine.[33]
At the demand of the sultan, Transylvania troops assisted
Murad III declared war against the
Pope Clement VIII wanted to persuade Sigismund to join the Holy League that the pope had organized against the Ottoman Empire.[36] After Rudolph's troops defeated the Ottomans in a series of battles in the autumn of 1593, Sigismund decided to join the Holy League, provided that Rudolph acknowledged the independence of Transylvania from the Hungarian Crown.[36][28][37] However, the delegates of the Three Nations refused to declare war against the Ottoman Empire at three consecutive Diets between May and July.[28][38] Sigismund abdicated, tasking Balthasar Báthory with the government in late July.[39] Balthasar wanted to seize the throne, but Kovacsóczy, Kendi, and the other leading officials decided to set up an aristocratic council to administer Transylvania.[40]
The commanders of the army (including Stephen Bocskai), and Friar Carillo jointly convinced Sigismund to return on 8 August.[28][39][40] They also persuaded him to order the arrest of Kovacsóczy, Kendi, Balthasar Báthory, and twelve other noblemen who had opposed the war against the Ottomans on 28 August, accusing them of plotting.[40][41] Sándor and Gábor Kendi were beheaded along with two other members of the royal council; Balthasar Báthory, Kovacsóczy, and Ferenc Kendi were strangled in prison.[28][42] All but one murdered noblemen were Protestants, mostly Unitarians.[43] Many of their relatives converted to Catholicism to prevent the confiscation of their estates.[43]
Holy League
Sigismund decided to join the Holy League together with Aaron the Tyrant,
The
Sigismund married
György Borbély,
Since the Ottoman army outnumbered the forces at Sigismund's disposal, he proposed the Székely commoners (who had been reduced to serfdom in the 1560s) to restore their freedom if they joined his campaign against the Ottomans.[55][53] The Székelys accepted his offer, enabling Sigismund to launch a counter-invasion in Wallachia in early October.[53][45] The united forces of Transylvania, Wallachia, and Moldavia defeated the retreating Ottoman army in the Battle of Giurgiu on 25 October.[56] Although the victory was not decisive, the battle enabled the two voivodes to maintain their alliance with the Holy League.[57]
Ignoring the Székely warriors' preeminent role during the war, the Diet of Transylvania refused to restore their freedom on 15 December.[53][58] Sigismund left for Prague to start negotiations with Rudolph II in early January 1596, tasking his wife and Stephen Bocskai with the government.[58] The Székelys tried to secure their freedom, but Bocskai repressed their movement with extraordinary cruelty during the "Bloody Carnival" in early 1596.[53][58]
Rudolph II promised Sigismund to send reinforcements and money to continue the war against the Ottomans.
Sigismund again went to Prague to meet Rudolph II and offered to abdicate in January 1597.[60] After he returned to Transylvania, he restored the Roman Catholic bishopric in Gyulafehérvár.[60] He sent envoys to Italy to demand the supreme command of a new Christian army, but his delegates at Istanbul started negotiations regarding a reconciliation with the sultan.[61]
Abdications and returns
The failure of his marriage and the defeats of the Holy League diminished Sigismund's self-confidence.
The Diet of Transylvania acknowledged Sigismund's abdication on 23 March 1598.[63] Maria Christierna took charge of the government until the arrival of Maximilian of Habsburg, whom Rudolph II had appointed to administer Transylvania.[61] Sigismund went to Silesia, but he did not like his new duchies.[64][62] Bocskai, who had been dismissed after Sigismund's abdication, urged him to return.[53]
Sigismund came to Kolozsvár on 21 August.[64] On the following day, Bocskai convoked the Diet to his military camp at Szászsebes (now Sebeș in Romania), and the delegates proclaimed Sigismund prince.[64] Most Transylvanians accepted the decision, but György Király, the deputy captain of Várad, remained loyal to Rudolph II.[65] In September an Ottoman army invaded the principality, capturing the fortresses along the Maros.[66] Sigismund sent his envoys to the commander of the army, Mehmed, convincing him to attack Várad instead of breaking into Transylvania proper.[65]
All of Sigismund's attempts to make peace with the sultan failed.[53] He sent his envoys to Prague to negotiate with Rudolph II,[66] while his confessor, Carillo, started negotiations with Jan Zamoyski in Poland.[53] At Sigismund's invitation, his cousin, Andrew Báthory, returned from Poland.[66] Sigismund abdicated at the Diet in Medgyes (now Mediaș in Romania) on 21 March 1599.[66] Eight days later, the Diet proclaimed Andrew Báthory prince, hoping that Andrew could make peace with the Ottomans with the assistance of Poland.[66][67] Sigismund left Transylvania for Poland in June.[65][68] His marriage with Maria Christierna was declared invalid in Rome in August.[69]
Andrew Báthory lost his throne and his life fighting against Michael the Brave and his Székely allies in autumn.[70] Michael the Brave administered Transylvania as Rudolph II's governor, but his rule was unpopular among the noblemen, especially because of the pillaging raids made by his unpaid soldiers.[70][71] As early as 9 February 1600 Sigismund announced that he was ready to return to Transylvania.[72] Moses Székely, a commander-in-chief during Michael the Brave's campaign against Moldavia in May, deserted Michael and came to Poland to meet Sigismund.[72]
The elected leader of the Transylvanian noblemen, István Csáky, sought assistance from Rudolph II's military commander,
The sultan's envoy confirmed Sigismund's position as Prince of Transylvania in Brassó (now Brașov in Romania) on 2 October.[75] At the head of an army which also included Ottoman and Tatar soldiers, Sigismund expanded his rule over most regions of the principality,[76] but he could not capture Kolozsvár in late November.[75] He started new negotiations with Basta over his abdication in March 1602, because he did not trust his own supporters.[75][76][77] He referred to them as "intoxicated and brutish sons of a bitch" and asked István Csáky to help him to leave their camp on 2 July.[77] He left Transylvania for the last time on 26 July 1602.[78]
Last years
Basta's soldiers accompanied Sigismund to Tokaj.[77] Before long, he went to Prague to beg for Rudolph II's mercy.[77] He received the incolatus (or the right to own lands in Bohemia) in 1604.[77] After the Diet of Transylvania proclaimed Stephen Bocskai prince in February 1605, Rudolph tried to persuade Sigismund to return to Transylvania, but he did not accept the offer.[79] The ambassadors of Venice and Spain and the emperor again tried to convince him to lay claim to Transylvania in July 1606, but Sigismund refused, saying that he had no information about the affairs of his former principality.[77] In December he again met Rudolph in Prague, but still resisted the emperor's offer.[77]
Sigismund received the domain of Libochovice in Bohemia.[77] After one of his employees accused him of plotting against the emperor, Sigismund was imprisoned for fourteen months in the jails of Prague Castle in 1610.[62][80] Sigismund died of a stroke in Libochovice on 27 March 1613.[62] He was buried in a crypt in the St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague.[62]
See also
- Moldavian Magnate Wars
- List of rulers of Transylvania
- János Baranyai Decsi
References
- ^ a b c d Szabó 2012, p. 184.
- ^ a b c d e f Nagy 1984, p. 97.
- ^ a b c d Nagy 1984, p. 99.
- ^ Barta 1994, pp. 261, 264.
- ^ Felezeu 2009, p. 27.
- ^ a b Granasztói 1981, p. 406.
- ^ Felezeu 2009, pp. 54–55.
- ^ a b c d Felezeu 2009, p. 55.
- ^ a b c Nagy 1984, p. 100.
- ^ Granasztói 1981, p. 407.
- ^ a b c Granasztói 1981, p. 408.
- ^ Szegedi 2009, p. 101.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Barta 1994, p. 293.
- ^ Horn 2002, p. 109.
- ^ Horn 2002, pp. 105–106.
- ^ Horn 2002, pp. 109–110.
- ^ Horn 2002, p. 110.
- ^ Horn 2002, pp. 117–119.
- ^ a b Nagy 1984, p. 101.
- ^ a b c Granasztói 1981, p. 410.
- ^ a b Horn 2002, p. 133.
- ^ Horn 2002, p. 134.
- ^ Keul 2009, p. 127.
- ^ a b Horn 2002, p. 162.
- ^ Horn 2002, pp. 161, 163.
- ^ a b Nagy 1984, p. 103.
- ^ a b c d e Horn 2002, p. 164.
- ^ a b c d e f Barta 1994, p. 294.
- ^ Granasztói 1981, p. 411.
- ^ Horn 2002, p. 166.
- ^ a b Horn 2002, p. 167.
- ^ a b c d e f g Granasztói 1981, p. 412.
- ^ Horn 2002, p. 168.
- ^ a b Horn 2002, p. 177.
- ^ a b c Horn 2002, p. 178.
- ^ a b Horn 2002, p. 180.
- ^ Granasztói 1981, pp. 412–413.
- ^ Granasztói 1981, pp. 413–414.
- ^ a b c Granasztói 1981, p. 414.
- ^ a b c Horn 2002, p. 183.
- ^ Nagy 1984, p. 108.
- ^ Nagy 1984, pp. 108–109.
- ^ a b Keul 2009, p. 139.
- ^ a b c d e Pop 2009, p. 78.
- ^ a b c d e f g Granasztói 1981, p. 415.
- ^ Keul 2009, p. 140.
- ^ a b c d Bolovan et al. 1997, p. 144.
- ^ Szekeres 2007, p. 118.
- ^ Pop 2009, p. 79.
- ^ Nagy 1984, p. 126.
- ^ Sz. Kristóf 2013, p. 348.
- ^ Nagy 1984, p. 131.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Barta 1994, p. 295.
- ^ a b c Bolovan et al. 1997, p. 145.
- ^ Nagy 1984, p. 117.
- ^ Nagy 1984, p. 119.
- ^ Nagy 1984, p. 122.
- ^ a b c d e Granasztói 1981, p. 416.
- ^ a b c Nagy 1984, p. 123.
- ^ a b c d e Granasztói 1981, p. 417.
- ^ a b c d Nagy 1984, p. 135.
- ^ a b c d e Szabó 2012, p. 186.
- ^ a b c Granasztói 1981, p. 418.
- ^ a b c Nagy 1984, p. 136.
- ^ a b c Nagy 1984, p. 137.
- ^ a b c d e Granasztói 1981, p. 419.
- ^ Barta 1994, pp. 295–296.
- ^ Granasztói 1981, p. 420.
- ^ Horn 2002, p. 215.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Barta 1994, p. 296.
- ^ Pop 2009, p. 296.
- ^ a b Granasztói 1981, p. 421.
- ^ a b Pop 2009, pp. 296–297.
- ^ a b Granasztói 1981, p. 422.
- ^ a b c d Granasztói 1981, p. 423.
- ^ a b Barta 1994, p. 297.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Nagy 1984, p. 141.
- ^ Granasztói 1981, p. 424.
- ^ Granasztói 1981, p. 428.
- ^ Granasztói 1981, p. 439.
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