Sigismund Báthory

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Sigismund Báthory, Prince of Transylvania

Sigismund Báthory ( Hungarian: Báthory Zsigmond ; * 1572 ; † March 27, 1613 in Prague ) was Prince of Transylvania from 1581 to 1598 , exchanged land with the ore house of Austria for the Silesian principalities of Opole and Ratibor, received on February 11, 1604 as Prince and Duke of Opole and Ratibor the Inkolat in Bohemia , was from February 26, 1604 a member of the Bohemian gentry and knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece.

Life

Sigismund Báthory was the nephew of Stephan Báthory and the son and successor of Christoph Báthory .

He was elected prince while his father was still alive. Since he was a minor when his father died, he was represented by a regency. In 1588, at the age of 16, he came of age and joined the union of Christian dignitaries against the rule of the Turkish-Muslim Ottomans . The danger of such a political course raised concerns and the Torda Estates Assembly called for the coronation oath to be renewed. When he refused to take the oath, the congregation threatened to dismiss him. After all, he is said to have gained the upper hand over his opponents and in 1595 is supposed to have everyone he arrested executed. Báthory had inherited the military talent of his uncle and his victories over the Turks and their aid peoples, supported by the tax of the Reichstürkenhilfe , astonished Europe at the time . In 1595 he subjugated the Principality of Wallachia and on October 25th of the same year drove the army of Koca Sinan Pasha at Giurgevo to flight.

A turning point in his life was his separation from his wife, Archduchess Maria Christina of Austria in 1599, followed by his own abdication in the same year. On this occasion he exchanged Transylvania with Emperor Rudolf II for the Silesian Duchy of Opole and the Silesian Duchy of Ratibor . On March 30, 1599, the manorial rule over Transylvania was given to his relative Andreas Báthory , who succumbed to Mihai Viteazul (Michael the Brave), the voivode of the Principality of Wallachia , and was murdered on October 18, 1599 in Schellenberg near Sibiu .

In 1600 Sigismund Báthory tried again to regain Transylvania and the title of prince with an army consisting of Poles and Cossacks , but was routed by Mihai Viteazul near Suceava . In February 1601, the States General of sat Cluj him back into his office. Once again he was routed by Mihai, never returned and died in Prague in 1613 .

literature

  • Miguel de Ferdinandy: Báthory of Somlyó, Zsigmond . In: Biographical Lexicon on the History of Southeast Europe . Volume 1. Munich 1974, pp. 155-157

Web links

Commons : Sigismund Báthory  - collection of images, videos and audio files
  • Illustration by Mathias van Somer from 1665: Sigismundus Bathori Prince in Transylvania . ( Digitized version )

Individual evidence

  1. BSB, XII b. Page 1060 v.
  2. Bohm. Landtafel-Instrumentenbuch 132, E 28 pv
  3. see: Roman von Procházka : Genealogical handbook of extinct Bohemian gentry families. Supplementary volume. Published by the board of the Collegium Carolinum , Research Center for the Bohemian Countries, R. Oldenbourg Verlag Munich 1990, note 1 from Zapolya (Zapola, Zapolski, Szapolyai), pages 158 and 159.
predecessor Office successor
Christoph Báthory Prince of Transylvania
1581 - 1602 (with interruptions)
Mihai Viteazul and Stephan Bocskai