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Transylvania
When the Hungarian king Lajos II was killed during the
disastrous battle at Mohacs against the Ottomans, Hungary was catapulted
into a civil war between them who supported the Habsburgs claim to the
throne and those who supported János Zapolya, voivod of Transylvania. The
latter recognised the Ottoman Sultan as his overlord. But despite of Ottoman
support, Zapolya never managed to control all Hungary. The conflict ended with the
Ottoman Empire annexing one third of Hungary and recognising the Habsburgs as
Hungarian kings and rulers of one third of Hungary. The last third of Hungary
was transformed into the Ottoman vassal state of Transylvania. The autonomy
Transylvania received was so generous that it was practically an independent
state and it played an active roll in the history of central Europe. But
Austria’s successes in the war against the Ottomans meant that Transylvania
shifted its allegiance to Austria 1686 and the Habsburgs would later rule
Transylvania directly. It was elevated to a grand principality 1765 but it
disappeared as a separate political entity when it was reunited with Hungary
1867.
Note that this list use the Western name order (i.e.
family-name + given-name). In the native Hungarian language the family
name would come first and the given name second (i.e. Báthory István
instead of Western-style István Báthory).
Transylvanian Kings of
Hungary
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