Gabriel Bethlen, Prince of Transylvania (1580-1629)

Gabriel (Gabor) Bethlen (Hungarian: Bethlen Gábor, Slovak: Gabriel Betlen) (1580-1629), prince of Transylvania (1613-1629) and leader of a anti-Habsburg insurrection in the Habsburg Royal Hungary on the territory of present-day Slovakia. His last armed intervention in 1626 was part of the Thirty Years War. He led an active Protestant-oriented foreign policy. Download high resolution version (557x648, 316 KB)Gabriel Bethlen, Prince of Transylvania. ... Download high resolution version (557x648, 316 KB)Gabriel Bethlen, Prince of Transylvania. ... Events March 1 - Michel de Montaigne signs the preface to his most significant work, Essays. ... Events March 4 - Massachusetts Bay Colony is granted a Royal charter. ... Transylvania (Romanian: Transilvania or Ardeal, Hungarian: Erdély, German: Siebenbürgen, Serbian: Transilvanija, Turkish: Erdel, Slovak: Sedmohradsko or Transylvania, Polish: Siedmiogród) is a historic region that forms the western and the central parts of Romania. ... Habsburg (sometimes spelled Hapsburg, but never so in official use) was one of the major ruling houses of Europe. ... The Kingdom of Hungary is the name of a multiethnic kingdom that existed in Central Europe from 1000 to 1918. ... The victory of Gustavus Adolphus at the Battle of Breitenfeld (1631) The Thirty Years War was a conflict fought between the years 1618 and 1648, principally in the central European territory of the Holy Roman Empire, but also involving most of the major continental powers. ...

This most famous representative of the Iktári branch of the very ancient Hungarian Bethlen family, was born at Ilia (Hungarian:Marosillye) and educated at Lazarea (Hungarian: Szárhegy), at the castle of his uncle András Lázár. Thence he was sent to the court of the Transylvanian Prince Sigismund Báthory (Zsigmond Báthory), whom he accompanied on his famous Wallachian campaign. Subsequently he assisted Stephen Bocskay to become the Prince of Transylvania (1605), and remained his chief counsellor. Bethlen also supported Bocskay's successor Gabriel Báthory (1608-1613), but the prince became jealous of Bethlen's superior abilities, and Bethlen was obliged to take refuge with the Turks. Ilia may refer to: the Greek prefecture Ilia an alternative name of the mother of Romulus and Remus, see Rhea Silvia Ilia a character in Star Trek: The Motion Picture a town in Romania, county Hunedoara, see Ilia, Romania This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other... Sigismund Bathory (1572-1613) (Báthory Zsigmond in Hungarian), Prince of Transylvania and of the Holy Roman Empire, was the son of Christopher, prince of Transylvania, and nephew of the Stefan Batory, elected king of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. ...

In 1613, Bethlen led a large army against Prince Báthory, but in the same year Báthory had been murdered by two of his officers and Bethlen was placed on the throne by the Turks (Ottoman Empire), in opposition to the wishes of the Austrian Habsburg emperor, who preferred a prince who would incline more towards Vienna than towards the Turkish Constantinople. On October 13, 1613, the Transylvanian Diet at Cluj-Napoca (Hungarian: Kolozsvár, German: Klausenburg), confirmed this choice of the Turkish sultan. In 1615, Bethlen was also officially recognized by the Austrian emperor Matthias as the Prince of Transylvania and Bethlen promised in secret that he would help the Habsburgs against the Turks. Events January - Galileo observes Neptune, but mistakes it for a star and so is not credited with its discovery. ... The Ottoman Empire at the height of its power Imperial motto El Muzaffer Daima The Ever Victorious (as written in tugra) Official language Ottoman Turkish Capital İstanbul (Constantinople/Asitane/Konstantiniyye ) Sovereigns Sultans of the Osmanli Dynasty Population ca 40 million Area 6. ... Habsburg (sometimes spelled Hapsburg, but never so in official use) was one of the major ruling houses of Europe. ... Map of Constantinople. ... October 13 is the 286th day of the year (287th in leap years). ... Events January - Galileo observes Neptune, but mistakes it for a star and so is not credited with its discovery. ... Map of Romania showing Cluj_Napoca Cluj_Napoca (Hungarian: Kolozsvár, German: Klausenburg, Latin: Claudiopolis), the seat of Cluj county, is one of the most important academic, cultural and industrial centers in Romania. ... Events June 2 - First Récollet missionaries arrive at Quebec City, from Rouen, France. ... Holy Roman Emperor Mathias Mathias, Holy Roman Emperor (1612-1619) was born in Vienna on February 24, 1557 and died in Vienna on March 20, 1619. ...

While avoiding the cruelties and excesses of many of his predecessors, Bethlen established a singular variant of patriarchal but sufficiently enlightened despotism. He developed mines and industry and nationalised many branches of Transylvania's foreign trade, his agents buying up the products at fixed prices and selling them abroad at a profit, almost doubling his revenues by this and other devices. He built himself a grand new palace in his capital, Alba Iulia (Hungarian:Gyulafehérvár), kept a sumptuous court, and patronised the arts and learning, especially in connection with his own, Calvinist, faith. He founded an academy to which he invited any pastor and teacher from Royal Hungary, sent students abroad to the protestant universities of England, the Low Countries and protestant Germany, conferred hereditary nobility on all Protestant pastors and forbade landlords to prevent their serfs from having their children schooled. Alba Iulia (Hungarian: Gyulafeh r, German: Karlsburg) is a city in Alba county, Transylvania, Romania with a population of 66,369, located on the Mureş river. ... Calvinism has been known at times for its simple, unadorned churches and lifestyles, as depicted in this painting by Emmanuel de Witte where the 17th century congregation stands to hear a sermon. ...

Other parts of his revenue he devoted to keeping up an efficient standing army of mercenaries, with whose help he conducted an ambitious foreign policy. Keeping peace with the Porte, he struck out to the north and west. The Ottoman Empire at the height of its power Imperial motto El Muzaffer Daima The Ever Victorious (as written in tugra) Official language Ottoman Turkish Capital İstanbul (Constantinople/Asitane/Konstantiniyye ) Sovereigns Sultans of the Osmanli Dynasty Population ca 40 million Area 6. ...

A print picturing Gabriel Bethlen

There were several reasons for his anti-Habsburg interventions in the neighbouring Royal Hungary (1619-1626), which took place when the Thirty Years War took place in Western Europe: Download high resolution version (725x935, 182 KB) This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired in the United States and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years. ... Download high resolution version (725x935, 182 KB) This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired in the United States and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years. ... The victory of Gustavus Adolphus at the Battle of Breitenfeld (1631) The Thirty Years War was a conflict fought between the years 1618 and 1648, principally in the central European territory of the Holy Roman Empire, but also involving most of the major continental powers. ...

• No doubt he was partly motivated by personal ambition
• Habsburg absolutism in Royal Hungary
• The Habsburgs had started a successful Counter-Reformation in Royal Hungary a confiscated properties of local Protestants. Bethlen seems also to have been genuinely anxious to protect protestant liberties
• The Habsburgs had violated the Peace of Vienna of 1606 that put an end to the anti-Habsburg uprising of Bethlen's "predecessor" Stephen Bocskay.
• The Habsburgs had violated the secret agreement with Bethlen of 1615 and prolonged the peace with Ottoman Empire in July 1615, and even entered into an alliance with George Druget, the captain of Upper Hungary (i. e. eastern Slovakia and adjacent territories) against Bethlen.

While Emperor Ferdinand was occupied with the Czech anti-Habsburg rebellion (1618), Bethlen led his armies into Royal Hungary (more exactly to present-day Slovakia) in August 1619, and occupied the town of Košice (German: Kaschau) in September, where his Protestant supporters declared him „head“ of Hungary and protector of the Protestants. He soon won over the whole territory of present-day Slovakia, even securing the capital of Royal Hungary Pressburg (today: Bratislava) in October, where the palatine even handed over the Hungarian crown to Bethlen. Then, Bethlen’s troops joined with the troops of Czech and Moravian estates (led by J. M. Thurno) and they failed to conquer Vienna in November – Bethlen was forced to leave Austria because he was attacked by Habsburg troops (George Druget and Polish mercenaries) in eastern Slovakia. Although he had conquered the whole present-day Slovakia, i. e. most of Royal Hungary, Bethlen was not averse to a peace, nor to a preliminary suspension of hostilities, and negotiations were opened at the conquered towns Pressburg, Košice and Banská Bystrica (German:Neusohl) successively. Initially they led to nothing because Bethlen insisted on including the Czechs in the peace, but finally a truce was concluded in January 1620, under which Bethlen received 13 counties in the east of Royal Hungary (mainly in present-day Slovakia). On 20 August 1620 the estates elected him King of Hungary at the Diet in Banská Bystrica with the consent of the Turks, but Bethlen refused to accept of crown for tactical and diplomatic reasons (mainly because he wanted that a reconsiliation with the Habsburgs remains possible). The war with the Habsburgs resumed in present-day southwestern Slovakia and Lower Austria in September. The term absolutism can mean: A belief in absolute truth moral absolutism, the belief that there is some absolute standard of right and wrong political absolutism, a political system where one person holds absolute power, also called apolytarchy from Gr. ... The Counter-Reformation or the Catholic Reformation was a strong reaffirmation of the doctrine and structure of the Catholic Church, climaxing at the Council of Trent, partly in reaction to the growth of Protestantism. ... Categories: People stubs | Holy Roman emperors | Rulers of Austria | Rulers of Styria | Hungarian monarchs | Bohemian monarchs | Dukes of Carinthia | 1578 births | 1637 deaths ... Košice (German: Kaschau, Hungarian: Kassa) is Slovakias second largest city. ... Preßburg is the historical name (in German and in English) for the city of Bratislava. ... The palatine (Latin: comes palatii, comes palatinus, later: palatinus (regni), Hungarian: nádorispán/ nádor, Slovak: nádvorný župan/ nádvorný špán, later: palatín / nádvorník, German: Palatin) was the highest dignitary in the Kingdom of Hungary after the king (a kind of powerful prime minister and supreme judge) from the kingdoms rise up... Vienna (German: Wien [viːn]) is the capital of Austria, and also one of Austrias nine federal states (Bundesland Wien). ... Preßburg is the historical name (in German and in English) for the city of Bratislava. ... Bansk Bystrica (Hungarian: Beszterceb nya, German: Neusohl) is a town in central Slovakia at the Hron river and at the Lower Tatra Mountains. ... Lower Austria (Niederösterreich) is one of the nine federal states or Bundesländer in Austria. ...

The defeat of the Czechs by Ferdinand II’s troops at the battle of the White Mountain on November 1620 (to which also Bethlen sent 3000 troops which however came too late) gave a new turn to Bethlen’s insurrection against the Habsburgs. Ferdinand II took a fearful revenge upon the vanquished in Bohemia and started to successfully reconquer what is today Slovakia (Pressurg reconquered in May 1621, central Slovakia in June 1621) and Bethlen started peace negotiations, since he was not directly supported by the Turks and had lost the support of Protestant nobles because they had not received the confiscated property of the Catholics on Bethlen’s territory. As a result, the Treaty of Nikolsburg (Czech: Mikulov) was concluded on December 31 1621, under which Bethlen renounced the royal title on condition that Ferdinand confirmed the 1606 Peace of Vienna (which had granted full liberty of worship to the Protestants) and engaged to summon a general diet within six months. In addition, Bethlen secured the (purely formal) title of “Imperial Prince“ (of Transylvania), seven counties around the Upper Tisza (Tisa) river (in present-day Slovakia, Ukraine, Hungary and Romania), the fortresses of Tokaj, Mukacheve (Hungarian:Munkács) and Ecsed, and a duchy in Silesia. Battle of White Mountain Conflict Thirty Years War Date November 8, 1620 Place Bílá Hora near Prague Result Bohemian defeat In the Battle of White Mountain, 1620 November 8, (Bílá hora is the name of White Mountain in Czech) an army 15,000 Bohemians and mercenaries under Christian... Events February 9 - Gregory XV is elected pope. ... Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ... The Tisza (in Hungarian, Ukrainian: Tysa/Тиса, Russian: Tisa/Тиса, Romanian, Slovak and Serbian: Tisa, German: Theiß, Latin: Tissus, Tisia or Pathissus) is a river, tributary of the Danube and one of the major rivers of Central Europe, passing through Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Ukraine and Serbia and Montenegro. ... Tokaj can mean: a town in Hungary: see Tokaj (town) a historical wine-region of the Kingdom of Hungary, which today can be divided in: Tokaj (region in Hungary) Tokaj (region in Slovakia) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the... Mukacheve (Ukrainian: Мукачеве (Mukacheve), Ruthenian: Мукачів (Mukachiv), Russian: Мукачево (Mukachevo), Hungarian: Munkács, Slovak and Czech: Mukačevo, German: Munkatsch, Yiddish: Munkacz or Minkatsh) is a city in Zakarpattya region of southwestern Ukraine. ... Silesia (Polish Śląsk, German Schlesien, Czech Slezsko) is a historical region in central Europe. ...

Subsequently Bethlen twice (1623-1624 and 1626) launched campaigns to the territory of present-day Slovakia against Ferdinand, this time as an ally of the anti-Habsburg Protestant powers. The first war was concluded by the 1624 Peace of Vienna, the second by the 1626 Peace of Pressburg, both confirmatory of the 1621 Peace of Nikolsburg. After the second of these campaigns, Bethlen attempted a rapprochement with the court of Vienna on the basis of an alliance against the Turks and his own marriage with one of the Austrian archduchesses; but Ferdinand had no confidence in him and rejected his overtures. Bethlen was obliged to renounce his anti-Turkish projects, which he had hitherto cherished as the great aim and object of his life, and continue in the old beaten paths. Accordingly, on his return from Vienna he wedded Catherine, the daughter of the elector of Brandenburg, and still more closely allied himself with the Protestant powers, especially with his brother-in-law Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden (their wifes were sisters), who, he hoped, would assist him to obtain the Polish crown. He died before he could accomplish any of his great designs (November 15, 1629), having previously secured the election of his wife Catherine as princess. His first wife, Zsuzsanna Károlyi, died in 1622. The Peace of Pressburg (also called Peace of Bratislava) is the name of 4 peace agreements concluded in the present-day town of Bratislava. ... Surrounding but excluding the national capital Berlin, Brandenburg is one of Germanys sixteen Bundesländer (federal states). ... Gustav II Adolph Gustav II Adolph (December 9, 1594 - November 6, 1632) (also known as Gustav Adolph the Great, under the Latin name Gustavus Adolphus or the Swedish form Gustav II Adolf) was a King of Sweden. ... November 15 is the 319th day of the year (320th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 46 days remaining. ... Events March 4 - Massachusetts Bay Colony is granted a Royal charter. ...

Gabriel Bethlen was certainly one of the most striking and original personages of his century. A zealous Calvinist, whose boast it was that he had read the Bible twenty-five times, he was nevertheless no persecutor, and even helped the Jesuit Kaldy to translate and print his version of the Scriptures. He was in communication all his life with the leading contemporary statesmen, so that his correspondence is one of the most interesting and important of historical documents. He also composed hymns. Calvinism has been known at times for its simple, unadorned churches and lifestyles, as depicted in this painting by Emmanuel de Witte where the 17th century congregation stands to hear a sermon. ... The Society of Jesus (Latin: Societas Iesu), commonly known as the Jesuits, is a Roman Catholic religious order. ...

External links

Detailed timeline (http://www.angelfire.com/sk3/quality/Part_of_Hungary_II.html)