page_title: Stephen Bocskai
section_title: Turmoil
hierarchical_section_title: Stephen Bocskai / Career / Turmoil
context_page_description: Stephen Bocskai or Bocskay was Prince of Transylvania and Hungary from 1605 to 1606. He was born to a Hungarian noble family. His father's estates were located in the eastern regions of the medieval Kingdom of Hungary, which developed into the Principality of Transylvania in the 1570s. He spent his youth in the court of the Holy Roman Emperor, Maximilian, who was also the ruler of Royal Hungary.
  Bocskai's career started when his underage nephew, Sigismund Báthory, became the ruler of Transylvania in 1581. After the Diet of Transylvania declared Sigismund of age in 1588, Bocskai was one of the few members of Sigismund's council who supported his plan to join an anti-Ottoman coalition. Sigismund made Bocskai captain of Várad in 1592. After the pro-Ottoman noblemen forced Sigismund to renounce his throne in 1594, Bocskai supported him in his bid to regain it, for which Sigismund rewarded him with estates confiscated from the leaders of the opposition. On Sigismund's behalf Bocskai signed a treaty concerning the membership of Transylvania in the Holy League in Prague on 28 January 1595. He led the Transylvanian army to Wallachia, which had been occupied by the Ottomans.
context_section_description: The Diet of Transylvania swore fealty to Rudolph on 8 April 1598. Rudolph appointed three commissioners (István Szuhay, Bartholomeus Pezzen, and Miklós Istvánffy) to administer Transylvania until the arrival of his governor, Maximilian III, Archduke of Austria. The commissioners did not trust Bocskai and deprived him of his offices. Having been in correspondence with his nephew, Bocskai knew that Sigismund Báthory was already regretting his abdication. Bocskai mustered his troops at Szászsebes (now Sebeș in Romania) to secure Sigismund's return. After Sigismund came to Transylvania, Bocskai convoked the Diet and persuaded the delegates to swear fealty to him on 21 August. Jósika was executed and the commissioners were expelled.
  Bocskai was again made the supreme commander of the Transylvanian army, but his former deputy, György Király, did not obey him and allowed Rudolph's troops to take possession of Várad. An Ottoman army broke into the Partium, laid siege to Várad, and pillaged Bocskai's nearby estates in October. Sigismund made contact with his cousin, Andrew Báthory (who was the brother of the murdered Balthasar) and offered him possession of Transylvania. He kept his negotiations with Andrew secret because Bocskai had always been a strong opponent of the pro-Ottoman policy represented by Andrew. To get rid of his uncle, Sigismund dispatched him to Prague to start new negotiations with Rudolph in late 1598.
  Bocskai was still in Prague when Sigismund abdicated in favor of Andrew in March 1599. He returned to Transylvania as Rudolph's envoy and refused to swear fealty to Andrew. He settled in his fortress at Szentjobb in August. Andrew summoned him to the Diet, accusing him of the murder of Balthasar. After Bocskai ignored the prince's summons, his estates were confiscated in October, but this order could only be executed in Transylvania proper because the Partium was controlled by the emperor's supporters. Bocskai was planning to invade Transylvania, but Michael of Wallachia (whom Andrew wanted to replace with one of his brothers) was quicker and broke into the principality. The Székelys joined Michael, who routed Andrew in the Battle of Sellenberk on 28 October. Michael entered Gyulafehérvár, and Székely peasants murdered Andrew.
  After learning of Michael's victory, Bocskai hired Hajdús (irregular soldiers, famed for their cruelty) and hurried to Kolozsvár. He thought that Michael was willing to withdraw from Transylvania and urged Giorgio Basta, the commander of Rudolph's army, to send new commissioners to Transylvania to put an end to the anarchy. Michael took possession of Transylvania proper, and the Diet acknowledged him as Rudolph's representative. Exposed to plundering raids by German, Wallachian, and Székely troops, Transylvania plunged into anarchy. Bocskai returned to the Partium, but Rudolph ordered him to join Michael in Gyulafehérvár on 26 November. Michael tried to take advantage of Bocskai's presence to persuade the garrisons of the fortresses to swear fealty to him, but Bocskai did not want to be Michael's underling. After he realized that Michael did not want to restore his Transylvanian estates to him, he again left Transylvania proper and settled in Szentjobb in early 1600.
  Bocskai sent letters to Rudolph in Prague, describing Michael as an uneducated trickster and tyrant who wanted to establish an empire of his own, but Rudolph's new commissioners, David Ungnad and Mihály Székely, did not trust him. Ungnad referred to him as "the Pestilence" in his secret correspondence. The Transylvanian noblemen held Bocskai responsible for the anti-Ottoman policy that had contributed to the destruction of the principality. Instead of seeking Bocskai's assistance against Michael, they persuaded Basta to expel Michael from Transylvania in September. Sigismund Báthory, who had again decided to return, tried to convince Bocskai to support him. Bocskai gave his nephew's envoy over to Rudolph's official, Pál Nyáry, but this did not earn him the trust of Rudolph's commissioners. Basta was even planning to kill him t
caption: Rudolph's commander, Giorgio Basta, who planned to murder Bocskai
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