The majority of Croatian magnates and members of lower nobility were keen to elect a new king. The gathering (sabor) was caused by a monarchical crisis after the death of King Louis II and a major defeat of the Kingdom of Hungary at the Battle of Mohács on 29 August 1526. The young King Louis II was "King of Croatia and Dalmatia" among his other titles, but left no legitimate heir.
At the session of the Diet of Hungary in Székesfehérvár on 10 November 1526, the majority of the Hungarian untitled lesser nobility (the gentry) chose John Zápolya to be the King of Hungary, and he was duly crowned the next day under the name King John I of Hungary. However, Ferdinand of Habsburg was also elected King of Hungary by the Hungarian higher aristocracy (the magnates or barons) and the Hungarian Catholic clergy in a rump Diet in Pozsony on 17 December 1526.[2] Accordingly, Ferdinand also was crowned as King of Hungary in the Székesfehérvár Basilica on 3 November, 1527.
Cetin
The Croatian nobles met at Cetin on December 31, 1526, to discuss their strategy and choose a new leader. The Austrian Archduke Ferdinand also sent his envoys to be present at the time of the parliament session. The assembly occurred in the Franciscan monastery of St. Mary below the Cetin Castle in the settlement of Cetingrad.[1] At that time, the owner of the castle and the surrounding estate, where the assembly was held, was the Croatian noble Juraj III Frankopan.
Advocates of both options, after a long debate, finally agreed on Ferdinand on January 1, 1527.[1] The election of Ferdinand was a natural one because he was not only the powerful Archduke of Austria, he also ruled the lands of Croatia's Slavic neighbours, the Slovenes, as both Duke of Carinthia and Carniola. Ferdinand I was elected the new King of Croatia, and the assembly "confirmed the succession to him and his heirs".[3]
In return for the throne Ferdinand promised to respect the historic rights, freedoms, laws, and customs the Croats had when united with the Hungarian kingdom, and to defend Croatia from Ottoman invasion and subjugation at all times with 1000 horsemen, 200 soldiers, and finance for another 800 horsemen. He also had an obligation to inspect and supply the fortified cities.[3]
The charter signed by the Croatian nobles, which bears a fine example of the chequered seal of Croatia, is claimed as "among the most important documents of Croatian statehood", showing a special political status of Croatia at that time coming out of it. The charter confirmed at the same time the ancient rights[citation needed] of Croatian nobility to self-regulate the major issues – among which was the election of a king – freely and independently, regardless of opinion or decision of Hungarian Diet, since the two countries were in the personal union from 1102.
The text of the Charter contains first the listing of names of the present Croatian high nobility members, church dignitaries and low nobility members, as well as names and titles of Ferdinand's plenipotentiaries, then the quotation of arguments for the legally valid election of a Habsburger to be the hereditary ruler of Croatia, further the declaratory statement of recognition and announcement of the Austrian archduke as king and his wife Anna (sister of Louis II) as queen, and finally "the swearing-in of loyalty, obedience and allegiance". Place and date of issue are specified at the end of the text as well.
Royal seal of the Kingdom of Croatia is imprinted in the middle of Cetingrad Charter
Beneath the text there are six seals of most notable Croatian magnates and dignitaries to verify the Charter, as well in the middle a seal of the Kingdom of Croatia, in the following sequence:
Left side
Andrija Tuškanić (or Andrija Mišljenović Uzdoljski), Bishop of Knin
Ferdinand's plenipotentiaries took over the Charter from the Croats and took it with them on their way back to Vienna. In return, earlier that day, in a document called Coronation Oath, they confirmed the promises and assurances of Ferdinand (given before upon the previous demands of the Croats), and accepted all the related obligations and responsibilities of the new-elected king.
Before their return to Vienna, the plenipotentiaries wrote a letter to their principal on 3 January 1527 in which they informed him about the sequence of events during the parliament session and explained their delay and longer stay in Croatia than expected before (among other things, some of Croatian magnates did not have their seals with them, but needed to go home and to verify the Charter afterwards).
On January 6, 1527, the Slavonian nobility distanced themselves from this election and nominated John Zápolya the rival claimant to the Hungarian throne instead. A civil war erupted, with Ferenc Batthyány leading the pro-Habsburg faction and Christoph Frankopan leading the pro-Zápolya faction. The Austrian option ultimately prevailed after Zápolya's death in 1540.
The Constitution of Croatia describes these events as one of the historical foundations of Croatian sovereignty, as an "independent and sovereign decision of the Croatian Parliament".[4]
The House of Frankopan was a Croatian noble family, whose members were among the great landowner magnates and high officers of the Kingdom of Croatia in union with Hungary.
John Zápolya or Szapolyai, was King of Hungary from 1526 to 1540. His rule was disputed by Archduke Ferdinand I, who also claimed the title King of Hungary. He was Voivode of Transylvania before his coronation, from 1510 to 1526.
The siege of Szigetvár or the Battle of Szigeth was a siege of the fortress of Szigetvár, Kingdom of Hungary, that blocked Sultan Suleiman's line of advance towards Vienna in 1566. The battle was fought between the defending forces of the Habsburg monarchy under the leadership of Nikola IV Zrinski, former Ban of Croatia, and the invading Ottoman army under the nominal command of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent.
The House of Zrinski or Zrínyi was a Croatian-Hungarian noble family, a cadet branch of the Croatian noble tribe of Šubić, influential during the period in history marked by the Ottoman wars in Europe in the Kingdom of Croatia's union with the Kingdom of Hungary and in the later Kingdom of Croatia as a part of the Habsburg monarchy. Notable members of this family were Bans of Croatia, considered national heroes in both Croatia and Hungary, and were particularly celebrated during the period of Romanticism, a movement which was called Zrinijada in Croatia.
Cetingrad is a municipality in Karlovac County, Croatia near Croatia's border with Bosnia. The population of the village itself is 319, while the total municipality population is 2,027 (2011). The municipality is part of Kordun. Cetingrad is underdeveloped municipality which is statistically classified as the First Category Area of Special State Concern by the Government of Croatia.
Ivan Karlović, also known as by his Latin name Johannes Torquatus, was the Count of Krbava. His life during critical periods of Hundred Years' Croatian–Ottoman War was marked by constant efforts to stop Ottoman conquests of Croatia, during which he held position of Ban of Croatia twice: from 1521 to 1524 and again from 1527 to 1531. He was also one of the Croatian magnates who participated in 1527 Election in Cetin.
The fortress of Cetin is situated 5 kilometres (3 mi) south of Cetingrad above the village of Podcetin, in Croatia. The castle and its immediate surrounding represent a monument of great value for Croatian national history because on this place in 1527 Croatian nobility elected Ferdinand I Habsburg a king of Croatia. From that moment on, Croatia remained a part of Habsburg Monarchy until the end of World War I.
The Magnate conspiracy was a plot among Croatian and Hungarian nobles to oust the Habsburg Monarchy from Croatia and Hungary, in response to the Treaty of Vasvár in 1664. This treaty - which ended the Fourth Austro-Turkish War - was highly unpopular in the Military Frontier, and those who were involved in the conspiracy intended to reopen hostilities with the Ottoman Empire after they broke away from Habsburg rule.
Nikola III Zrinski was a Croatian nobleman, a member of the Zrinski noble family, influential in the Kingdom of Croatia.
Johann Katzianer, or Hans Katzianer, Freiherr zu Katzenstein und Fledingen was a Carniolan aristocrat and an Imperial Army commander.
The siege of Gvozdansko was an Ottoman siege of the fort of Gvozdansko in the Kingdom of Croatia in 1577–1578. In the 1570s, the Ottomans intensified their efforts to capture the valley of the Una River. A string of forts along the Una, centred around Gvozdansko and in possession of the Zrinski noble family, formed the main line of defense of Croatia since 1527. The fort held off Ottoman attacks in 1540 and 1561.
The siege of Kőszeg or siege of Güns, also known as the German campaign was a siege of Kőszeg in the Kingdom of Hungary within the Habsburg Empire, that took place in 1532. In the siege, the defending forces of the Austrian Habsburg monarchy under the leadership of Croatian Captain Nikola Jurišić, defended the small border fort of Kőszeg with only 700–800 Croatian soldiers, with no cannons and few guns. The defenders prevented the advance of the Ottoman army of over 100,000 toward Vienna, under the leadership of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent and Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha.
Christoph Frankopan was a Croatian count from the noble House of Frankopan. He was born in a dangerous time, which included the fall of Bosnia to the Ottoman Empire and the start of the Hundred Years' Croatian-Ottoman War. As a supporter of King John I of Hungary during the succession crisis between János Zápolya and Ferdinand Habsburg, he was named the ban of Croatia in 1526, and died the following year while leading an army financed by Zápolya.
Bernardin Frankopan (1453–1529) was a Croatian nobleman and diplomat, a member of the influential Frankopan noble family of Croatia. As one of the wealthiest and most distinguished aristocrats in the kingdom in his day, he had one of the leading roles in mounting defences of Croatian statehood against the Ottoman expansion.
The Kurjaković family, also known as the Counts of Krbava, were a Croatian noble family that originated from the noble tribe of Gusić. It formed at the end of the 13th century, as descendants of Kurjak. They reached their peak as magnates between mid-14th and mid-15th century, having tight connections and high official positions at the Hungarian royal court, and dissolution in 1531 when the estates of magnate Ivan Karlović went to Nikola III Zrinski. Two members were Ban of Croatia, as well two were founding members of Order of the Dragon.
The Mogorović family was one of the twelve noble tribes of the Kingdom of Croatia, mentioned in the Pacta conventa and Supetar Cartulary. They were initially mentioned in the 12th and 14th centuries in the hinterland of Biograd na Moru and Zadar in Dalmatia, and since the 13th century in the region of Lika, where they branched into most prominently Disislavić noble family, besides being divided into other fourteen noble branches by 15th and 16th century. As experienced warriors, they actively participated in the Croatian–Ottoman wars. Direct descendants of the tribe live even today in Croatia.
Juraj III Frankopan was a Croatian nobleman, a member of the Slunj branch of the Frankopan noble family, very powerful and influential in the Croatian Kingdom. He was proprietor of many estates and castles, among which Slunj Castle and Cetin Castle. He is best known for organizing and hosting the assembly of the Croatian Parliament in the Cetin Castle by the end of 1526, that followed a succession crisis in Croatia and Hungary caused by the death of King Louis II, which resulted in the election of Ferdinand I of Habsburg, the Archduke of Austria, as King of Croatia.
The siege of Varaždin was a siege in the Kingdom of Croatia. The war came as a result of Croatian, Slavonian and Hungarian noble diets electing different candidates for their kings, following the death of Louis II of Hungary at Battle of Mohacs.
Katzianer's Campaign or Katzianer's War was a failed 1537 Habsburg attempt of driving the Ottomans away from the region of Slavonia in modern-day Croatia. Despite being well resourced, Katzianer's army failed to achieve any objectives and it was ultimately completely annihilated in the Battle of Gorjani.
Franjo Frankopan Slunjski was a Croatian nobleman from the branched Frankopan family in the 16th century. From 1567 until his death he served as Ban (Viceroy) of Croatia and was one of the most prominent figures of the fight against the Ottoman Turks and their expansion. Having been the last male descendant of the Slunj branch of the Frankopan family, he was called "the Sword and Shield of the Remnants of Illyria".
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