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János Kemény (14 December 1607 in Magyarbükkös – 23 January 1662 in Szásznagyszőllős) was a Hungarian aristocrat, writer and prince of Transylvania.
János Kemény, offspring of a Transylvanian family of Hungarian aristocrats, held various political and military positions in the Principality of Transylvania, during the reign of princes Gábor Bethlen and George I Rákóczi. As he writes, the family descends from Kemeny Simon, who disguised himself as Hunyadi János and was killed by the Turks instead of his master. The story is recorded by Heltai Gaspar's work, Magyar Cronica, a Hungarian translation/rewriting of the Latin of Antonio Bonfini published in 1560s.
Under George II Rákóczi, he became the chief advisor of the prince, and leader of the military campaigns to Moldavia in 1653 and Poland in 1657, the latter being aimed at obtaining the Polish crown for Rákóczi. The Turks strongly opposed to Rákóczi's Polish ambitions and prohibited any military action. In the face of Turkish prohibition, Kemény also objected to the prince's ill-conceived Polish undertaking, and unwillingly took the leadership of the campaign that ended in disaster; Kemény's army, deserted by the Swedish allies, was captured by the Crimean Tatar allies of the Turks.
Kemény was held captive by the Tatars until August 1659, when he was released for a huge ransom. During his captivity in Bakhchisaray he wrote his Autobiography (in Hungarian), one of the most excellent masterpieces of the Transylvanian memoirist literature of the 17th century.
When he returned to Transylvania, he found a country torn by the ambitions of George II Rákóczi, unwilling to resign, a number of would-be princes, and a Turkish Porte vengeful for the unauthorized military campaign. The Sublime Porte now openly disregarded the Transylvanian Estates' right to elect the prince; Kemény saw this, and the successional invasions of Transylvania by the Turks and their Crimean Tatar allies, as an end of Transylvania's autonomy, which he thought could be prevented only with reliance on Habsburg help.
Kemény was elected prince by the Transylvanian Diet on 1 January 1661, after Ákos Barcsai, backed up by the Turks, was forced to resign. In April 1661, the Transylvanian Diet, led by Kemény, proclaimed the secession of Transylvania from the Ottoman Empire and called on for help from Vienna. In turn, an overwhelming Turkish and Tatar army attacked Transylvania in June, defeating Kemény's army and driving him to Royal Hungary. The Turks installed Mihály Apafi as prince; Kemény, initially supported by Austrian general Montecuccoli returned to Transylvania in early September. However, the Austrian army soon deserted him, and Kemény was killed by the Turks in the battle of Nagyszőllős.
His renaissance family castle is now in half-ruin, due to neglect of the government, in Aranyosmeggyes - visible from the main road Cluj-Napoca-Turda.
Gabriel Bethlen was Prince of Transylvania from 1613 to 1629 and Duke of Opole from 1622 to 1625. He was also King-elect of Hungary from 1620 to 1621, but he never took control of the whole kingdom. Bethlen, supported by the Ottomans, led his Calvinist principality against the Habsburgs and their Catholic allies.
Emeric Thököly de Késmárk was a Hungarian nobleman, leader of anti-Habsburg uprisings like his father, Count István Thököly, before him. Emeric was Prince of Upper Hungary, an Ottoman vassal state, from 1682 to 1685, and briefly Prince of Transylvania during the year 1690. Having formed an alliance with the Turks, Thököly assisted the Ottoman Empire at the Battle of Vienna in 1683 and led the Turkish cavalry at the battle of Zenta. Refusing to surrender to Habsburg Emperor Leopold I, Thököly lost his principality of Upper Hungary and finally retired to Galata, near Constantinople, with large estates granted him by Mustafa II.
The Deluge was a series of mid-17th-century campaigns in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. In a wider sense it applies to the period between the Khmelnytsky Uprising of 1648 and the Truce of Andrusovo in 1667, thus comprising the Polish theatres of the Russo-Polish and Second Northern Wars. In a stricter sense, the term refers to the Swedish invasion and occupation of the Commonwealth as a theatre of the Second Northern War (1655–1660) only; in Poland and Lithuania this period is called the Swedish Deluge, or less commonly the Russo–Swedish Deluge due to the simultaneous Russo-Polish War. The term "deluge" was popularized by Henryk Sienkiewicz in his novel The Deluge (1886).
The Rákóczi were a Hungarian noble family in the Kingdom of Hungary between the 13th century and 18th century. Their name is also spelled Rákoci, Rakoczi and Rakoczy in some foreign (English) sources. The family was named after Rákóc.
Gabriel Báthory was Prince of Transylvania from 1608 to 1613. Born to the Roman Catholic branch of the Báthory family, he was closely related to four rulers of the Principality of Transylvania. His father, Stephen Báthory, held estates in the principality, but never ruled it. Being a minor when his father died in 1601, Gabriel became the ward of the childless Stephen Báthory, from the Protestant branch of the family, who converted him to Calvinism. After inheriting his guardian's most estates in 1605, Gabriel became one of the wealthiest landowners in Transylvania and Royal Hungary.
George II Rákóczi, was a Hungarian nobleman, Prince of Transylvania (1648-1660), the eldest son of George I and Zsuzsanna Lorántffy.
The Battle of Saint Gotthard, of the Austro-Turkish War (1663–1664), took place on 1 August 1664 on the Raab between Mogersdorf and the Cistercian monastery St. Gotthard in German West Hungary. It was fought between Imperial Army forces, including Germans, Swedish and French contingents, led by Imperial Commander in Chief Count Raimondo Montecuccoli and the army of the Ottoman Empire under the command of Köprülü Fazıl Ahmed Paşa.
Transylvania is a historical region in central and northwestern Romania. It was under the rule Agathyrsi, part of the Dacian Kingdom, Roman Dacia, the Hunnic Empire, the Kingdom of the Gepids, the Avar Khaganate and the 9th century First Bulgarian Empire. During the late 9th century, Transylvania was reached and conquered by the Hungarian conquerors, and Gyula's family from seven chieftains of the Hungarians ruled Transylvania in the 10th century. King Stephen I of Hungary asserted his claim to rule all lands dominated by Hungarian lords, he personally led his army against his maternal uncle Gyula III and Transylvania became part of the Kingdom of Hungary in 1002.
The Early Modern Times in Romania started after the death of Michael the Brave, who ruled in a personal union, Wallachia, Transylvania, and Moldavia – three principalities in the lands that now form Romania – for three months, in 1600. The three principalities were subjected to the Ottoman Empire, and paid a yearly tribute to the Ottoman Sultans, but they preserved their internal autonomy. In contrast, Dobruja and the Banat were fully incorporated into the Ottoman Empire.
George I Rákóczi was Prince of Transylvania from 1630 until his death in 1648. Prior to that, he was a leader of the Protestant faction in Hungary and a faithful supporter of Gabriel Bethlen, his predecessor as Prince. When Bohemian nobles requested military support in their struggles against the Habsburg monarchy, Rákóczi persuaded Bethlen to help and commanded Transylvanian forces in several battles. Rákóczi was elected prince after Bethlen's death, succeeding Bethlen's wife Catherine of Brandenburg and brother Istvan.
Michael Apafi was Prince of Transylvania from 1661 to his death.
Rákóczi's War of Independence (1703–11) was the first significant attempt to topple the rule of the Habsburgs over Hungary. The war was conducted by a group of noblemen, wealthy and high-ranking progressives and was led by Francis II Rákóczi and resigned soldiers and peasants fought alongside the noblemen. The insurrection was unsuccessful, ending with the Treaty of Szatmár; however, the Hungarian nobility managed to partially satisfy Hungarian interests.
Francis I Rákóczi was a Hungarian aristocrat, elected prince of Transylvania and father of Hungarian national hero Francis Rákóczi II.
Mihály Mikes de Zabola was a Hungarian noble in the Principality of Transylvania, who served as Chancellor of Transylvania from 1656 to 1660.
János Bethlen de Bethlen was a Hungarian noble in the Principality of Transylvania, who served as Chancellor of Transylvania from 1659 to 1678.
Farkas Bethlen de Bethlen was a Hungarian noble and chronicler in the Principality of Transylvania, who served as Chancellor of Transylvania from 1678 to 1679.
The Battle of Czarny Ostrów took place on July 20, 1657, during the period in Polish history known as the Deluge. The Polish Crown army commanded by Hetmans Stefan Czarniecki, Jerzy Lubomirski and Stanisław Potocki, supported by Crimean Tatars, defeated a Transylvanian-Cossack-Moldavian-Wallachian army under George II Rakoczi.
The Diploma Leopoldinum was a legal document which determined the basic principles of the government of the Principality of Transylvania within the Habsburg Empire. The diploma was drafted by Miklós Bethlen, Chancellor of Transylvania. The Holy Roman Emperor, Leopold I, sanctioned it in Vienna on 16 October 1690. The diploma announced on 4 December 1691. The diploma restored civil administration in the principality, and confirmed the traditional liberties of the Three Nations of Transylvania, including the freedom of the four "received" religions.
Moses Székely de Siménfalva was a Székely nobleman, the posthumous son of Moses Székely, Sr. who briefly served as Prince of Transylvania in 1603.
János Kendi de Nagykend was a Hungarian jurist, who served as assistant notary of Michael I Apafi, Prince of Transylvania from 1661 to 1677.
Ioan Kemény MEMORII — Scrierea vieții sale — Casa Cărții de Știință Cluj-Napoca, 2002 ISBN 973-686-260-7
Kemény János Erdélyi Fejcdelem Önèletírása. Kiadta Szalay László, Pest, 1856. Heckenast Gusztáv.
Kemény János önéletírása 1657-1658, Szépirodalmi könyvkiadó, 1986, A szöveggondozás és a jegyzetek V. Windisch Éva munkája