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John II Sigismund Zápolya |
King of Hungary and Prince of Transylvania
John II Sigismund Zápolya (Hungarian: Zápolya/Szapolyai János Zsigmond) (18 July 1540, Buda, Hungary – 14 March 1571, Gyulafehérvár, Transylvania) was the son of John Zápolya, king of Hungary and Isabella Jagiello, princess of Poland. He was elected king of Hungary in his year of birth, in 1540 by the diet of Rakos, but he was not crowned. He ruled the eastern parts of the country.
On 25 September 1541 Suleyman the Great gave Transylvania to his foster-son, John Sigismund. He was under the wardship of Friar Martinuzzi George until 1551 and later on that of his mother, Isabella. John Sigismund was a very educated man. He spoke eight languages, had a great passion for books. He also patronised Bakfark Balint in Transylvania, (who was a famous renessaince musician) and he himself was a passionate music lover, playing the flute and the piano.
Upholder of religious freedom
John Sigismund was raised as a Catholic. Under the influence of his doctor, Georgio Blandrata, he converted first to Lutheranism and later on to Calvinism. When he grew older, David Ferenc exerted huge influence upon him, he converted to Unitarianism and he kept this religion until his death in 1571. His historical deed was to eliminate the official state-religion and proclaim religious freedom. The diet of Torda in 1568 declared freedom of religion and the collective use of churches. In this way the reformation was completed in Transylvania and a system of ‘four accepted confessions’ came into being.
Consolidation of the Principality of Transylvania
In 1566 he acquired from Suleyman the Great a so-called ‘letter of alliance’, which enabled the Transylvanian nobility to freely elect a Prince. In the treaty of Speyer (1570) he resigned his title of elected King of Hungary and began to call himself Prince of Transylvania. This is when the so-called Partium was “added” to Transylvania. Partium means the Eastern Parts of formerly independent Kingdom of Hungary.
John Sigismund’s significance is that he showed the path for Transylvania to follow, which path was taken also by his successors: Transylvania can live in peace only if it manages to secure both the benevolence of the Habsburgs and the Ottomans. It was under his rule that the competency of the Prince was formed and the specific institutions of the Principality took shape. During his reign the official language of legislation became Hungarian.
His death
John Sigismund died on 10 March 1571, four days after the ratification of the Treaty of Speyer. With his death, the House of Szapolyai also died out.
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