John Sigismund Zápolya

For his father, see John Zápolya.

John II
King of Hungary
Reign	1540–1551, 1556(59)-1570
Coronation	1540
Predecessor	John I Ferdinand I
Successor	Maximilian II
Prince of Transylvania
Reign	1556–1571
Successor	Stephen Báthory
Born	7 July 1540 Buda, Kingdom of Hungary
Died	Gyulafehérvár, Transylvania
Father	John I
Mother	Isabella Jagiellon
Religion	Unitarian

Coat of arms of John II Sigismund.

John II Sigimund in around 1560.

King John Sigismund of Hungary with Suleiman the Magnificent in 1556.

John Sigismund Zápolya or John Sigismund Szapolyai (Hungarian: Zápolya/Szapolyai János Zsigmond, Croatian: Ivan Žigmund Zapolja) (7 July 1540 – 14 March 1571) was King of Hungary (as John II) from 1540 to 1551 and again from 1556 to 1570. He reigned over the "Eastern Hungarian Kingdom", as historians call the area which recognized as King his father and then him, instead of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria, who ruled western Hungary.

John Sigismund was born in Buda, Hungary. He abdicated as King in 1551 but was re-elected by the Diet of Szászsebes in 1556. In practice he ruled from 1559, after the regency of his mother Isabella Jagiellon.

He became Prince of Transylvania and ruler of a part of the Kingdom of Hungary in 1570 after his second abdication as King of Hungary. He was the first ruler of the Principality of Transylvania, the successor to the "Eastern Hungarian Kingdom".

Family

John Sigismund was the son of John Zápolya (John I) and Isabella Jagiellon, daughter of King Sigismund I the Old of Poland. He was born only nine days before his father's death.

Reign

The Diet promptly elected him King as John II Sigismund, when he was only a few weeks old. For much of his reign the country was governed by his mother, Isabella, and the regent, George Martinuzzi, Bishop of Varad, who had been the principal counselor of John I.

His election broke the Treaty of Nagyvárad (1538) in which John I had named Ferdinand as his successor.

Ferdinand invaded to enforce his claim in 1541. John I had pledged Hungary's allegiance to the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent in 1528, so Martinuzzi called on Suleiman to support his vassal. Suleiman marched in and ejected Ferdinand - but he also seized Buda and made central Hungary an Ottoman province. To John II Sigismund, he allocated Transylvania and part of Royal Hungary, to be ruled for him by Isabella and Bishop Martinuzzi.

There was a strong personal conflict between Isabella and Martinuzzi. Isabella intrigued against Martinuzzi, who negotiated the balance between Austrian and Ottoman interests in Hungary. In 1549, Martinuzzi arranged for John II Sigismund to abdicate as King in favor of Ferdinand, while being recognized as vassal lord of east Hungary. The deal was executed in 1551. Austrian troops marched in, but when Ottoman troops responded, Martinuzzi was suspected of treason and killed by the Austrians.

After five years of war and continual Ottoman attack, the Diet restored John II Sigismund to the "East Hungarian" throne in 1556 with Isabella as regent. He assumed full powers when Isabella died in 1559, and reigned until 1570.

See also: Eastern Hungarian Kingdom

At this time Transylvania was religiously diverse, a condition which John II Sigismund not only tolerated but fostered. In 1568, John issued the Edict of Torda, the first broad decree of religious freedom in the modern history of Europe. He supported the establishment of the Unitarian Church of Transylvania. John encouraged respect for and open dialogue between all religious viewpoints; he sponsored a public debate between Catholics, Lutherans, Calvinists, and Unitarians. Other religious groups, including Jews, Orthodox Christians, and Muslims, were granted tolerance but not legal guarantees of freedom.

Abdication

In 1570, John II Sigismund came to a new arrangement with Ferdinand's successor Emperor Maximilian II, which was expressed in the Treaty of Speyer. He abdicated as King of Hungary in Maximilian's favor, and was recognized by him as princeps Transsylvaniae et partium regni Hungariae dominus ("Prince of Transylvania and ruler of a part of the Kingdom of Hungary") - the first Prince of Transylvania, in vassalage to the Kingdom of Hungary.

Succession

John II Sigismund died at Gyulafehérvár, Transylvania, in 1571. He had no children. His will left the throne of Transylvania to his treasurer, the pro-Habsburg Gáspár Bekes. But the Diet did not honor his wishes and elected Stephen Báthory as Prince. This led to a brief civil war, which ended in Báthory's victory.

Ancestors

8. László Zápolya

4. Stephen Zápolya

9. Dorothea

2. John Zápolya

20. Boleslaus I, Duke of Cieszyn

10. Przemyslaus II, Duke of Cieszyn

21. Euphemia of Masovia

5. Hedwig of Cieszyn

22. Bolesław IV of Warsaw

11. Anna of Warsaw

23. Barbara of Ruthenia

1. John II Sigismund Zápolya

24. Władysław II Jagiełło

12. Casimir IV Jagiellon

25. Sophia of Halshany

6. Sigismund I the Old

26. Albert II of Germany

13. Elisabeth of Austria

27. Elizabeth of Luxembourg

3. Isabella Jagiellon

28. Galeazzo Maria Sforza

14. Gian Galeazzo Sforza

29. Bona of Savoy

7. Bona Sforza

30. Alfonso II of Naples

15. Isabella of Naples

31. Ippolita Maria Sforza

References

János II Sigismund Zápolya House of Zápolya Born: 1540 18 July Died: 1571 14 March
Regnal titles
Preceded by John I	King of Hungary 1540–1570 contested by Ferdinand I and Maximilian II	Relinquished title to Emperor Maximilian II
New title	Prince of Transylvania 1570–1571	Succeeded by Stephen Báthory
Notes and references
1. Regnal Chronologies