Eastern Hungarian Kingdom

Origins

After King Louis II died at Mohács in 1526, the Hungarian nobility split. A diet at Székesfehérvár crowned John Zápolya, voivode of Transylvania, in November 1526, while a rival diet chose Ferdinand of Habsburg. Driven out by Ferdinand in 1527, Zápolya accepted the protection of Sultan Suleiman, who restored him to Buda in 1529.

Rule and society

The kingdom held the eastern half of Hungary and Transylvania under Ottoman suzerainty. After Zápolya's death in 1540, his widow Isabella Jagiellon and the bishop George Martinuzzi governed for the infant John Sigismund. When Suleiman seized Buda in 1541, the court moved to Gyulafehérvár. The Diet of Torda in 1568 proclaimed broad religious freedom.

Decline and legacy

By the Treaty of Speyer in 1570, John Sigismund gave up the title of king and was recognised as Prince of Transylvania, turning the realm into the Principality of Transylvania. The division between Habsburg Royal Hungary, Ottoman Hungary and Transylvania lasted until the late 17th century.