The Treaty of Speyer, signed at the Diet of Speyer in 1570, was a peace agreement between the two Hungarian Kingdoms, Royal Hungary led by Maximilian II, and the Eastern Hungarian Kingdom, ruled by John Sigismund Zápolya, which lead to the establishment of the Principality of Transylvania.
___Principality_of_Transylvania_(1570–1711)_q.jpg){kind=spacer}
>>>PUT SHARE BUTTONS HERE<<<
👉 Treaty of Speyer (1570) in the context of Principality of Transylvania (1570–1711)
The Principality of Transylvania (Hungarian: Erdélyi Fejedelemség; Latin: Principatus Transsilvaniae; German: Fürstentum Siebenbürgen; Romanian: Principatul Transilvaniei / Principatul Ardealului; Turkish: Erdel Voyvodalığı / Transilvanya Prensliği) was a semi-independent state ruled by Hungarian princes. It existed as an Ottoman vassal state for the majority of the 16th and 17th centuries, overseen by Ottoman Turkish sultans. At various points during this period, the Habsburgs also exerted a degree of suzerainty in the region. Its territory, in addition to the traditional Transylvanian lands, also included the other major component called Partium, which was in some periods comparable in size with Transylvania proper. The establishment of the principality was connected to the Treaty of Speyer. However, Stephen Báthory's status as king of Poland also helped to phase in the name Principality of Transylvania.
The principality continued to be a part of the Lands of the Hungarian Crown and was a symbol of the survival of Hungarian statehood. It represented Hungarian interests against Habsburg encroachments in the Habsburg-ruled Kingdom of Hungary. Traditional Hungarian law had to be followed scrupulously in the principality; furthermore, the state was predominantly Protestant. After the unsettled period of Rákóczi's War of Independence, it was subordinated to the Habsburg monarchy.
In this Dossier
Treaty of Speyer (1570) in the context of Eastern Hungarian Kingdom
The Eastern Hungarian Kingdom (Hungarian: keleti Magyar Királyság [ˈkɛlɛti ˈmɒɟɒr ˈkiraːjʃaːg]) is a modern term coined by some historians to designate the realm of John Zápolya and his son John Sigismund Zápolya, who contested the claims of the House of Habsburg to rule the Kingdom of Hungary from 1526 to 1570. The Zápolyas ruled over an eastern part of Hungary, and the Habsburg kings (Ferdinand and Maximilian) ruled the west. The Habsburgs tried several times to unite all Hungary under their rule, but the Ottoman Empire prevented that by supporting the Eastern Hungarian Kingdom.
The exact extent of the Zápolya realm was never settled because both the Habsburgs and the Zápolyas claimed the whole kingdom. A temporary territorial division was made in the Treaty of Nagyvárad in 1538. The Eastern Hungarian Kingdom is considered the predecessor of the Principality of Transylvania (1570–1711), which was established by the Treaty of Speyer.
Treaty of Speyer (1570) in the context of Alba Iulia
Alba Iulia (Romanian pronunciation: [ˌalba ˈjuli.a] ; German: Karlsburg or Carlsburg, formerly Weißenburg [ˈvaɪsn̩bʊʁk] ; Hungarian: Gyulafehérvár [ˈɟulɒfɛɦeːrvaːr]; Latin: Apulum) is a city that serves as the seat of Alba County in the west-central part of Romania. Located on the river Mureș in the historical region of Transylvania, it has a population of 64,227 (as of 2021).
During ancient times, the site was the location of the Roman camp Apulum. Since the High Middle Ages, the city has been the seat of Transylvania's Roman Catholic diocese. Between 1526 and 1570 it was the capital of the Eastern Hungarian Kingdom from which the Principality of Transylvania emerged by the Treaty of Speyer in 1570 and it was the capital of the Principality of Transylvania until 1711. At one point it also was a center of the Eastern Orthodox Metropolitan of Transylvania with suffragan to Vad diocese. On 1 December 1918, the Union of Transylvania with Romania was declared in Alba Iulia, and Romania's King Ferdinand I and, in 1922 Queen Marie were crowned in the Alba Iulia Orthodox Cathedral.