Gabriel Bethlen
Gabriel Bethlen (Bethlen Gabor) was the prince of Transylvania, and briefly was king of Hungary.
Contents
History
Gabriel supported Andrew Bathory (Bathory Andras) in his unsuccessful war to repel Michael the Brave.
He participated in an unsuccessful revolt led by Moses Szekely (Szekely Mozes), and became a leading figure among the Transylvanian refugees in the Ottoman Empire.
Gabriel was a close ally of Stephen Bocskai and encouraged him to lead a revolt against Rudolf II.
Gabriel would again flee to the Ottoman Empire during the reign of Gabriel Bathory (Bathory Gabor).
Reign
In 1613, as retaliation for invasion of Ottoman-vassalized Wallachia, Ahmed I deposed Gabriel Bathory and installed Gabriel as prince of Transylvania.
In August 1619, Bethlen invaded Royal Hungary; by October he captured Bratislava. He was however repelled from Vienna. He was elected king of Hungary on August 20, 1620.
By June 1621, Bratislava was recaptured by the Austrians. In December a treaty was signed in which Gabriel renounced the Hungarian crown but was granted counties in Royal Hungary and Silesia.
He would continue to unsuccessfuly invade Habsburg realms until 1626.
He married Catherine, sister of George William of the Hohenzollern dynasty, margrave and elector of Brandenburg, and duke of Prussia.
Gabriel died on November 25, 1629.
Legacy
Gabriel's wife Catherine held on to the principality for about a year, until his brother Stephen was installed by the Ottoman Empire.