Romanian Monarchs

The modern Romanian state has never been a monarchy. For all intents and purposes however, it is the successor to the Transylvanian region.

Note that Hungarian names are written as [Family name] [Given name].

Kingdom of Hungary

Throughout the history of the independent kingdom of Hungary, Transylvania was led by a powerful voivode. This was a princely title held by the ispan of Feher, reflecting the elevated status of the voivodeship over all other counties.

Following the death of Louis II and the Ottoman conquest of Buda, voivode John I was crowned in Szekesfehervar. His claim was contested by the Habsburg emperor Ferdinand I, who was crowned in Bratislava with support from Hungarian nobility. John I became a vassal of the Ottoman Empire. The capital was moved to Alba Iulia.

In the 1540s, Suleiman reorganized the Ottoman-held Hungarian lands into pashaliks.

As a result of the Ottoman's relative tolerance toward religions, Catholicism began to be supplanted by Protestantism (especially Calvinism) in non-Habsburg lands. Isabella made freedom of religion a legal right in Transylvania.

Principality of Transylvania

In 1570 John II would renounce his claim to the kingdom of Hungary. Transylvania became a principality, still a vassal to the Ottoman Empire.

Gabriel Bethlen led a Calvinist insurrection in Royal Hungary. He briefly reigned as king of a mostly-united Hungary.

John Kemeny (Kemeny Janos) rebelled against the Ottoman Empire and plead for assistance from the Austrian Empire. The two empires instead began eating away at the principality from both sides. Critically the town of Oradea (then called Nagyvarad) was captured in 1660 by the Ottomans. In 1699 the principality was formally ceded to the Habsburgs.

Dynasties

Szapolyai

In July 1527, Ferdinand I invaded Hungary to briefly recapture Buda from the Ottomans and overthrew John I in Transylvania.

John I made a deal with Suleiman the Magnificent to recapture the kingdom of Hungary as a vassal. By 1529 he had regained power; ensuing peace treaties would formally divide lands between the Habsburg Royal Hungary and the kingdom of Upper Hungary and Transylvania.

This history was repeated twice after John I died in 1540. His wife Isabella reigned as regent for their infant son John II. (She was the eldest daugther of Sigismund I, king of Poland and grand duke of Lithuania as well as a member of the Jagiellon dynasty which briefly held power in the kingdom of Hungary.) They was overthrown by an Austrian army then restored by an Ottoman army, all in 1541; they was overthrown by an Austrian army in 1551 and restored by an Ottoman army in 1556.

Bathory

Following the death of John II, voivode Stephen was crowned. Gaspar Bekes (Kornyati Bekes Gaspar) contested his reign up to 1576, when a succession crisis in the kingdom of Poland and grand duchy of Lithuania was settled with Stephan marrying Anna (another daughter of Sigismund I and heiress to the Jagiellon dynasty). He then reigned in Transylvania in own right, and reigned in Poland and Lithuania jure uxoris.

Sigismund married into the Habsburgs and, given the increasing encroachment of Ottoman invasions, repeatedly abdicated his principality to the Habsburg king of Hungary Rudolf I (more commonly known as Rudolf II of the Holy Roman Empire) or his brother Andrew.

Following the death of Stephen Bocskai in 1606, Gabriel contested the principality; Sigismund Rakoczi abdicated in 1608.

In retaliation for the invasion of vassalized realsm, Ahmed I had Gabriel assassinated.

Draculesti

Between October 1599 and September 1600, Michael the Brave was the de facto prince.

Bocskai

Stephen led a revolt against Rudolf I (more commonly known as Rudolf II of the Holy Roman Empire) in 1605.

Rakoczi

Sigismund succeeded Stephen Bocskai.

Sigismund would abdicate in favor of Gabriel Bathory (Bathory Gabor). Following the death of Gabriel Bethlen in 1629, Sigismund's son George I was elected prince.

George II would face retaliation from the Ottoman Empire for an unsanctioned invasion of the kingdom of Poland. Brief appointments of Francis Rhedey and Akos Barcsay interrupt his reign, and he is ultimately killed in battle against the Ottomans in 1660.

Francis II began a rebellion in 1703 against Habsburg rule. He reigned as prince of Transylvania from 1704 until 1711.

Bethlen

Gabriel had been a close ally of Stephen Bocskai in his uprising against Rudolf I. In 1613, Ahmed I deposed the Bathory dynasty and installed Gabriel as prince of Transylvania.

After Gabriel died in November 1629, his wife Catherine briefly reigned. His brother Stephen overthrew her in September 1630 but resigned after just 60 days.

Rhedey

In 1657, George II Rakoczi (Rakoczi Gyorgy II) invaded the kingdom of Poland without seeking permission from the Ottoman Empire. In retaliation, Francis Rhedey (Rhedey Ferenc) was briefly installed as prince.

Barcsay

After Francis Rhedey (Rhedey Ferenc) abdicated in favor of George II Rakoczi (Rakoczi Gyorgy II), the Ottoman Empire again intervened and installed Akos Barcsay as prince.

Kemeny

Amidst the war between Akos Barcsay and George II Rakoczi (Rakoczi Gyorgy II), John Kemeny (Kemeny Janos) proclaimed independence from the Ottoman Empire and plead for Austrian intervention. He overthrew Akos, but was quickly overthrown himself by the Ottomans.

Apafi

After the Ottomans put down the rebellion of John Kemeny (Kemeny Janos), they installed Michael I Apafi (Apafi Mihaly I) as prince.

In 1692, Michael II Apafi (Apafi Mihaly II) was summoned to Vienna and imprisoned. He was forced to cede Transylvania to the Habsburgs.

Thokoly

As a military commander in the Ottoman Empire's waning war to retain Hungary, Emeric Thokoly (Thokoly Imre) was briefly made prince of Transylvania.

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