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John Sigismund Zápolya

John II Sigismund
Jan Zygmunt Zapolya.jpg
King of Hungary
contested by Ferdinand I
Reign 1540–1551
Predecessor John I
Successor Ferdinand I
Regent Isabella Jagiellon
King of Hungary
contested by Ferdinand I (1556–64), and by Maximilian (1564–70)
Reign 1556–1570
Predecessor Ferdinand I
Successor (Himself as Prince of Transylvania)
Regent Isabella Jagiellon
Duke of Opole and Racibórz
Reign 1551–1556
Regent Isabella Jagiellon
Prince of Transylvania
Reign 1570–1571
Predecessor (Himself as King of Hungary)
Successor Stephen Báthory
Born 7 July 1540
Buda, Kingdom of Hungary
Died 14 March 1571(1571-03-14) (aged 30)
Gyulafehérvár, Principality of Transylvania
(now Alba Iulia, Romania)
Burial St. Michael's Cathedral
Gyulafehérvár, Principality of Transylvania
House Zápolya
Father John I
Mother Isabella Jagiellon
Religion Roman Catholic
Lutheran
Calvinist
Unitarian

John Sigismund Zápolya or Szapolyai (Hungarian: Szapolyai János Zsigmond; 7 July 1540 – 14 March 1571) was King of Hungary as John II from 1540 to 1551, and from 1556 to 1570, and the first Prince of Transylvania from 1570 to his death. He was the only son of John I, King of Hungary, and Isabella of Poland. John I ruled parts of the Kingdom of Hungary, with the support of the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman; the remaining areas were ruled by Ferdinand I, who also claimed Hungary. The two kings concluded a peace treaty in 1538 acknowledging Ferdinand's right to reunite Hungary after John I's death, but shortly after John Sigismund's birth, and on his deathbed, John I bequeathed his realm to his son. The late king's staunchest supporters elected the infant John Sigismund king, but he was not crowned with the Holy Crown of Hungary.

Suleiman invaded Hungary under the pretext of protecting John Sigismund against Ferdinand. The capital of Hungary, Buda, fell to the Ottomans without opposition in 1541, but Suleiman allowed the dowager queen, Isabella, to retain the territory east of the river Tisza on John Sigismund's behalf. Isabella and John Sigismund moved to Lippa (now Lipova in Romania). Before long, they took up residence in Gyulafehérvár in Transylvania (now Alba Iulia in Romania). John Sigismund's realm was administered by his father's treasurer, George Martinuzzi, who wanted to reunite Hungary under the rule of Ferdinand. Martinuzzi forced Isabella to renounce her son's realm in exchange for two Silesian duchies and 140,000 florins in 1551. John Sigismund and his mother settled in Poland, but she continued to negotiate for John Sigismund's restoration with Ferdinand's enemies.


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