Mózes Székely

Moses Székely (Hungarian: Székely Mózes; c. 1553 – 17 July 1603) was Prince of Transylvania in 1603.

He was a military leader under Prince Sigismund Báthory. After the latter's third and final abdication in 1601, Transylvania was controlled by the mercenaries of Habsburg general Giorgio Basta. In April 1603, Székely instigated the native Transylvanian forces to rebel and, with the support of Turkish-Tartarian auxiliary forces, routed Basta's troops. On 8 May 1603, Székely claimed the title of a Prince of Transylvania, but his rule proved unstable, as his Tartarian mercenaries outdid Basta's troops in cruelty and Radu Șerban, the new Voivode of Wallachia attacked as an ally of the Habsburgs.

Mózes' own kinsmen, the Székely, joined forces with the invaders, who defeated and killed Mózes in the Battle of Brașov on 17 July 1603. Radu withdrew to Wallachia, making way for a return of Basta's mercenaries. Székely was the only Székely monarch of the Transylvanian Principality.

Moses Székely was born in Székelyudvarhely (now Odorheiu Secuiesc in Romania) around 1553. His father, János Literáti Székely, was a Székely nobleman (or primipilus). His mother is unknown. Moses had three brothers, István, János and Péter.

John Sigismund Zápolya, who ruled the eastern territories of the medieval Kingdom of Hungary as vassal of the Ottoman Empire, made János Literáti the ispán (or head) of the chamber of salt in 1568. According to the Transylvanian historian, István Szamosközy, Moses traded in salt in his youth. After John Sigismund converted to Unitarianism in the late 1560s, Moses was one of the many Székely noblemen who also adopted the Anti-Trinitarian doctrine.

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