Prince Rákóczi Zsigmond (1555-08/12/1608)
The founder of the great Rákóczi dynasty was born into a noble family in Felsővadász in Zemplén County around 1555. He appears in the sources for the first time around 1570, when he was a soldier in Szendrő, but in 1586 he was already the captain of the castle. He traded wine from his estates, especially to Poland, with which he amassed a considerable fortune. He also lent money to the Chief Captain of Kassa (Kosice, Kaschau), the Szepesi (Zipt) Chamber, through which he acquired Szerencs castle as a pledge.
Through his first wife, he acquired additional properties, thus becoming a large landowner. From 1588 he was the Chief Captain of Eger castle, and in this position, he participated in the victorious battle of Szikszó in the fall of that year. He also played a big role in achieving victory. In 1591, he left Eger and farmed and traded on his estates and acquired more important estates (Tarcal, Ónod, Szádvár, Sáros, Makovica). Here is my dramatized historical story about the Battle of Szikszó, it is in my book “33 Castles, Battles, Legends” but you can also read it here:
Around 1595, he was included in the royal council, thereby becoming one of the mightiest barons of the Kingdom of Hungary. However, he barely took part in the Fifteen Years’ War, and as a result of the Treasury lawsuit initiated against him by the Viennese court, he withdrew even more from public life. He returned to politics only at the Bocskai uprising. He joined Bocskai István at the end of 1604, and in September 1605 he was elected Governor of Transylvania during Bocskai’s absence.
He proved to be a very determined, strong-handed leader who was capable of making compromises at the same time. He was reliable, strong, and even combative when needed, respected others, and therefore quickly made many friends.
February 12th, 1607 Rákóczi Zsigmond was elected prince of Transylvania
On December 29, 1606, the Prince of Hungary and Transylvania Bocskai István died in Kassa. When his Last Will was read, it was discovered that he had named Homonnai Drugeth Bálint as his successor in Transylvania. However, his identity was kept secret for the time being, and it was taken for granted that the country, which had the right to elect its prince, would accept Bocskai’s Will without a word.
There were three candidates for the throne of Transylvania, Bocskai’s designated successor was Homonnai Drugeth Bálint, the former son-in-law of Rákóczi was the first. The second was Báthory Gábor, the son of the great princely dynasty, and the third was the Governor of Transylvania, Rákóczi Zsigmond. However, they did not take into account that Transylvania had been ruled by Rákóczi Zsigmond, who had been raised to a barony and had established very good relations with the local nobility, while Homonnai was not known at all.
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