The era of principality

                     (1541 - 1690) 

  Before 1541 Transylvania belonged to the

Hungarian Kingdom as its eastern province,

which was ruled by counts chosen by the 

kingdom itself. If the king was, or became, 

weak, it happened that the counts tried to 

gain their independency. In 1526 János 

Szapolyai, count at that time, hesitates to 

join the kings camp with his army, thing that

facilitated the tragedy from Mohács. (In 

1526, at Mohács, the Hungarian army 

suffered the decisive defeat against the 

Turks that invaded the country.) 

  In a short time János Szapolyai (ex 

Transylvanian count) becomes king of 

Hungary (1526 - 1540), and they also vote 

another king: Habsburg Ferdinand (1526 - 

1564). By this event Hungary falls into two 

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overtook  Buda, falls into three parts: 

  1. The country's center part together 

with Buda becomes the homage payer 

land for Turkey. The Turkish homage 

was holding up for one and a half century, 

and by the Turks occupied provinces 

increased in time with the new overtaking. 

  2. The provinces west to the Danube 

river and the country's northern and 

eastern parts remained at the Hungarian 

Kingdom, where actually the leaders 

were the Habsburgs. 

  3. The rest of the country, which means 

the provinces eastern of the Tisza river 

and Transylvania gain their independency, 

which leads to the Transylvanian  

Principality, for the Turks tax payer state. 

  The two foreign power - the German 

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