Individual Details
Baron Zigmond Forgách de Ghymes et Gács
(1559 - 1621)
Zsigmond was the son of Simon Forgách de Gács and Ursula Pemflinger. His year of birth is variously given as 1559 and 1565. He married three times. His first marriage was to Anna Losonczy. On 19 April 1598 he married Baronesse Susanna Thurzó de Bethlenfalva and in 1608 he married Gräfin Katalin Pálffy ab Erdöd, daughter of Graf Miklos II Pálffy ab Erdöd and Maria Magdalena Fugger. His son Adam from his second marriage and his daughter Eva from his third would have progeny.
Zsigmond had a distinguished career in which he rose to be palatine of Hungary, but which also suggested a lack of constancy and a readiness to shift his allegiances. In 1607, as captain-general of Upper Hungary, based at Kassa (Kosice), he successfully supported the candidacy of Gabor II Báthori as prince of Transylvania, displacing Zsigmond Racoczi. By the summer of 1611, on behalf of magnates from Upper Hungary, he was attempting to remove Báthori from power, aided by a mercenary force led by the Romanian Radu Serban. The two forces besieged Báthori at his capital Szeben. Gabor Bethlen, who would become prince of Transylvania after Báthori's assassination in 1613, called for Turkish help to restore peace, and in the autumn on 1611 Pasha Omer of Bosnia entered Transylvania. Serban and Zsigmond Forgách fled with their armies. Few of Zsigmond's troops survived their return to Kassa via Moldavia in the winter of 1611/12.
In a letter of 7 January 1611, Zsigmond was recorded as supreme judge of the kingdom of Hungary. The letter, to Graf György Thurzó de Bethlenfalva, palatine of Hungary since 1609, concerned his prosecution of Elisabeth Báthori, who had been accused and convicted of torturing and killing a large number of young girls.
After the death of György Thurzó, on 15 May 1617 Zsigmond was appointed the new palatine of Hungary by Emperor Matthias, king of Hungary. On 18 May 1618 Ferdinand II, cousin of Matthias, was proclaimed king of Hungary (he became emperor after the death of Matthias on 20 March 1619). As palatine, Zsigmond initially supported Ferdinand, persuading the Hungarian parliament not to support the Protestants of Bohemia rebelling against the emperor.
In September 1619 Gabriel Bethlen declared war against Ferdinand II, concerned about the likelihood of imperial suppression of the Reformation in Hungary. A Protestant though tolerant toward all religions, he allied himself with the Protestant Friedrich V, Kurfürst von der Pfalz, king of Bohemia (the 'Winter King'), and overran Hungary, of which he was elected king in 1620. Hungary's magnates, including Zsigmond, rallied to Bethlen.
After Friedrich's defeat at the Battle of White Mountain in 1620, talks were initiated in January 1621 between Ferdinand and the Hungarian magnates led by Zsigmond, representing Bethlen. The talks ended inconclusively, but Zsigmond privately signalled his disillusionment with Bethlen, and in June he rallied to the imperial forces at Ersekujvar. Zsigmond died of a stroke on 21 June 1621.
The peace of Nikolsburg (Mikulov) was signed on 31 December 1621 between Bethlen and Ferdinand II, by which Bethlen renounced the royal title but retained control of seven Hungarian counties and received the rank of Prince of the Empire.
Source: Leo van de Pas
Zsigmond had a distinguished career in which he rose to be palatine of Hungary, but which also suggested a lack of constancy and a readiness to shift his allegiances. In 1607, as captain-general of Upper Hungary, based at Kassa (Kosice), he successfully supported the candidacy of Gabor II Báthori as prince of Transylvania, displacing Zsigmond Racoczi. By the summer of 1611, on behalf of magnates from Upper Hungary, he was attempting to remove Báthori from power, aided by a mercenary force led by the Romanian Radu Serban. The two forces besieged Báthori at his capital Szeben. Gabor Bethlen, who would become prince of Transylvania after Báthori's assassination in 1613, called for Turkish help to restore peace, and in the autumn on 1611 Pasha Omer of Bosnia entered Transylvania. Serban and Zsigmond Forgách fled with their armies. Few of Zsigmond's troops survived their return to Kassa via Moldavia in the winter of 1611/12.
In a letter of 7 January 1611, Zsigmond was recorded as supreme judge of the kingdom of Hungary. The letter, to Graf György Thurzó de Bethlenfalva, palatine of Hungary since 1609, concerned his prosecution of Elisabeth Báthori, who had been accused and convicted of torturing and killing a large number of young girls.
After the death of György Thurzó, on 15 May 1617 Zsigmond was appointed the new palatine of Hungary by Emperor Matthias, king of Hungary. On 18 May 1618 Ferdinand II, cousin of Matthias, was proclaimed king of Hungary (he became emperor after the death of Matthias on 20 March 1619). As palatine, Zsigmond initially supported Ferdinand, persuading the Hungarian parliament not to support the Protestants of Bohemia rebelling against the emperor.
In September 1619 Gabriel Bethlen declared war against Ferdinand II, concerned about the likelihood of imperial suppression of the Reformation in Hungary. A Protestant though tolerant toward all religions, he allied himself with the Protestant Friedrich V, Kurfürst von der Pfalz, king of Bohemia (the 'Winter King'), and overran Hungary, of which he was elected king in 1620. Hungary's magnates, including Zsigmond, rallied to Bethlen.
After Friedrich's defeat at the Battle of White Mountain in 1620, talks were initiated in January 1621 between Ferdinand and the Hungarian magnates led by Zsigmond, representing Bethlen. The talks ended inconclusively, but Zsigmond privately signalled his disillusionment with Bethlen, and in June he rallied to the imperial forces at Ersekujvar. Zsigmond died of a stroke on 21 June 1621.
The peace of Nikolsburg (Mikulov) was signed on 31 December 1621 between Bethlen and Ferdinand II, by which Bethlen renounced the royal title but retained control of seven Hungarian counties and received the rank of Prince of the Empire.
Source: Leo van de Pas
Events
| Birth | 1559 | ||||
| Marriage | 19 Apr 1598 | Gács - Baroness Zsuzsanna Thurzo de Bethenfalvs | |||
| Death | 1621 | ||||
| Marriage | Baroness Katalin Pálffy ab Erdöd |
Families
| Spouse | Baroness Zsuzsanna Thurzo de Bethenfalvs (1569 - 1608) |
| Child | Count Ádám Forgách de Ghymes et Gács (1601 - 1681) |
| Spouse | Baroness Katalin Pálffy ab Erdöd ( - 1639) |
| Child | Baroness Éva Forgách de Ghymes et Gács ( - 1639) |
| Father | Baron Simon Forgách de Gács (1526 - 1598) |
| Mother | Orsolya Pempflinger ( - ) |
| Sibling | Baroness Zsófia Forgách de Ghymes et Gács (1568 - 1590) |