The Szapolyai or Zápolya family was a noble family in the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coronation of the Hungarian monarch, c ...

in the second half of the 15th century and in the early 16th century. A member of the family,

John Szapolyai John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

, was

King of Hungary The King of Hungary ( hu, magyar király) was the ruling head of state of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1000 (or 1001) to 1918. The style of title "Apostolic King of Hungary" (''Apostoli Magyar Király'') was endorsed by Pope Clement XIII in 175 ...

between 1526 and 1540, but he only ruled the central and eastern parts of the kingdom, because many Hungarian lords and prelates supported his opponent, Ferdinand of Habsburg.

Origins

The first known member of the family was one Ladislaus Vajdafi Szapolyai, who was a

Slavonia Slavonia (; hr, Slavonija) is, with Dalmatia, Croatia proper, and Istria, one of the four historical regions of Croatia. Taking up the east of the country, it roughly corresponds with five Croatian counties: Brod-Posavina, Osijek-Bar ...

n nobleman with estates in former Požega County. Most notably the today small eponymous village Zapolje in Rešetari municipality,

Brod-Posavina county Brod-Posavina County ( hr, Brodsko-posavska županija) is the southern Slavonian county in Croatia. Its center is the city of Slavonski Brod and it spreads along the left bank of the Sava river, hence the name ''Posavina''. Other notable towns ...

. His eldest son, Emeric, was the first member of the family to achieve the status of "true baron of the realm" when

Matthias Corvinus Matthias Corvinus, also called Matthias I ( hu, Hunyadi Mátyás, ro, Matia/Matei Corvin, hr, Matija/Matijaš Korvin, sk, Matej Korvín, cz, Matyáš Korvín; ), was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1458 to 1490. After conducting several m ...

, appointed him high treasurer in 1459 or 1460. The sudden emergence of Emeric and his two brothersNicholas and

Stephen Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; ...

during Matthias Corvinus's reign gave rise to scholarly theories about their kinship with the royal

Hunyadi family The Hunyadi family was one of the most powerful noble families in the Kingdom of Hungary during the 15th century. A member of the family, Matthias Corvinus, was King of Hungary from 1458 until 1490, King of Bohemia (ruling in Moravia, Lowe ...

. The joint appearance of the Szapolyai, Hunyadi and Szilágyi coat-of-arms in certain places also support this theory, taking into account that Matthias Corvinus's mother was

Elizabeth Szilágyi Erzsébet Szilágyi ( hu, Szilágyi Erzsébet, c. 1410–1483) was a Hungarian noblewoman, wife of John Hunyadi and mother of Matthias Corvinus, King of Hungary. Elizabeth was the daughter of the Ladislaus Szilágyi and Catherine Bellyéni ...

. The Szapolyai coat-of-arms (which depicted a wolf) appears together with the Hunyadi coat-of-arms on the tomb of Matthias Corvinus's father,

John Hunyadi John Hunyadi (, , , ; 1406 – 11 August 1456) was a leading Hungarian military and political figure in Central and Southeastern Europe during the 15th century. According to most contemporary sources, he was the member of a noble family of ...

, and with the Hunyadi and Szilágyi coat-of-arms in the Dominican monastery in

Buda Buda (; german: Ofen, sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Budim, Будим, Czech and sk, Budín, tr, Budin) was the historic capital of the Kingdom of Hungary and since 1873 has been the western part of the Hungarian capital Budapest, on the ...

and on a well in Matthias Corvinus's summer palace in

Visegrád Visegrád (; german: Plintenburg; la, Pone Navata or ; sk, Vyšehrad) is a castle town in Pest County, Hungary. It is north of Budapest on the right bank of the Danube in the Danube Bend. It had a population of 1,864 in 2010. The town is the ...

. According to one theory, John Hunyadi's mother was born to the Szapolyai family; according to a concurring scholarly view, Emeric Szapolyai was Matthias Corvinus's half-brother. None of the theories can be proven, because no member of the Szapolyai family referred to his kinship with the Hunyadis.

Notable members

* Emeric Zápolya * Stephen Zápolya *

George Zápolya Count George Zápolya de Szepes ( hr, Juraj Zapolja, hu, Szapolyai György or Zápolya György, ro, Gheorghe Zápolya, sk, Juraj Zápoľský; c. 1488 – 29 August 1526) was a Hungarian magnate, son of Palatine Stephen Zápolya and younger br ...

* Barbara Zápolya, Queen of Poland *

John Zápolya John Zápolya or Szapolyai ( hu, Szapolyai/ Zápolya János, hr, Ivan Zapolja, ro, Ioan Zápolya, sk, Ján Zápoľský; 1490/91 – 22 July 1540), was King of Hungary (as John I) from 1526 to 1540. His rule was disputed by Archduke Fer ...

, King of Hungary *

John Sigismund Zápolya John Sigismund Zápolya or Szapolyai ( hu, 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 ...

, King of Hungary and Prince of Transylvania

References

Sources

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zapolya family

Origins

Notable members

See also

References

Sources