János Imreffy de Szerdahely (''Imreffi''; c. 1559-60 – 9 July 1611)Markó 2006, p. 108. was a Hungarian soldier and noble in the Principality of Transylvania, who served as

Chancellor of Transylvania The following is the list of chancellors of Transylvania during the Principality of Transylvania (1570–1711) and the (Grand) Principality of Transylvania (1711–1867). List of chancellors Principality of Transylvania (1570–1711), Principali ...

from Spring 1610 to his death on 9 July 1611. He was a member of the

Imreffy family Imreffy de Szerdahely (or ''Imreffi'') was a Hungarian noble family from the Győr (genus), kindred of Győr. Origins The forefather of the family was Péter (c. 1321 – c. 1347), the second son of Ders Szerdahelyi. He inherited the Order of Sai ...

of old origin.

Biography

János Imreffy was a grandson of

Mihály Imreffy Mihály Imreffy de Szerdahely (c. 1458-60 – 1536) was a Hungarian soldier and noble from the Imreffy family, who was master of the horse (), which was one of the high dignitaries in the Kingdom of Hungary. Biography He was born into the ...

, castellan of

Buda Buda (, ) is the part of Budapest, the capital city of Hungary, that lies on the western bank of the Danube. Historically, “Buda” referred only to the royal walled city on Castle Hill (), which was constructed by Béla IV between 1247 and ...

. His parents were János, Sr. and Margit Forgách de Ghymes et Gács. He inhretied Diószeg (today: ''Sládkovičovo, Slovakia'') from his mother. He moved to

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

at young age. He married Kata Iffjú, daughter of János Iffjú, a member of the Transylvanian Royal Council and Margit Majláth. Due to that marriage, he became relative to the Báthory de Somlyó family, because his wife was half-sister of

Balthasar Báthory Balthasar Báthory de Somlyó (; 1560 – 11 September 1594) was a Transylvanian politician from the Báthory, Báthory family, and like his brother, Prince of Transylvania, prince Andrew Báthory, an opponent of the House of Habsburg, Habsbu ...

, Stephen Báthory (father of

Gabriel Báthory Gabriel Báthory (; 15 August 1589 – 27 October 1613) was Prince of Transylvania from 1608 to 1613. The Ottomans nicknamed him "Deli Kiral" (Mad King). Born to the Catholic Church, Roman Catholic branch of the Báthory family, he was closely ...

) and Cardinal

Andrew Báthory Andrew Báthory (; ; 1562 or 1563 – 3 November 1599) was the Cardinal-deacon of Sant'Adriano al Foro from 1584 to 1599, Prince-Bishop of Warmia from 1589 to 1599, and Prince of Transylvania in 1599. His father was a brother of Stephen Báthor ...

. Imreffy also became the lord of Alvinc (today: ''Vinţu de Jos, Romania''). In 1593, he served envoy of

Sigismund Báthory Sigismund Báthory (; 1573 – 27 March 1613) was Prince of Transylvania several times between 1586 and 1602, and Duchy of Racibórz, Duke of Racibórz and Duchy of Opole, Opole in Silesia in 1598. His father, Christopher Báthory, ruled Transy ...

to Christoph Teuffenbach, Captain General of Kassa (today: ''Košice, Slovakia''). After 1598, he moved to the ''

Partium Partium (from Latin '' partium'', the genitive plural of '' pars'' "part, portion") or ''Részek'' (in Hungarian) was a historical and geographical region in the Kingdom of Hungary during the early modern and modern periods. It consisted of the ...

'' where served as familiar of

Judge royal The judge royal, also justiciar,Rady 2000, p. 49. chief justiceSegeš 2002, p. 202. or Lord Chief JusticeFallenbüchl 1988, p. 145. (,Fallenbüchl 1988, p. 72. ,Zsoldos 2011, p. 26. , ), was the second-highest judge, preceded only by the Palati ...

Stephen Báthory de Ecsed. There he met

for the first time. Imreffy joined to

Stephen Bocskay Stephen Bocskai or Bocskay (, ; 1 January 155729 December 1606) was Prince of Transylvania and Hungary from 1605 to 1606. He was born to a Hungarian noble family. His father's estates were located in the eastern regions of the medieval Kingdom ...

's War of Independence and became a member of the Royal Council. He also functioned as the treasurer of Bocskay's army in the summer of 1605. He successfully crushed the rebellion of

Serb The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history, and language. They primarily live in Serbia, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia ...

militia in

Lippa Lippa may refer to: * Lippa (sport) a game played in southern Europe and the Indian subcontinent * Lippa, Ioannina (), Ioannina, Greece * Hungarian name for Lipova, a town in Arad County, Romania * ''Kislippa'', the Hungarian name for Lipa, Belti ...

(today: ''Lipova, Romania''). He had an active role in the election of Gabriel Báthory as

Prince of Transylvania The Prince of Transylvania (, , , Fallenbüchl 1988, p. 77.) was the head of state of the Principality of Transylvania from the late-16th century until the mid-18th century. John Sigismund Zápolya was the first to adopt the title in 1 ...

in 1608. Since then he served as President of the Royal Council. After the betrayal of István Kendi, who tried to murder Prince Gabriel, Imreffy was appointed Chancellor of Transylvania. Soon, the Transylvanian Civil War broke out. He was killed in the Battle of Brassó (today: ''Brașov, Romania'') against

Radu Şerban Radu may refer to: People * Radu (given name), Romanian masculine given name * Radu (surname), Romanian surname * Rulers of Wallachia, see * Prince Radu of Romania (born 1960), disputed pretender to the former Romanian throne Other uses * Radu ( ...

in 1611.

References

Sources

* Markó, László: A magyar állam főméltóságai Szent Istvántól napjainkig – Életrajzi Lexikon ''p. 108.'' ''(The High Officers of the Hungarian State from Saint Stephen to the Present Days – A Biographical Encyclopedia)'' (2nd edition); Helikon Kiadó Kft., 2006, Budapest; . * Trócsányi, Zsolt: Erdély központi kormányzata 1540–1690. Budapest, Akadémiai Kiadó, 1980. * Nagy, László: Imreffi János a magyar históriában: Legendák és tények. ''Irodalomtörténeti Közlemények'', LXXXVI. 1982. 4.
online
{{DEFAULTSORT:Imreffy, Janos 16th-century births 1611 deaths Hungarian politicians Hungarian soldiers Janos Hungarian nobility Chancellors of Transylvania People killed in action Year of birth uncertain