Radical Protestant Propaganda of the Thirty Years' War

Bethlen: The Diplomat and the Prince
Following years in Turkey both as an exile and as an ambassador, Bethlen gained the favour
of the Sultan. 61 He then returned to Transylvania and was a political advisor to its princes for
a number of years. 62 His advisory role ended when Prince Gabriel Báthory (1589-1613)
began to pursue aggressive and antagonistic policies towards several European powers.
Bethlen distanced himself and sought advice from the Sultan in Turkey, where he obtained
the Sultan’s permission to become the new Prince of Transylvania. 63 Bethlen subsequently
returned to Transylvania with a combined army of mostly Turkish and Hungarian soldiers.
Under the pressure exerted by these forces, the estates convened a diet and elected
Bethlen Gabor as their new prince in 1613. 64 His ascendency to the throne via Turkish help
is one of the main reasons why Europeans were mistrustful of the Prince and believed him
to be a vassal of the Turks. 65
Perhaps contrary to European expectations, Bethlen’s style of rule came to be characterized
as enlightened absolutism. He did not terrorize his subjects as previous princes such as
Gabriel Báthory had done, nor did he persecute the ethnic or religious minorities. Under
Bethlen’s rule, Transylvania experienced its golden age. He restored peace and stability to
the principality and instigated positive changes. Chief among these were the development
of industry, the patronage of the arts, 66 and public education. 67 In addition, he developed
61
Maja Depner, Das Fürstentum Siebenbürgen im Kampf gegen Habsburg. Untersuchungen über die
Politik Siebenbürgens während des Drießigjährigen Krieges (Stuttgart: Kohlhammer, 1938), pp. 30-1.
Henceforth Depner.
62
Kósary, p. 166.
63
Tóth, pp. 264-5.
64
Molnár, p. 118.
65
This earned him the nickname ‘Gabriel den Mohammedaner.’ See Tóth, p. 265.
66
András Gergely, ‘Das in drei Teile zerfallene Land (1526-1686)’, in Die Ungarn, ihre Geschichte und
Kultur, edited by Lásló Kósa (Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1994), pp. 114-29 (pp. 122-4).
67
Molnár, p. 118.
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