Thököly Imre elfogása: a felső-magyarországi oszmán vazallus állam bukása és az erdélyi diplomácia
Capturing Imre Thököly: The fall of the Ottoman tributary state of Upper Hungary and the diplomacy of Transylvania

Summary/Abstract: One of the events of the wars in Hungary at the end of the seventeenth century that found the most resonance in contemporary newsletters and pamphlets was the incarceration of Imre Thököly by Ahmed Pasha, the beylerbey of Várad in 1685. This action led to the imminent fall of the Ottoman tributary state of Upper (or in the Turkish terminology: Middle) Hungary (Orta Macar), established only three years before and ruled by Thököly. Western European prints repeatedly presented with sarcastic commentaries the absurd situation that the existence of this short-lived state ceased essentially due to the action of Ottoman dignitaries, who allegedly should have been interested in its maintenance for the greater glory of the sultan. This paper analyses the interconnectedness of this act with the peace initiatives of Seytan İbrahim Pasha, the commander (serdar) of the Ottoman troops in Hungary, who wanted to make a gesture towards the generals of the Holy League’s army by removing Thököly from the political scene. Also, it highlights an aspect unnoticed in earlier literature: the secret involvement of Transylvanian diplomacy in the project, motivated by Prince Mihály Apafi I’s competition with the leader of the rival Hungarian principality.

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