John Zápolya
King of Hungary, Prince of Transylvania · Hungary · On the map · Historical Figures · Lived 1487 to 1540 · aged 53
The king who saved Hungary from peasants, then lost it to the Ottomans. John Zápolya crushed the 1514 revolt and was hailed as liberator - twelve years later he wore the crown, fled to Poland, and cut a deal with the Sultan that made his kingdom a vassal state.
John Zápolya is read about 217 times a day, in 48 languages.
A typical day, 30 days to 15 October 2026
The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 89 days, one point a day.
Something wrong?People around John
Family
Parents
John ZápolyaPartners
Brothers and sisters
Is this everyone?
Only relatives with a profile here are drawn, so a family can be larger than this. A line here can also be wrong.
Correct this familyAlso in Deutsch
Media & music
_p1.306_Nemzeti_c%C3%ADmer.jpg?width=1200)
_p1.306_Szapolyai_J%C3%A1nos_-_pecs%C3%A9t_(1526).jpg?width=1200)
%2C_Kossuthstrasse_2%2C_2025_Dunaf%C3%B6ldv%C3%A1r.jpg?width=1200)
About this person
John Zápolya came from a prominent Croatian-Slavonian noble family; his father became one of Hungary's wealthiest lords and served as Palatine. He was Voivode of Transylvania from 1510 to 1526, and during the Peasants' Revolt of 1514 led by György Dózsa, his military campaigns crushed the uprising and earned him the title "liberator of the realm." His power declined after his sister Barbara's death in 1515. He became King of Hungary in 1526, though Archduke Ferdinand I disputed the title and also claimed the crown. In 1528 John fled to Poland, then aligned with the Ottomans - a bargain that turned Hungary into an Ottoman vassal state. He ruled, contested and compromised, until his death on 22 July 1540.
