Pál Márkházy
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Pál Márkházy, or Márkházi (died before 18 August 1595) was a Hungarian nobleman who tried to seize the Principality of Transylvania against Sigismund Báthory in 1581.
Pál Márkházy was born to a Hungarian noble family, named for Márkháza in Nógrád County.[1] His early life is undocumented.[2] His relative, Orsolya Márkházy, was the wife of the commander of the fortress at Ajnácskő (now Hajnáčka in Slovakia).[2] The Ottomans captured her husband and she appointed Márkházy to command the garrison.[2] After the Ottomans occupied the fortress on 24 April 1556, Márkházy was accused of treachery and his estates were confiscated in Royal Hungary.[2] He fled to John Sigismund Zápolya's "Eastern Hungarian Kingdom" and settled in Transylvania.[3]
Márkházy married the widow of Stanislaus Niszovzky, who had been a Polish courtier of Zápolya and Zápolya's mother, Queen Isabella.[3] His wife, Saphira (or Zamfira), was the daughter of a prince of Wallachia.[3] Historian Sándor Papp associates her father with Mircea the Shepherd, who had ruled the principality from 1545 to 1552 and from 1553 to 1554.[3]
Diplomat
Márkházy visited Istanbul several times.[3] In the spring of 1575, he went to the Ottoman capital to buy horses and also to conduct business on behalf of Zápolya's successor, Stephen Báthory.[2] On this occasion, Márkházy met with David Ungnad, who was Emperor Maximilian II's ambassador.[2] He convinced Ungnad that he had been baselesly accused of treachery, but he could not achieve the return of his confiscated estates.[2]
Márkházy was accused of treating his wife badly.[3] Stephen Báthory's brother and deputy, Christopher Báthory, ordered him to separate from his wife.[3] Márkházy was also captured and held in prison for four years, but his wrongdoings were not proved.[3] He decided to appeal to Stephen Báthory, but instead of visiting the king in Poland, he fled to the Ottoman Empire around 1578.[3]