Lodovico Gritti in Hungary: 1529-1534 : a Historical Insight Into the Beginnings of Turco-Habsburgian Rivalry

The period in which Gritti was active in Hungary belongs to the first chapters of the Habsburg-Turkish rivalry which determined the fate of the region for centuries. Following 1526, when Suleiman I defeated the Hungarian army after a stout struggle of 150 years, Hungary ceased to be a decisive power of the region. So the Turks had to reckon with the Habsburg Empire, the other strong power of the period, more seriously than before. The Sultan adopted the method of gradual conquest in Hungary - a method that already proved to be effective in the Balkans. Gritti had a great role in promoting this process. With the permission of King Janos (Szapolyai) I, Lodovico Gritti - the illegitimate son of the doge of Venice - held the office of Treasurer, then that of Governor and Chief Captain of Hungary. Working essentially according to the Sultan's instructions and interests, he fulfilled these offices mostly from Istanbul. During his visit to Hungary in 1534, the inhabitants of Transylvania rebelled against him and killed him with King Janos's tacit consent. Gritti's activity in Hungary had ambiguous results. Although first he managed to divide the Hungarian politicians, he finally made the rivalling kings - Janos Szapolyai and Habsburg Ferdinand - realize that unless they make an agreement, they play into the hands of the Sultan. As a consequence of this realization, the Treaty of Varad concluded in 1538 declared that Hungary's separation between the two kings would come to an end after the death of King Janos, and Ferdinand would get his part of the country in return for compensation.