Michael I Apafi

The native form of this personal name is Apafi Mihály. This article uses the Western name order.

Michael Apafi (1632 – 15 April 1690) was a Hungarian Prince of Transylvania.

He was elected by the nobles of Transylvania on 14 September 1661, with the support of the Ottoman Empire, as a rival to the Habsburg-backed ruler János Kemény. Kemény died in 1662 in the battle of Nagyszőllős, leaving Apafi as uncontested ruler of Transylvania.

Opposed to the Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I, he supported the Ottomans and Hungarian rebels until the Ottoman defeat at the Battle of Vienna on 12 September 1683. Following this, Michael opened talks with Leopold and concluded a treaty with the Austrians on 27 September 1687, obtaining their recognition of his authority in Transylvania.^[1]

He died at Székesfehérvár in 1690 and was succeeded by his son Michael II Apafi.

A Manor house in Mălâncrav belonging to Michael I Apafi has recently been restored by The Mihai Eminescu Trust.

Notes

1. ^ Vico, Giambattista (2004) Statecraft : the deeds of Antonio Carafa (De rebus gestis Antonj Caraphaei) (translated and edited by Giorgio A. Pinton) P. Lang, New York, note 29, pages 413–414, ISBN 0-8204-6828-2

References

• (in Hungarian) Magyar Életrajzi Lexikon. 1 A-K. Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó. 1967. OCLC 500204897. 

Preceded by János Kemény

Prince of Transylvania 1662-1690

Succeeded by Michael II Apafi

Persondata
Name	Apafi, Michael
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1632
Place of birth
Date of death	15 April 1690
Place of death