John Zápolya
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- This article is about the elder John Zápolya. For his son, see John Zápolya II.
John I Zápolya (Hungarian János Zápolya or Szapolyai) (1487–July 22, 1540), was a pretender to the throne (with Ferdinand I) of Hungary between 1526 and 1540 [ Brit-JZ].
After the battle of Mohács in 1526 and death of Louis II of Hungary, the Ottoman Empire conquered much of Hungary, and the Austrian Habsburgs were disputing with the Ottomans for possession of the remaining land (see Royal Hungary). Zápolya was the leader of groups of Hungarian nobles who proclaimed that no foreign ruler should be elected King of Hungary. The foreign pretender was Ferdinand of Habsburg.
Zápolya claimed the throne with the support of many Hungarian nobles, and later the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. In claiming the throne, Zápolya was centuries ahead of his time in expressing the desire for self rule, and independence from outside rulers, which ultimately resulted in a free Hungary. He is widely regarded as a hero in his native Hungary, despite the association with the Ottomans which tainted him at the time. In 1538, by the treaty of Nagyvarad, Ferdinand was designated as Zápolya's successor, after his death. After Zapolya's death, his son John II Sigismund Zápolya succeeded him as Hungarian King and Ottoman vassal. He is also well-known among the Turks, who consider him as a loyal friend of Suleiman the Magnificent.
Zápolya's wife Isabella Jagiełło (Izabella in Hungarian) claimed the throne after John's death in the period of 1556–1559.
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