Drăgan, Ioan (szerk.): Mediaevalia Transilvanica 2003-2004 (7-8. évfolyam, 1-2. szám)
Ioan Aurel Pop: Între Habsburgi şi Otomani: Transilvania la mijlocul secolului al XVI-lea
commissio, statuetur et ordinabitur, cupida enim maiestas sua multorum iam annorum huiusmodi discordiis finem imponi et quietem a tanta vastitate in eo regno miseris populis ac securitatem restitui non praetermittit ad id obtinendum omnia remedia experiri non refugiens gravius, etiam aliquid subire morem magnitudinis vestrae gestura, dummodo in totum eius honorem ac existimationem deprimi et ledi nolit, nam cum sua quoque maiestatis insignita sit regia dignitate Dei beneficio, quo et excelsa magnitudine vestra ad tantum felicitatis ac potentiae apicem erecta sit, non difidit maiestas eius, quia vestra excelsa magnitudo habitura sit ipsius conditionis praeclaram et dignam famam suam nominemque celeberrimo rationem. Sacratissimi Regis Romanorum servitores et oratores. între Habsburgi şi Otomani: Transilvania la mijlocul secolului al XVI-lea 165 Transylvania Between the Habsburgs and Ottomans in the Mid-16th Century (Abstract) The political situation of Transylvania in the middle of the 16th century is presented in this paper, through documents preserved in the Venetian Archives. The sources were issued by the Transylvanian and Hungarian authorities to the supreme dignitaries in Istambul or vice versa, between the years 1553 and 1556. Venice, through its most important institutions, showed an interest in the Ottoman and Austrian rivalry for Hungarian territory, especially Transylvania. This is why the Serenissima, through its officials (bailii), managed to get copies of the secret correspondence between Ferdinand of Habsburg and the sultan, Suleman the Magnificent, and between the commons of Transylvania and the sultan. The letters expressed the arguments Ferdinand used to legitimate and legalize his dominion over Transylvania. The sultan wanted to keep the country as a tributary and vassal principality ruled by John Sigismund Zápolya. The estates and commons of the principality pledged to accept Ottoman sovereignty andfinally, accepting this fact, Ferdinand was resigned to it. The documents reflect the evolution of Ottoman and Habsburg relations on the issue of Transylvania in the middle of the 16th century. Indirectly, they show the direct interest of Venice in this matter as a bridge between the East and the West, neighbor of both the Ottoman and German empires, and as a Christian power deeply linked to the world dominated by the sultans.
