A Nagykereki Bocskai várkastély történeti kiállítása ( Bocskai-szabadságharc 400. évfordulója 4. Debrecen, 2004)

NATIONALITY AND GREATNESS OF BOCSKAI ISTVÁN OF KISMARJA OUTSET AND RESULTS OF THE FIGHT FOR FREEDOM The aim of our exhibition is to present the Prince of our nation's one and only fight for freedom resulting in immediate success, his origin, his ties with the Bihar, Partium and the Transylvanian region, with this part of our homeland suffering much adversity, indicating that, without this personality deeply committed to the affairs of the nation and the religion, this crucial and difficult period in Hungarian history, the 15-year period of war (1591 - 1606) bringing immeasurable destruction, could have been accompanied by even more serious consequences in respect to Hungary. The fight for freedom lead by him, taught the Habsburgs to respect the freedom of religion and the national feudal rights. As he writes in his political testament „My heart rejoices and I give thanks to God that now, I

... may leave the county, as my beloved homeland, in a state freed from all kinds of enemies." All this was also thanks to his blessed political and military aptitude, which developed by means of the family and princely relations, and which, for a long time, undertaking the heritage of Fráter György he set unification of the country as an objective. Bocskai István, the uncle of prince Báthory Zsigmond (1588-1602), captain of Varad in 1592, became one of the leading figures in the war against the Turks. By then his military leadership and political aptitude were indisputable. He changed his political opinions in 1603-1604, when it became clear that the King of Hungary of the Habsburg dynasty resident in Prague was incapable of driving out the Turks and uniting the country, furthermore, not even defending the remaining parts of the country. The success of the uprising initiated by him, was ensured by the alliance of Bocskai and the Heyducks, which 70