Mózes Székely is the only székely monarch of the Transylvanian Principality. His personality, walk of life, historical faith, fights for the hungarians let us to rate him among the representatives like the last freely elected hungarian national king John II., known as Zsigmond János, or the monarchs after him like István Báthory, István Bocskai, Gábor Bethlen and Ferenc Rákóczi II. All these great hungarian characters sacrificed their living for the maintain of the institution of hungarian nation. They realized that a nation or the folk could not exist constantly on the stage of the history and could not develop without guaranteed institutional conditions and a state, within the social, economical and cultural parts can be predominated.
Mózes Székely was born in 1553 in the Transylvanian town of Udvarhely as a son of a primi pilus family. Out of his parents just the name of his father was noted by the chroniclers. According to them he was named János Székely Literáti or János Literáti for short or Cribe John. When Mózes Székely was born the Hungarian Kingdom was not the late Europian world-power, it was splited into three parts. The middle part was occupied by the Ottoman Empire, but thanks to the House of Habsburg and their expansion politics the left Hungary was broken up into other two parts; the West Hungarian Kingdom and cross to the Habsburgs the East Hungarian Kingdom. After the death of the hungarian king John II (1571) the East Hungarian Kingdom was named Transylvanian Principality.
Europe in the 16th century is not just the story of a fight between the two massive Empires (Ottoman and Habsburg) or the story of conquesting the New World, but it is the period of new spiritual rejuvenations when the absolutism of the Roman Catholic Church ends and the reforming process of the Christian Church starts. This change made place for the birth of evangelistic, genevan and unitarian initiations.
There are relatively exiguous monographs in connection with the life of the transylvanian monarch Mózes Székely. On the one hand he was the only székely monarch of Transylvania. On the other hand as he was the member of the unitarian religion the least hungarian historical church. For the third time he was the monarch only for three mounths.
Like the part of the hungarian nation the székelys – who spoke and speak hungarian – have specialities which made them different from the hungarians also. According to their origin legend, their own faith, and the hungarian chroniclers it is true that székelys are originated from the scythians, the huns (just like the hungarians) but they did not come into the Pannonian Plain along with the hungarians but far before. The székelys accordance with their traditon came in the Pannonian Plain with the huns, and they belonged to commons of Csaba, son of Attila. This folk tratition can have historical foundation because it is strengthened by all hungarian chronicles. The enormous folk of the huns probably did not sink in the history without any stress, but they could exist combined with other nations – maybe with different name – like a part of another folk. Of course it does not only mean the hungarians, székelys, like the descendants of the huns, but partly the bulgarians, the japanese, koreans, ujgors and the folk of bavarians likewise.
The székelys contrast from hungarians not just in their identity but in several other features also. The székelys were considered nobles till the middle of the 16th century. They had to donate an ox when the hungarian king was coronated or for the birth of his first son. Beside this they did not need to tax other way. Their free of tax could stand for a long time because they had to present themselves in protection of the hungarian king on their own expense in arms just like the hungarian nobles. The székely army meant the topmost power of Transylvanian Principality. The székelys retained their territorial autonomy and original social estabilshment which could predominate by rumour or chronicles in the territory of Hungarian Kingdom and the Transylvanian Principality until 1877. In the first period of the 13th century (in 1235) historical roots mention that székelys have lieutenant i.e. they have their own governor. At the regional constitution times of Székely Land the executive units were not counties but széks. They have independent legal institutions etc. The specific székely or székely – hungarian runic writing held up for the longest time among székelys. The common usage of the field, the grass and woods also held up for the longest period among them. The Jus Regium was extended for them at the latest etc.
Mózes Székely in his young years beside his father dealed with the trade of the typical Székely Lander salt. Namely his father, János Székely Literáti was one of the first salt-headers or salt-chamberlain, when the hungarian king John II, in 1562 by reason of serially riots made the saltmines to monarch holdings. The catholic István Báthory was elected for monarch by the mostly protestant transylvanian orders after the early death of king John II. In Transylvania – firstly in Europe - the equivalence of the catholic church, the genevan, unitarian and evangelistic church i.e the religious freedom was declared by course of law in 1568. The Transylvanian Principality was still a significant and thriving state in Europe at the end of the 16th century. It’s population mostly consisted of hungarians and székelys but saxons, rumanians and others lived there in small numbers. These items could be known from 1574 by passage description of Pierre Lescalopier the ensue of the french king Charles IX..
A minor rebellion started after the election of the transylvanian monarch István Báthory. Namely the Habsburgs did not want the leader who was freely elected by the transylvanian people. They wanted Gáspár Bekes for the monarch who was faithful to the court of Vienna. Mozes Székely exceled in this rebellion who was a guardsman of the monarch István Báthory. In the summer of 1575 in Radnót along the Maros he dissolved the river with his sword in his mouth. He made a successful attack with other warriors so the monarch nominated him the captain of the guardsmen and resigned the governing of the brigade to him also. The transylvanian monarch István Báthory was elected to the polish king on 14th december 1575 by the polish szejm. Báthory requested a lot of transylvanian hungarian and székely warriors to follow him and help his ideas. We can find Mózes Székely among these transylvanian warriors who took part in the libertating of Gdnaszk City. He also took part in the polish – russian war namely Ivan the Terrible the russian czar captivated important parts of Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia and he wanted to get other regions. István Báthory the polish king reached the retreat of the russians from the captivated areas and he made them to make such peace just because of this act the polish people refer him like one of their greatest king. Mózes Székely was fighting there all over beside some thousands of hungarian and transylvanian warriors of Báthory. He was created to a holly knight by Báthory because of his valor then after the war he was nominated to lieutenant or chamberlain salt mine of Sófalva in Székely Land in 1583 and important lands were given to him also. He was married this time but the name of his first wife did not keep up because she died very early. He took Anna Kornis to wife then she gave birth two male children named István Székely and Mózes Székely Jr. He was mentioned as the lieutenant salt mine of Sófalva last in 1591 on sheepskins.
It was a very important revolution in his life - and in the life of the transylvanian hungarians too – when the monarch Zsigmond Báthory broke the peaceful cohabitation with the Ottoman Empire in 1594 and made a commitment with the Habsburgs getting down his country and people into the long war against the Ottoman Empire – spread over fifteen years -. Mózes Székely had a lot of successful battles in the war against the Ottoman Empire but he was wounded in the assault of Facsád. The Havasalföld was discharged this time from the turk power. In this war the transylvanian army was over 50.000 people. It was an absolutely momentous army this time in Europe. In these hosts mostly székelys were fighting. Zsigmond Báthory promised if they fight hard against the turkish they can get back their original franchise. After the victorious campaign the neurotic Zsigmond Báthory took back his promise through riots were exploded among the székelys what was followed by punishment. After the third resignation of the inconstant monarch Zsigmond Báthory the governance of the Transylvanian Principality was placed on his uncle the cardinal András Báthory. The parliament elected him but the confiding priest-monarch could not notice that in the background Michael the (voivode) vajda of Wallachia (Havasalföld, Tara Romaneasca) (the romanian historians called him Michael Valiant, Michael the Brav or Mihai Vitezaul) with the help of Rudolf Habsburg emperor would attack him. The governance of the transylvanian army was palced to Mózes Székely by András Báthory but the monarch started to organize his army very lately, for another thing one part of the székelys were on the side of the vajda Michael. Among these circumstances the transylvanian army sustained a defeat at Schellenberg in 1599. The székelys of Csík killed the escaping cardinal-monarch too.
Mózes Székely did not have another option like a lot of transylvanian and székely nobles did not have either; he made a loyalty sacrament in front of vajda Michael who was appointed by emperor Rudolf. The vajda Michael nominated Mózes Székely to the captain of the transylvanian army but they turned against each other soon. Mózes Székely escaped to Poland to dislodge the vajda and the Habsburg legions with the help and army of his old friend the polish chancellor Jan Zamoysky.
While Mózes Székely were away the armed transylvanian hungarians near to Miriszló overcame vajda Michael who had escaped. The transylvanians could call back Zsigmond Báthory for the monarch again. The vajda and Giorgio Basta general on the money of Rudolf Habsburg on 3rd august 1601 inflict defeat on the transylvanian army and it’s governs Mózes Székely and István Csáky. The vajda Michael was also killed by the mercenaries of Basta general then they kept going the demolition of transylvanian people. An interesting point in the transylvanian history when captain John Smith the famous english traveller with other english warriors came over to the transylvanians and fought against the Habsburgs with Mózes Székely in the spring of 1602.
The legions of Mózes Székely sustained a defeat in the fight against the mercenaries of general Giorgio Basta near to Tövis in the July of 1602 by reason of this the most transylvanians escaped to Temesvár. Zsigmond Báthory the Transylvanian Monarch disclaimed irrevocably. Mózes Székely with Gábor Bethlen and other transylvanian patriots organized the emancipation of Transylvania in winter of 1602 – 1603. He obtained the encouragement of Mohamed III sultan of Ottoman Empire to become the monarch of Transylvania. Mózes Székely put his armies in action in march 1603 to discharge the Transylvanian Principality. The parliament elected him to become the monarch of Transylvania on 15th april 1603. He was ceremoniously inducted after the liberation of the capital (Gyulafehérvár, Alba Iulia, Weisenburg) on 9th may 1603.
The monarch Mózes Székely successfully discharged the biggest part of Transylvanian Principality - except of some saxon towns - in may and june of 1603. He dislodged the mercenaries of Basta from Transylvania but he could not continue his constructive works. The Habsburg government mandated Radu Serban vajda of Havasalföld to attack whigs in Transylvania. The Habsburgs goaded the székelys of Csík and Háromszék to attack the legally elected transylvanian monarch. A part of them joined to the vajda of Havasalföld while others were fighting on the side of the székely monarch. The transylvanians sustained a defeat near to Brassó on 17th July 1603 in the circumstances. In the gory bottle – what is called the Mohács of Erdély likewise – near 4000 hungarians and székelys died including Mózes Székely. The curel ravage continued, in this way the population of Transylvania dwindled away significantly and it’s ethnical constitution started to change this time.
The bottle captained by Mózes Székely in maintenance of Transylvania temporarily failed but it was not pointless as the fight for the freedom of hungarians restarted soon in the next year guided by István Bocskai. At the end of this fight the Habsburgs had to sign peace and admited Bocskai the monarch of Hungary and Transylvania.