Andrew Báthory was a Hungarian

Hungary

Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...

 Roman Catholic Cardinal, a Prince-Bishop

Prince-Bishop

A Prince-Bishop is a bishop who is a territorial Prince of the Church on account of one or more secular principalities, usually pre-existent titles of nobility held concurrently with their inherent clerical office...

 of Warmia

Archbishopric of Warmia

The Prince-Bishopric of Warmia was a semi independent ecclesiastical state, a Prussian bishopric under the jurisdiction of the Archbishopric of Riga that was a protectorate of the Monastic state of the Teutonic Knights and a protectorate of Kingdom of Poland, later part of the Polish-Lithuanian...

 (1589–99), and Prince of Transylvania (1598–99). He was also Grand Master of the Order of the Dragon

Order of the Dragon

The Order of the Dragon was a monarchical chivalric order for selected nobility,founded in 1408 by Sigismund, King of Hungary and later Holy Roman Emperor The Order of the Dragon (Latin Societas Draconistrarum) was a monarchical chivalric order for selected nobility,founded in 1408 by Sigismund,...

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Life

Báthory was born at Szilágysomlyó, Transylvania

Transylvania

Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...

. After the death of his uncle, King Stephen Báthory of Poland, Andrew was a candidate to the Polish throne, and was supported by the Great Crown Chancellor, Jan Zamoyski

Jan Zamoyski

Jan Zamoyski , was a Polish-Lithuanian nobleman, magnate, 1st duke/ordynat of Zamość. Royal Secretary since 1566, Lesser Kanclerz ) of the Crown since 1576, Lord Grand-Chancellor of the Crown since 1578, and Grand Hetman of the Crown since 1581...

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Though Andrew had been a cleric, he was propelled to the rule of Transylvania in 1598, when his cousin Sigismund

Sigismund Báthory

Sigismund Báthory was Prince of Transylvania.-Biography:Hailing from the Báthory family's Somlyó branch, he was the son of Christopher Báthory, Voivod of Transylvania, and nephew of Stephen Báthory, King of Poland...

, Prince of Transylvania, abdicated. Sigismund first abdicated in favor of Emperor Rudolf II

Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor

Rudolf II was Holy Roman Emperor , King of Hungary and Croatia , King of Bohemia and Archduke of Austria...

, who also was King of Hungary and as such overlord of Transylvania. However, Sigismund reversed his decision and made his cousin Andrew the beneficiary of his abdication.

Andrew's accession was supported by the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...

, where the cardinal had stayed before, and also accepted by the Ottoman Empire

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

. This arrangement, however, threatened the anti-Ottoman coalition in the Long War

Long War (Ottoman wars)

The Long War took place from 1591 or 1593 to 1604 or 1606 and was one of the numerous military conflicts between the Habsburg Monarchy and the Ottoman Empire that developed after the Battle of Mohács.- History :The major participants of this war were the Habsburg Monarchy ,...

, leading to a joint attack by Michael of Wallachia and Habsburg

Habsburg Monarchy

The Habsburg Monarchy covered the territories ruled by the junior Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg , and then by the successor House of Habsburg-Lorraine , between 1526 and 1867/1918. The Imperial capital was Vienna, except from 1583 to 1611, when it was moved to Prague...

 troops commanded by Giorgio Basta

Giorgio Basta

Giorgio Basta, Count of Huszt was an Italian general of Arbëreshë descent, employed by the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II to command Habsburg forces in the Long War of 1591-1606 and later to administer Transylvania as an Imperial vassal to restore Catholicism as a predominant religion in...

. Andrew's army was defeated on 28 October 1599 and he himself was killed by anti-Bathory Székely

Székely

The Székelys or Székely , sometimes also referred to as Szeklers , are a subgroup of the Hungarian people living mostly in the Székely Land, an ethno-cultural region in eastern Transylvania, Romania...

 on 3 November as he retreated at Pásztorbükk near Csíkszentdomokos

Sândominic

Sândominic is a commune in Harghita County, Romania. It lies in the Székely Land, an ethno-cultural region in eastern Transylvania. It is composed of a single village, Sândominic.-Demographics:...

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The diet of Transylvania paid homage to Michael of Wallachia as the lieutenant of the King of Hungary, Emperor Rudolf.