Michael Apafi was a Hungarian Prince of Transylvania.

He was elected by the nobles of 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...

 on 14 September 1661, with the support of 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...

, as a rival to the Habsburg

Habsburg

The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...

-backed ruler János Kemény

John Kemény (Prince)

János Kemény was a Hungarian aristocrat, writer and prince of Transylvania....

. Kemény died in 1662 in the battle of Nagyszőllős, leaving Apafi as uncontested ruler of Transylvania.

Opposed to the Holy Roman Emperor

Holy Roman Emperor

The Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a medieval ruler who, as German King, had also received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope...

 Leopold I

Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor

| style="float:right;" | Leopold I was a Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary and King of Bohemia. A member of the Habsburg family, he was the second son of Emperor Ferdinand III and his first wife, Maria Anna of Spain. His maternal grandparents were Philip III of Spain and Margaret of Austria...

, he supported the Ottomans and 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...

 rebels until the Ottoman defeat at the Battle of Vienna

Battle of Vienna

The Battle of Vienna took place on 11 and 12 September 1683 after Vienna had been besieged by the Ottoman Empire for two months...

 on 12 September 1683. Following this, Michael opened talks with Leopold and concluded a treaty with the Austrians on 27 September 1687, obtaining their recognition of his authority in Transylvania.

He died at Székesfehérvár

Székesfehérvár

Székesfehérvár is a city in central Hungary and is the 9th largest in the country. Located around southwest of Budapest. It is inhabited by 101,973 people , with 136,995 in the Székesfehérvár Subregion. The city is the centre of Fejér county and the regional centre of Central Transdanubia...

 in 1690 and was succeeded by his son Michael II Apafi

Michael II Apafi

Michael Apafi was the son of the Hungarian Michael I Apafi and Anna Bornemissza. Following his father, he was Prince of Transylvania from 10 June 1690 to 1699....

.

A Manor house in Mălâncrav belonging to Michael I Apafi has recently been restored by The Mihai Eminescu Trust.