A Cyclopaedia of Female Biography/Isabella, Queen of Hungary
ISABELLA, QUEEN OF HUNGARY,
Sister of Sigismund Augustus, King of Poland, married, in 1539, John Zapolita, King of Hungary. In 1540, she brought him a son, ' while he was besieging the castle of Fogarras; and he was so transported at the news that he gave a splendid feast to his soldiers, and died of intemperance on the occasion, Isabella, unable to retain the crown for her son, implored aid from the Ottoman Porte, the armies of which, entering Hungary, vanquished the troops of Ferdinand of Austria, employed in the siege of Buda. Solyman, who headed his troops in person, sent magnificent presents to the young king, whom he entreated he might be allowed to see. He excused himself, at the same time, from visiting the queen, lest their interview might prove injurious to her fame. Isabella, while she acknowledged the kindness and delicacy of the Sultan, hesitated whether to trust her son in the Ottoman camp. But, at length, impressed by the services which Solyman had rendered to her, and overcome by the remonstrances of her counsellors, she determined on a compliance with the request. The prince, in a superb cradle, on a carriage of state, accompanied by his nurse, with some noble matrons and lords of court, was conveyed to the camp. He was received by Solyman, who tenderly caressed him, and presented him to his sons Bajazet and Selim, with every royal honour, as a vassal of the Ottoman Porte, and the son of John Zapolita, whom he highly esteemed.
But these specious appearances proved but a cover to the insidious purposes of the Sultan, who, throwing off the mask, seized upon Buda, September 5th., 1541, and obliged Isabella to retire to Lippa, with the poor consolation of a promise, that when her son became of age, Hungary should be restored to him. In this reverse of fortune, Isabella displayed great constancy, and endeavoured to content herself with the title of Regent of Transylvania, which the rapacity of Solyman had left to her. But, having appointed as her coadjutor in the administration of the government, George Martinusias, a monk, she experienced from him a thousand mortifications, and found the title of regent but an empty honour. A rupture with Martinusias was the consequence; when, enraged at the loss of his authority, he called in the assistance of Ferdinand of Austria, who sent an army into Hungary, and compelled Isabella, in 1551, to resign Transylvania into his hands, and to retire to Cassovia. While on her journey to Cassovia, the ruggedness of the roads obliged her to descend from her carriage; when, looking back to Transylvania while the driver was extricating his wheels, and recollecting her former situation, she carved her name on a tree, with this sentence—"Sic Fata volunt"—"So Fate decrees."
Her disposition was too restless and active to allow her to remain long at Cassovia. She went to Silesia, and thence to Poland, where her mother, Bonna Sforza, resided. In the hope of regaining her power, she continued to correspond with the grandees of Transylvania; and she also again applied to Solyman. In 1556, she was, by the efforts of the Sultan, restored to Transylvania. She maintained her authority during the rest of her life, without imparting any share of it to her son, John Sigismund. She died September 5th., 1558.
Isabella was a warm Roman Catholic, and some of her regulations were directed with much severity against the heretics. She was a woman of great talents and learning. Her son, after her death, declared in favour of the Protestants.