104F. Coin Gros, Gabriel Bethlen, Principality of Transylvania, 1625, minted in Baia Mare, silver
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104F. Coin Gros, Gabriel Bethlen, Principality of Transylvania, 1625, minted in Baia Mare, silver
Not sold
Selling price
EUR 300
silver, d = 21 mm
Obverse: The year divided by a crown, N and B above, the value on three rows underneath. Reverse: The coat of arms of Transylvania.
Gabriel Bethlen (1580–1629), prince of Transylvania between 1613 and 1629, was one of the most influential figures in Central Europe in the first half of the 17th century. Through his shrewd domestic and foreign policies, he transformed Transylvania into a respected regional power, amid a context dominated by the religious and political conflicts of the Thirty Years War (1618–1648).
Bethlen was a fervent supporter of Protestantism, promoting religious reform and strengthening the educational, cultural and administrative institutions of the principality. He bolstered Transylvania's autonomy against the Habsburg Empire, whose expansion he fought against through diplomacy and armed interventions. He managed to be recognized not only as prince of Transylvania, but also – for a short while – as an elected king of Hungary, with the support of the Hungarian nobility and the Turks.
In terms of relations with other Romanian countries, Gabriel Bethlen played an active and influential role. He intervened in Wallachia and Moldova several times, supporting or ousting rulers depending on his political interests and the context of external alliances. Although some of these interventions caused instability, they reflect the political importance Bethlen had in the region and his desire to keep the extracarpathian Romanian space under his influence, located at the border between the Ottoman and Habsburg Empires.
Also, through alliances with Sweden, the Netherlands and the German Protestant states, Bethlen brought Transylvania to the forefront of European politics. He actively participated in the Thirty Years War on the side of the Protestant coalition, gaining territorial advantages and international recognition.
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