Nikola IV Zrinski

Nikola was a Croat. He was born as one of the six children of Nikola III of the Zrinski family from the noble tribe of Šubić, and of Jelena Karlović, sister of future Croatian Ban Ivan Karlović of the Kurjaković family from the noble tribe of Gusić. His birthplace is unknown, but it is generally considered to have been Zrin Castle. The same is about his birth date, for which different primary sources give dates ranging between 1507, 1508 and 1518, but according to them and other evidence it is considered to have been in 1507 or 1508, with 1508 most often cited in scholarship. ==Activities==

Zrinski already distinguished himself in the early twenties during the Siege of Vienna in 1529, After the death of his father Nikola III in 1534, Nikola IV with older brother Ivan I inherited estates in Pounje, and they simultaneously started to fortify them as well as make contacts with the Ottomans, to whom they paid a yearly tribute like their father. where Zrinski murdered Johann Katzianer, engraved by Gaspar Bouttats, 1686. In January 1539, Zrinski murdered the Imperial Army commander Johann Katzianer at Fortress Kostajnica because Katzianer had deserted the King Ferdinand I Habsburg, had started to conspire in favor of throne contestant John Zápolya, and had cooperated with the Ottomans. In 1542, according to Antun Vramec, he saved the Imperial Army forces from defeat at the Siege of Pest by intervening with 400 Croats, for which service he was appointed Ban of Croatia, a position which held until his death in 1556. In 1549 he was given the right to collect tax from the subjects by himself, and in 1561 the right to freely settle serfs on his estates. Some historians like Géza Pálffy consider he did manage to obtain it. In the next year, he hastened southwards to defend the frontier, and defeated the Ottomans at Szeged. In 1565, Zrinski brought a copy of the Holy Crown of Hungary to Vienna for the funeral ceremony of Ferdinand I. ==Death==

on 27 June after a forty-nine-day march. Learning of Zrinski's success in an attack upon a Turkish forces at Siklós in July, destroying several detachments, , 1896. For over a month from 5 August to 7 September, Suleiman also died, but from natural causes, one day before the Ottomans won the siege. As Ottoman forces had suffered heavy casualties during the siege of Szigetvár, the army only managed to additionally capture the nearby fort Babócsa before Grand Vizier Sokollu Mehmed Pasha withdrew the army and ended the Ottoman conquest. or to new Sultan Selim II, but eventually, the head was buried by son Juraj IV Zrinski, Boldizsár Batthyány and Ferenc Tahy in September 1566 at the Pauline monastery in Sveta Jelena, Šenkovec, Croatia. , Croatia. In Međimurje County Museum in Čakovec are preserved remains of the tombstone of a member of the Zrinski family, which most probably belonged to Nikola IV, and under which his head was likely buried. Preserved in Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna are the sabre, helmet, and possibly the silk robe with decorative gold thread which were created and worn by Zrinski during the 1563 coronation of Maximilian II. They were initially collected by Ferdinand II, Archduke of Austria at Ambras Castle in the 16th century. ==Marriage==

Zrinski married twice, first in 1543 with Katarina Frankopan (d. 1561) and then Eva Rosenberg (1537–1591) in 1564. Due to his marriage to Katarina Frankopan, a sister of Count Stjepan Frankopan of Ozalj (d. 1577), her vast estates, including Ozalj and part of littoral cities like Bakar, became at his disposal in 1550 due to the inheritance contract. For some of them, Uršula, Katarina, and Doroteja is known that were educated at Güssing. ==Legacy==

, Museum of Military History, Vienna, Austria, 1865. Zrinski's heroic act at the siege of Szigetvár made him a well known European Christian hero, a defender and savior of Christendom, and "a model of a faithful and sacrificial warrior in the service of his ruler". He was also compared to Leonidas I. His cult of heroism was especially preserved among the Croats, Hungarians, and Slovaks. In Croatia, it also represented a symbol of Croatian identity, directed against Ottoman, Austrian and Hungarian political influence. Similarly, he gained some popularity during the Polish struggle for independence in second half of the 19th century and early 20th century. According to historians like Ágnes R. Várkonyi and Alojzije Jembrih, Zrinski had an "exceptional military talent, was a successful businessman, politician with a concept, and an endlessly passionate person". He was remembered in a first-hand report Podsjedanje i osvojenje Sigeta (1568) by Zrinski's scribe and chamberlain Franjo Črnko, which was immediately translated in Latin by Samuel Budina and published in the same year titled Historia Sigethi, totius Sclavoniae fortissimi propugnaculi..., with the second edition (1587) edited by Petrus Albinus. Other works include a historical epic Vazetje Sigeta grada (1584) by Brne Karnarutić, In the epic poem, the elder Zrinski is the main hero and has assured Zrinski's place in Hungarian culture as it remains in print today and is considered one of the landmarks of Hungarian literature. Compared to the Hungarian poem, which is an exception in Hungarian literature, the Croatian variation fits the Croatian literature tradition. Vladislav Menčetić's Trublja slovinska (1665) is the first Ragusan literature work that introduces the idea of antemurale Christianitatis for Croatian territories and celebrates Zrinski as a hero. Pavao Ritter Vitezović also wrote a related epic poem Odiljenje sigetsko (1684). In the 18th century, his heroic act inspired school dramas in Jesuit Gymnasiums, including Andreas Friz's Nicolai Zriny ad Szigethum victoria (1738). The German author Theodor Körner wrote a tragedy, Zriny: Ein Trauerspiel (1812), after which August von Adelburg Abramović wrote the libretto for his opera Zrinyi (1868). The Croatian composer Ivan Zajc created an opera titled Nikola Šubić Zrinski (1876), as a patriotic work which is still performed regularly today. It includes an aria "U boj, u boj", Since the 16th century, Zrinski featured in many engravings and paintings, of him as a portrait or during the siege mostly as leading the charge, like by Matthias Zündt, Miklós Barabás, Viktor Madarász, Mikoláš Aleš, Bela Čikoš Sesija and Oton Iveković among others. In 1914, the Czech painter Alphonse Mucha dedicated to Zrinski the painting titled Defense of Sziget against the Turks by Nicholas Zrinsky: The Shield of Christendom from his The Slav Epic cycle. and park in the center of Zagreb. By the imperial resolution of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria on 28 February 1863, Zrinski was included in the list of "Austria's most famous warlords and field commanders worthy of eternal emulation", in whose honor and memory was built a life-size statue of Carrara marble at the Museum of Military History, Vienna, in 1865 by sculptor Nikolaus Vay (1828-1886). There also exist several sculptures and busts of Zrinski in Zagreb, Čakovec and Šenkovec in Croatia, Budapest and Szigetvár in Hungary, and Heldenberg in Austria among others. Parks in Zagreb (see Nikola Šubić Zrinski Square), Koprivnica and Križevci among others are named after him. The Order of Nikola Šubić Zrinski is the ninth-ranked honour order given by the Republic of Croatia, awarded since 1995 to Croatian or foreign citizens for acts of heroism. ==Gallery==

File:Sablja i kaciga Nikole Šubića Zrinskog.jpg|Sabre and helmet of Zrinski at an exhibition in Međimurje County Museum on the 450th anniversary of the siege of Szigetvár, 2016 File:Zrínyi Miklós-Jenichen.jpg|An engraving by Jenichen Boldizsár, 1566 File:The apotheosis of Miklós Zrínyi.jpg|The apotheosis of Miklós Zrínyi, unknown author, 16th century File:Funeral picture of Miklós IV Zrínyi.jpg|A funeral portrait, unknown author, 17th century or earlier File:Miklós Zrínyi, epitáfium - East Slovak Museum, 2018-05-24.jpg|A portrait at East Slovak Museum, 18th century File:Barabas-zrinyi.jpg|A portrait by Miklós Barabás, 1842 File:Nikola Zrinjski.jpg|An old portrait of Nikola Šubić Zrinski by unknown author File:Portrait of Miklós Zrinyi.jpg|A portrait by Viktor Madarász, 1858 File:Zrínyi Miklós horvát bán.jpg|A portrait by Julije Hühn, 1866 File:Ales, Mikulas - Mikulas Subic Zrinsky (1878).jpg|A portrait by Mikoláš Aleš, 1878 File:Oton Ivekovic, Nikola Subic Zrinski.jpg|A portrait by Oton Iveković, 19th century File:Nikola Zrinski.jpg|A portrait by J. F. Mucke, 19th century File:Nikolaus Zrinyi-Subić, der Held von Szigeth (Der Heldenspiegel Kroatiens).png|A portrait in Wiener Bilder, 1907 File:Mucha defense of Szigetvar.jpg|Defense of Sziget against the Turks by Nicholas Zrinsky (1914), by Alphonse Mucha, The Slav Epic File:Nikola Zrinski Sigetski ČK.jpg|A sculpture of Zrinski in Čakovec File:Zrinyi Miklós kk.JPG|A sculpture of Zrinski at Kodály körönd, in Budapest File:Zrínyi Miklós Szigetvár.jpg|A modern sculpture of Zrinski in Szigetvár File:Park of Hungarian Turkish Friendship Szigetvár 3.jpg|A bust of Zrinski at Hungarian-Turkish Friendship Park, in Szigetvár File:Szigetvár-031.jpg|A bust of Zrinski in Szigetvár File:Nikola Šubić Zrinski - bust.jpg|A bust of Zrinski in Heldenberg Memorial File:450. obljetnica Sigetske bitke - poprsje Nikole Šubića Zrinskog u Šenkovcu.jpg|A bust of Zrinski for the 450th anniversary of the siege of Szigetvár, at Šenkovec, 2016 File:450. obljetnica Sigetske bitke u Čakovcu - spomen-ploča.jpg|A plaque in honor to Zrinski for the 450th anniversary of the siege of Szigetvár, at Čakovec, 2016 File:Nikola_%C5%A0ubi%C4%87_Zrinski_-_poprsje_u_Zagrebu.jpg|A bust of Nikola Šubić Zrinski in Zagreb ==Annotations==