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Bethlen, Gábor or Gabriel 1580-1629
King of Hungary

Born into a Hungarian Calvinist family, he was elected Prince of Transylvania (1613). Fierce, unscrupulous, yet astute, in 1619 he invaded Hungary and, although he soon lost the royal title, he forced Emperor Ferdinand II to grant religious freedom to the Hungarian Protestants and to recognize his authority in several Hungarian provinces, making him titular king (1620-21). Gábor resumed hostilities against the empire (1623, 1626), but his declining health precluded further success.