Editing Gabriel Bethlen (section)

=== Anarchy ===

Sigismund Báthory regretted his abdication and returned to Transylvania in August 1598.{{sfn|Keul|2009|p=142}}{{sfn|Barta|1994|p=295}} He sent Bocskai to Prague to start negotiations with Rudolph in January 1599.{{sfn|Barcza|1987|p=17}} According to a scholarly theory, Gabriel Bethlen accompanied Bocskai to Prague.{{sfn|Barcza|1987|p=17}}{{sfn|Erdősi|Lambert|2013|p=862}} Historian József Barcza also says, Gabriel must have realized around that time that the [[Habsburgs|Habsburg]] monarchs were unable to defend Transylvania against the Ottomans.{{sfn|Barcza|1987|p=17}} Gabriel himself stated that he visited Prague in the retinue of Sigismund Báthory at an unspecified date.{{sfn|Erdősi|Lambert|2013|p=862}}

Gabriel supported [[Andrew Báthory]],{{sfn|Barcza|1987|p=18}} who mounted the throne with Polish assistance after Sigismund again abdicated in 1599.{{sfn|Kontler|1999|p=164}} [[Michael the Brave]], Prince of Wallachia, broke into Transylvania and defeated Andrew in the [[Battle of Sellenberk]] (at present-day [[Șelimbăr]] in Romania) on 8 October 1599.{{sfn|Barcza|1987|p=18}} Gabriel received wounds in the battle and his wounds healed slowly.{{sfn|Barcza|1987|p=18}} Michael the Brave was expelled from Transylvania by Rudolph's commander, [[Giorgio Basta]].{{sfn|Keul|2009|p=143}} During the following years, Transylvania was regularly pillaged both by Basta's unpaid mercenaries, and by Ottoman and [[Crimean Tatars|Crimean Tatar]] troops.{{sfn|Keul|2009|p=143}}{{sfn|Barcza|1987|p=18}} Gabriel and his brother, Stephen, divided their inherited estates, with Gabriel receiving Marosillye.{{sfn|Erdősi|Lambert|2013|p=861}} Their agreement also refers to the anarchic situation, mentioning the possibility that "either pagan or some godless prince or the governor" would seize Gabriel's property.{{sfn|Erdősi|Lambert|2013|p=861}}

Gabriel joined the Transylvanian noblemen who rose up against Basta.{{sfn|Barcza|1987|p=18}} Sigismund Báthory (who had again returned to Transylvania) granted Gabriel and his brother landed property in [[Arad County]] in June 1602.{{sfn|Erdősi|Lambert|2013|p=862}} The army of the rebellious noblemen was annihilated near Tövis (now [[Teiuș]] in Romania) on 2 July 1602.{{sfn|Barcza|1987|p=18}}{{sfn|Erdősi|Lambert|2013|p=862}} After the battle, he swam over the [[Maros River]] and fled to Temesvár in the Ottoman Empire (now [[Timișoara]] in Romania).{{sfn|Barcza|1987|p=18}}{{sfn|Erdősi|Lambert|2013|p=862}} He forged letters which suggested that the leading Transylvanian noblemen supported [[Moses Székely]] to persuade the Ottomans to support Székely, according to the contemporaneous [[Ambrus Somogyi]].{{sfn|G. Etényi|Horn|Szabó|2006|p=162}} When Székely broke into Transylvania in March 1603, Gabriel was the commander of his vanguard.{{sfn|Barcza|1987|p=18}} Székelys' troops conquered most fortresses along the Maros and laid siege to Gyulafehérvár. During the siege, the princely palace burned.{{sfn|Barcza|1987|p=18}}{{sfn|R. Várkonyi|Campbell|2013|p=700}} Székely was installed as prince in May, but [[Radu Șerban]], Prince of Wallachia, annihilated his army near Barcarozsnyó (now [[Râșnov]] in Romania) on 17 July.{{sfn|Barcza|1987|p=18}}{{sfn|Keul|2009|p=150}} Székely was killed in the battlefield, and his supporters (among them Gabriel) fled to the Ottoman Empire.{{sfn|Barcza|1987|p=18}}

The Transylvanian refugees started to regard Gabriel as their leader.{{sfn|Barcza|1987|p=20}} They sent a delegation to [[Constantinople]] in August, asking the permission of the [[List of Ottoman Grand Viziers|Ottoman grand vizier]] to elect Gabriel prince and seeking Ottoman assistance to their return to Transylvania.{{sfn|Barcza|1987|p=20}} The grand vizier granted the permission, but one of the refugees, Boldizsár Szilvási, prevented Gabriel's election, pointing out that a prince could not be elected by a group of refugees, but by the Diet of Transylvania.{{sfn|Barcza|1987|p=20}}