A Hungarian-Croatian Aristocrat from a new Perspective

Military Career of Péter Zrínyi/Petar Zrinski (1621–1671)

Abstract

Peter Zrinyi’s (†1671) name became inséparable from his participation in the conspiracy led by palatine Ferenc Wesselényi (also known as Zrinsko-Frankopan plot) which is the most examined period of his lifetime. The Croatian historiography has been focusing on his role in the movement, still considering him an early representative of the thought of independence. Peter Zrinyi’s literary activities have been researched relating to the political ones too. His military career, however, is practically unexamined; not even its major stages are known. Hungarian historians having national sympathies could also be blamed for this backlog due to the fact that they totally neglected his person pushing Nicholas Zrinyi forward in his stead. The present paper aims to outliné Peter Zrinyi’s advancement from a new perspective, namely in interaction with that of Nicholas Zrinyi. As we will see, the first decade spent together in Mura-köz had playéd an important rolé that Peter oriented himself towards Croatian territories.