Péter Erdődy

Who was Péter Erdődy?

Péter Erdödy was the ban of Croatia from 1557 to 1567 and the founding member of the Croatian branch of the Erdödy noble family.

Péter was born in 1504. He was the son of Peter I. Erdődy, the nephew of Tamás Bakócz He succeeded the famous Nikola Šubić Zrinski as ban in 1557. He first gained notoriety with a series of military victories against the Ottoman Empire in 1552, including setting fire to Gradiška with Juraj Frankopan.

He was given the titles of "Reichsgraf" in 1565 and "Reichsfürst" in 1566 by Maximilian II. Because he died soon after that, the titles weren't nostrificated. The title of "Reichsgraf" was nostrificated in 1580 for his two sons Thomas II. and Peter III. by Rudolf II. But the title of "Reichsfürst" got forgotten.

He died in 1567. His first son Toma Erdödy later became ban as well.