Temporary appointments by the Sultan: A new method for ensuring succession in Transylvania before the death of the ruling prince

The power structure of the Ottoman Empire was quite diverse, and the flexibility of their rule is shown by the fact that their system of autonomy in religion, communities and states survived up to the modernisation of the 19th century. In order to examine the individual areas not in isolation, but instead from the perspective of the empire, it is necessary to make a comparative analysis of similar structures. In the case of Transylvania, as a vassal of the Ottoman Empire, it will be analysed the sultan’s temporary confirmation concerning two consecutive princes. The temporary confirmation was only bestowed upon the recipient an assurance of his right to inherit the throne prior to the death of his father, who was his predecessor. This type of legal action seems to be unknown in the case of other vassal states in the middle of the 17th century.