Captaincies of the Kingdom of Hungary

The Captaincies of the Kingdom of Hungary (Hungarian: Magyar királyi főkapitányságok) were administrative divisions, military districts in the 16th and 17th centuries. The Ottoman Empire meant a constant threat to the kingdom, therefore the Habsburg Hungarian kings needed to establish a well-working military administration. The captaincy (főkapitányság) was administered by the Royal Captain-general of the Captaincy.

In 1542, the Hungarian kingdom, primarily for military and administrative purposes, was divided into two captaincies, Captaincy of Cisdanubia (mostly Upper Hungary) and Captaincy of Transdanubia (the remaining territories).^[1] Captaincy of Győr was founded in 1556. In 1563 Captaincy of Lower Hungary was established (today approx. the present-day regions of western and central Slovakia). By 1566, Kanizsa at southwestern Transdanubia also evolved into a new captaincy.^[2]

Irrespective of the military districts, there were coexistent superior (nemesi – noble) captaincies,^[2] with their own captain-generals, however their role was different (organization of insurrectio, logistics etc.).