Zgismond I

Zgismond I (Zgismond Vilmos Esterházy; B. 1688-1742) was the Balaton Emperor from 1721 until his death in 1742. Zgismond is the seventh Emperor of the third rulership of the House of Esterházy, having inherited the throne from his uncle László VIII. Zgismond I's reign was seen as tumultuous, marked primarily by the outbreak of the Hódítók Disunity. Zgismond I's death began the Imperial Civil Dispute, where his successor János IX's has been considered illegitimate by his siblings.

Zgismond I was born in 1688 in the Komárom Palace in North Balaton to Vilmos Esterházy, Alispán of Látrány, later Vilmos V; and his mother Ilona Esterházy during the rule of his grandfather, Vilmos IV. His father would later ascend to the Emperorship and was coronated in 1692. Still an infant at the time, Vilmos V abdicated to his brother László Esterházy, Alispán of Zamárdi in 1698 after the development of schizophrenia called his ability to rule in question. During his early life, he was raised by Ilona and was doted upon by Vilmos IV, considered to have been his favorite grandchild. He was tutored by a Salgo military officer named Armitz and a Csongrád monk named Mihály. It was presumed that Zgismond's position within his family would actually deem him ineligible for being Emperor, and as such he was never tutored in rulership. In 1715, Ilona died and in 1721, László VIII died and left Zgismond I to rule, as László VIII didn't have any children.

Zgismond I's rulership marked by meddling popularity by the population and an overall apathy for him within the Imperial Diet. Before 1733, Zgismond primarily focused his image on building a repitoire with the Imperial Faith, having taken many of the Ecclesiastical Pilgrimages during his early time. During rising tensions within the Imperial South over landownership disputes between nobles from the tribes of Hegyhát, Hévíz and Balaton. In 1733, the Hódítók Disunity broke out, primarily between the Hegyhát people and the Balaton people. In particular, the establishment of the breakaway Balaton-Hévíz Kingdom that included the megye of Kaposvár caused many different violent outbreaks between the native Hegyhát and Kaposvár people against the migrational Balaton and Hévíz people. Zgismond I's handling of the war was considered to have been his crowning achievement.