Thököly had married the Croatian countess Jelena Zrinska (in Hungarian: Zrínyi Ilona), the widow of Prince Francis I Rákóczi, in June 1682.

Thököly's distrust of the Emperor now induces him to turn for help to Sultan Mehmed IV, who, on condition that he pay an annual tribute of forty thousand tallers, recognizes him as Kral of Upper Hungary (i.e., eastern Slovakia and parts of northeastern present-day Hungary), a separate military district, headquartered in Košice, within Royal Hungary. The title "Kral", of Slavic origin, means monarch) .

Thököly captures fortress after fortress from the Emperor in the course of 1683, and extends his dominions to the Vág river.

At the two Diets held by him in this year at Kassa (today Košice, Slovakia) and ...