Everyone knows that in 1526, the Kingdom of Hungary was defeated by the Ottoman Empire at the Battle of Mohacs, where the Turkish Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent won one of his greatest victories, and King Louis II of Hungary was killed. (Also killed was Pal Tomori, a bishop who served as Louis II's top general.)
It took a few decades for all of the fallout to settle, but in the end Hungary was partitioned three ways.
I. Imperial Hungary: Ottoman Control
The Ottoman Empire outright annexed much of Hungary. This is referred to as Imperial Hungary -- because it was under the control of the Ottoman Empire. Most of modern-day Hungary (which, as any Hungarian nationalist will tell you, is far smaller than historic Hungary) fell into Imperial Hungary. Thus, Budapest, Szeged, and other major cities of modern Hungary were under direct Turkish rule.
II. Royal Hungary: Austrian Control
The Turks didn't quite annex all of Hungary, though. Large areas were annexed by the Hapsburg dynasty of Austria. These areas became known as Royal Hungary -- because the Habsburgs took the title of King of Hungary after the death of their relative Louis II and thus claimed these areas as king. This is confusing, because the Habsburgs are far more famous for being Holy Roman Emperors, and thus it seems that their part should be called "Imperial" Hungary. However, calling this area "Royal" Hungary is consistent with the traditions of Austrian imperialism. On paper, Austria never had an "empire" that it controlled. Rather, the Austrian empire was presented as many different independent countries, each of which just happened to have the same ruler.
Royal Hungary consisted mostly of "Upper Hungary" -- which today we call Slovakia -- as well as half of Croatia (the rest of which was part of Imperial Hungary). The capital of Royal Hungary was Bratislava (in Hungarian Pozsony, in German Pressburg), which makes Bratislava the only European city to have been capital of two different countries, both of which still exist.While the term "Kingdom of Hungary" refers to both the entire Hungarian state prior to Mohacs and to the Habsburg-ruled successor state, the term "Royal Hungary" is used only to refer to Habsburg-controlled Hungary post-Mohacs.
Confusingly, historians often refer to Habsburg armies as "Imperial" armies, because of their allegience to the Holy Roman Empire. So you might read about Imperial armies invading Imperial Hungary.
III. Principality of Transylvania: Independent
But not all of Hungary fell under foreign control. Transylvania became an independent principality controlled by the great Transylvanian noble families (the Bathorys, the Bethlens, the Batthyanys, etc.). As with the king in pre-Mohacs Hungary, the Transylvanian ruler was elected for life. At first, the rulers of Transylvania claimed, in pretense, the kingship of Hungary (against the Habsburgs), but after 1600 they dropped these claims and simply called themselves "Prince of Transylvania" (fejedelem in Hungarian). However, many princes of Transylvania were ambitious and started or supported rebellions in Upper Hungary, with the goal of throwing off the Habsburgs.
Transylvania was to some extent an Ottoman client state. The Ottomans thought of it as a useful buffer state between them and the Austrians. Further, the Ottomans encouraged the spread of Protestantism in Transylvania; they figured that if they made the Hungarians non-Catholic, it would be more difficult for Austria to absorb the Hungarians in the future.
This three-part partition was in effect from roughly 1526 to 1699. Eventually, during the Great Turkish War, Eugene of Savoy conquered all of Hungary and Transylvania, and Austrian mastery over these areas was confirmed by the Treaty of Karlowitz. Subsequently, both Imperial and Royal Hungary became part of a unified "Apostolic Kingdom of Hungary" with the Habsburgs as hereditary monarchs. The Habsburgs also took the title of "Prince of Transylvania". Indeed, today in Vienna you can view the Transylvanian crown in the same museum that houses the Austrian crown jewels and the crown of the Holy Roman Emperor.
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