rebels a general amnesty. The peasant army won a series of victories against the Austrian army, but on December 7 the Austrians defeated the peasants in a decisive battle in Mihăileni, in which the peasants suffered great losses. On December 14, at Câmpeni (Topánfalva, Topesdorf), Horea told the peasants to return to their homes but said that they would resume fighting in the spring. Horea and Cloșca then retreated to the Gilău Mountains, where they were betrayed by locals and arrested by Austrian soldiers on December 27. Crișan was captured on January 30. All three were taken to Alba Iulia (Gyulafehérvár, Karlsburg), where they were interrogated by the Austrians. At first dozens of rebels were sentenced to be killed, but Joseph II granted them amnesties, and ordered that only the three leaders should be executed. Execution On February 26, the three men were sentenced to death on the wheel, and several thousand Romanian peasants were brought in to witness their execution. On the night of February 27, 1785, Crișan had hanged himself in prison, taking advantage of the negligence of his guards. The next day, Horea and Cloșca were broken on the wheel at Dealul Furcilor (Gabelberg, Forks Hill), Alba Iulia. Their bodies were then cut into pieces, which were scattered at various villages to serve as a warning to future would-be rebels. After the suppression of the rebellion, Horea’s son Ion was deported to Banat. He managed several times to escape and return to Transylvania, but he was caught and returned each time. Horea’s home was preserved until 1898, when it was bought by Ion C. Brătianu and moved to his estate at Florica. Legacy In 1785, Joseph II ordered an end to serfdom, although the feudal system continued to be practiced for several more decades. The Emperor also ended aristocratic control over peasant marriages and expanded the peasants’ grazing rights. The peasant rebellion had repercussions throughout Europe. It shook up the feudal system and is considered by many to have inspired the French Revolution. In 1785 Jacques Pierre Brissot, who would become a leader of the French Revolution, published an open letter to Joseph II in which he asserted the right of royal subjects to protest. Horea is considered a folk hero who helped Romanians to see themselves as a people and a nation deserving of independence and freedom. Many authors have written about him. He was the