the "Bloody Carnival" in early 1596. Rudolph II promised Sigismund to send reinforcements and money to continue the war against the Ottomans. Sigismund returned to Transylvania on 4March. He laid siege to Temesvár (now Timișoara in Romania), but he lifted the siege when an Ottoman army of 20,000 strong approached the fortress. The Ottoman Sultan Mehmed III invaded Royal Hungary in summer. Sigismund joined his forces with the royal army, which was under the command of Maximilian of Habsburg. However, the Ottomans routed their united army in the Battle of Mezőkeresztes between 23 and 26 October. Sigismund again went to Prague to meet RudolphII and offered to abdicate in January 1597. After he returned to Transylvania, he restored the Roman Catholic bishopric in Gyulafehérvár. He sent envoys to Italy to demand the supreme command of a new Christian army, but his delegates at Istanbul started negotiations regarding a reconciliation with the sultan. Abdications and returns The failure of his marriage and the defeats of the Holy League diminished Sigismund's self-confidence. He sent his envoys to RudolphII and again offered to abdicate in September 1597. An agreement regarding his abdication was signed on 23December 1597. RudolphII granted Sigismund the Silesian duchies of Racibórz and Opole and a yearly subsidy of 50,000 thalers. The agreement was kept secret for months. The Diet of Transylvania acknowledged Sigismund's abdication on 23March 1598. Maria Christierna took charge of the government until the arrival of Maximilian of Habsburg, whom RudolphII had appointed to administer Transylvania. Sigismund went to Silesia, but he did not like his new duchies. Bocskai, who had been dismissed after Sigismund's abdication, urged him to return. Sigismund came to Kolozsvár on 21 August. On the following day, Bocskai convoked the Diet to his military camp at Szászsebes (now Sebeș in Romania), and the delegates proclaimed Sigismund prince. Most Transylvanians accepted the decision, but György Király, the deputy captain of Várad, remained loyal to RudolphII. In September an Ottoman army invaded the principality, capturing the fortresses along the Maros. Sigismund sent his envoys to the commander of the army, Mehmed, convincing him to attack Várad instead of breaking into Transylvania proper. All of Sigismund's attempts to make peace with the sultan failed. He sent his envoys to Prague to negotiate with RudolphII, while his confessor, Carillo, started negotiations with Jan Zamoyski in Poland. At Sigismund's invitation, his cousin, Andrew Báthory, returned from Poland. Sigismund