Antonio Carafa

Antonio von Caraffa (1646 – 6 March 1693) was a General Commissary (Generalkriegskommissär) of the Imperial-Habsburg Army—the highest rank in the Austrian military hierarchy at the time.

After the conquest of Upper Hungary, he was appointed its military governor. He set up the Executive Court of Prešov, by which he ruthlessly persecuted followers of Imre Thököly; the Court, whose proceedings remained secret, made widespread use of torture and executed seventeen supposed conspirators. For this event, Caraffa developed a reputation for cruelty among Hungarians. The Hungarian nobility complained to the Emperor and Caraffa was given another position as General Commissary of the army.

He remained in Imperial service and conquered Palanok Castle in Mukachevo, defended by Ilona Zrínyi after a siege of three years. In this way, he was appointed royal commissioner of Transylvania, and managed to persuade Mihály Teleki and an important part of the nobility to switch to the Austrian side. He also conquered Lipova and Lugoj.

His administration of Transylvania was also remembered as heavy-handed, for he extracted more taxes than the Ottomans had collected tribute.