The Rațiu Family is one of the oldest noble families in Transylvania, Romania. Rațiu family’s existence is recorded since the time of Sigismund of Luxembourg (XIV century). The family originates from a town in the northern County of Noşlac, bordered by the county Turda-Aries, on the left (south) of the river Mureș.
“Noşlac is inhabited by several noble families. During the reign of Emperor Sigismund of Luxembourg (king of Hungary in 1387 and emperor of Germany since 1411), the Croats in southern Hungary became rebellious. The King reacted by calling and asking the Diet of Turda nobility to prepare a campaign to suppress the riot of the Croats. Legend says that Thomas of Nagylak (Noşlac), who was enrolled as a crusader, under the banner nobles Székely seat of Aries, took part in the campaign against the Ottomans. Returning victorious from this campaign, King Sigismund of Luxembourg was contempt with the nobles' intervention. After this, the neighbours of Thomas of Nagylak named him Rácz Thomas synonym for ,,Croatia “(Hrvace), because he had fought on land in Croatia. This formed the name, Rácz of Nagylak, which later turned to Ratz, and then Rațiu. Over time, the family received several noble ranking upgrades from King Rudolf II of Habsburg (1578), Stephen Báthory (1583), Sigismund Báthory (1585), Gabriel Bethlen (1625) and Michael Apafi I (1680). The Turdean branch of the Rațiu family comes from Stefan Racz of Nagylak (Noşlac) knighted in 1625 in Alba Iulia by Gabriel Bethlen of Transylvania. Due to conflicts between the noble families, George II Rákóczi withdrew the family’s title, banned them from Noşlac and confiscated their lands. Basil Rațiu and his two adult children, Basil and John, seek refuge with relatives in Teiuş. After this, the father and the third child, Coman, settled in Turda. The family’s noble title was renewed by Prince Michael Apafi I in 1680. Thanks to this, the family was able to settle permanently in Turda, a Hungarian noble city, where, according to medieval rules, only noble families who held diplomas were admitted. The Rațiu Family from Noşlac remained the only Romanians in Turda, while others were pursued to become Hungarian or disappeared from history.