In 1600 the castle and its estate came to the Ilešházi family (Illésházy in Hungarian), who held it for more than two centuries and became hereditary župans of Trenčín county — the office passed from father to son instead of being granted by the king each time. Their two centuries were the age of the anti-Habsburg uprisings, when Hungarian nobles rose against Vienna over taxes, soldiers and religion. The last and largest of them, led by Francis II Rákóczi, was decided in this valley: Trenčín castle was held for the emperor, Rákóczi's kuruc soldiers — that was the name for the insurgents — laid siege to it, and on 3 August 1708 the imperial general Heister attacked in the fields between Trenčianska Turná, Soblahov and Mníchova Lehota. Rákóczi's horse fell as he jumped a ditch and he was knocked unconscious; the rumour that he was dead ran through his own army, which broke in about three hours and left some three thousand dead and all twelve of its guns on the field. Within months the uprising had lost western Slovakia, and it never recovered.Roku 1600 získal hrad aj panstvo rod Ilešháziovcov, ktorý ho držal vyše dvoch storočí a stal sa dedičným županom Trenčianskej stolice — úrad prechádzal z otca na syna namiesto toho, aby ho zakaždým udeľoval kráľ. Ich dve storočia boli obdobím protihabsburských povstaní, keď sa uhorská šľachta búrila proti Viedni pre dane, vojakov a vieru. Posledné a najväčšie z nich, povstanie Františka II. Rákociho, sa rozhodlo práve v tejto doline: Trenčiansky hrad držala cisárska posádka, obliehali ho kuruci, ako sa povstalcom hovorilo a 3. augusta 1708 zaútočil cisársky generál Heister na poliach medzi Trenčianskou Turnou, Soblahovom a Mníchovou Lehotou. Rákociho kôň padol pri skoku cez priekopu a knieža stratilo vedomie; správa, že je mŕtvy, preletela vlastným vojskom a to sa za tri hodiny rozsypalo — na bojisku nechalo okolo troch tisíc mŕtvych a všetkých dvanásť diel. Do niekoľkých mesiacov povstanie stratilo západné Slovensko a už sa nespamätalo.
