Medieval Hungary (997
- 1096)
<>The first Hungarian King is Stephen. He
becomes Kende or Chief Prince in
997. In 1000, he receives a crown and
an investiture of Kingship from Pope Sylvester II.
He moves against his uncle, the Transylvanian gyula. In 1003, he captures the gyula, and adds
Transylvania to the Hungary. He
reduces
the offices of gyula and harka to court officials and assumed complete
and sole
control over the Hungarian kingdom.> In 1002, Stephen also
allies himself with Henry II, the Holy
Roman Emperor and attacks Boleslas the Brave of Poland.
In the ensuing war, he loses Slovakia to
Poland (Treaty of Posen, 1005). He
regains the cities of Bratislava and Nitra, in another war allied with
Otto
III, the new Holy Roman Emperor from 1015 - 1018 (Treaty of Budysin or
Bautzen,
1018).
<> Stephen then subdues a
pagan revolt lead by his nephew,
Vaszoly (Vazul). Vaszoly is blinded and
imprisoned, and his sons, Andrew, Bela, and Levante flee to Poland and
Russia. Stephen dies in 1038, and
appoints his nephew, Peter, son of his sister and the Doge of Venice,
king.>
<>The Hungarian nobility elects Samuel Aba king, and Peter
flees to the Holy Roman Emperor, Henry III for protection.
Henry invades and conquers Hungary, placing
Peter on the throne as his vassal.
Another pagan revolt ensues, and
Peter is killed by the tribal
chieftain, Vata, in 1048.> Vaszoly's sons are recalled by the
nobility, and Andrew I
(1048 - 1050) ascends the Hungarian throne.
Bela, his brother, puts down the pagan revolt and defeats Henry
III,
restoring Hungarian independence. Bela
then challenges Andrew I for the throne, and in the ensuing fight,
Andrew is
killed and Bela I (1050 - 1053) is crowned as his successor.
<>After the death of Bela I, Solomon (1053 - 1074), son of
Andrew I, is crowned king. His reign is
spent in dynastic struggles with Bela's two sons, Gejza and Ladislas. Finally, Gejza and Ladislas force Solomon
from the throne, and he flees for protection to the Holy Roman Emperor,
Henry
IV, who is his brother-in-law. Gejza
I
(1074 - 1077) is king for a few short years, during which the last of
the Poles
are expelled from Slovakia. >
Ladislas (1077 - 1096) is invited to assume the
crown of
Croatia, and is opposed by the Venetians and the Byzantines, who
succeed in
expelling the Hungarians only for a short time.
His son, Coloman, is confirmed King of Croatia by the Pope in 1102, and
extends Hungary into the Balkans, at the expense of the Byzantine
Empire.