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Royal Ancestors from
Hungary
INTRODUCTION
The region
constituting contemporary Hungary was part of the ancient Roman
provinces of Dacia and Pannonia. Situated on the periphery of
the Empire, these provinces were among the first to fall to the
Germanic tribes that began to overrun the Roman dominions in the
closing years of the 2nd century AD. The Germanic
tribes were later driven from the region by the Huns. After the
death of the great Hunnish chieftain Attila, the Germans
reoccupied the area, but were again expelled, in the 5th
century, by the Avars, an Asiatic people. With the decline of
the Avars’ power during the 8th century, the
Moravians, a Slavic tribe, seized the north and east portions of
the region and, between 791, and 797, the Frankish emperor
Charlemagne added the remainder to his domains.
The next conquest of
the region occurred when, in 895 or 896, the Magyars, a tribe of
uncertain racial origin, seized control of former Pannonia.
Under the leadership of their semi-legendary chieftain Άrpád,
the invaders conquered Moravia, raided the Italian peninsula,
and made incursions into Germany. The Magyars ranged over
central Europe for more than half a century after the death
(907) of Άrpád, and in 955 devastated Burgundy. Later in 955
they were defeated by the Holy Roman Emperor Otto I on the Lech
River. After this defeat, the Magyars maintained friendlier
relations with the Holy Roman Empire, with the result that
Christianity and Western culture began to penetrate Hungary.
The Hungarian ruler Géza was converted to Christianity in 975.
His son Stephen I, the founder of the Άrpád dynasty, received
formal recognition as King of Hungary when, in the year 1001,
Pope Sylvester II granted him the title of “Apostolic Majesty,”
an appellation retained by the Hungarian kings for more than
nine centuries.
When Stephen, who
was later canonized (1087), a new era began for Hungary.
Christianity became the official religion, paganism was
suppressed, royal authority was centralized, and the country was
divided into counties for administrative purposes. No attempt
was made, however, to ease the lot of the non-Magyar sections of
the population. Treated as subject races, they were forced to
shoulder a disproportionate burden of toil and taxation. This
aspect of Hungarian civilization endured for many centuries.
After Stephen’s death a pagan reaction developed, and his
immediate successor had to content also against barbarian and
German invasions. Ladislas I “The Saint” (1077-1095), renowned
for his wise legislation and for great personal valor, arranged
an alliance with Pope Gregory VII during the Investiture
conflict. Thus strengthened, Hungary again became a powerful
kingdom. Stephen subjugated Croatia, Bosnia, and part of
Transylvania, and his successor Koloman (1095-1114) gained
possession of part of Dalmatia.
Royal authority
declined in Hungary during the 12th century, chiefly
because of internal strife instigated by the Byzantine emperor
Manuel I Comnenus. Seizing control of the Hungarian throne, he
bestowed huge grants of the crown lands on partisans among the
native nobility, thereby providing substantial foundations for
the development of feudalism. The Byzantine influence
disappeared after the death (1180) of Manuel, but the barons
retained their privileged status. King Andrew II, who ascended
the throne in 1205, attempted to re-establish a centralized
regime. In 1222 he issued the Golden Bull, sometimes called the
Hungarian Magna Charta, which extended various rights, including
tax exemptions, to the nobility. Although the decree gained
some adherents for the king among the weaker barons, it failed
to reduce the power of the great landowners.
During the reign
(1235-1270) of Andrew’s successor Béla IV, Hungary was overrun
by Mongol invaders. Most of the Mongols withdrew from the
country in 1241, but subsequent wards, notably with Austria, and
further royal concessions to the barons accelerated the
disintegration of the kingdom. Civil war raged in Hungary from
1301 to 1308, the year of the death of Andrew III, the last
Άrpád king. Charles Robert of Anjou, who secured election as
sovereign of Hungary in the same year, restored order, imposed
limitations on the barons, and generally consolidated the
realm. During his reign, which ended in 1342, Charles also made
a number of territorial acquisitions, including Bosnia and part
of Serbia. Through his marriage to the sister of Casimir III of
Poland, he insured the succession of his son Louis to the Polish
crown.
Hungary
From
their dwellings in Central Russia, the Hungarians slowly
migrated south. They appear in contemporary sources under a
variety of names, but are not, as a rule, called by the name
they use themselves: Magyar. The principle names under which
the Hungarians appear are: Turk, Bashkir, Sabir, Onogur,
Scythians, Sauromates, Getes, or Huns. At some time, probably
during the ninth century, Hungarians occupied a territory called
Levedia, adjoining the Black Sea. There they became close
allies with the Khazars. The first Hungarian chief mentioned by
name is Levedi or Elod. Hungarian tribes decided to elect a
chief. Levedi declined the offer and suggested either the chief
Almos or his son Arpad be elected. Almos was eventually
elected. The circumstances in which Arpad took over the
eladership from his father are mysterious. It is he who is
traditionally regarded as the conqueror.
Ruler/Ancestor |
Born |
Reign |
Died |
Taskony |
|
955-972 |
|
Bela I |
|
1060-1063 |
|
Geza I |
|
1074-1077 |
|
Bela "The Blind" |
|
1131-1141 |
|
Geza II |
|
1141-1162 |
|
Bela III |
|
1173-1196 |
|
Andrew II |
|
1205-1235 |
|
Bela IV |
|
1235-1270 |
|
Stephen V |
|
1270-1272 |
|
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