History of Hungary

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Hungary in its modern (post-1946) borders roughly corresponds to the Great Hungarian Plain (the Pannonian
basin). During the Iron Age, it was at the boundary of Celtic, Illyrian and Iranian (Scythian) cultural spheres.
Named for the Pannonians, the region became the Roman province of Pannonia in AD 20. Roman control
collapsed with the Hunnic invasions of 370–410 and Pannonia was part of the Ostrogothic Kingdom during the late
5th to mid 6th century, succeeded by the Avar Khaganate (6th to 9th centuries). The Magyar invasion takes place
during the 9th century.
The Magyars were Christianized at the end of the 10th century, and the Christian Kingdom of Hungary was
established in AD 1000, ruled by the Árpád dynasty for the following three centuries. In the high medieval period,
the kingdom expanded beyond Pannonia, to the Adriatic coast. In 1241 during the reign of Béla IV, Hungary was
invaded by the Mongols under Batu Khan. The outnumbered Hungarians were decisively defeated at the Battle of
Mohi by the Mongol army. King Béla fled to the Holy Roman Empire and left the Hungarian population under the
mercy of the Mongols. In this invasion more than 500,000 Hungarian population were massacred and the whole
kingdom reduced to ashes. After the extinction of the Árpád dynasty in 1301, the late medieval kingdom persisted,
albeit no longer under Hungarian monarchs, and gradually reduced due to the increasing pressure by
the expansion of the Ottoman Empire. Hungary bore the brunt of the Ottoman wars in Europe during the 15th
century. The peak of this struggle took place during the reign of Matthias Corvinus (r. 1458–1490). The Ottoman–
Hungarian wars concluded in significant loss of territory and the partition of the kingdom after the Battle of
Mohács of 1526.
 Defense against Ottoman expansion shifted to Habsburg Austria, and the remainder of the Hungarian
kingdom came under the rule of the Habsburg emperors. The lost territory was recovered with the conclusion of
the Great Turkish War, thus the whole of Hungary became part of the Habsburg Monarchy. Following
the nationalist uprisings of 1848, the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 elevated Hungary's status by the
creation of a joint monarchy with the Austrian Empire, ruled in personal union as Austria-Hungary by the Austrian
emperors during 1867–1918. The territory grouped under the Habsburg Archiregnum Hungaricum was much
larger than modern Hungary, following the Croatian–Hungarian Settlement of 1868 with settled the political status
of the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia within the Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen.
After the First World War, the Central Powers enforced the dissolution of the Habsburg Monarchy. The treaties
of Saint-Germain-en-Laye and Trianon detached around 72% of the territory of the Kingdom of Hungary, ceded
to Czechoslovakia, Kingdom of Romania, Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, First Austrian
Republic, Second Polish Republic and the Kingdom of Italy. Afterwards a short-lived People's Republic was
declared that was followed by a restored Kingdom of Hungary, but governed by the regent, Miklós Horthy who
officially represented the Hungarian monarchy of Charles IV, Apostolic King of Hungary. Between 1938 and 1941,
Hungary recovered part of her lost territories. During World War II Hungary became under German occupation in
1944 that was followed by the Soviet occupation and the loss of the war. After World War II, the Second Hungarian
Republic was established in Hungary's current-day borders, as a socialist People's Republic during 1949–
1989 and as the Third Republic of Hungary under an amended version of the constitution of 1949 since October
1989, with a new constitution adopted in 2011. Hungary joined the European Union in 2004.

Contents

 1Early history
 2Medieval Hungary
o 2.1Conquest and early principality (895–1000)
o 2.2The Patrimonial Kingdom (1000–1301)
 2.2.1Mongol invasions
o 2.3Late medieval period (1301–1526)
 2.3.1Árpád succession
 2.3.2Matthias Corvinus
 2.3.3Decline and partition
 3Early modern period
o 3.1Ottoman wars
o 3.2Anti-Habsburg uprisings
 4Modern history
o 4.1The Period of Reforms (1825–1848)
o 4.2Revolution and War of Independence
o 4.3Austria–Hungary (1867–1918)
 4.3.1Economy
o 4.4World War I
o 4.5Interwar period (1918–1939)
 4.5.1Hungarian People's Republic
 4.5.2Hungarian Soviet Republic ("Republic of the Councils")
 4.5.3Counterrevolution
 4.5.4Trianon Hungary and the Regency
o 4.6World War II
o 4.7Post-War Communist period
 4.7.1Transition to Communism (1944–1949)
 4.7.2Stalinist era (1949–1956)
 4.7.2.1Nationalisation of the economy
 4.7.2.2Rivalry between Communist leaders
 4.7.31956 Revolution
 4.7.4Post Revolution (or Kádár) era (1956–1989)
 4.7.4.1End of Communism
o 4.8Third Republic (since 1989)
 4.8.1Foundation
 4.8.2Economic reform
 4.8.3First Orbán government: 1998–2002
 4.8.4MSZP: 2002–2010
 4.8.5Second to Fourth Orbán governments: 2010–present
 5Historiography
 6See also
 7References
 8Sources
 9External links
o 9.1Encyclopaedia Humana Hungarica (1–5)

Early history[edit]
Main articles: Pannonian basin before the Hungarians, Amber Road, and Hungarian prehistory

Grand Prince Árpád crossing the Carpathians. A detail of the Arrival of the Hungarians, Árpád Feszty's and his assistants' vast
(1800 m²) cycloramic canvas, painted to celebrate the 1000th anniversary of the Magyar conquest of Hungary, now displayed
at the Ópusztaszer National Heritage Park in Hungary.

Middle Paleolithic presence of Homo heidelbergensis is evidenced by the discovery of the "Samu" fossil, dated to
c. 300,000 years old, with traces of habitation as old as 500,000 years ago. Presence of anatomically modern
humans dates to c. 33,000 years ago (Aurignacian). Neolithization began with the Starčevo–Kőrös–Criș culture, c.
6000 BC. The Bronze Age begins with the Vučedol culture (Makó culture), c. 3000 BC.
The Iron Age commenced around 800 BC, associated with "Thraco-Cimmerian" artefact types, representing the
overlap of the pre-Scythian (Novocherkassk culture) and pre-Celtic (Hallstatt culture) cultural spheres. Hallstatt
occupation of western Transdanubia is evident from about 750 BC Early Greek ethnography locates
the Agathyrsi and the Sigynnae in the region. By the 4th century BC, the Pannonian basin was occupied
by Pannonians (assumed to be an Illyrian tribal confederation) and by Celts (Taurisci). Following 279 BC, the
Celtic Scordisci after their defeat at Delphi, settled in southern Transdanubia. The northeastern part of the
Carpathian basin was reached by the Boii in the 2nd century BC.
The Roman Empire conquered territory west of the Danube River between 35 and 9 BC. From 9 BC to the end of
the 4th century AD, Pannonia, the western part of the Carpathian Basin, was part of the Roman Empire. In the final
stages of the expansion of the Roman empire in the early centuries of the first millennium AD, the Carpathian
Basin fell under the Mediterranean influence of Greco-Roman civilization for a short period – town centers, paved
roads, and written sources were all part of the advances put to an end by the "Migration of peoples" that
characterized the Early Middle Ages in Europe. The Goths established themselves in Dacia by the 4th century.
After the Western Roman Empire collapsed in the 5th century AD under the stress of the migration of Germanic
tribes and Carpian pressure, the Migration Period continued to bring many invaders into central Europe, beginning
with the Hunnic Empire (c. 370–469). After the disintegration of Hunnic rule, the Ostrogoths, who had been
vassalized by the Huns, established their own Ostrogothic kingdom. Other groups which reached the Carpathian
Basin in the Migration period were the Gepids, Lombardas and Slavs. In the 560s the Avars founded the Avar
Khaganate,[1] a state that maintained supremacy in the region for more than two centuries and had the military
power to launch attacks against its neighboring empires. The Avar Khaganate was weakened by constant wars
and outside pressure, and the Franks under Charlemagne defeated the Avars in a series of campaigns during the
790s. By the mid-9th century, the Balaton Principality, also known as Lower Pannonia, was established as a
Frankish march.
Bulgaria under Khan Krum

In 803 Krum became Khan of Bulgaria. The new energetic ruler pointed his attention to the north-west where
Bulgaria's old enemies, the Avars experienced difficulties and setbacks against the Franks under Charlemagne.
Between 804 and 806 the Bulgarian armies militarily annihilated the Avars and destroyed their state. Krum took the
eastern parts of the former Avar Khaganate and took over rule of the local Slavic tribes. Bulgaria's territory
extended twice from the middle Danube to the north of Budapest to the Dnester though possession
of Transylvania is debatable. In 813 Khan Krum seized Odrin and plundered the whole of Eastern Thrace. He took
50,000 captivities who were settled in Bulgaria across the Danube.

Medieval Hungary[edit]

Hungarian raids across Europe in the 10th century.

Conquest and early principality (895–1000)[edit]

Main articles: Hungarian invasions of Europe and Principality of Hungary
The Magyar conquest begins at the very end of the 9th century, in a series of raids during 892–895. An armed
conflict between Bulgaria and the nomadic Hungarians forced the latter to depart from the Pontic steppes and
began the conquest of the Carpathian Basin around 895. The Magyars (Hungarians) had destroyed Great
Moravia and firmly established themselves in the Pannonian Basin by 907. The name Hungary derives from the
designation Οὔγγροι for the Magyars, first recorded in Byzantine sources of the 9th century (in the 10th century as
Latin Ungarii). The initial H- is a non-phonemic addition made in Middle Latin, first used in the late 12th century.
The name is thought to ultimately reflect a Byzantine loan of the Old Bulgarian ągrinŭ, itself from the Old
Turkic name of the On-Oğur ("ten tribes") confederation.[2] During the Middle Ages, Byzantine sources also referred
to the Magyar state as Tourkía (Greek: Τουρκία).[3]
Árpád was the leader who unified the Magyar tribes via the Covenant of Blood (Hungarian: Vérszerződés), forging
what was thereafter known as the Hungarian nation.[4] He led the new nation to the Carpathian Basin in the 9th
century.[4] Between 895 and 902 the whole area of the Carpathian Basin was conquered by the Hungarians.[5]
First Hungarian coin. It was coined by Duke Géza circa the end of 970s.

An early Hungarian state was formed in this territory in 895. The military power of the nation allowed the
Hungarians to conduct successful fierce campaigns and raids as far as the territories of modern Spain.[6] A defeat
at the Battle of Lechfeld in 955 signaled an end to raids on western territories, although they continued into lands
controlled by the Byzantine Empire until 970, and links between the tribes weakened. Prince (fejedelem) Géza of
the Árpád dynasty, who ruled only part of the united territory, was the nominal overlord of all seven Magyar tribes.
He aimed to integrate Hungary into Christian Western Europe by rebuilding the state according to the Western
political and social models.[citation needed]
Géza established a dynasty by naming his son Vajk (later King Stephen I of Hungary) as his successor. This
decision was contrary to the dominant tradition of the time to have the eldest surviving member of the ruling family
succeed the incumbent. (See:agnatic seniority) By ancestral right, Prince Koppány, the oldest member of the
dynasty, should have claimed the throne, but Géza chose his first-born son to be his successor instead.[7] Koppány
did not relinquish his ancestral rights without a fight. After Géza's death in 997, Koppány took up arms, and many
subjects in Transdanubia joined him. The rebels claimed to represent the old political order, ancient human rights,
tribal independence and pagan belief. They did not prevail. Stephen won a decisive victory over his uncle Koppány
and had him executed.

King Stephen I of Hungary, patron saint of Kings (from the Chronicon Hungariae Pictum).

The Patrimonial Kingdom (1000–1301)[edit]

Main article: Kingdom of Hungary (1000–1301)

The Kingdom of Hungary in the 1090s.

Hungary was recognized as an Apostolic Kingdom under Saint Stephen I. Stephen was the son of Géza[8] and thus
a descendant of Árpád.
Stephen was crowned with the Holy Crown of Hungary in the first day of 1000 AD (jan 1.) in the capital city
of Esztergom. Pope Sylvester II conferred on him the right to have the cross carried before him, with full
administrative authority over bishoprics and churches. By 1006, Stephen had solidified his power by eliminating all
rivals who either wanted to follow the old pagan traditions or wanted an alliance with the Eastern Christian
Byzantine Empire. Then he initiated sweeping reforms to convert Hungary into a western feudal state, complete
with forced Christianization.[citation needed] Stephen established a network of 10 episcopal and 2 archiepiscopal sees,
and ordered the buildup of monasteries, churches and cathedrals. In the earliest times, Hungarian language, part
of the uralic languages family, was written in a runic-like script. The country switched to the Latin alphabet under
Stephen, and Latin was the official language of the country between 1000 and 1844. Stephen followed
the Frankish administrative model. The whole of this land was divided into counties (megyék), each under a royal
official called an ispán (equivalent to the title count, Latin: comes), later főispán (Latin: supremus comes). This
official represented the king's authority, administered his subjects, and collected the taxes that formed the national
revenue. Each ispán maintained an armed force of freemen at his fortified headquarters ("castrum" or "vár").
After the Great Schism between Western Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christianity was formalized in
1054, Hungary viewed itself as the easternmost bastion of Western civilisation, a judgment affirmed in the fifteenth
century by Pope Pius II, who expressed himself to Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III in these terms: "Hungary is
the shield of Christianity and the protector of Western civilization".[9]
The Árpád dynasty produced monarchs throughout the 12th and 13th centuries. King Béla III (r. 1172–1192) was
the wealthiest and most powerful member of the dynasty, with an annual equivalent of 23,000 kg of pure silver at
his disposal. This exceeded the resources of the French king (estimated at some 17,000 kilograms) and was
double the amount available to the English Crown.[10] In 1195, Béla expanded the Hungarian kingdom southward
and westward to Bosnia and Dalmatia and extended suzerainty over Serbia, a process that helped to break up the
Byzantine Empire and diminish its influence in the Balkan region.[11]

Golden Bull of 1222.

The early 13th century in Hungary was distinguished by the reign of King Andrew II, who acceded to the throne in
1205 and died in 1235. In 1211, he granted the Burzenland (in Transylvania) to the Teutonic Knights, but in 1225
expelled them from Transylvania, hence the Teutonic Order had to transfer to the Baltic sea. Andrew set up the
largest royal army in the history of Crusades (20,000 knights and 12,000 castle-garrisons) when he led the Fifth
Crusade to the Holy Land in 1217. In 1224, he issued the Diploma Andreanum, which unified and ensured the
special privileges of the Transylvanian Saxons. It is considered the first Autonomy law in the world.[12]
The Golden Bull of 1222 was the first constitution in Continental Europe[citation needed]. The Hungarian equivalent of
England's Magna Carta — to which every Hungarian king thereafter had to swear – the Golden Bull had a twofold
purpose that limited royal power. On the one hand, it reaffirmed the rights of the smaller nobles of the old and new
classes of royal servants (servientes regis) against both the crown and the magnates. On the other hand, it
defended the rights of the whole nation against the crown by restricting the powers of the latter in certain fields and
making refusal to obey its unlawful/unconstitutional commands (the ius resistendi) legal. The lesser nobles also
began to present Andrew with grievances, a practice that evolved into the institution of the parliament, or Diet.
Hungary became the first country in which a parliament had supremacy over the kingship[citation needed]. The most
important legal ideology was the Doctrine of the Holy Crown. The most important principle of the Doctrine was the
belief that sovereignty belonged to the noble nation (as represented by the Holy Crown). The members of the Holy
Crown were the citizens of the Crown's lands, and no citizen could attain absolute power over the others. The
nation would share only some political power with the ruler.
Mongol invasions[edit]
Main article: Mongol invasion of Europe
Kingdom of Hungary around 1250.

In 1241–1242, the kingdom of Hungary suffered a major blow in the wake of the Mongol invasion of Europe. After
Hungary was invaded by the Mongols in 1241, the Hungarian army was defeated disastrously at the Battle of
Mohi.[13] King Béla IV first fled the battlefield, and then the country after the Mongols pursued him to its borders.
Before the Mongols retreated, a large part of the population died; indeed, historians estimate the losses between
20 and 50 percent.[14][15][16] In the plains, between 50 and 80% of the settlements were destroyed.[17] Only castles,
strongly fortified cities and abbeys could withstand the assault, as the Mongols had no time for long sieges – their
goal was to move west as soon as possible. The siege engines and the Chinese and Persian engineers that
operated them for the Mongols had been left in Russia.[18] The devastation caused by the Mongol invasions later
led to the invitation of settlers from other parts of Europe, especially from Germany.
During the Mongols' Russian campaign, some 40,000 Cumans, members of a nomadic tribe of pagan Kipchaks,
were driven west of the Carpathian Mountains.[19] There, the Cumans appealed to King Béla IV of Hungary for
protection.[20] The Iranian Jassic people came to Hungary together with the Cumans after they were defeated by
the Mongols. Cumans constituted perhaps up to 7–8% of the population of Hungary in the second half of the 13th
century.[21] Over the centuries they were fully assimilated into the Hungarian population, and their language
disappeared, but they preserved their identity and their regional autonomy until 1876.[22]
As a consequence of the Mongol invasions, King Béla ordered the construction of hundreds of stone castles and
fortifications to help defend against a possible second Mongol invasion. The Mongols did indeed return to Hungary
in 1286, but the newly built stone-castle systems and new military tactics involving a higher proportion of heavily
armed knights stopped them. The invading Mongol force was defeated near Pest by the royal army of
King Ladislaus IV. Later invasions were also repelled handily.
The castles built by Béla IV proved to be very useful at a later time in the long struggle against the Ottoman
Empire. However, the cost of building them indebted the Hungarian king to the major feudal landlords, so that the
royal power reclaimed by Béla IV after his father Andrew II significantly weakened it was once again dispersed
among the lesser nobility.
Late medieval period (1301–1526)[edit]
Main article: Kingdom of Hungary (1301–1526)
Further information: Ottoman–Hungarian Wars

A map of the lands ruled by Louis

Árpád succession[edit]
After a destructive period of interregnum (1301–1308), the first Angevin king of Hungary, Charles I ("Charles the
Great") successfully restored royal power and defeated oligarchic rivals known as the "little kings". A descendant
of the Árpád dynasty in the female line, he reigned between 1308 and 1342. His new fiscal, customs and monetary
policies proved successful.
King Charles's last battle against the oligarchy, Rozgony (1312).

One of the primary sources of the new king's power was the wealth derived from the gold mines of eastern and
northern Hungary. Production eventually reached the remarkable figure of 3,000 lb. (1350 kg) of gold annually –
one-third of the total production of the world as then known, and five times as much as that of any other European
state.[23][24] Charles also sealed an alliance with the Polish king Casimir the Great. After Italy, Hungary was the first
European country in which the Renaissance appeared.[25] One sign of its progressiveness was the establishment of
a printing press in Buda in 1472 by András Hess, one of the earliest outside of the German lands.
The second Hungarian king of the Angevin line, Louis the Great (r. 1342–1382) extended his rule as far as
the Adriatic Sea and occupied the Kingdom of Naples several times. In 1351, the Golden Bull of 1222 was
completed with a law of entail. This stipulated that the nobles' hereditary lands could not be taken away and must
remain in the possession of their families. He also became king of Poland (r. 1370–1382). The epic hero of
Hungarian literature and warfare, the king's champion Miklós Toldi, lived during his reign. Louis had become
popular in Poland because of his campaign against the Tatars and pagan Lithuanians. In two successful wars
against Venice (1357–1358 and 1378–1381), he was able to annex Dalmatia, Ragusa and further territories on the
Adriatic Sea. Venice was also required to raise the Angevin flag in St. Mark's Square on holy days. He retained his
strong influence in the political life of the Italian Peninsula for the rest of his life.
Some Balkan states (such as Wallachia, Moldova, Serbia, and Bosnia) became his vassals while the Ottoman
Turks confronted them ever more often. In 1366 and 1377, Louis led successful campaigns against the Ottomans
(such as the Battle of Nicapoli in 1366). From the time of the death of Casimir the Great in 1370, he was also king
of Poland. In cultural affairs, he is notable for establishing a university in Pécs in 1367.
King Louis died without a male heir, and after years of anarchy, the future Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund (r.
1387–1437), a prince of the Luxembourg line, succeeded to the throne by marrying the daughter of Louis the
Great, Mary of Hungary. It was not for entirely selfless reasons that one of the leagues of barons helped him to
power: Sigismund had to pay for the support of the lords by transferring a sizeable part of the royal properties. For
some years, the baron's council governed the country in the name of the Holy Crown; the king was even
imprisoned for a short time. The restoration of the authority of the central administration took decades.
In 1404, Sigismund introduced the Placetum Regnum. According to this decree, Papal bulls and messages could
not be pronounced in Hungary without the consent of the king. Sigismund summoned the Council of
Constance that met between 1414 and 1418 to abolish the Avignon Papacy and end the Western Schism of the
Catholic Church, which was resolved by the election of Pope Martin V. During his long reign, the royal castle of
Buda became probably the largest Gothic palace of the late Middle Ages.
After the death of Sigismund in 1437, his son-in-law, Albert II of Germany, assumed the title King of Hungary. He
died, however, in 1439. The first Hungarian Bible translation was completed in 1439 just before. For a half year in
1437, there was an anti-feudal and anti-clerical peasant revolt in Transylvania which was strongly influenced
by Hussite ideas. (See: Budai Nagy Antal Revolt)
From a small noble family in Transylvania, John Hunyadi grew to become one of the country's most powerful lords,
thanks to his outstanding capabilities as a mercenary commander. In 1446, the parliament elected him governor
(1446–1453), then regent (1453–1456). He was a successful crusader against the Ottoman Turks, one of his
greatest victories the Siege of Belgrade in 1456. Hunyadi defended the city against the onslaught of the Ottoman
Sultan Mehmed II. During the siege, Pope Callixtus III ordered the bells of every European church to be rung every
day at noon as a call for believers to pray for the defenders of the city. However, in many countries (such as
England and the Spanish kingdoms), the news of the victory arrived before the order, and the ringing of the church
bells at noon was transformed into a commemoration of the victory. The Popes did not withdraw the order, and
Catholic (and the older Protestant) churches still ring the noon bell in the Christian world to this day.[26]

John Hunyadi – one of the greatest generals and a later regent of Hungary

Matthias Corvinus[edit]

Western conquests of Matthias Corvinus.

The last strong Hungarian king was Matthias Corvinus (r. 1458–90), the son of John Hunyadi. His accession
represented the first time in the history of the medieval Hungarian kingdom that a member of the nobility without
dynastic ancestry mounted the royal throne. Although very prominent in the governing of the kingdom of Hungary,
Matthias's father John Hunyadi was never crowned king or contracted a dynastic marriage. Matthias was a
true Renaissance prince: a successful military leader and administrator, an outstanding linguist, a learned
astrologer, and an enlightened patron of the arts and learning.[27] Although he regularly convened the Diet and
expanded the lesser nobles' powers in the counties, he exercised absolute rule over Hungary by means of a huge
secular bureaucracy.[28]
Matthias set out to build a realm that would expand to the south and northwest, while he also implemented internal
reforms. The serfs considered Matthias a just ruler, because he protected them from excessive demands and
other abuses by the magnates.[28] Like his father, Matthias desired to strengthen the kingdom of Hungary to the
point where it could become the foremost regional power, indeed strong enough to push back the Ottoman
Empire; towards that end he deemed it necessary to conquer large parts of the Holy Roman Empire.[29] Matthias's
standing mercenary army was called the Black Army of Hungary (Hungarian: Fekete Sereg). It was an unusually
large army for its time[citation needed], and it secured a series of victories in the Austrian-Hungarian War (1477-1488) by
capturing parts of Austria (including Vienna) in 1485, as well as parts of Bohemia in the Bohemian War of 1477–
88. In 1467, Mathias and his Black Army fought against Moldavia. In this case, the attempt to expand Hungarian
territories was unsuccessful when Matthias lost the Battle of Baia.[30] In 1479, however, the Hungarian army
destroyed the Ottoman and Wallachian troops at the Battle of Breadfield under the leadership of general Pál
Kinizsi. Matthias's library, the Bibliotheca Corviniana, was Europe's greatest collection of historical chronicles and
works of philosophy and science in the 15th century, and second in size only to the Vatican Library in Rome, which
mainly contained religious materials. The library, which has been destroyed in 1526 after Hungarian forces at
Mohács were defeated by the Ottomans, is registered as a UNESCO Memory of the World site. [31]
Mattias died without a legal successor, a circumstance that engendered a serious political crisis in the Hungarian
kingdom.
Decline and partition[edit]
Further information: Ottoman–Hungarian Wars and Classical Age of the Ottoman Empire
Events of the 1490–1526 period in Hungarian history created conditions that would lead to a loss of independence
unforeseen by contemporary observers and policy makers. Besides internal conflicts, the Hungarian state was
gravely threatened by the expanding Ottoman Empire. By the early 16th century, the Ottoman Empire – directly
south of Hungary – had become the second most populous political state in the world, which facilitated the raising
of the largest armies of the era. However, Hungarian policy makers at the time were not as conscious of this threat
as they should have been.

Louis II of Hungary and Bohemia – the young king, who died at the Battle of Mohács, painted by Titian.

Instead of preparing for the defence of the country against foreign powers, Hungarian magnates were much more
focused on the threat to their privileges from a strong royal power. Not wanting another assertive king after the
death of the childless Matthias Corvinus, the magnates arranged for the accession of King Vladislaus II of
Bohemia precisely because of his notorious weakness; in fact, he was known as King Dobzse (from Czech Dobře,
meaning "Good" or, loosely, "OK") for his habit of accepting with that word every paper laid before him.[27] During
his reign (1490–1516), the central power began to experience severe financial difficulties, largely due to the
enlargement of feudal lands at his expense. The magnates also dismantled the administrative systems in the
country that had worked so successfully for Matthias.
The country's defenses declined as border guards and castle garrisons went unpaid, fortresses fell into disrepair,
and initiatives to increase taxes to reinforce defenses were stifled.[32] Hungary's international role was neutralized,
its political stability shaken, and social progress was deadlocked.
In 1514, the weakened and aging Vladislaus faced a major peasant rebellion led by György Dózsa. It was
ruthlessly crushed by the Hungarian nobles led by János Szapolyai. The resulting degradation of order paved the
way for Ottoman ambitions to acquire Hungarian territory. In 1521, the strongest Hungarian fortress in the south,
Nándorfehérvár (modern Belgrade), fell to the Turks, and in 1526, the Hungarian army was crushed at the Battle of
Mohács. The young King Louis II of Hungary and Bohemia died in the battle along with the leader of the Hungarian
army, Pál Tomori. The early appearance of Protestantism further worsened internal unity in the anarchical country.

Early modern period[edit]

Ottoman wars[edit]
See also: Eastern Hungarian Kingdom; Ottoman Hungary; Kingdom of Hungary (1526–1867); Principality of
Transylvania (1570–1711); Moldavian Magnate Wars; Stephen Bathory, King of Poland; and Battle of Vienna
The Kingdom of Hungary, Principality of Upper Hungary and Principality of Transylvania in the 17th century.

After the Ottomans achieved their first decisive victory over the Hungarian army at the Battle of Mohács in 1526,
their forces conquered large parts of the kingdom of Hungary and continued their expansion until 1556. This period
was characterized by political chaos. A divided Hungarian nobility elected two kings simultaneously, János
Szapolyai (r. 1526–1540, of Hungarian-German origin) and the Austrian Ferdinand of Habsburg (r. 1527–1540).
Armed conflicts between the new rival monarchs further weakened the country. With the Turkish conquest
of Buda in 1541, Hungary was riven into three parts.

The Siege of Eger (1552), in which 2,000 Hungarians fought against close to 35,000–40,000 Turk warriors. The battle finished
with Hungarian victory.

The northwestern part of the old kingdom of Hungary (present-day Slovakia,

western Transdanubia and Burgenland, plus western Croatia and parts of present-day northeastern Hungary)
remained under Habsburg rule as the realm of King Ferdinand. Although initially independent, it would later
become a part of the Habsburg Monarchy under the informal name Royal Hungary. The Habsburg Emperors
would from then on be crowned also as Kings of Hungary. The Turks were unable to conquer the northern and
western parts of Hungary.
The eastern part of the kingdom (Partium and Transylvania) at first became an independent principality, but was
gradually brought under Turkish rule as a vassal state of the Ottoman Empire. The remaining central area (most of
present-day Hungary), including the capital of Buda, became a province of the Ottoman Empire. Much of the land
was devastated by recurrent warfare. Most small Hungarian settlements disappeared. Rural people living in the
new Ottoman provinces could survive only in larger settlements known as Khaz towns, which were owned and
protected directly by the Sultan. The Turks were indifferent to the Christian denominations practiced by their
Hungarian subjects.
For this reason, a majority of Hungarians living under Ottoman rule became Protestant (largely Calvinist), as
Habsburg counter-Reformation efforts could not penetrate the Ottoman lands. Largely throughout this time,
Pozsony (in German, Pressburg, today Bratislava) acted as the capital of the kingdom of Hungary (1536–1784),
the town in which the Hungarian kings were crowned (1563–1830) and the seat of the Diet of Hungary (1536–
1848). Nagyszombat (modern Trnava) acted in turn as the religious center beginning in 1541. The vast majority of
the soldiers in service in the Ottoman fortresses in the territory of Hungary were Orthodox and Muslim Balkan
Slavs, instead of ethnic Turkish people.[33] Southern Slavs also served as akıncıs and other light troops intended for
pillaging in the territory of present-day Hungary.[34]
In 1558 the Transylvanian Diet of Turda declared free practice of both the Catholic and Lutheran religions, but
prohibited Calvinism. In 1568, the Diet extended this freedom, declaring that, "It is not allowed to anybody to
intimidate anybody with captivity or expulsion for his religion". Four religions were declared as accepted (recepta),
while Orthodox Christianity was "tolerated" (though the building of stone Orthodox churches was forbidden). When
Hungary entered the Thirty Years' War of 1618–48, Royal (Habsburg) Hungary joined the Catholic side, then
Transylvania joined the Protestant side.
In 1686, two years after the unsuccessful Battle of Buda, a renewed European campaign was started to re-take the
Hungarian capital. This time, the army of the Holy League was twice as large, at over 74,000 men, including
German, Croat, Dutch, Hungarian, English, Spanish, Czech, Italian, French, Burgundian, Danish and Swedish
soldiers, along with other Europeans as volunteers, artilleryman, and officers, and the Christian forces
reconquered Buda in the second Battle of Buda. The second Battle of Mohács (1687) was a crushing defeat for
the Turks. In the next few years, all of the former Hungarian lands, except areas near Timişoara (Temesvár), were
taken back from the Turks. At the end of the 17th century, Transylvania also became part of Hungary again.[35] In
the Treaty of Karlowitz of 1699, these territorial changes were officially recognised, and in 1718, the entire
kingdom of Hungary was removed from Ottoman rule.
As a consequence of the constant warfare between Hungarians and Ottoman Turks, population growth was
stunted and the network of medieval settlements with their urbanized bourgeois inhabitants perished. The 150
years of Turkish wars fundamentally changed the ethnic composition of Hungary. As a result of demographic
losses, including deportations and massacres, the number of ethnic Hungarians at the end of the Turkish period
was substantially diminished.[36]
Anti-Habsburg uprisings[edit]
Further information: Kingdom of Hungary (1526–1867)

Ferenc Rákóczi.

There was a series of anti-Habsburg uprisings between 1604 and 1711, rebelling against Austrian rule and
restrictions on non-Catholic Christian denominations. With the exception of the last, all took place within the
territories of Royal Hungary, but were usually organized from Transylvania. The last uprising was led by Francis II
Rákóczi, who took power as the "Ruling Prince" of Hungary after the declared dethronement of the Habsburgs in
1707 at the Diet of Ónod.

Budapest University of Technology and Economics, the oldest University of Technology in the world, founded in 1782.

Despite some successes by the anti-Habsburg Kuruc army, such as the near-capture of the Austrian
Emperor Joseph I by Ádám Balogh, the rebels lost the decisive Battle of Trencin in 1708. When Austrians defeated
the Kuruc uprising in 1711, Rákóczi was in Poland. He later fled to France, then to Turkey, and died in 1735
in Tekirdağ (Rodosto). Afterward, to make further armed resistance infeasible, the Austrians demolished most of
the castles on the border between the now-reclaimed territories occupied earlier by the Ottomans and Royal
Hungary.

Modern history[edit]
It has been suggested that this section be split out into another article titled Modern history of
Hungary. (Discuss) (November 2018)

The Period of Reforms (1825–1848)[edit]

Hungarian nationalism emerged among intellectuals influenced by the Enlightenment and Romanticism. It grew
rapidly, providing the foundation for the revolution of 1848–49. There was a special focus on the Magyar language,
which replaced Latin as the language of the state and the schools.[37]
In the 1820s, Emperor Francis I was forced to convene the Hungarian Diet, which inaugurated a Reform Period.
Nevertheless, progress was slowed by the nobles who clung to their privileges (exemption from taxes, exclusive
voting rights, etc.). Therefore, the achievements were mostly of a symbolic character, such as the progress of the
Magyar language.
Count István Széchenyi, the nation's most prominent statesman, recognized the urgent need for modernization,
and his message was taken to heart by other Hungarian political leaders. The Hungarian Parliament was
reconvened in 1825 to handle financial needs. A liberal party emerged focusing on the peasantry and proclaiming
an understanding of the needs of the laborers. Lajos Kossuth emerged as leader of the lower gentry in the
Parliament.
Habsburg monarchs, desiring an agrarian, traditional Hungary, tried to hinder the industrialization of the country. A
remarkable upswing started as the nation concentrated on modernization despite Habsburg obstruction of all
important liberal laws concerning civil and political rights and economic reforms. Many reformers (such as Lajos
Kossuth and Mihály Táncsics) were imprisoned by the authorities.
Revolution and War of Independence[edit]
Main article: Hungarian Revolution of 1848

Artist Mihály Zichy's rendition of Sándor Petőfi reciting the Nemzeti dal (national anthem) to a crowd on 15 March 1848

On 15 March 1848, mass demonstrations in Pest and Buda enabled Hungarian reformists to push through a list
of Twelve Demands. The Hungarian Diet took advantage of the Revolutions of 1848 in the Habsburg areas to
enact the April laws, a comprehensive legislative program of dozens of civil rights reforms. Faced with revolution
both at home and in Hungary, Austrian Emperor Ferdinand I at first had to accept Hungarian demands. After the
Austrian uprising was suppressed, a new emperor Franz Joseph replaced his epileptic uncle Ferdinand. Franz
Joseph rejected all reforms and started to arm against Hungary. A year later, in April 1849, an independent
government of Hungary was established.[38]
The new government seceded from the Austrian Empire.[39] The House of Habsburg was dethroned in the
Hungarian part of the Austrian Empire and the first Republic of Hungary was proclaimed, with Lajos Kossuth as
governor and president. The first prime minister was Lajos Batthyány. Emperor Franz Joseph and his advisers
skillfully manipulated the new nation's ethnic minorities, the Croatian, Serbian and Romanian peasantry, led by
priests and officers firmly loyal to the Habsburgs, and induced them to rebel against the new government. The
Hungarians were supported by the vast majority of the Slovaks, Germans, and Rusyns of the country, and almost
all the Jews, as well as by a large number of Polish, Austrian and Italian volunteers.[40]
Many members of the non-Hungarian nationalities secured high positions in the Hungarian Army, for example
General János Damjanich, an ethnic Serb who became a Hungarian national hero through his command of the 3rd
Hungarian Army Corps. Initially, the Hungarian forces (Honvédség) managed to hold their ground. In July 1849,
the Hungarian Parliament proclaimed and enacted the most progressive ethnic and minority rights in the world, but
it was too late. To subdue the Hungarian revolution, Franz Joseph has prepared his troops against Hungary and
obtained help from the "Gendarme of Europe", Russian Czar Nicholas I. In June, Russian armies invaded
Transylvania in concert with Austrian armies marching on Hungary from western fronts on which they had been
victorious (Italy, Galicia and Bohemia).
The Russian and Austrian forces overwhelmed the Hungarian army, and General Artúr Görgey surrendered in
August 1849. The Austrian marshall Julius Freiherr von Haynau then became governor of Hungary for a few
months and, on 6 October ordered the execution of 13 leaders of the Hungarian army (The 13 Martyrs of Arad) as
well as Prime Minister Batthyány. Lajos Kossuth escaped into exile.
Following the war of 1848–1849, the country sank into "passive resistance". Archduke Albrecht von Habsburg was
appointed governor of the Kingdom of Hungary, and this time was remembered for Germanization pursued with
the help of Czech officers.
Austria–Hungary (1867–1918)[edit]
Main article: Austria-Hungary
Further information: Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen

Map of the counties in Hungary around 1880

Magyars in the Kingdom of Hungary in 1890

Vienna realized that political reform was unavoidable to secure the integrity of the Habsburg Empire. Major military
defeats, such as the Battle of Königgrätz in 1866, forced Emperor Franz Joseph to accept internal reforms. To
appease Hungarian separatists, the emperor made an equitable deal with Hungary, the Austro-Hungarian
Compromise of 1867 negotiated by Ferenc Deák, by which the dual Monarchy of Austria–Hungary came into
existence. The two realms were governed separately by two parliaments from two capitals, with a common
monarch and common foreign and military policies. Economically, the empire was a customs union. The first Prime
Minister of Hungary after the Compromise was Count Gyula Andrássy. The old Hungarian Constitution was
restored, and Franz Joseph was crowned King of Hungary.
In 1868, Hungarian and Croatian assemblies concluded the Croatian–Hungarian Agreement by which Croatia was
recognised as an autonomous region.
The new nation of Austria-Hungary was geographically the second largest country in Europe after the Russian
Empire.[citation needed] Its territories were appraised at 621,540 square kilometres (239,977 sq mi) in 1905.[41] After the
Russia and the German Empire, it was the third most populous country in Europe.[citation needed]
Hungarian nationalists demanded education in the Magyar language, a position that united Catholics and
Protestants opposed to instruction in Latin as desired by Catholic bishops. In the Hungarian Diet of 1832–36, the
conflict between Catholic laymen and clergy sharpened considerably, and a mixed commission was established. It
offered the Protestants certain limited concessions. The basic issue of this religious and educational struggle was
how to promote Magyar language and Magyar nationalism and achieve more independence from German
Austria.[42]
The landed nobility controlled the villages and monopolized political roles.[43] In Parliament, the magnates held life
memberships in the Upper House, but the gentry dominated the Lower House and, after 1830, parliamentary life.
The tension between "crown" (the German-speaking Habsburgs in Vienna) and "country" remained a constant
political fixture as the Compromise of 1867 enabled the Magyar nobility to run the country, but left the emperor with
control over foreign and military policies. However after Andrássy served as Prime Minister of Hungary (1867–
1871) he became Foreign Minister of Austria-Hungary (1871–1879) and set foreign policies with an eye to
Hungarian interests. Andrássy was a conservative; his foreign policies looked to expanding the Empire into
Southeast Europe, preferably with British and German support, and without alienating Turkey. He saw Russia as
the main adversary, because of its own expansionist policies toward Slavic and Orthodox areas. He distrusted
Slavic nationalist movements as a threat to his multi-ethnic empire. Meanwhile conflicts between magnates and
gentry appeared regarding protection against cheap food imports (in the 1870s), the Church-state problem (in the
1890s), and the "constitutional crisis" (in the 1900s). The gentry gradually lost their power locally and rebuilt their
political base more on office-holding rather than landownership. They depended more and more on the state
apparatus and were reluctant to challenge it.[44]
Cutaway drawing of Millennium Underground in Budapest (1894–1896) which was the first underground in Continental Europe.

Economy[edit]
The era witnessed significant economic development in the rural areas. The formerly backwards Hungarian
economy became relatively modern and industrialized by the turn of the 20th century, although agriculture
remained dominant in the GDP until 1880. In 1873, the old capital Buda and Óbuda (Ancient Buda) were officially
merged with the third city, Pest, thus creating the new metropolis of Budapest. The dynamic Pest grew into the
country's administrative, political, economic, trade and cultural hub.
Technological advancement accelerated industrialization and urbanization. The Gross national product per capita
grew roughly 1.45% per year from 1870 to 1913. That level of growth compared very favorably to that of other
European nations such as Britain (1.00%), France (1.06%), and Germany (1.51%). The leading industries in this
economic expansion were electricity and electro-technology, telecommunications, and transport (especially
locomotive, tram and ship construction). The key symbols of industrial progress were
the Ganz concern and Tungsram Works. Many of the state institutions and modern administrative systems of
Hungary were established during this period.
The census of the Hungarian state in 1910 (excluding Croatia), recorded the following population distribution:
Hungarian 54.5%, Romanian 16.1%, Slovak 10.7%, and German 10.4%.[45][46] The religious denomination with the
greatest number of adherents was Roman Catholicism (49.3%), followed by the Calvinism (14.3%), Greek
Orthodoxy (12.8%), Greek Catholicism (11.0%), Lutheranism (7.1%), and Judaism (5.0%)
World War I[edit]
Main article: Hungary in World War I
After the assassination of the Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914, the Hungarian
Prime Minister István Tisza tried to avoid the outbreak of war in Europe, but his diplomatic attempts remained
unsuccessful. A general war began on 28 July with a declaration of war on Serbia by Austria-Hungary.[47]
Austria–Hungary drafted 9 million soldiers in World War I, of which 4 million were from the kingdom of Hungary.
During the First World War, Austria–Hungary fought on the side of Germany, Bulgaria and Ottoman Empire– the
so-called Central Powers. They conquered Serbia easily, and Romania declared war. The Central Powers then
conquered Southern Romania and the Romanian capital of Bucharest. In November 1916, Emperor Franz Joseph
died; the new monarch, Emperor Charles I of Austria (IV. Károly), sympathized with the pacifists in his realm.
In the east, the Central Powers repelled attacks from the Russian Empire. The Eastern front of the so-
called Entente Powers allied with Russia completely collapsed. Austria-Hungary withdrew from the defeated
countries.[citation needed] On the Italian front, the Austro-Hungarian army could not make more successful progress
against Italy after January 1918. Despite successes on the Eastern front, Germany suffered stalemate and
eventual defeat on the more determinant Western front.
By 1918, the economic situation had deteriorated alarmingly in Austria-Hungary; strikes in factories were
organized by leftist and pacifist movements, and uprisings in the army had become commonplace. In the capital
cities of Vienna and Budapest, the Austrian and the Hungarian leftist liberal movements and their leaders
supported the separatism of ethnic minorities. Austria-Hungary signed the Armistice of Villa Giusti in Padua on 3
November 1918. In October 1918, the personal union between Austria and Hungary was dissolved.
Interwar period (1918–1939)[edit]
Main articles: Kingdom of Hungary (1920–1946), Hungary between the two world wars, and Hungarian interwar
economy
Hungarian People's Republic[edit]
Further information: Austria-Hungary § Dissolution Hungarian Democratic Republic, and Hungarian People's
Republic
In the Aftermath of World War I, while ally Germany was defeated in 1918 on the Western front, the Austro-
Hungarian monarchy politically collapsed.
Former Prime Minister István Tisza was murdered in Budapest during the Aster Revolution of October 1918. On 31
October 1918, the success of this revolution brought the leftist liberal Count Mihály Károlyi to power as prime
minister. Károlyi was a devotee of the Entente powers from the beginning of the war. On 13 November 1918,
Charles IV (IV. Károly) surrendered his powers as King of Hungary, however, he did not abdicate, a technicality
that made a return to the throne possible.[48]
French Entente troops landed in Greece to re-arm the defeated countries of Romania and Serbia and provide
military assistance to the newly formed country of Czechoslovakia. Despite a general armistice agreement, the
Balkan French army organized new campaigns against Hungary with the help of the Czechoslovak, Romanian and
Serbian governments.
A first Hungarian republic, the Hungarian Democratic Republic, was proclaimed on 16 November 1918 with Károlyi
named as president. Károlyi tried to build the new republic as the "Eastern Switzerland" and persuade non-
Hungarian minorities (in particular, Slovaks, Romanians and Ruthenians) to stay loyal to the country, offering them
autonomy. However these efforts came too late. In response to Woodrow Wilson's conception of pacifism, Károlyi
ordered the full disarmament of the Hungarian Army, thus the new republic remained without a national defence at
a time of particular vulnerability. The emerging surrounding states were not hesitant to arm themselves with the
help of the Entente, while there was no agreement yet about their borders, that were to be accepted under protest
by Hungary, in the Treaty of Trianon in June 1920.
On 5 November 1918, the armed forces of the provisional State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs, with French
support, attacked the southern parts of Kingdom of Hungary. On 8 November, the armed forces of
the Czechoslovak Republic that was proclaimed on 28 October, attacked northern parts of Kingdom of Hungary.
The Treaty of Bucharest that was signed in May 1918, was denounced in October 1918 by the Romanian
government, which then re-entered the war on the Allied side and advanced to the Mureș (Maros) river in
Transylvania.
A separatist movement inspired by Woodrow Wilson's 14 points proclaimed the unification of Transylvania with
Romania. In November the Romanian National Central Council representing all Romanians in Transylvania,
notified the Budapest government that it would take control of twenty-three Transylvanian counties (and parts of
three others) and requested a Hungarian response by 2 November. The Hungarian government (after negotiations
with the council) rejected the proposal, claiming that it failed to secure the rights of the ethnic Hungarian population
and the German minority.
On 2 December, the Romanian Army started to attack the eastern (Transylvanian) parts of Kingdom of Hungary.
Despite the march of foreign armed forces, the Károlyi government had made all spontaneous armed associations
illegal, and introduced proposals to maintain the integrity of the territory of the former kingdom, but he refused to
reorganize the Hungarian armed forces. These measures failed to stem popular discontent, especially when the
Entente powers began awarding pieces of Hungary's traditional territories to Romania and the newly formed states
Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia, giving priority to ethno-linguistic criteria over historical ones. French and Serbian
forces occupied the southern parts of the former monarchy.
By February 1919, the new pacifist Hungarian government had lost all popular support in view of its failures on
both domestic and military fronts. On 21 March 1919, after the Entente military representative demanded more and
more territorial concessions from Hungary, Károlyi signed all the concessions presented to him and resigned.
Hungarian Soviet Republic ("Republic of the Councils")[edit]
Main articles: Hungarian Soviet Republic and Red Terror (Hungary)
The Communist Party of Hungary, led by Béla Kun, allied itself with the Hungarian Social Democratic Party, came
to power and proclaimed the Hungarian Soviet Republic. Social Democrat Sándor Garbai was the official head of
government, but the Soviet Republic was dominated de facto by Béla Kun, who was in charge of foreign affairs.
The Communists – "The Reds" – came to power largely thanks to its organized fighting force (no other major
political entity had one of its own), and they promised that Hungary would defend its territory without conscription,
possibly with the help of the Soviet Red Army.
The Red Army of Hungary was a small voluntary army of 53,000 men, and most of its soldiers were armed factory
workers from Budapest. Initially, Kun's regime achieved some military successes: under the command of its genius
strategist Colonel Aurél Stromfeld, the Hungarian Red Army ousted Czechoslovak troops from the north and
planned to march against the Romanian army in the east. In terms of domestic policy, the Communist government
nationalized industrial and commercial enterprises, socialized housing, transport, banking, medicine, cultural
institutions, and all landholdings of more than 400,000 square meters.
The support of the Communists proved to be short-lived in Budapest, however, and they had never been popular
in country towns and countryside. In the aftermath of a coup attempt, the government took a series of actions
referred to as the Red Terror, murdering several hundred people (mostly scientists and intellectuals). The Soviet
Red Army was never able to aid the new Hungarian republic. Despite the great military successes against the
Czechoslovakian army, the Communist leaders gave back all recaptured lands. That attitude demoralized the
voluntary army; the Hungarian Red Army was dissolved before it could successfully complete its campaigns. In the
face of domestic backlash and an advancing Romanian force in the Hungarian–Romanian War of 1919, Béla Kun
and most of his comrades fled to Austria, and Budapest was occupied on 6 August. Kun and his followers took
along numerous art treasures and the gold stocks of the National Bank.[49] All these events, and in particular the
final military defeat, led to a deep feeling of dislike among the general population against the Soviet Union (which
did not offer military assistance) and the Hungarian Jews (since most members of Kun's government were Jewish,
making it easy to blame the Jews for the government's mistakes).
Counterrevolution[edit]
Main articles: White Terror (Hungary) and Kingdom of Hungary (1920–1946)
The new fighting force in Hungary were the Conservative Royalists counter-revolutionaries – the "Whites". These,
who had been organizing in Vienna and established a counter-government in Szeged, assumed power, led
by István Bethlen, a Transylvanian aristocrat, and Miklós Horthy, the former commander in chief of the Austro-
Hungarian Navy. The conservatives determined the Károlyi government and Communists as capital treason.
In the absence of a strong national police force or regular military forces, a White Terror began in western Hungary
by half-regular and half-militarist detachments that spread throughout the country. Many arrant Communists and
other leftists were tortured and executed without trial. Radical Whites launched pogroms against the Jews,
displayed as the cause of all territorial losses of Hungary. The most notorious commander of the Whites was Pál
Prónay. The evacuating Romanian army pillaged the country: livestock, machinery and agricultural products were
carried to Romania in hundreds of freight cars.[50][51]
On 16 November 1919, with the consent of Romanian forces, the army of right-wing former admiral Miklós
Horthy marched into Budapest. His government gradually restored order and stopped terror, but thousands of
sympathizers of the Károlyi and Kun regimes were imprisoned. Radical political movements were suppressed. In
March 1920, the parliament restored the Hungarian monarchy as a regency but postponed the election of a king
until civil disorder had subsided. Instead, Horthy was elected Regent and empowered, among other things, to
appoint Hungary's prime minister, veto legislation, convene or dissolve the parliament, and command the armed
forces.
Trianon Hungary and the Regency[edit]
Main article: Treaty of Trianon
The Treaty of Trianon: Hungary lost 72% of its land, and sea ports in Croatia, 3,425,000 Magyars found themselves separated
from their motherland.[52][53] The country lost 5 of its 10 biggest Hungarian cities.

Hungary's assent to the Treaty of Trianon on 4 June 1920 ratified the decision of the victorious Entente powers to
re-draw the country's borders. The treaty required Hungary to surrender more than two-thirds of its pre-war
territories. The goal of this measure was to permit the minority populations of the former Austria-Hungary to reside
in states dominated by their own ethnicity, but many Hungarians still lived in such territories. As a result, nearly
one third of the 10 million ethnic Hungarians found themselves resident outside their diminished homeland as
minorities in hostile political units.
New international borders separated Hungary's industrial base from its sources of raw materials and its former
markets for agricultural and industrial products. Hungary lost 84% of its timber resources, 43% of its arable land,
and 83% of its iron ore. Although post-Trianon Hungary retained 90% of the engineering and printing industry of
the former Kingdom of Hungary, only 11% of timber and 16% iron was retained. In addition, 61% of arable land,
74% of public road, 65% of canals, 62% of railroads, 64% of hard surface roads, 83% of pig iron output, 55% of
industrial plants, 100% of gold, silver, copper, mercury and salt mines, and most of all, 67% of credit and banking
institutions of the former Kingdom of Hungary lay within the territory of Hungary's neighbors.[54][55][56]
Horthy appointed Count Pál Teleki as prime minister in July 1920. His government issued a numerus clausus law
that limited the admission of "political insecure elements" (these were often Jews) to universities and took initial
steps towards fulfilling a promise of major land reform by dividing about 3,850 km2 from the largest estates into
small holdings in order to quiet rural discontent. Teleki's government resigned, however, after Charles, the former
emperor of Austria and king of Hungary, attempted unsuccessfully to retake Hungary's throne in March 1921.
The return of the former emperor caused a split among conservative politicians who favored a Habsburg
restoration and nationalist right-wing radicals who supported the election of a native Hungarian king. Count István
Bethlen, a non-affiliated right-wing member of the parliament, took advantage of this rift to form a new Party of
Unity under his leadership. Horthy then appointed Bethlen prime minister. Charles died soon after he failed a
second time to reclaim the throne in October 1921. (For more detail on Charles's attempts to retake the throne,
see Charles IV of Hungary's conflict with Miklós Horthy.)

Miklós Horthy de Nagybánya, Regent of Hungary.

As prime minister, Bethlen dominated Hungarian politics between 1921 and 1931. He fashioned a political
machine by amending the electoral law, providing jobs in the expanding bureaucracy to his supporters, and
manipulating elections in rural areas. Bethlen restored order to the country by giving the radical counter-
revolutionaries payoffs and government jobs in exchange for ceasing their campaign of terror against Jews and
leftists.
In 1921, Bethlen made a deal with the Social Democrats and trade unions (called the Bethlen-Peyer Pact) to
legalize their activities and free political prisoners in return for their pledge to refrain from spreading anti-
Hungarian propaganda, calling political strikes, and attempting to organize the peasantry. Bethlen brought
Hungary into the League of Nations in 1922 and out of international isolation by signing a treaty of friendship
with Italy in 1927. Overall, Bethlen sought to pursue a strategy of strengthening the economy and building relations
with stronger nations.
The revision of the Treaty of Trianon rose to the top of Hungary's political agenda. Revision of the treaty had such
a broad backing in Hungary that Bethlen used it, at least in part, to deflect criticism of his economic, social and
political policies.
The worldwide Great Depression that began in 1929 induced a drop in the standard of living and the political mood
of the country shifted further towards the right. In 1932, Horthy appointed a new prime minister, Gyula Gömbös,
who changed the course of Hungarian policy towards closer cooperation with Germany and started an effort
to Magyarize the few remaining ethnic minorities in Hungary.
Gömbös signed a trade agreement with Germany that helped Hungary's economy out of depression, but made
Hungary dependent on the German economy for both raw materials and markets. Adolf Hitler appealed to
Hungarian desires for territorial revisionism, while extreme right-wing organizations such as the Arrow Cross
Party increasingly embraced extreme Nazi policies, including those relating to the suppression and victimization
of Jews. The government passed the First Jewish Law in 1938. The law established a quota system to limit Jewish
involvement in the Hungarian economy.
In 1938, Béla Imrédy became prime minister. Imrédy's attempts to improve Hungary's diplomatic relations with
the United Kingdom initially made him very unpopular in Germany and Italy. In light of Germany's Anschluss with
Austria in March, he realized that he could not afford to alienate Germany and Italy for long. In the autumn of 1938,
his foreign policy became very much pro-German and pro-Italian.[57]
Intent on amassing a base of power in Hungarian right wing politics, Imrédy began to suppress political rivals. The
increasingly influential Arrow Cross Party was harassed and eventually banned by Imrédy's administration. As
Imrédy drifted further to the right, he proposed that the government be re-organized along totalitarian lines and
drafted a harsher Second Jewish Law. Parliament, under the new government of Pál Teleki, approved the Second
Jewish Law in 1939, which greatly restricted Jewish involvement in the economy, culture and society and,
significantly, defined Jews by race instead of religion. This definition significantly and negatively altered the status
of those who had formerly converted from Judaism to Christianity.
World War II[edit]

Hungarian leader Miklós Horthy and German leader Adolf Hitler in 1938
Lake Balaton in the Thirties just before the Second World War.

Europeans from various countries relaxing in the wave pool in Budapest in 1939.

A map of the Kingdom of Hungary in 1941

Ernö Gömbös, (r.) aide-de-camp to Ferenc Szálasi and Gyula Gömbös's son, along with a Honved officer and a member of
the Arrow Cross Party, in front of the Ministry of Defense, 1944

Hungarian Jews being sent to the deaths in the gas chambers at Auschwitz death camp (May 1944).

Main articles: Hungary during the Second World War, Government of National Unity (Hungary), and History of the
Jews in Hungary § The Holocaust
Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy sought to enforce the claims of Hungarians living in territories Hungary lost in 1920
with the signing of the Treaty of Trianon peacefully, and the two Vienna Awards (1938 and 1940) returned parts
of Czechoslovakia and Transylvania to Hungary.
On 24 July 1939 Pál Teleki wrote to Adolf Hitler that Hungary would not participate in war against Poland as a
matter of national honor.[58] He added that Hungarian authorities did not agree to the passage of the German army
through Hungary. On 1 September 1939 Nazi Germany invaded Poland and started the Second World War.
On 20 November 1940, under pressure from Germany, Pál Teleki affiliated Hungary with the Tripartite Pact. In
December 1940, he also signed an ephemeral "Treaty of Eternal Friendship" with Yugoslavia. A few months later,
after a Yugoslavian coup threatened the success of the planned German invasion of the Soviet Union (Operation
Barbarossa), Hitler asked the Hungarians to support his invasion of Yugoslavia. He promised to return some
former Hungarian territories lost after World War I in exchange for cooperation.[48] Unable to prevent Hungary's
participation in the war alongside Germany, Teleki committed suicide. The right-wing radical László
Bárdossy succeeded him as prime minister. Eventually Hungary annexed small parts of present-day Slovenia,
Croatia and Serbia.
After war broke out on the Eastern Front, many Hungarian officials argued for participation in the war on the
German side so as not to encourage Hitler into favoring Romania in the event of border revisions in Transylvania.
Hungary entered the war and on 1 July 1941, at the direction of the Germans, the Hungarian Karpat
Group advanced far into southern Russia. At the Battle of Uman, the Gyorshadtest participated in the encirclement
of the 6th Soviet Army and the 12th Soviet Army. Twenty Soviet divisions were captured or destroyed.
Worried about Hungary's increasing reliance on Germany, Admiral Horthy forced Bárdossy to resign and replaced
him with Miklós Kállay, a veteran conservative of Bethlen's government. Kállay continued Bárdossy's policy of
supporting Germany against the Red Army, while he also surreptitiously entered into negotiations with the Western
Powers.
During the Battle of Stalingrad, the Hungarian Second Army suffered terrible losses. Shortly after the fall of
Stalingrad in January 1943, the Hungarian Second Army effectively ceased to exist as a functioning military unit.
Secret negotiations with the British and Americans continued.[59] Aware of Kállay's deceit and fearing that Hungary
might conclude a separate peace, Hitler ordered Nazi troops to launch Operation Margarethe and occupy Hungary
in March 1944. Döme Sztójay, an avid supporter of the Nazis, become the new prime minister with the aid of a
Nazi military governor, Edmund Veesenmayer.
The infamous SS Colonel Adolf Eichmann went to Hungary to oversee the large-scale deportations of Jews to
German death camps in occupied Poland. Between 15 May and 9 July 1944, the Hungarians deported 437,402
Jews to the Auschwitz concentration camp.[60][61]
In August 1944, Horthy replaced Sztójay with the anti-Fascist General Géza Lakatos. Under the Lakatos regime,
the acting Interior Minister Béla Horváth ordered Hungarian gendarmes to prevent any Hungarian citizens from
being deported.
In September 1944, Soviet forces crossed the Hungarian border. On 15 October 1944, Horthy announced that
Hungary had signed an armistice with the Soviet Union. The Hungarian army ignored the armistice. The Germans
launched Operation Panzerfaust and, by kidnapping his son (Miklós Horthy, Jr.), forced Horthy to abrogate the
armistice, depose the Lakatos government, and name the leader of the Arrow Cross Party, Ferenc Szálasi, as
Prime Minister. Szálasi became prime minister of a new fascist Government of National Unity and Horthy
abdicated.
In cooperation with the Nazis, Szálasi restarted the deportations of Jews, particularly in Budapest. Thousands
more Jews were killed by Hungarian Arrow Cross members. The retreating German army demolished the rail,
road, and communications systems.
On 28 December 1944, a provisional government was formed in Hungary under acting Prime Minister Béla Miklós.
Miklós and Szálasi's rival governments each claimed legitimacy: the Germans and pro-German Hungarians loyal
to Szálasi fought on, as the territory effectively controlled by the Arrow Cross regime shrunk gradually. The Red
Army completed the encirclement of Budapest on 29 December 1944 and the Battle of Budapest began; it
continued into February 1945. Most of what remained of the Hungarian First Army was destroyed about 320 km
(200 mi) north of Budapest between 1 January and 16 February 1945. Budapest unconditionally surrendered to
the Soviet Red Army on 13 February 1945.
On 20 January 1945, representatives of the Hungarian provisional government signed an armistice in Moscow.
Szálasi's government fled the country by the end of March. Officially, Soviet operations in Hungary ended on 4
April 1945, when the last German troops were expelled. On 7 May 1945 General Alfred Jodl, the German Chief of
Staff, signed the unconditional surrender of all German forces.
As regards Hungary's World War II casualties, Tamás Stark of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences has provided
a detailed assessment of losses from 1941 to 1945 in Hungary. He calculated military losses at 300,000–310,000,
including 110–120,000 killed in battle and 200,000 missing in action and prisoners of war in the Soviet Union.
Hungarian military losses include 110,000 men who were conscripted from the annexed territories of Greater
Hungary in Slovakia, Romania and Yugoslavia and the deaths of 20,000–25,000 Jews conscripted for Army labor
units. Civilian losses of about 80,000 include 45,500 killed in the 1944–1945 military campaign and in air
attacks,[62] and the genocide of Romani people of 28,000 persons.[63] Jewish Holocaust victims totaled 600,000
(300,000 in the territories annexed between in 1938 and 1941, 200,000 in the pre-1938 countryside and 100,000 in
Budapest).[64] See World War II casualties.
Post-War Communist period[edit]
Main article: People's Republic of Hungary
Transition to Communism (1944–1949)[edit]
The Soviet Army occupied Hungary from September 1944 until April 1945. The siege of Budapest lasted almost 2
months, from December 1944 to February 1945 (the longest successful siege of any city in the entire war,
including Berlin), and the city suffered widespread destruction, including the demolition of all the Danube bridges,
which were blown up by the Germans in an effort to slow the Soviet advance.
By signing the Peace Treaty of Paris of 1947, Hungary again lost all the territories that it had gained between 1938
and 1941. Neither the Western Allies nor the Soviet Union supported any change in Hungary's pre-1938 borders,
which was the primary motive behind the Hungarian involvement in the war. The Soviet Union itself annexed Sub-
Carpathia (before 1938 the eastern edge of Czechoslovakia), which is today part of Ukraine.
The Treaty of Peace with Hungary signed on 10 February 1947 declared that, "The decisions of the Vienna Award
of November 2, 1938, are declared null and void", and Hungarian boundaries were fixed along the former frontiers
as they existed on 1 January 1938 except for a minor loss of territory on the Czechoslovakian border. Many of the
Communist leaders of 1919 returned from Moscow. The first major violation of civil rights was suffered by the
ethnic German minority, half of which (240,000 people) were deported to Germany in 1946–1948, although the
great majority of them had not supported Germany during the war and were not members of any pro-Nazi
movement. There was a forced "exchange of population" between Hungary and Czechoslovakia, which involved
about 70,000 Hungarians living in Slovakia and somewhat smaller numbers of ethnic Slovaks living in the territory
of Hungary. Unlike the Germans, these people were allowed to carry some of their property with them.
The Soviets originally planned for a piecemeal introduction of the Communist regime in Hungary, therefore when
they set up a provisional government in Debrecen on 21 December 1944, they were careful to include
representatives of several moderate parties. Following the demands of the Western Allies for a democratic
election, the Soviets authorized the only essentially free election held in post-war eastern Europe in Hungary in
November 1945. This was also the first election held in Hungary on the basis of universal franchise.
People voted for party lists, not for individual candidates. At the elections, the Independent Smallholders' Party, a
center-right peasant party, won 57% of the vote. Despite the hopes of the Communists and the Soviets that the
distribution of the aristocratic estates among the poor peasants would increase their popularity, the Hungarian
Communist Party received only 17% of the votes. The Soviet commander in Hungary, Marshal Voroshilov, refused
to allow the Smallholders' Party to form a government on their own.
Under Voroshilov's pressure, the Smallholders organized a coalition government including the Communists, the
Social Democrats and the National Peasant Party (a left-wing peasant party), in which the Communists held some
of the key posts. On 1 February 1946 Hungary was declared a Republic, and the leader of the
Smallholders, Zoltán Tildy, became president. He handed over the office of prime minister to Ferenc Nagy. Mátyás
Rákosi, leader of the Communist Party, became deputy prime minister.
Another leading Communist, László Rajk, became minister of the interior responsible for controlling law
enforcement, and in this position established the Hungarian security police (ÁVH). The Communists exercised
constant pressure on the Smallholders both inside and outside the government. They nationalized industrial
companies, banned religious civil organizations and occupied key positions in local public administration. In
February 1947, the police began arresting leaders of the Smallholders Party, charging them with "conspiracy
against the Republic". Several prominent figures decided to emigrate or were forced to escape abroad, including
Prime Minister Ferenc Nagy in May 1947. Later, Mátyás Rákosi boasted that he had dealt with his partners in the
government, one by one, "cutting them off like slices of salami".
At the next parliamentary election in August 1947, the Communists committed widespread election fraud with
absentee ballots (the so-called "blue slips"), but even so, they only managed to increase their share from 17% to
24% in Parliament. The Social Democrats (by this time servile allies of the Communists) received 15% in contrast
to their 17% in 1945. The Smallholders' Party lost much of its popularity and ended up with 15%, but their former
voters turned towards three new center-right parties which seemed more determined to resist the Communist
onslaught: their combined share of the total votes was 35%.
Faced with their second failure at the polls, the Communists changed tactics, and, under new orders from Moscow,
decided to eschew democratic facades and speed up the Communist takeover. In June 1948, the Social
Democratic Party was forced to "merge" with the Communist Party to create the Hungarian Working People's
Party, which was dominated by the Communists. Anti-Communist leaders of the Social Democrats, such as Károly
Peyer and Anna Kéthly, were forced into exile or excluded from the party. Soon after, President Zoltán Tildy was
also removed from his position and replaced by a fully cooperative Social Democrat, Árpád Szakasits.
Ultimately, all "democratic" parties were organized into a so-called People's Front in February 1949, thereby losing
even the vestiges of their autonomy. The leader of the People's Front was Rákosi himself. Opposition parties were
simply declared illegal and their leaders arrested or forced into exile.
On 18 August 1949, the parliament passed the Hungarian Constitution of 1949, which was modeled after the 1936
constitution of the Soviet Union. The name of the country changed to the People's Republic of Hungary, "the
country of the workers and peasants" where "every authority is held by the working people". Socialism was
declared to be the main goal of the nation. A new coat-of-arms was adopted with Communist symbols such the red
star, hammer and sickle.
Stalinist era (1949–1956)[edit]
Mátyás Rákosi, who as a chief secretary of the Hungarian Working People's Party was de facto the leader of
Hungary, possessed practically unlimited power and demanded complete obedience from fellow members of the
Party, including his two most trusted colleagues, Ernő Gerő and Mihály Farkas. All three of them returned to
Hungary from Moscow, where they had spent long years and had close ties to high-ranking Soviet leaders. Their
main rivals in the party were the "Hungarian" Communists who led the illegal party during the war and were
considerably more popular within party ranks.
Their most influential leader, László Rajk, who was minister of foreign affairs at the time, was arrested in May
1949. He was accused of rather surreal crimes, such as spying for Western imperialist powers and for Yugoslavia
(which was also a Communist country, but in very bad relations with the Soviet Union at the time). At his trial in
September 1949, he made a forced confession to be an agent of Miklós Horthy, Leon Trotsky, Josip Broz Tito and
Western imperialism. He also admitted that he had taken part in a murder plot against Mátyás Rákosi and Ernő
Gerő. Rajk was found guilty and executed. In the next three years, other leaders of the party deemed
untrustworthy, such as former Social Democrats or other Hungarian illegal Communists such as János Kádár,
were also arrested and imprisoned on trumped-up charges.
The showcase trial of Rajk is considered the beginning of the worst period of the Rákosi dictatorship. Rákosi now
attempted to impose totalitarian rule on Hungary. The centrally orchestrated personality cult focused on him
and Joseph Stalin soon reached unprecedented proportions. Rákosi's images and busts were everywhere, and all
public speakers were required to glorify his wisdom and leadership. In the meantime, the secret police, led
through Gábor Péter by Rákosi himself, mercilessly persecuted all "class enemies" and "enemies of the people".
An estimated 2,000 people were executed and over 100,000 were imprisoned. Some 44,000 ended up in forced-
labor camps, where many died due to horrible work conditions, poor food and practically no medical care. Another
15,000 people, mostly former aristocrats, industrialists, military generals and other upper-class people were
deported from the capital and other cities to countryside villages where they were forced to perform hard
agricultural labor. These policies were opposed by some members of the Hungarian Working People's Party and
around 200,000 were expelled by Rákosi from the organization.
Nationalisation of the economy[edit]
By 1950, the state controlled most of the economy, as all large and mid-sized industrial companies, plants, mines,
banks of all kind as well as all companies of retail and foreign trade were nationalized without any compensation.
Slavishly following Soviet economic policies, Rákosi declared that Hungary would become a "country of iron and
steel" even though Hungary lacked iron ore completely. The forced development of heavy industry served military
purposes; it was meant as preparation for the impending World War III against "Western imperialism". A
disproportionate amount of the country's resources were spent on building whole new industrial cities and plants
from scratch, while much of the country was still in ruins since the war. Traditional strengths of Hungary, such as
the agricultural and textile industries, were neglected.
Large agricultural latifundia were divided and distributed among poor peasants already in 1945. In agriculture, the
government tried to force independent peasants to enter co-operatives in which they would become merely paid
laborers, but many of them stubbornly resisted. The government retaliated with ever-higher requirements of
compulsory food quotas imposed on peasants' produce. Rich peasants, called 'kulaks' in Russian, were declared
"class enemies" and suffered all sorts of discrimination, including imprisonment and loss of property. With them,
some of the most able farmers were removed from production. The declining agricultural output led to a constant
scarcity of food, especially meat.
Rákosi rapidly expanded the education system in Hungary. This was an attempt to replace the educated class of
the past by what Rákosi called a new "working intelligentsia". In addition to effects such as better education for the
poor, more opportunities for working class children and increased literacy in general, this measure also included
the dissemination of Communist ideology in schools and universities. Also, as part of efforts at separation of
church and state, practically all religious schools were taken into state ownership, and religious instruction was
denounced as retrograde propaganda and gradually eliminated from schools.
The Hungarian churches were systematically intimidated. Cardinal József Mindszenty, who had bravely opposed
the German Nazis and the Hungarian Fascists during the Second World War, was arrested in December 1948 and
accused of treason. After five weeks under arrest (which included torture), he confessed to the charges against
him and he was sentenced to life imprisonment. The Protestant churches were also purged and their leaders were
replaced by those willing to remain loyal to Rákosi's government.
The new Hungarian military hastily staged public, pre-arranged trials to purge "Nazi remnants and imperialist
saboteurs". Several officers were sentenced to death and executed in 1951, including Lajos Toth, a
distinguished fighter ace of the World War II Royal Hungarian Air Force, who had voluntarily returned from US
captivity to help revive Hungarian aviation. The victims were cleared posthumously following the overthrow
of communism.
Preparations for a show trial started in Budapest in 1953[65] to prove that Raoul Wallenberg had not been dragged
off in 1945 to the Soviet Union, but was the victim of "cosmopolitan Zionists". For the purposes of this show trial,
three Jewish leaders as well as two would-be "eyewitnesses" were arrested and interrogated by torture. The show
trial was initiated in Moscow, following Stalin's anti-Zionist campaign. After the death of Stalin and Lavrentiy Beria,
the preparations for the trial were stopped and the arrested persons were released.
Rivalry between Communist leaders[edit]
Rákosi's priorities for the economy were developing military industry and heavy industry and providing the Soviet
Union with war compensation. Improving standards of living were not a priority, and for this reason the people of
Hungary saw living standards fall. Although his government became increasingly unpopular, he had a firm grip on
power until Stalin died on 5 March 1953 and confused power struggle began in Moscow. Some of the Soviet
leaders perceived the unpopularity of the Hungarian regime and ordered Rákosi to give up his position as prime
minister in favor of another former Communist-in-exile in Moscow, Imre Nagy, who was Rákosi's chief opponent in
the party. Rákosi, however, retained his position as general secretary of the Hungarian Working People's Party
and over the next three years the two men became involved in a bitter struggle for power.
As Hungary's new prime minister, Imre Nagy slightly relaxed state control over the economy and the mass media
and encouraged public discussion on political and economic reform. In order to improve general living standards,
he increased the production and distribution of consumer goods and reduced the tax and quota burdens of the
peasants. Nagy also closed forced-labor camps, released most of the political prisoners – the Communists were
allowed back into party ranks – and reined in the secret police, whose hated head, Gábor Péter, was convicted
and imprisoned in 1954. All these rather moderate reforms earned him widespread popularity in the country,
especially among the peasantry and the left-wing intellectuals.
Following a turn in Moscow, where Malenkov, Nagy's primary patron, lost the power struggle against Khrushchev,
Mátyás Rákosi started a counterattack on Nagy. On 9 March 1955, the Central Committee of the Hungarian
Working People's Party condemned Nagy for "rightist deviation". Hungarian newspapers joined the attacks, and
Nagy was accused of being responsible for the country's economic problems. On 18 April, he was dismissed from
his post by a unanimous vote of the National Assembly. Soon after, Nagy was even excluded from the party and
temporarily retired from politics. Rákosi once again became the unchallenged leader of Hungary.
Rákosi's second reign, however, did not last long. His power was undermined by a speech made by Nikita
Khrushchev in February 1956, in which he denounced the policies of Joseph Stalin and his followers in eastern
Europe, especially the attacks on Yugoslavia and the propagation of cults of personality. On 18 July 1956, visiting
Soviet leaders removed Rákosi from all his positions, and he boarded a plane bound for the Soviet Union, never to
return to Hungary. But the Soviets made a major mistake by the appointment of his close friend and ally, Ernő
Gerő, as his successor, who was equally unpopular and shared responsibility for most of Rákosi's crimes.
The fall of Rákosi was followed by a flurry of reform agitation both inside and outside the party. László Rajk and his
fellow victims of the showcase trial of 1949 were cleared of all charges, and on 6 October 1956, the Party
authorized a reburial, which was attended by tens of thousands of people and became a silent demonstration
against the crimes of the regime. On 13 October, it was announced that Imre Nagy had been re-instated as a
member of the party.
1956 Revolution[edit]
Main article: Hungarian Revolution of 1956

A Soviet tank attempts to clear a road barricade in Budapest, October 1956.

On 23 October 1956, a peaceful student demonstration in Budapest produced a list of 16 Demands of Hungarians
Revolutionaries for reform and greater political freedom. As the students attempted to broadcast these demands,
the State Protection Authority made some arrests and tried to disperse the crowd with tear gas. When the students
attempted to free those arrested, the police opened fire on the crowd, setting off a chain of events which led to
the Hungarian Revolution of 1956.
That night, commissioned officers and soldiers joined the students on the streets of Budapest. Stalin's statue was
brought down and the protesters chanted "Russians go home", "Away with Gerő" and "Long Live Nagy". The
Central Committee of the Hungarian Working People's Party responded to these developments by requesting
Soviet military intervention and deciding that Imre Nagy should become head of a new government. Soviet tanks
entered Budapest at 2 a.m. on 24 October.
On 25 October, Soviet tanks opened fire on protesters in Parliament Square. One journalist at the scene saw 12
dead bodies and estimated that 170 had been wounded. Shocked by these events, the Central Committee of the
Hungarian Working People's Party forced Ernő Gerő to resign from office and replaced him with János Kádár.
Imre Nagy now went on Radio Kossuth and announced he had taken over the leadership of the government as
Chairman of the Council of Ministers". He also promised "the far-reaching democratization of Hungarian public life,
the realization of a Hungarian road to socialism in accord with our own national characteristics, and the realization
of our lofty national aim: the radical improvement of the workers' living conditions". [check quotation syntax] On 28 October,
Nagy and a group of his supporters, including János Kádár, Géza Losonczy, Antal Apró, Károly Kiss, Ferenc
Münnich and Zoltán Szabó, managed to take control of the Hungarian Working People's Party. At the same time,
revolutionary workers' councils and local national committees were formed all over Hungary.
The change of leadership in the party was reflected in the articles of the government newspaper Szabad
Nép ("Free People"). On 29 October the newspaper welcomed the new government and openly criticized Soviet
attempts to influence the political situation in Hungary. This view was supported by Radio Miskolc, which called for
the immediate withdrawal of Soviet troops from the country.
On 30 October, Imre Nagy announced that he was freeing Cardinal József Mindszenty and other political
prisoners. He also informed the people that his government intended to abolish the one-party state. This was
followed by statements of Zoltán Tildy, Anna Kéthly and Ferenc Farkas concerning the restitution of the
Smallholders Party, the Social Democratic Party and the Petőfi (former Peasants) Party.
Nagy's most controversial decision took place on 1 November, when he announced that Hungary intended to
withdraw from the Warsaw Pact and proclaimed Hungarian neutrality. He asked the United Nations to become
involved in the country's dispute with the Soviet Union.
On 3 November, Nagy announced details of his coalition government. It included Communists (János
Kádár, Georg Lukács, Géza Losonczy), three members of the Smallholders' Party (Zoltán Tildy, Béla Kovács and
István Szabó), three Social Democrats (Anna Kéthly, Gyula Keleman, Joseph Fischer), and two Petőfi Peasants
(István Bibó and Ferenc Farkas). Pál Maléter was appointed minister of defence.
Nikita Khrushchev, the leader of the Soviet Union, became increasingly concerned about these developments and
on 4 November 1956 sent the Red Army into Hungary. Soviet tanks immediately captured Hungary's airfields,
highway junctions and bridges. Fighting took place all over the country, but the Hungarian forces were quickly
defeated.
During the Hungarian Uprising, an estimated 20,000 people were killed, nearly all during the Soviet intervention.
Imre Nagy was arrested and replaced by the Soviet loyalist János Kádár. Nagy was imprisoned until his execution
in 1958. Other government ministers or supporters who were either executed or died in captivity included Pál
Maléter, Géza Losonczy, Attila Szigethy and Miklós Gimes.
Post Revolution (or Kádár) era (1956–1989)[edit]
Further information: Goulash Communism
Once he was in power, János Kádár led an attack against revolutionaries. 21,600 mavericks (democrats, liberals,
reformist Communists alike) were imprisoned, 13,000 interned, and 400 killed. But in the early 1960s, Kádár
announced a new policy under the motto of "He who is not against us is with us", a modification of Rákosi's
statement, "He who is not with us is against us". He declared a general amnesty, gradually curbed some of the
excesses of the secret police, and introduced a relatively liberal cultural and economic course aimed at
overcoming the post-1956 hostility towards him and his regime.
In 1966, the Central Committee approved the "New Economic Mechanism", through which it sought to rebuild the
economy, increase productivity, make Hungary more competitive in world markets, and create prosperity to ensure
political stability. Over the next two decades of relative domestic quiet, Kádár's government responded alternately
to pressures for minor political and economic reforms as well as to counter-pressures from reform opponents. By
the early 1980s, it had achieved some lasting economic reforms and limited political liberalization and pursued a
foreign policy that encouraged more trade with the West. Nevertheless, the New Economic Mechanism led to
mounting foreign debt that was incurred in order to shore up unprofitable industries.
Hungary's transition to a Western-style democracy was one of the smoothest among the former Soviet bloc. By
late 1988, activists within the party and bureaucracy and Budapest-based intellectuals were increasing pressure
for change. Some of these became reform socialists, while others began movements which were to develop into
parties. Young liberals formed the Federation of Young Democrats (Fidesz); a core from the so-called Democratic
Opposition formed the Alliance of Free Democrats (SZDSZ), and the national opposition established
the Hungarian Democratic Forum (MDF). Civic activism intensified to a level not seen since the 1956 revolution.
End of Communism[edit]
Further information: End of Communism in Hungary (1989)
In 1988, Kádár was replaced as General Secretary of the Communist Party, and reform Communist leader Imre
Pozsgay was admitted to the Politburo. In 1989, the Parliament adopted a "democracy package" that
included trade-union pluralism; freedom of association, assembly, and the press; a new electoral law; and in
October 1989 a radical revision of the constitution, among others. Since then, Hungary has reformed its economy
and increased its connections with western Europe. It became a member of the European Union in 2004.
A Central Committee plenum in February 1989 endorsed in principle the multiparty political system and the
characterisation of the October 1956 revolution as a "popular uprising", in the words of Pozsgay, whose reform
movement had been gathering strength as Communist Party membership declined dramatically. Kádár's major
political rivals then cooperated to move the country gradually to democracy. The Soviet Union reduced its
involvement by signing an agreement in April 1989 to withdraw Soviet forces by June 1991.
National unity culminated in June 1989 as the country re-buried Imre Nagy, his associates, and, symbolically, all
other victims of the 1956 revolution. A Hungarian National Round Table, comprising representatives of the new
parties and some re-created old parties (such as the Smallholders and Social Democrats), the Communist Party,
and different social groups, met in the late summer of 1989 to discuss major changes to the Hungarian constitution
in preparation for free elections and the transition to a fully free and democratic political system.
In October 1989, the Communist Party convened its last congress and re-established itself as the Hungarian
Socialist Party (MSZP). In a historic session on 16–20 October 1989, the Parliament adopted legislation providing
for multi-party parliamentary elections and a direct presidential election. The legislation transformed Hungary from
a People's Republic into the Republic of Hungary, guaranteed human and civil rights, and created an institutional
structure that ensures separation of powers among the judicial, executive, and legislative branches of government.
On the anniversary of the 1956 Revolution, 23 October, the Hungarian Republic was officially declared by the
provisional President of the Republic Mátyás Szűrös as the replacement for the Hungarian People's Republic. The
revised constitution also championed the "values of bourgeois democracy and democratic socialism" and gave
equal status to public and private property.
Third Republic (since 1989)[edit]
It has been suggested that this section be split out into another article titled History of Hungary
(1989–present). (Discuss) (November 2018)
Further information: Politics of Hungary
Foundation[edit]
The first free parliamentary election, held in May 1990, was effectively a plebiscite on communism. The revitalized
and reformed Communists performed poorly despite having more than the usual advantages of an "incumbent"
party. Populist, center-right, and liberal parties fared best, with the Hungarian Democratic Forum (MDF) winning
43% of the vote and the Alliance of Free Democrats (SZDSZ) capturing 24%. Under Prime Minister József Antall,
the MDF formed a center-right coalition government with the Independent Smallholders' Party (FKGP) and
the Christian Democratic People's Party (KDNP) to command a 60% majority in the parliament. Parliamentary
opposition parties included SZDSZ, the Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP), and the Alliance of Young Democrats
(Fidesz).

Withdrawal of Soviet troops from Hungary, 1 July 1990

Between 12 March 1990 and 19 June 1991 the Soviet troops ("Southern Army Group") left Hungary. The total
number of Soviet military and civilian personnel stationed in Hungary was around 100,000, having at their disposal
approximately 27,000 military equipment. The withdrawal was performed with 35,000 railway cars. The last units
commanded by general Viktor Silov crossed the Hungarian-Ukrainian border at Záhony-Chop.
Péter Boross succeeded as Prime Minister after Antall died in December 1993. The Antall/Boross coalition
governments struggled to create a reasonably well-functioning parliamentary democracy in a market-economy,
and to manage the related political, social and economic crises resulting from the collapse of the former
Communist system. The massive decline in living standards led to a massive loss of political support.
In the May 1994 election, the Socialists won a plurality of votes and 54% of the seats (with the new Prime
Minister, Gyula Horn) after a campaign focused largely on economic issues and the substantial decline in living
standards since 1990. This signaled a wish to turn back to the relative security and stability of the socialist era, but
voters rejected both right and left-wing extremist solutions – no such party gained seats in parliament. After its
disappointing result in the election, leadership of the Fidesz party opted for an ideological shift from a liberal to a
conservative party. This caused a severe split in the membership and many members left for the other liberal
party, the SZDSZ, which formed a coalition with the socialists, leading to a more than two-thirds majority.
Economic reform[edit]
The coalition was influenced by the socialism of Prime Minister Gyula Horn, by the economic focus of its
technocrats (who had been Western-educated in the 1970s and 1980s) and ex-cadre entrepreneur supporters,
and by its liberal coalition partner the SZDSZ. Facing the threat of state bankruptcy, Horn initiated economic
reforms and aggressive privatization of state enterprises to multinational companies in return for expectations of
investment (in the form of reconstruction, expansion and modernization). The Socialist-Liberal government
adopted a fiscal austerity program, the Bokros package in 1995, which had dramatic consequences for social
stability and quality of life. The government introduced post-secondary tuition fees, partially privatized state
services, but supported science both directly and indirectly, through the private sector. The government pursued a
foreign policy of integration with Euro-Atlantic institutions and reconciliation with neighboring countries. Critics
argued that the policies of the ruling coalition were more right-wing than those of the previous right-wing
government had been.
The Bokros package and efforts at privatizations were unpopular with voters, as were rising crime rates,
allegations of government corruption, and an attempt to restart the unpopular program of building a dam on the
Danube. This dissatisfaction among voters resulted in a change of government following the 1998 parliamentary
elections.
After a disappointing result in the 1994 elections, Fidesz under the presidency of Viktor Orbán had changed its
political position from liberal to national conservative,[66] adding "Hungarian Civic Party" (Magyar Polgári Párt) to its
shortened name. The conservative turn caused a severe split in the membership. Péter Molnár left the party, as
well as Gábor Fodor and Klára Ungár, who joined the liberal Alliance of Free Democrats. Orbán's Fidesz gained
the plurality of parliamentary seats in the 1998 election and forged a coalition with the Smallholders and the
Democratic Forum.
First Orbán government: 1998–2002[edit]
The new government led by Viktor Orbán promised to stimulate faster growth, curb inflation, and lower taxes. It
inherited an economy with positive economic indicators, including a growing export-surplus. The government
abolished tuition fees and aimed to create good market conditions for small businesses and to encourage local
production with domestic resources. In terms of foreign policy, the Orbán administration continued to pursue Euro-
Atlantic integration as its first priority, but was a more vocal advocate of minority rights for ethnic Hungarians
abroad than the previous government had been. As a result of a 1997 referendum, Hungary joined NATO in 1999.
In 2002, the European Union agreed to admit Hungary, along with 9 other countries, as members on 1 January
2004.
Fidesz was criticized by its adversaries for the party's presentation of history, particularly the 1989 fall of
communism. While Fidesz had suggested that the Socialist party is the moral and legal successor to the
hated state party of the Communist past, the Socialists would assert that they had been those who had pushed for
change from within, derided Fidesz members for crediting themselves as the sole creators and heirs of the fall of
communism.
In the 2002 election the MSZP/SZDSZ left-wing coalition narrowly beat the Fidesz/MDF right-wing coalition in a
fierce political fight, with record-high 73% voter turnout. Péter Medgyessy became the new prime minister.
MSZP: 2002–2010[edit]
Further information: 2004 enlargement of the European Union
Under the socialist-liberal government, the economic balance of the Hungarian economy started a free fall, while
quality of life, infrastructure and technology improved. On 12 April 2003, Hungarians voted to join the European
Union (EU), with 83% of the votes in favor. Since the EU had already accepted Hungary as a possible member,
the four leading political parties (MSZP, Fidesz, SZDSZ and MDF) agreed to establish the required prerequisites
and policies and to work together to prepare the country for the accession with the least possible harm to the
economy and people while maximizing the positive effects on the country. On 1 May 2004 Hungary became a
member of the EU.
Ferenc Gyurcsány in 2006.

In the elections of April 2006, Hungary decided to re-elect its government for the first time since 1989, though with
a new Prime Minister, Ferenc Gyurcsány. The left strengthened its position, with the coalition of the Social
Democrats (MSZP) and the Liberals (SZDSZ) reaching 54 percent of the vote and winning 210 seats as opposed
to the previous 198. The parties of the previous legislature (Fidesz, MDF, SZDSZ, MSZP) again won parliamentary
seats. The new parliament assembled in late May 2006, and the new government was formed in June 2006.
The new government presented plans to reach balance and sustainable economic growth by removing subsidies
to the growth of standard of living, which it had not mentioned during its electoral campaign. A leaked speech was
followed by mass protests against the Gyurcsány government between 17 September and 23 October 2006. It was
the first sustained protest in Hungary since 1989. From 2007, when increased inflation caused by tax increases
reduced the standard of living, a complete restructuring of the state administration, energy sector, relations with
private business, health sector and social welfare took place. Members of affected professional unions describe
the measures as lacking discussion and uncompromising. The country joined the Schengen Area at the end of
2007.
In 2008, the coalition broke up over the disagreement whether the insurance side of the health sector should be
state-owned and its policies decided by the state (as preferred by the Socialists) or by private companies (as
preferred by the Liberals). This conflict was followed by a successful public referendum, initiated by Fidesz, calling
for the abolition of university tuition fees, direct payments by insured patients on receiving medical attention, and
daily fees at hospital by insured patients. This effectively stopped the restructuring of health care, while it remained
completely publicly owned. Because of this the Liberals left the coalition and from then on the Socialists governed
as a minority.
The 2008 financial crisis caused further budgetary constraints. After Gyurcsány's resignation, the Socialists put
forward a "government of experts" under Gordon Bajnai in March 2009, which would only make essential
macroeconomic decisions.
Second to Fourth Orbán governments: 2010–present[edit]
See also: Second Orbán Government, Third Orbán Government, and Fourth Orbán Government

Viktor Orbán, the Prime Minister of Hungary (1998–2002, 2010–present)

Fidesz regained power in the 2010 general elections in a landslide, winning two-thirds of the seats in Parliament.
In the autumn municipal elections, Fidesz achieved a majority in almost all local and mayoral elections, winning the
traditional strongholds of the liberal parties.
The Second Orbán Government promulgated the new Constitution of Hungary, adopted in 2011 and in force since
1 January 2012. The main goal of the government was to restart economic growth. It introduced a flat tax system
for income tax, 16% for everyone.[67]
Orbán discarded the idea of welfare state, stating that the Hungarian economy must be a work-based
economy.[68] By 2014 significant improvements were made in decreasing unemployment (from 11.4% in 2010[69] to
7.1% in 2014[70]) and generating economic growth (reaching 3.5% in 2014, the top value among EU member
states[71]). But the growth has been very unequal: the wealth of the top 20% of the society grew significantly, while
the ratio of people living below poverty line increased from 33% in 2010 to 40% in 2014. The government
centralized the education system, and started a multiple-year-long program for increasing the salaries of teachers
and health professionals.
In the parliamentary elections of Spring 2014, Fidesz again won a supermajority, but only by a one-MP margin. In
February 2015, a by-election was held in the city of Veszprém, where an opposition-nominated MP was elected,
thus Fidesz lost its supermajority.[72]
Under the Third Orbán Government, the European migrant crisis of 2015 affected Hungary as one of the countries
with a southern external border of the European Union. The government erected a border barrier along Hungary's
border with Serbia and Croatia in summer 2015. Attempts by migrants to cross the barrier using force were met
with riot police in September 2015.[73][74] and the barrier was reinforced in 2016.[75][76] The EU's Justice and Home
Affairs Council approved a migrant quota plan.[77] Following the decision, Hungary and Slovakia took legal action
over EU's mandatory migrant quotas at the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg.[78] The Hungarian
government also called a referendum on the question in October 2016. While an overwhelming majority (98%) of
those voting rejected the EU's migrant quotas, voter turnout at 44% was below the 50% which would have been
required for the referendum to be considered valid.[79]
In the 2018 elections, Fidesz–KDNP again won a supermajority, with no change in the numbers of seats held.
The Fourth Orbán Government was formed on 18 May 2018.

Stephen I of Hungary
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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"Stephen of Hungary" redirects here. For other people of the same name, see Stephen of Hungary
(disambiguation).
"Szent István" redirects here. For the dreadnought of the Austro-Hungarian Navy, see SMS Szent István.
"King Saint Stephen" redirects here. For the first century martyr, see Saint Stephen.

Saint Stephen I

King of the Hungarians, King of the Pannonians or King of Hungary

Portrayal of Stephen I on the Hungarian coronation pall from 1031

King of Hungary

Reign 1000 or 1001–1038

Coronation 25 December 1000 or 1 January 1001

 Successor Peter

Grand Prince of the Hungarians

Reign 997–1000 or 1001

Predecessor Géza

Born Vajk

c. 975

Esztergom, Principality of Hungary

Died 15 August 1038 (aged 62–63)

Esztergom or Székesfehérvár, Kingdom of Hungary

Burial Székesfehérvár Basilica, Székesfehérvár, Hungary

Spouse Gisela of Bavaria

Issue Otto

Saint Emeric

Dynasty Árpád dynasty

Father Géza of Hungary

Mother Sarolt

Religion Roman Catholicism

Signature

Stephen I, also known as King Saint Stephen (Hungarian: Szent István király, [ˌsænt ˈiʃtvaːn
kiraːj]; Latin: Sanctus Stephanus; Slovak: Štefan I. or Štefan Veľký; c. 975 – 15 August 1038 AD), was the
last Grand Prince of the Hungarians between 997 and 1000 or 1001, and the first King of Hungary from 1000 or
1001 until his death in 1038. The year of his birth is uncertain, but many details of his life suggest that he was born
in or after 975 in Esztergom. At his birth, he was given the pagan name Vajk. The date of his baptism is unknown.
He was the only son of Grand Prince Géza and his wife, Sarolt, who was descended from the prominent family of
the gyulas. Although both of his parents were baptized, Stephen was the first member of his family to become a
devout Christian. He married Gisela of Bavaria, a scion of the imperial Ottonian dynasty.
After succeeding his father in 997, Stephen had to fight for the throne against his relative, Koppány, who was
supported by large numbers of pagan warriors. He defeated Koppány mainly with the assistance of foreign knights,
 including Vecelin, Hont and Pázmány, but also with help from native lords. He was crowned on 25 December 1000
or 1 January 1001 with a crown sent by Pope Sylvester II. In a series of wars against semi-independent tribes and
chieftains—including the Black Hungarians and his uncle, Gyula the Younger—he unified the Carpathian Basin.
He protected the independence of his kingdom by forcing the invading troops of Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor,
to withdraw from Hungary in 1030.
Stephen established at least one archbishopric, six bishoprics and three Benedictine monasteries; thus the Church
in Hungary developed independently of the archbishops of the Holy Roman Empire. He encouraged the spread of
Christianity with severe punishments for ignoring Christian customs. His system of local administration was based
on counties organized around fortresses and administered by royal officials. Hungary, which enjoyed a lasting
period of peace during his reign, became a preferred route for pilgrims and merchants traveling between Western
Europe and the Holy Land or Constantinople.
He survived all of his children. He died on 15 August 1038 and was buried in his new basilica, built
in Székesfehérvár and dedicated to the Holy Virgin. His death caused civil wars which lasted for decades. He
was canonized by Pope Gregory VII, together with his son, Emeric, and Bishop Gerard of Csanád, in 1083.
Stephen is a popular saint in Hungary and the neighboring territories. In Hungary, his feast day (celebrated on 20
August) is also a public holiday commemorating the foundation of the state, known as State Foundation Day.

Contents

 1Early years (c. 975–997)

 2Reign (997–1038)
o 2.1Grand Prince (997–1000)
o 2.2Coronation (1000–1001)
o 2.3Consolidation (1001–c. 1009)
o 2.4Wars with Poland and Bulgaria (c. 1009–1018)
o 2.5Domestic policies (1018–1024)
o 2.6Conflicts with the Holy Roman Empire (1024–1031)
o 2.7Last years (1031–1038)
 3Family
 4Legacy
o 4.1Founder of Hungary
o 4.2Sainthood
o 4.3Holy Dexter
o 4.4Admonitions
o 4.5In arts
 5See also
 6References
 7Sources
o 7.1Primary sources
o 7.2Secondary sources
 8Further reading
 9External links

Early years (c. 975–997)[edit]

Stephen's birth date is uncertain as it was not recorded in contemporaneous documents.[1] Hungarian and Polish
chronicles written centuries later give three different years: 967, 969 and 975.[2] The unanimous testimony of his
three late 11th-century or early 12th-century hagiographies and other Hungarian sources, which state that Stephen
was "still an adolescent" in 997,[3] substantiate the reliability of the later year (975).[1][2] Stephen's Lesser
Legend adds that he was born in Esztergom,[1][2][4] which implies that he was born after 972 because his
father, Géza, Grand Prince of the Hungarians, chose Esztergom as royal residence around that year.[1] Géza
promoted the spread of Christianity among his subjects by force, but never ceased worshipping pagan
gods.[5][6] Both his son's Greater Legend and the nearly contemporaneous Thietmar of Merseburg described Géza
as a cruel monarch, suggesting that he was a despot who mercilessly consolidated his authority over the rebellious
Hungarian lords.[6][7]
Hungarian chronicles agree that Stephen's mother was Sarolt, daughter of Gyula, a Hungarian chieftain with
jurisdiction either in Transylvania or in the wider region of the confluence of the rivers Tisza and Maros.[8][9] Many
historians—including Pál Engel and Gyula Kristó—propose that her father was identical with "Gylas", who had
been baptized in Constantinople around 952 and "remained faithful to Christianity",[10] according to Byzantine
chronicler John Skylitzes.[11][12] However, this identification is not unanimously accepted; historian György
Györffy states that it was not Sarolt's father, but his younger brother, who was baptized in the Byzantine
capital.[8] In contrast with all Hungarian sources, the Polish-Hungarian Chronicle and later Polish sources state that
Stephen's mother was Adelhaid, an otherwise unknown sister of Duke Mieszko I of Poland, but the reliability of this
report is not accepted by modern historians.[13]

Stephen's birth depicted in the Illuminated Chronicle

Stephen was born as Vajk,[4][14] a name derived from the Turkic word baj, meaning "hero", "master", "prince" or
"rich".[2][15] Stephen's Greater Legend narrates that he was baptized by the saintly Bishop Adalbert of Prague,[15] who
stayed in Géza's court several times between 983 and 994.[16][17] However, Saint Adalbert's nearly
contemporaneous Legend, written by Bruno of Querfurt, does not mention this event.[15][16][17] Accordingly, the date
of Stephen's baptism is unknown: Györffy argues that he was baptized soon after birth,[15] while Kristó proposes
that he only received baptism just before his father's death in 997.[17]
Stephen's official hagiography, written by Bishop Hartvic and sanctioned by Pope Innocent III, narrates that he
"was fully instructed in the knowledge of the grammatical art" in his childhood.[18][2] This implies that he studied
Latin, though some scepticism is warranted as few kings of this era were able to write.[2] His two other late 11th-
century hagiographies do not mention any grammatical studies, stating only that he "was brought up by receiving
an education appropriate for a little prince".[2] Kristó says that the latter remark only refers to Stephen's physical
training, including his participation in hunts and military actions.[2] According to the Illuminated Chronicle, one of his
tutors was a Count Deodatus from Italy, who later founded a monastery in Tata.[19]
According to Stephen's legends, Grand Prince Géza convoked an assembly of the Hungarian chieftains and
warriors when Stephen "ascended to the first stage of adolescence",[18] at the age of 14 or 15.[20][21] Géza nominated
Stephen as his successor and all those present took an oath of loyalty to the young prince.[21] Györffy also writes,
without identifying his source, that Géza appointed his son to rule the "Nyitra ducate" around that time.[15] Slovak
historians, including Ján Steinhübel and Ján Lukačka, accept Györffy's view and propose that Stephen
administered Nyitra (now Nitra, Slovakia) from around 995.[22][23]
Géza arranged Stephen's marriage, to Gisela, daughter of Henry II, Duke of Bavaria, in or after 995.[4][24] This
marriage established the first family link between a Hungarian ruler and a Western European ruling house,[25] as
Gisela was closely related to the Ottonian dynasty of Holy Roman Emperors.[17] According to popular tradition
preserved in the Scheyern Abbey in Bavaria, the ceremony took place at the Scheyern castle and was celebrated
by Saint Adalbert.[21] Gisela was accompanied to her new home by Bavarian knights, many of whom received land
grants from her husband and settled in Hungary,[26] helping to strengthen Stephen's military position.[27] Györffy
writes that Stephen and his wife "presumably" settled in Nyitra after their marriage.[26]

Reign (997–1038)[edit]
Grand Prince (997–1000)[edit]
See also: Grand Prince of the Hungarians
Grand Prince Géza died in 997.[14][28] Stephen convoked an assembly at Esztergom where his supporters declared
him grand prince.[29] Initially, he only controlled the northwestern regions of the Carpathian Basin; the rest of the
territory was still dominated by tribal chieftains.[30] Stephen's ascension to the throne was in line with the principle
of primogeniture, which prescribed that a father was succeeded by his son.[27] On the other hand, it contradicted
the traditional idea of seniority, according to which Géza should have been succeeded by the most senior member
of the Árpád dynasty, which was Koppány at that time.[27][31] Koppány, who held the title Duke of Somogy, had for
many years administered the regions of Transdanubia south of Lake Balaton.[25][28][32]

Koppány's execution after his defeat by Stephen, depicted in the Chronicon Pictum.

Koppány proposed to Géza's widow, Sarolt, in accordance with the pagan custom of levirate marriage.[29][33][34] He
also announced his claim to the throne.[29] Although it is not impossible that Koppány had already been baptized, in
972,[29] most of his supporters were pagans, opponents of the Christianity represented by Stephen and his
predominantly German retinue.[35] A charter of 1002 for the Pannonhalma Archabbey writes of a war between "the
Germans and the Hungarians" when referring to the armed conflicts between Stephen and Koppány.[35][36] Even so,
Györffy says that Oszlar ("Alan"), Besenyő ("Pecheneg"), Kér and other place names, referring to ethnic groups
or Hungarian tribes in Transdanubia around the supposed borders of Koppány's duchy, suggest that significant
auxiliary units and groups of Hungarian warriors—who had been settled there by Grand Prince Géza—fought in
Stephen's army.[37]
Kristó states that the entire conflict between Stephen and Koppány was only a feud between two members of
the Árpád dynasty, with no effect on other Hungarian tribal leaders.[30] Koppány and his troops invaded the northern
regions of Transdanubia, took many of Stephen's forts and plundered his lands.[35] Stephen, who according to
the Illuminated Chronicle "was for the first time girded with his sword",[38] placed the brothers Hont and Pázmány at
the head of his own guard and nominated Vecelin to lead the royal army.[35][39][40] The latter was a German knight
who had come to Hungary in the reign of Géza.[41] Hont and Pázmány were, according to Simon of Kéza's Gesta
Hunnorum et Hungarorum and the Illuminated Chronicle, "knights of Swabian origin"[42] who settled in Hungary
either under Géza or in the first years of Stephen's reign.[30] On the other hand, Lukačka and other Slovak
historians say that Hont and Pázmány were "Slovak" noblemen who had joined Stephen during his rule in Nyitra.[43]
Koppány was besieging Veszprém when he was informed of the arrival of Stephen's army.[37] In the ensuing battle,
Stephen won a decisive victory over his enemies.[34] Koppány was killed on the battlefield.[25] His body was
quartered and its parts were displayed at the gates of the forts of Esztergom, Győr, Gyulafehérvár (Alba
Iulia, Romania) and Veszprém in order to threaten all of those who were conspiring against the young
monarch.[34][44][45]
Stephen occupied Koppány's duchy and granted large estates to his own partisans.[28][46] He also prescribed that
Koppány's former subjects were to pay tithes to the Pannonhalma Archabbey, according to the deed of the
foundation of this monastery which has been preserved in a manuscript containing interpolations.[35][47] The same
document declares that "there were no other bishoprics and monasteries in Hungary" at that time.[48] On the other
hand, the nearly contemporary Bishop Thietmar of Merseburg stated that Stephen "established bishoprics in his
kingdom"[49] before being crowned king.[48] If the latter report is valid, the dioceses of Veszprém and Győr are the
most probable candidates, according to historian Gábor Thoroczkay.[50]
Coronation (1000–1001)[edit]
See also: King of Hungary and Coronation of the Hungarian monarch
King Saint Stephen's modern sculpture in Budapest

By ordering the display of one part of Koppány's quartered corpse in Gyulafehérvár, the seat of his maternal
uncle, Gyula the Younger, Stephen asserted his claim to reign all lands dominated by Hungarian lords.[51] He also
decided to strengthen his international status by adopting the title of king.[52] However, the exact circumstances of
his coronation and its political consequences are subject to scholarly debate.[53]
Thietmar of Merseburg writes that Stephen received the crown "with the favour and urging"[49] of Emperor Otto
III (r. 996–1002),[54] implying that Stephen accepted the Emperor's suzerainty before his coronation.[53] On the other
hand, all of Stephen's legends emphasize that he received his crown from Pope Sylvester II (r. 999–
1003).[53] Kristó[55] and other historians[56] point out that Pope Sylvester and Emperor Otto were close allies, which
implies that both reports are valid: Stephen "received the crown and consecration"[49] from the Pope, but not
without the Emperor's consent. Around 75 years after the coronation, Pope Gregory VII (r. 1075–1085), who
claimed suzerainty over Hungary, declared that Stephen had "offered and devotedly surrendered" Hungary
"to Saint Peter" (that is to the Holy See).[54][56][57] In a contrasting report, Stephen's Greater Legend states that the
King offered Hungary to the Virgin Mary.[56] Modern historians—including Pál Engel, and Miklós Molnár—write that
Stephen always asserted his sovereignty and never accepted papal or imperial suzerainty.[25][53] For instance, none
of his charters were dated according to the years of the reign of the contemporary emperors, which would have
been the case if he had been their vassal.[58] Furthermore, Stephen declared in the preamble to his First Book of
Laws that he governed his realm "by the will of God".[58][59]
The exact date of Stephen's coronation is unknown.[55] According to later Hungarian tradition, he was crowned on
the first day of the second millennium, which may refer either to 25 December 1000 or to 1 January
1001.[14][60] Details of Stephen's coronation preserved in his Greater Legend suggest that the ceremony, which took
place in Esztergom or Székesfehérvár[61] followed the rite of the coronation of the German kings.[62] Accordingly,
Stephen was anointed with consecrated oil during the ceremony.[62] Stephen's portrait, preserved on his royal cloak
from 1031, shows that his crown, like the Holy Roman Emperor's diadem, was a hoop crown decorated
with gemstones.[63]
Besides his crown, Stephen regarded a spear with a flag as an important symbol of his sovereignty.[63] For
instance, his first coins bear the inscription LANCEA REGIS ("the king's spear") and depict an arm holding a spear
with flag.[63] According to the contemporaneous Adémar de Chabannes, a spear had been given to Stephen's
father by Emperor Otto III as a token of Géza's right to "enjoy the most freedom in the possession of his
country".[64] Stephen is styled in various ways—Ungarorum rex ("king of the Hungarians"), Pannoniorum rex ("king
of the Pannonians") or Hungarie rex ("king of Hungary")—in his charters.[54]
Consolidation (1001–c. 1009)[edit]
Although Stephen's power did not rely on his coronation,[54] the ceremony granted him the internationally accepted
legitimacy of a Christian monarch who ruled his realm "by the Grace of God".[65] All his legends testify that he
established an archbishopric with its see in Esztergom shortly after his coronation.[66] This act ensured that the
Church in Hungary became independent of the prelates of the Holy Roman Empire.[67][68] The earliest reference to
an archbishop of Esztergom, named Domokos, has been preserved in the deed of foundation of the Pannonhalma
Archabbey from 1002.[66] According to historian Gábor Thoroczkay, Stephen also established the Diocese of
Kalocsa in 1001.[69] Stephen invited foreign priests to Hungary to evangelize his kingdom.[68] Associates of the late
Adalbert of Prague, including Radla and Astrik, arrived in Hungary in the first years of his reign.[70][71] The presence
of an unnamed "Archbishop of the Hungarians" at the synod of 1007 of Frankfurt and the consecration of an altar
in Bamberg in 1012 by Archbishop Astrik show that Stephen's prelates maintained a good relationship with the
clergy of the Holy Roman Empire.[7]
The transformation of Hungary into a Christian state was one of Stephen's principal concerns throughout his
reign.[72] Although the Hungarians' conversion had already begun in his father's reign, it was only Stephen who
systematically forced his subjects to give up their pagan rituals.[73] His legislative activity was closely connected
with Christianity.[74] For example, his First Book of Laws from the first years of his reign includes several provisions
prescribing the observance of feast days and the confession before death.[75][76] His other laws protected property
rights[77] and the interests of widows and orphans, or regulated the status of serfs.[76]
If someone has such a hardened heart—God forbid it to any Christian—that he does not want to confess his faults
according to the counsel of a priest, he shall lie without any divine service and alms like an infidel. If his relatives
and neighbors fail to summon the priest, and therefore he should die unconfessed, prayers and alms should be
offered, but his relatives shall wash away their negligence by fasting in accordance with the judgement of the
priests. Those who die a sudden death shall be buried with all ecclesiastical honor; for divine judgment is hidden
from us and unknown.

— Laws of King Stephen I[78]

Stephen's forces seize his uncle, Gyula the Younger

Many Hungarian lords refused to accept Stephen's suzerainty even after his coronation.[44] The new King first
turned against his own uncle, Gyula the Younger, whose realm "was most wide and rich",[79] according to
the Illuminated Chronicle.[80] Stephen invaded Transylvania and seized Gyula and his family around 1002[81][82] or in
1003.[14][80] The contemporary Annals of Hildesheim[82] adds that Stephen converted his uncle's "country to the
Christian faith by force" after its conquest.[80] Accordingly, historians date the establishment of the Diocese of
Transylvania to this period.[82][69] If the identification, proposed by Kristó, Györffy and other Hungarian historians, of
Gyula with one Prokui—who was Stephen's uncle according to Thietmar of Merseburg—is valid,[83] Gyula later
escaped from captivity and fled to Bolesław I the Brave, Duke of Poland (r. 992–1025).[80]
[Duke Boleslav the Brave's] territory included a certain burg, located near the border with the Hungarians. Its
guardian was lord Prokui, an uncle of the Hungarian king. Both in the past and more recently, Prokui had been
driven from his lands by the king and his wife had been taken captive. When he was unable to free her, his
nephew arranged for her unconditional release, even though he was Prokui's enemy. I have never heard of
anyone who showed such restraint towards a defeated foe. Because of this, God repeatedly granted him victory,
not only in the burg mentioned above, but in others as well.

— Thietmar of Merseburg: Chronicon[84]

About a hundred years later, the chronicler Gallus Anonymus also made mention of armed conflicts between
Stephen and Boleslav, stating that the latter "defeated the Hungarians in battle and made himself master of all
their lands as far as the Danube".[22][85][86] Györffy says that the chronicler's report refers to the occupation of the
valley of the river Morava—a tributary of the Danube—by the Poles in the 1010s.[86] On the other hand, the Polish-
Hungarian Chronicle states that the Polish duke occupied large territories north of the Danube and east of the
Morava as far as Esztergom in the early 11th century.[86][87] According to Steinhübel, the latter source proves that a
significant part of the lands that now form Slovakia were under Polish rule between 1002 and 1030.[87] In contrast
with the Slovak historian, Györffy writes that this late chronicle "in which one absurdity follows another" contradicts
all facts known from 11th-century sources.[88]
Stephen defeats Kean "Duke of the Bulgarians and Slavs"

The Illuminated Chronicle narrates that Stephen "led his army against Kean, Duke of the Bulgarians and Slavs
whose lands are by their natural position most strongly fortified"[89] following the occupation of Gyula's
country.[90] According to a number of historians, including Zoltán Lenkey[90] and Gábor Thoroczkay,[69] Kean was the
head of a small state located in the southern parts of Transylvania and Stephen occupied his country around 1003.
Other historians, including Györffy, say that the chronicle's report preserved the memory of Stephen's campaign
against Bulgaria in the late 1010s.[91]
Likewise, the identification of the "Black Hungarians"[92]—who were mentioned by Bruno of Querfurt and Adémar
de Chabannes among the opponents of Stephen's proselytizing policy—is uncertain.[93] Györffy locates their lands
to the east of the river Tisza;[94] while Thoroczkay says they live in the southern parts of Transdanubia.[69] Bruno of
Querfurt's report of the Black Hungarians' conversion by force suggests that Stephen conquered their lands at the
latest in 1009 when "the first mission of Saint Peter"[95]—a papal legate, Cardinal Azo—arrived in Hungary.[96] The
latter attended the meeting in Győr where the royal charter determining the borders of the newly
established Bishopric of Pécs was issued on 23 August 1009.[95]
The Diocese of Eger was also set up around 1009.[95][97] According to Thoroczkay, "it is very probable" that the
bishopric's establishment was connected with the conversion of the Kabars—an ethnic group of Khazar origin—
[98]
and their chieftain.[99] The head of the Kabars—who was either Samuel Aba or his father—[100] married Stephen's
unnamed younger sister on this occasion.[99][101] The Aba clan was the most powerful among the native families who
joined Stephen and supported him in his efforts to establish a Christian monarchy.[102] The reports by Anonymus,
Simon of Kéza and other Hungarian chroniclers of the Bár-Kalán, Csák and other 13th-century noble families
descending from Hungarian chieftains suggest that other native families were also involved in the process.[102]
Stephen set up a territory-based administrative system,[80] establishing counties.[103] Each county, headed by a royal
official known as a count or ispán, was an administrative unit organized around a royal fortress.[103] Most fortresses
were earthworks in this period,[104] but the castles at Esztergom, Székesfehérvár and Veszprém were built of
stone.[105] Forts serving as county seats also became the nuclei of Church organization.[104] The settlements
developing around them, where markets were held on each Sunday, were important local economic centers.[104]
Wars with Poland and Bulgaria (c. 1009–1018)[edit]
Stephen's brother-in-law, Henry II, became King of Germany in 1002 and Holy Roman Emperor in 1013.[58] Their
friendly relationship ensured that the western borders of Hungary experienced a period of peace in the first
decades of the 11th century.[58][106] Even when Henry II's discontented brother, Bruno, sought refuge in Hungary in
1004, Stephen preserved the peace with Germany and negotiated a settlement between his two brothers-in-
law.[58][107] Around 1009, he gave his younger sister in marriage to Otto Orseolo, Doge of Venice (r. 1008–1026), a
close ally of the Byzantine Emperor, Basil II (r. 976–1025), which suggests that Hungary's relationship with
the Byzantine Empire was also peaceful.[108] On the other hand, the alliance between Hungary and the Holy Roman
Empire brought her into a war with Poland lasting from around 1014[109] until 1018.[110] The Poles occupied the
Hungarian posts along the river Morava.[111] Györffy and Kristó write that a Pecheneg incursion into Transylvania,
the memory of which has been preserved in Stephen's legends, also took place in this period, because the
Pechenegs were close allies of the Polish duke's brother-in-law, Grand Prince Sviatopolk I of Kiev (r. 1015–
1019).[109][112]
Poland and the Holy Roman Empire concluded the Peace of Bautzen in January 1018.[112] Later in the same year,
500 Hungarian horsemen accompanied Boleslav of Poland to Kiev, suggesting that Hungary had been included in
the peace treaty.[112] The historian Ferenc Makk says that the Peace of Bautzen obliged Boleslav to hand over all
the territories he had occupied in the Morava valley to Stephen.[111] According to Leodvin, the first known Bishop of
Bihar (r. c. 1050 – c. 1060), Stephen allied with the Byzantines and led a military expedition to assist them against
"barbarians" in the Balkan Peninsula.[113] The Byzantine and Hungarian troops jointly took "Cesaries" which Györffy
identifies as the present-day town of Ohrid.[114] Leodvin's report suggests that Stephen joined the Byzantines in the
war ending with their conquest of Bulgaria in 1018.[115] However, the exact date of his expedition is
uncertain.[114] Györffy argues that it was only in the last year of the war that Stephen led his troops against the
Bulgarians.[114]
Domestic policies (1018–1024)[edit]
Modern statute of Bishop Gerard of Csanád and his disciple, Prince Emeric (both were canonized along with King Stephen in
1083). Püspökkút-statue in Székesfehérvár, installment
Ruins of the Pécsvárad Abbey, established by Stephen

Bishop Leodvin wrote that Stephen collected relics of a number of saints in "Cesaries" during his campaign in the
Balkans, including Saint George and Saint Nicholas.[115] He donated them to his new triple-naved basilica dedicated
to the Holy Virgin[116] in Székesfehérvár,[117] where he also set up a cathedral chapter and his new capital.[118] His
decision was influenced by the opening, in 1018 or 1019, of a new pilgrimage route that bypassed his old capital,
Esztergom. The new route connected Western Europe and the Holy Land through Hungary.[119][120] Stephen often
met the pilgrims, contributing to the spread of his fame throughout Europe.[121] Abbot Odilo of Cluny, for example,
wrote in a letter to Stephen that "those who have returned from the shrine of our Lord" testify to the king's passion
"towards the honour of our divine religion".[122] Stephen also established four hostels for pilgrims in
Constantinople, Jerusalem, Ravenna and Rome.[123]
[Almost] all those from Italy and Gaul who wished to go to the Sepulchre of the Lord at Jerusalem abandoned the
usual route, which was by sea, making their way through the country of King Stephen. He made the road safe for
everyone, welcomed as brothers all he saw and gave them enormous gifts. This action led many people, nobles
and commoners, to go to Jerusalem.

— Rodulfus Glaber: The Five Books of the Histories[124]

In addition to pilgrims, merchants often used the safe route across Hungary when travelling between
Constantinople and Western Europe.[119] Stephen's legends refer to 60 wealthy Pechenegs who travelled to
Hungary, but were attacked by Hungarian border guards.[125] The king sentenced his soldiers to death in order to
demonstrate his determination to preserve internal peace.[125] Regular minting of coinage began in Hungary in the
1020s.[126] Stephen's silver dinars[119] bearing the inscriptions STEPHANUS REX ("King Stephen") and REGIA
CIVITAS ("royal city") were popular in contemporary Europe, as demonstrated by counterfeited copies unearthed
in Sweden.[126]
Stephen convinced some pilgrims and merchants to settle in Hungary.[119][122] Gerard, a Benedictine monk who
arrived in Hungary from the Republic of Venice between 1020 and 1026, initially planned to continue his journey to
the Holy Land, but decided to stay in the country after his meeting with the king.[121] Stephen also established a
number of Benedictine monasteries—including the abbeys at Pécsvárad, Zalavár and Bakonybél[127]—in this
period.[128]
The Long Life of Saint Gerard mentions Stephen's conflict with Ajtony, a chieftain in the region of the
river Maros.[129] Many historians date their clash to the end of the 1020s, although Györffy[86] and other scholars put
it at least a decade earlier.[129] The conflict arose when Ajtony, who "had taken his power from the Greeks",
according to Saint Gerard's legend, levied tax on the salt transported to Stephen on the river.[130] The king sent a
large army led by Csanád against Ajtony, who was killed in battle.[131] His lands were transformed into a
Hungarian county and the king set up a new bishopric at Csanád (Cenad, Romania), Ajtony's former capital, which
was renamed after the commander of the royal army.[131] According to the Annales Posonienses, the Venetian
Gerard was consecrated as the first bishop of the new diocese in 1030.[132]
Conflicts with the Holy Roman Empire (1024–1031)[edit]
Stephen's brother-in-law, Emperor Henry, died on 13 July 1024.[133] He was succeeded by a distant
relative,[134] Conrad II (r. 1024–1039), who adopted an offensive foreign policy.[135] Conrad II expelled Doge Otto
Orseolo—the husband of Stephen's sister—from Venice in 1026.[121][135] He also persuaded the Bavarians to
proclaim his own son, Henry, as their duke in 1027, although Stephen's son, Emeric had a strong claim to
the Duchy of Bavaria through his mother.[134] Emperor Conrad planned a marriage alliance with the Byzantine
Empire and dispatched one of his advisors, Bishop Werner of Strasbourg, to Constantinople.[116][136] In the autumn of
1027, the bishop seemingly travelled as a pilgrim, but Stephen, who had been informed of his actual purpose,
refused to let him enter into his country.[116][136] Conrad II's biographer Wipo of Burgundy narrated that the Bavarians
incited skirmishes along the common borders of Hungary and the Holy Roman Empire in 1029, causing a rapid
deterioration in relations between the two countries.[137][138]
Emperor Conrad personally led his armies to Hungary in June 1030 and plundered the lands west of the
River Rába.[137][139] However, according to the Annals of Niederalteich, the emperor, suffering from consequences of
the scorched earth tactics used by the Hungarian army,[140] returned to Germany "without an army and without
achieving anything, because the army was threatened by starvation and was captured by the Hungarians
at Vienna".[139] Peace was restored after Conrad had ceded the lands between the rivers Lajta and Fischa to
Hungary in the summer of 1031.[141]
At this same time, dissensions arose between the Pannonian nation and the Bavarians, through the fault of the
Bavarians. And, as a result, King [Stephen] of Hungary made many incursions and raids in the realm of the Norici
(that is, of the Bavarians). Disturbed on this account Emperor Conrad came upon the Hungarians with a great
army. But King [Stephen], whose forces were entirely insufficient to meet the Emperor, relied solely on the
guardianship of the Lord, which he sought with prayers and fasts proclaimed through his whole realm. Since the
Emperor was not able to enter a kingdom so fortified with rivers and forests, he returned, after he had sufficiently
avenged his injury with lootings and burnings on the borders of the kingdom; and it was his wish at a more
opportune time to complete the things he had begun. His son, King Henry, however, still a young boy entrusted to
the care of Eigilbert, bishop of Freising, received a legation of King [Stephen] which asked for peace; and solely
with the counsel of the princes of the realm, and without his father's knowledge, he granted the favor of
reconciliation.

— Wipo: The Deeds of Conrad II[142]

Last years (1031–1038)[edit]

King Stephen at the funeral of his son, Saint Emeric

Stephen's biographer, Hartvic, narrates that the King, whose children died one by one in infancy, "restrained the
grief over their death by the solace on account of the love of his surviving son",[143] Emeric.[144] However, Emeric
was wounded in a hunting accident and died in 1031.[119] After the death of his son, the elderly King could never
"fully regain his former health",[145] according to the Illuminated Chronicle.[144] Kristó writes that the picture, which
has been preserved in Stephen's legends, of the king keeping the vigils and washing the feet of paupers, is
connected with Stephen's last years, following the death of his son.[146]
Emeric's death jeopardized his father's achievements in establishing a Christian state,[147] because Stephen's
cousin, Vazul—who had the strongest claim to succeed him—was suspected of an inclination towards
paganism.[148] According to the Annals of Altaich Stephen disregarded his cousin's claim and nominated his sister's
son, the Venetian Peter Orseolo, as his heir.[149] The same source adds that Vazul was captured and blinded, and
his three sons, Levente, Andrew and Béla, were expelled from Hungary.[149] Stephen's legends refer to an
unsuccessful attempt upon the elderly king's life by members of his court.[146] According to Kristó, the legends refer
to a plot in which Vazul participated and his mutilation was a punishment for this act.[146] That Vazul's ears were
filled with molten lead was only recorded in later sources, including the Illuminated Chronicle.[146]
In the view of some historians, provisions in Stephen's Second Book of Laws on the "conspiracy against the king
and the kingdom" imply that the book was promulgated after Vazul's unsuccessful plot against
Stephen.[76][150] However, this view has not been universally accepted.[76] Györffy states that the law book was
issued, not after 1031, but around 1009.[151] Likewise, the authenticity of the decree on tithes is debated: according
to Györffy, it was issued during Stephen's reign, but Berend, Laszlovszky and Szakács argue that it "might be a
later addition".[47][151]
Stephen died on 15 August 1038.[152] He was buried in the basilica of Székesfehérvár.[149] His reign was followed by
a long period of civil wars, pagan uprisings and foreign invasions.[153][154] The instability ended in 1077
when Ladislaus, a grandson of Vazul, ascended the throne.[155]

Family[edit]

King Stephen and his wife Gisela of Bavaria founding a church at Óbuda from the Chronicon Pictum

Stephen married Gisela, a daughter of Duke Henry the Wrangler of Bavaria, who was a nephew of Otto I, Holy
Roman Emperor.[156] Gisela's mother was Gisela of Burgundy, a member of the Welf dynasty.[21][157] Born around
985, Gisela was younger than her husband, whom she survived.[21][157] She left Hungary in 1045 and died as
Abbess of the Niedernburg Abbey in Passau in Bavaria around 1060.[158]
Although the Illuminated Chronicle states that Stephen "begot many sons",[159][160] only two of them, Otto and
Emeric, are known by name.[65] Otto, who was named after Otto III, seems to have been born before 1002.[65] He
died as a child.[160]
Emeric, who received the name of his maternal uncle, Emperor Henry II, was born around
1007.[65] His Legend from the early 12th century describes him as a saintly prince who preserved his chastity even
during his marriage.[160] According to Györffy, Emeric's wife was a kinswoman of the Byzantine Emperor Basil
II.[114] His premature death led to the series of conflicts leading to Vazul's blinding and civil wars.[119][161]
Be obedient to me, my son. You are a child, descendant of rich parents, living among soft pillows, who has been
caressed and brought up in all kinds of comforts; you have had a part neither in the troubles of the campaigns nor
in the various attacks of the pagans in which almost my whole life has been worn away.

— Stephen's Admonitions to his son, Emeric[125]

The following family tree presents Stephen's ancestors and his relatives who are mentioned in the article.[157][162]

Grand a "Cuman"
Gyula the Elder
Prince Taksony lady*

Henry of Gisela of Grand

Gyula the Younger Sarolt
Bavaria Burgundy Prince Géza

two Doge Otto Samuel

daughter daughter
daughters Orseolo Aba***

Gisela of Stephen a Bulgarian Michael of

Bavaria I princess** Hungary

Peter, King
of Hungary

Vazul

Byzantine
Otto Emeric
princess

*A Khazar, Pecheneg or Volga Bulgarian lady.

**Györffy writes that she may have been a member of the Bulgarian Cometopuli dynasty.
***Samuel Aba might have been the son of Stephen's sister instead of her husband.

Legacy[edit]
Founder of Hungary[edit]
Stephen has always been considered one of the most important statesmen in the history of Hungary.[163] His main
achievement was the establishment of a Christian state that ensured that the Hungarians survived in the
Carpathian Basin, in contrast to the Huns, Avars and other peoples who had previously controlled the same
territory.[163] As Bryan Cartledge emphasizes, Stephen also gave his kingdom "forty years of relative peace and
sound but unspectacular rule".[164]
His successors, including those descended from Vazul, were eager to emphasize their devotion to Stephen's
achievements.[165] Although Vazul's son, Andrew I of Hungary, secured the throne due to a pagan uprising, he
prohibited pagan rites and declared that his subjects should "live in all things according to the law which King St.
Stephen had taught them", according to the 14th-century Illuminated Chronicle.[165][166] In medieval Hungary,
communities that claimed a privileged status or attempted to preserve their own "liberties" often declared that the
origin of their special status was to be attributed to King Saint Stephen.[167] An example is a 1347 letter from the
people of Táp telling the king about their grievances against the Pannonhalma Archabbey and stating that the
taxes levied upon them by the abbot contradicted "the liberty granted to them in the time of King Saint Stephen".[168]
Sainthood[edit]

King Saint Stephen

King and Confessor

Born c. 975

Esztergom, Hungary

Died 15 August 1038

Székesfehérvár, Hungary

Venerated in Roman Catholic Church

Eastern Orthodox Church

Canonized 20 August 1083, Székesfehérvár by Pope Gregory VII

Major shrine St. Stephen's Basilica

Budapest, Hungary

Feast 16 August

20 August (in Hungary)

30 May (his Holy Dexter in Hungary)

Attributes Crown; Sceptre; globe

Patronage Patron saint of Hungary

Patron of kings, masons, stonecutters, stonemasons

and bricklayers

Protector against child death

Stephen's cult emerged after the long period of anarchy characterizing the rule of his immediate
successors.[169][170] However, there is no evidence that Stephen became an object of veneration before his
canonization.[171] For instance, the first member of the royal family to be named after him, Stephen II, was born in
the early 12th century.[172]
Stephen's canonization was initiated by Vazul's grandson, King Ladislaus I of Hungary, who had consolidated his
authority by capturing and imprisoning his cousin, Solomon.[173][174] According to Bishop Hartvic, the canonization
was "decreed by apostolic letter, by order of the Roman see",[175] suggesting that the ceremony was permitted by
Pope Gregory VII.[176] The ceremony started at Stephen's tomb, where on 15 August 1083 masses of believers
began three days of fasting and praying.[177] Legend tells that Stephen's coffin could not be opened until King
Ladislaus held Solomon in captivity at Visegrád.[177] The opening of Stephen's tomb was followed by the occurrence
of healing miracles, according to Stephen's legends.[174] Historian Kristó attributes the healings either to mass
psychosis or deception.[174] Stephen's legends also say that his "balsam-scented" remains were elevated from the
coffin, which was filled with "rose-colored water", on 20 August.[177] On the same day, Stephen's son, Emeric, and
the bishop of Csanád, Gerard, were also canonized.[178]
Having completed the office of Vespers the third day, everyone expected the favors of divine mercy through the
merit of the blessed man; suddenly with Christ visiting his masses, the signs of miracles poured forth from heaven
throughout the whole of the holy house. Their multitude, which that night were too many to count, brings to mind
the answer from the Gospel which the Savior of the world confided to John, who asked through messengers
whether he was the one who was to come: the blind see, the lame walk, the deaf hear, the lepers are cleansed,
the crippled are set straight, the paralyzed are cured...

— Hartvic, Life of King Stephen of Hungary[179]

Stephen's first legend, the so-called Greater Legend, was written between 1077 and 1083.[180] It provided an
idealized portrait of the king,[181] one who dedicated himself and his kingdom to the Virgin Mary.[180] However,
Stephen's Lesser Legend—composed around 1100,[181] under King Coloman[180]—emphasized Stephen's
severity.[181] A third legend, also composed during King Coloman's reign by Bishop Hartvic, was based on the two
existing legends.[180] Sanctioned in 1201 by Pope Innocent III, Hartvic's work served as Stephen's official
legend.[180] Gábor Klaniczay wrote that Stephen's legends "opened a new chapter in the legends of holy rulers as a
genre", suggesting that a monarch can achieve sainthood through actively using his royal powers.[182] Stephen was
the first triumphant miles Christi ("Christ's soldier") among the canonized monarchs.[183] He was also a "confessor
king", one who had not suffered martyrdom, whose cult was sanctioned, in contrast with earlier holy monarchs.[184]
Stephen's cult spread beyond the borders of Hungary.[170] Initially, he was primarily venerated in Scheyern
and Bamberg, in Bavaria, but his relics were also taken to Aachen, Cologne, Montecassino and Namur.[170] Upon
the liberation of Buda from the Ottoman Turks, Pope Innocent XI expanded King Saint Stephen's cult to the entire
Roman Catholic Church in 1686,[170] and declared 2 September his feast day.[161][170] As the feast of
Saint Joachim was moved, in 1969, from 16 August,[185] the day immediately following the day of Stephen's death,
Stephen's feast was moved to that date.[186] Stephen is venerated as the patron saint of Hungary,[170] and regarded
as the protector of kings, masons, stonecutters, stonemasons and bricklayers,[187] and also of children suffering
from severe illnesses.[187] His canonization was recognized by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of
Constantinople in 2000.[188] In the calendar of the Hungarian Catholic Church, Stephen's feast is observed on 20
August, the day on which his relics were translated.[170] In addition, a separate feast day (30 May) is dedicated to
his "Holy Dexter".[170]
Holy Dexter[edit]

The Holy Right displayed in St. Stephen's Basilica, Budapest

Stephen's intact dexter, or right hand (Hungarian: Szent Jobb), became the subject of a cult.[178][189] A cleric named
Mercurius stole it, but it was discovered on 30 May 1084 in Bihar County.[177] The theft of sacred relics, or furta
sacra, had by that time become a popular topic of saints' biographies.[190] Bishop Hartvic described the discovery of
Stephen's right hand in accordance with this tradition, referring to adventures and visions.[190] An abbey erected in
Bihar County (now Sâniob, Romania) was named after and dedicated to the veneration of the Holy Dexter.[178]
Why is it, brothers, that his other limbs having become disjointed and, his flesh having been reduced to dust,
wholly separated, only the right hand, its skin and sinews adhering to the bones, preserved the beauty of
wholeness? I surmise that the inscrutability of divine judgement sought to proclaim by the extraordinary nature of
this fact nothing less than that the work of love and alms surpasses the measure of all other virtues. ... The right
hand of the blessed man was deservedly exempt from putrefaction, because always reflourishing from the flower
of kindness it was never empty from giving gifts to nourish the poor.

— Hartvic, Life of King Stephen of Hungary[191]

The Holy Dexter was kept for centuries in the Szentjobb Abbey, except during the Mongol invasion of 1241 and
1242, when it was transferred to Ragusa (now Dubrovnik, Croatia).[189] The relic was then taken to Székesfehérvár
around 1420.[189] Following the Ottoman occupation of the central territories of the Kingdom of Hungary in the mid-
16th century, it was guarded in many places, including Bosnia, Ragusa and Vienna.[192] It was returned to Hungary
in 1771, when Queen Maria Theresa donated it to the cloister of the Sisters of Loreto in Buda.[192] It was kept
in Buda Castle's St. Sigismund Chapel between around 1900 and 1944, in a cave near Salzburg in 1944 and
1945, and again by the Sisters of Loreto in Buda, between 1945 and 1950. Finally, since 1950, the Holy Dexter
has been in St. Stephen's Basilica in Budapest.[192] An annual procession celebrating the relic was instituted in
1938, and continued until 1950, when the procession was forbidden by the Communist government.[192] It was
resumed in 1988.[192]
Admonitions[edit]
Main article: Admonitions
According to Stephen's Greater Legend, the king "himself compiled a book for his son on moral education".[193] This
work, now known as Admonitions or De institutione morum,[194] was preserved in manuscripts written in the Late
Middle Ages.[54] Although scholars debate whether it can actually be attributed to the king or a cleric, most of them
agree that it was composed in the first decades of the 11th century.[54][195]
The Admonitions argues that kingship is inseparably connected with the Catholic faith.[54][195] Its author emphasized
that a monarch is required to make donations to the Church and regularly consult his prelates, but is entitled to
punish clergymen who do wrong.[54] One of its basic ideas was that a sovereign has to cooperate with the "pillars of
his rule", meaning the prelates, aristocrats, ispáns and warriors.[195]
My dearest son, if you desire to honor the royal crown, I advise, I counsel, I urge you above all things to maintain
the Catholic and Apostolic faith with such diligence and care that you may be an example for all those placed
under you by God, and that all the clergy may rightly call you a man of true Christian profession. Failing to do this,
you may be sure that you will not be called a Christian or a son of the Church. Indeed, in the royal palace, after the
faith itself, the Church holds second place, first constituted and spread through the whole world by His members,
the apostles and holy fathers, And though she always produced fresh offspring, nevertheless in certain places she
is regarded as ancient. However, dearest son, even now in our kingdom the Church is proclaimed as young and
newly planted; and for that reason she needs more prudent and trustworthy guardians lest a benefit which the
divine mercy bestowed on us undeservedly should be destroyed and annihilated through your idleness, indolence
or neglect.

— Stephen's Admonitions to his son, Emeric[196]

In arts[edit]
King St Stephen has been a popular theme in Hungarian poetry since the end of the 13th century.[197] The earliest
poems were religious hymns which portrayed the holy king as the apostle of the Hungarians.[197] Secular poetry,
especially poems written for his feast day, followed a similar pattern, emphasizing Stephen's role as the first king
of Hungary.[197] Poets described Stephen as the symbol of national identity and independence and of the ability of
the Hungarian nation to survive historical cataclysms during the Communist regime between 1949 and 1989.[197]
A popular hymn, still sung in the churches, was first recorded in the late 18th century.[197] It hails King St. Stephen
as "radiant star of Hungarians".[197] Ludwig van Beethoven composed his King Stephen Overture for the
inauguration of the Hungarian theatre in Pest in 1812.[198] According to musician James M. Keller, "[t]he descending
unisons that open the King Stephen Overture would seem to prefigure the opening of the Ninth Symphony; ... [a]nd
then a later theme, introduced by flutes and clarinets, seems almost to be a variation ... of the famous Ode 'To
Joy' melody of the Ninth Symphony's finale".[198] Hungarian composer Ferenc Erkel named his last
complete opera from 1885, István király ("King Stephen"), after him.[199] In 1938, Zoltán Kodály wrote a choral piece
titled Ének Szent István Királyhoz ("Hymn to King Stephen").[200] In 1983, Levente Szörényi and János
Bródy composed a rock opera—István, a király ("Stephen, the King")—about the early years of his reign.
Seventeen years later, in 2000, Szörényi composed a sequel called Veled, Uram! ("You, Sir").[201]

Ladislaus I of Hungary
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 Ladislaus I

Saint Ladislaus (Chronica Hungarorum)

King of Hungary
Contested by Solomon until 1081

Reign 1077–1095

Predecessor Géza I

Successor Coloman

King of Croatia
Contested by Petar Svačić, with Álmos as Duke

Reign 1091–1095

Predecessor Stephen II

Successor Petar Svačić

Born c. 1040

Kraków, Kingdom of Poland

Died 29 July 1095 (aged 54–55)

Nitra, Duchy of Bohemia

Burial Cathedral-Basilica of Oradea, Romania

Spouse Unnamed first wife (?)

Adelaide of Rheinfelden
 Issue Unnamed daughter, wife of Iaroslav Sviatopolchich of

Volhinia

Empress Irene of Byzantium

Dynasty Árpád dynasty

Father Béla I of Hungary

Mother Richeza or Adelaide of Poland

Ladislaus I or Ladislas I, also Saint Ladislaus or Saint Ladislas (Hungarian: Szent László; Croatian: Ladislav
I.;Slovak: Svätý Ladislav; Polish: Władysław I Święty; c. 1040 – 29 July 1095) was King of Hungary from 1077
and King of Croatia from 1091. He was the second son of King Béla I of Hungary. After Béla's death in 1063,
Ladislaus and his elder brother, Géza, acknowledged their cousin, Solomon as the lawful king in exchange for
receiving their father's former duchy, which included one-third of the kingdom. They cooperated with Solomon for
the next decade. Ladislaus's most popular legend, which narrates his fight with a "Cuman" (a Turkic nomad
marauder) who abducted a Hungarian girl, is connected to this period. The brothers' relationship with Solomon
deteriorated in the early 1070s, and they rebelled against him. Géza was proclaimed king in 1074, but Solomon
maintained control of the western regions of his kingdom. During Géza's reign, Ladislaus was his brother's most
influential adviser.
Géza died in 1077, and his supporters made Ladislaus king. Solomon resisted Ladislaus with assistance from
King Henry IV of Germany. Ladislaus supported Henry IV's opponents during the Investiture Controversy. In 1081,
Solomon abdicated and acknowledged Ladislaus's reign, but he conspired to regain the royal crown and Ladislaus
imprisoned him. Ladislaus canonized the first Hungarian saints (including his distant relatives, King Stephen I and
Duke Emeric) in 1085. He set Solomon free during the canonization ceremony.
After a series of civil wars, Ladislaus's main focus was the restoration of public safety. He introduced severe
legislation, punishing those who violated property rights with death or mutilation. He occupied almost all Croatia in
1091, which marked the beginning of an expansion period for the medieval Kingdom of Hungary. Ladislaus's
victories over the Pechenegs and Cumans ensured the security of his kingdom's eastern borders for about 150
years. His relationship with the Holy See deteriorated during the last years of his reign, as the popes claimed that
Croatia was their fief, but Ladislaus denied their claims.
Ladislaus was canonized on 27 June 1192 by Pope Celestine III. Legends depict him as a pious knight-king, "the
incarnation of the late-medieval Hungarian ideal of chivalry."[1] He is a popular saint in Hungary and neighboring
nations, where many churches are dedicated to him.

Contents

 1Early years (before 1064)

 2Duke in Hungary (1064–1077)
 3His reign
o 3.1Consolidation (1077–1085)
o 3.2Expansion (1085–1092)
o 3.3Last years (1092–1095)
 4Family
 5Legacy
o 5.1Consolidation of the Christian monarchy
o 5.2Veneration
o 5.3Gallery
 6See also
 7References
 8Sources
o 8.1Primary sources
o 8.2Secondary sources
 9Further reading
 10External links
Early years (before 1064)[edit]
Ladislaus was the second son of the future King Béla I of Hungary and his wife, Richeza (or Adelaide), who was a
daughter of King Mieszko II of Poland.[2][3] Ladislaus and his elder brother, Géza, were born in Poland, where Béla
had settled in the 1030s after being banished from Hungary.[4][5] Ladislaus was born around 1040.[4] Ladislaus's
"physical and spiritual makeup testified to God's gracious will even at his birth", according to his late-12th-
century Legend.[6] The almost contemporaneous Gallus Anonymus wrote that Ladislaus was "raised from
childhood in Poland" and almost became a "Pole in his ways and life".[5][7] He received a Slavic name: "Ladislaus" is
derived from "Vladislav".[4]

Ladislaus's father, Béla I is crowned king after his nephew, Solomon is deprived of the crown (from the Illuminated Chronicle).

Béla and his family returned to Hungary around 1048.[4] Béla received the so-called "Duchy" – which encompassed
one-third of the kingdom – from his brother, King Andrew I of Hungary.[8][9][10] The Illuminated Chronicle mentions
that Andrew's son, Solomon, "was anointed king with the consent of Duke Bela and his sons Geysa and
Ladislaus"[11] in 1057 or 1058.[4]
Béla, who had been Andrew's heir before Solomon's coronation, left for Poland in 1059; his sons accompanied
him.[4][12] They returned with Polish reinforcements and began a rebellion against Andrew.[8][13] After defeating
Andrew, Béla was crowned king on 6 December 1060.[13] Solomon left the country, taking refuge in the Holy
Roman Empire.[14][15] Béla I died on 11 September 1063, some time before German troops entered Hungary in
order to restore Solomon.[12] Ladislaus and his brothers, Géza and Lampert, went back to Poland, and Solomon
was once again crowned king in Székesfehérvár.[4][16] The three brothers returned when the Germans left
Hungary.[17] To avoid another civil war, the brothers signed a treaty with Solomon on 20 January
1064,[17][18] acknowledging Solomon's reign in exchange for their father's duchy.[18][19]

Duke in Hungary (1064–1077)[edit]

Ladislaus and Géza probably divided the administration of their duchy; Ladislaus seems to have received the
regions around Bihar (now Biharia, Romania).[2][20][21] Géza and Ladislaus cooperated with King Solomon between
1064 and 1071.[21] The most popular story in Ladislaus's later legends – his fight with a "Cuman" warrior who
abducted a Christian maiden – occurred during this period.[22][23] The relationship between the king and his cousins
became tense in the early 1070s.[24] When Géza accompanied Solomon on a military campaign against
the Byzantine Empire in 1072, Ladislaus stayed behind with half of the ducal troops in Nyírség to "avenge his
brother with a strong hand"[25] if Solomon harmed Géza.[24][26]
Realizing that another civil war was inevitable, the king and dukes launched negotiations to obtain the assistance
of foreign powers.[24][26] First, Ladislaus visited the Kievan Rus', but he returned without reinforcements.[2][26] He then
went to Moravia, and persuaded Duke Otto I of Olomouc to accompany him back to Hungary
with Czech troops.[2][27] By the time they returned to Hungary, the royal army had already invaded the duchy and
routed Géza's troops at the Battle of Kemej on 26 February 1074.[24][28][29] Ladislaus met his fleeing brother at Vác,
and they decided to continue the fight against Solomon.[28] A legend preserved in the Illuminated
Chronicle mentions that before the battle, Ladislaus "saw in broad daylight a vision from heaven" of an angel
placing a crown on Géza's head.[30][31] Another legendary episode also predicted the dukes' triumph over the king:
an "ermine of purest white" jumped from a thorny bush to Ladislaus's lance and then onto his chest.[30][32] The
decisive Battle of Mogyoród was fought on 14 March 1074.[28][29] Ladislaus commanded "the troops from Byhor" on
the left flank.[28][33] Solomon was defeated,[29] but instead of surrendering to his cousins, he fled to the western
borders of the kingdom to seek assistance from his brother-in-law Henry IV of Germany.[34]
Géza was proclaimed king, but Solomon established himself in Moson and Pressburg (now Bratislava,
Slovakia).[28][34] During his brother's reign, Ladislaus administered all of their father's former duchy.[27] He repelled
Solomon's attack on Nyitra (present-day Nitra, Slovakia) in August or September 1074, but he could not seize
Pressburg.[27] Ladislaus was also his brother's main advisor.[27] Legend says that Géza decided to build a church
dedicated to the Holy Virgin in Vác after Ladislaus explained the significance of the wondrous appearance of a red
deer at the place where the church would be erected:[35]
As [King Géza and Duke Ladislaus] were standing at a spot near [Vác], where is now the church of the blessed
apostle Peter, a stag appeared to them with many candles burning upon his horns, and it began to run swifly
before them towards the wood, and at the spot where is now the monastery, it halted and stood still. When the
soldiers shot their arrows at it, it leapt into the Danube, and they saw it no more. At this sight the blessed Ladislaus
said: "Truly that was no stag, but an angel from God." And King [Géza] said: "Tell me, beloved brother, what may
all the candles signify which we saw burning on the stag's horns." The blessed Ladislaus answered: "They are not
horns, but wings; they are not burning candles, but shining feathers. It has shown to us that we are to build the
church of the Blessed Virgin on the place where it planted its feet, and not elsewhere."

— The Hungarian Illuminated Chronicle[36]

His reign[edit]
Consolidation (1077–1085)[edit]
Géza I died on 25 April 1077.[37] Since Géza's sons, Coloman and Álmos, were minors, his supporters proclaimed
Ladislaus king instead.[27] Gallus Anonymus emphasizes that King Boleslaus II the Bold of Poland "drove out"
Solomon "from Hungary with his forces, and placed [Ladislaus] on the throne"; Boleslaus even called Ladislaus
"his king".[5][38][39] Although the Illuminated Chronicle emphasizes that Ladislaus "never placed the crown upon his
head, for he desired a heavenly crown rather than the earthly crown of a mortal king", all his coins depict him
wearing a crown, suggesting that Ladislaus was actually crowned around 1078.[40][41][42] Shortly after his coronation,
Ladislaus promulgated two law books, which incorporated the decisions of an assembly of the "magnates of the
kingdom", held in Pannonhalma.[19][43] The majority of these laws were draconian measures to defend private
property, showing that Ladislaus primarily focused on internal consolidation and security during the first years of
his reign.[44][45] Those who were caught stealing were to be executed, and even criminals who committed minor
offenses against property rights were blinded or sold as slaves.[44] His other laws regulated legal proceedings and
economic matters, including the issuing of judicial summons and the royal monopoly on salt trade.[19][44]
If someone, freeman or bondman, should be caught in theft, he shall be hanged. But if he flees to the church to
evade the gallows, he shall be led out of the church and blinded. A bondman caught in theft, if he does not flee to
the church, shall be hanged; the owner of the stolen goods shall take a loss in the lost goods. The sons and
daughters of a freeman caught in theft who fled to the church, was led out and blinded, if they are ten years old or
less, shall retain their freedom; but if they are older than ten years they shall be reduced to servitude and lose all
their property. A bondman or freeman who steals a goose or a hen shall lose one eye and shall restore what he
has stolen.

— Laws of King Ladislas I[46]

Ladislaus's denar

The Illuminated Chronicle claims that Ladislaus planned to "restore the kingdom" to Solomon and "himself have
the dukedom",[41][42][40] but almost all contemporaneous sources contradict this report.[47] Ladislaus approached Pope
Gregory VII, who was the primary opponent of Solomon's ally, Henry IV of Germany.[47] At the Pope's request,
Ladislaus sheltered Bavarian nobles who had rebelled against Henry.[48][49] In 1078 or 1079, Ladislaus
married Adelaide, a daughter of Rudolf of Rheinfelden, whom the German princes had elected to take the place of
Henry IV as king.[48][49][50] Ladislaus supported Leopold II, Margrave of Austria, who also rebelled against Henry IV;
however, the German monarch forced Leopold to surrender in May 1078.[51]
Taking advantage of the internal conflicts in the Holy Roman Empire, Ladislaus besieged and captured the fortress
of Moson from Solomon in early 1079.[50][52] However, Henry IV stormed the western regions of Hungary, and
secured Solomon's position.[52] The German invasion also prevented Ladislaus from assisting Boleslaus the Bold,
who fled to Hungary after his subjects expelled him from Poland.[53] Ladislaus initiated negotiations with Solomon,
who abdicated in 1080 or 1081 in exchange for "revenues sufficient to bear the expenses of a
king".[45][50][52][54] However, Solomon soon began conspiring against Ladislaus, and Ladislaus imprisoned him.[42][52]
The first five Hungarian saints, including the first king of Hungary, Stephen I, and Stephen's son, Emeric,
were canonized during Ladislaus's reign.[52] Stephen's canonization demonstrates Ladislaus's magnanimity,
because Ladislaus's grandfather, Vazul, had been blinded by Stephen's orders in the 1030s.[45][55] Historian László
Kontler says that the canonization ceremony, held in August 1083, was also a political act, demonstrating
Ladislaus's "commitment to preserving and strengthening" the Christian state.[56] Ladislaus even dedicated a newly
established Benedictine monastery – Szentjobb Abbey – to Stephen's right arm, known as the "Holy Dexter",
which was miraculously found intact.[45] Ladislaus released Solomon at the time of the ceremony;[45] legend said
that Stephen's grave could not be opened until he did so.[48]
[The] Lord, in order to show how merciful [King Stephen I] had been while living in a mortal body, demonstrated his
approval of [Stephen's revelation as a saint] before all other works when [the king] was already reigning with Christ
to the point that though for three days they struggled with all their might to raise his holy body, it was not by any
means to be moved from its place. For in that time, because of the sins, a grave discord arose between the said
king Ladislas and his cousin Solomon, because of which, Solomon, captured, was held in prison. Therefore when
they tried in vain to raise the body, a certain recluse at the church of the Holy Savior in Bökénysomlyó, by the
name of Karitas, whose famous life at the time was held in esteem, confided to the king by a revelation made to
her from heaven that they exerted themselves in vain; it would be impossible to transfer the relics of the holy king
until unconditional pardon was offered to Solomon, setting him free from the confinement of prison. And thus,
bringing him forth from the prison, and repeating the three-day fast, when the third day arrived for the transferal of
the holy remains, the stone lying over the grave was lifted up with such ease as if it had been of no weight before.

— Hartvic, Life of King Stephen of Hungary[57]

After his release, Solomon made a final effort to regain his crown.[45][58] He persuaded a Pecheneg chieftain,
Kutesk, to invade Hungary in 1085.[58] Ladislaus defeated the invaders at the upper courses of the Tisza River.[58][59]
Expansion (1085–1092)[edit]
In August 1087, German princes who opposed Henry IV's rule held a conference in Speyer.[58][60] The
contemporaneous Bernold of St Blasien mentions that Ladislaus sent envoys to the meeting, and "promised that
he would assist [them] with 20,000 knights, if it became necessary".[61][62] Ladislaus also recognized Pope Victor
III as the legitimate pope, rather than Clement III, who had been elected pope at Henry IV's initiative.[62] However,
Ladislaus provided no further support to Henry IV's opponents after he was informed of Solomon's death in
1087.[63]

Betrothal of King Zvonimir, a picture by Mato Celestin Medović

King Demetrius Zvonimir of Croatia's wife, Helen, was Ladislaus's sister.[64] After the death of Zvonimir and his
successor, Stephen II, a conflict developed between factions of Croatian noblemen.[64][65][66] At Helen's request,
Ladislaus intervened in the conflict and invaded Croatia in 1091.[67] The same year, he wrote to Oderizius, Abbot of
Monte Cassino in Italy, about his invasion.[66][65] Thomas the Archdeacon's chronicle describes how Ladislaus
"occupied the entire land from the River Drava to the mountains called the Iron Alps without encountering
opposition".[68][69][70] However, his opponents crowned a local nobleman, Petar Svačić, as king.[71] Svačić fought in
the Gvozd Mountains, preventing the complete conquest of Croatia.[65] Ladislaus appointed his nephew, Álmos, to
administer the occupied territory.[71][65] Around the same time, Ladislaus set up a separate diocese in Slavonia, with
its see in Zagreb.[71] The bishop of the new see became the suffragan to the archbishop of Esztergom in
Hungary.[65]
Ladislaus admitted in his letter to Oderizius that he could not "promote the cause of earthly dignities without
committing grave sins".[72] Historian Bálint Hóman says that Ladislaus was referring to a developing conflict
with Pope Urban II, who objected to Ladislaus's refusal to acknowledge the Holy See's suzerainty over
Croatia.[72][73][74][75] In the letter, Ladislaus styled himself as "king of the Hungarians and of Messia".[63][76][77] Historian
Ferenc Makk writes that the latter title referred to Moesia, implying that Ladislaus had taken the regions between
the Great Morava and Drina rivers from the Byzantine Empire.[63] No other documents refer to Ladislaus's
occupation of Moesia, suggesting that if Ladislaus did occupy the region, he lost it quickly.[76] Alexandru Madgearu
says that "Messia" should rather be associated with Bosnia, which was occupied during Ladislaus's campaign
against Croatia.[77]
The Cumans invaded and plundered the eastern part of the kingdom in 1091 or 1092.[63] Makk argues that
the Byzantines persuaded them to attack Hungary,[78] while the Illuminated Chronicle states that the Cumans were
incited by the "Ruthenians".[79][80][81] In retaliation, the chronicle continues, Ladislaus invaded the neighboring Rus'
principalities, forcing the "Ruthenians" to ask "for mercy" and to promise "that they would be faithful to him in all
things".[79][82] No Rus' chronicle documents Ladislaus's military action.[83]
Bernold of St Blasien writes that Duke Welf of Bavaria prevented a conference that Emperor Henry IV "had
arranged with the king of the Hungarians" in December 1092.[72][84] A letter written by Henry refers to "the alliance
into which [he] once entered" with Ladislaus.[80][85] Pope Urban II also mentioned that the Hungarians "left the
shepherds of their salvation", implying that Ladislaus had changed sides and acknowledged the legitimacy
of Antipope Clement III.[86][87] In the deed of the Benedictine Somogyvár Abbey, Ladislaus stated that the abbot
should be obedient to him, proving that Ladislaus opposed the Church's independence, which was demanded by
the Gregorian Reforms.[88] Ladislaus personally presided over an assembly of the Hungarian prelates that met
in Szabolcs on 21 May 1091.[89] The synod recognized the legitimacy of a clergyman's first marriage, in contrast to
the requirements of canon law, which states that members of the clergy may not marry at all.[90] According to a
scholarly theory, the sees of the dioceses of Kalocsa and Bihar were moved to Bács (now Bač, Serbia)
and Nagyvárad (present-day Oradea, Romania), respectively, during Ladislaus's reign.[91][92]
Last years (1092–1095)[edit]

The Kingdom of Hungary in the 1090s

Ladislaus intervened in a conflict between Wladislaw I Herman, Duke of Poland, and the duke's illegitimate
son, Zbigniew, on the latter's behalf.[93] He marched to Poland and captured Wladislaw I Herman's younger
son, Boleslav, in 1093.[93] At Ladislaus's demand, Wladislaw I Herman declared Zbigniew his legitimate
son.[94] The Illuminated Chronicle also mentions that the Hungarian troops captured Cracow during Ladislaus's
campaign, but the credibility of this report has been questioned.[78]
The Illuminated Chronicle states that "messengers from France and from Spain, from England and Britain, and
especially from Willermus, the brother of the King of the Franks" visited Ladislaus in Bodrog (near present-
day Bački Monoštor in Serbia) on Easter 1095, asking him to lead their crusade to the Holy Land.[95][96] Ladislaus's
legend says that he decided "to go to Jerusalem, and to die there for Christ".[97] The whole story was invented,
probably during the reign of King Béla III of Hungary (who was actually planning to lead a crusade to the Holy Land
in the 1190s), according to historian Gábor Klaniczay.[98] However, Ladislaus did plan to invade Bohemia, because
he wanted to assist his sister's sons, Svatopluk and Otto.[80] He became seriously ill before reaching
Moravia.[80][99] The Illuminated Chronicle narrates that Ladislaus, who had no sons, "called together his chief men",
telling them that his brother's younger son, Álmos, "should reign after him".[80][99][100]
Ladislaus died near the Hungarian-Bohemian border on 29 July 1095.[80] A papal bull of Pope Paschal II in 1106
states that Ladislaus's "venerable body rests" in Somogyvár Abbey, implying that Ladislaus had been buried
in Somogyvár.[101] On the other hand, Ladislaus's late 12th-century "Legend" provides that his attendants buried
him in Székesfehérvár, but the cart carrying his body "set out to Várad on its own, unassisted by any draft
animal".[101]
Family[edit]
showAncestors of
Ladislaus I of
Hungary[102][103][104]

Mosaic portrait of Ladislaus's daughter, Piroska, who was known as Empress Irene in the Byzantine Empire, in the Hagia
Sophia (Istanbul, Turkey); she is venerated as Saint Irene by the Eastern Orthodox Church

Historian Gyula Kristó says that Ladislaus had a first wife,[49] but her name and family are not known.[49] She gave
birth to a daughter, whose name is also unknown.[49] Ladislaus's daughter married Prince Iaroslav Sviatopolchich of
Volhinia around 1090.[49] Ladislaus married again in 1078, to Adelaide, a daughter of the German anti-king Rudolf
of Swabia.[49] Their only known child, Piroska, became the wife of the Byzantine Emperor John II Komnenos in
1105 or 1106.[105]
Ladislaus's family and relatives who are mentioned in the article are shown in the following family tree.[106]

a lady of
the Tátony Vazul
clan

Richeza or
Andrew I Béla I
Adelaide

Solomon

Zvonimir of
Géza I unknown* Ladislaus Adelaide of Rheinfelden Lampert Helena
Croatia

Kings of
Hungary Iaroslav of Irene (born John II
daughter
(from Volhinia Piroska) Komnenos
1095)

*According to a scholarly theory suggesting that Ladislaus had two wives.

Legacy[edit]
A blue-flowered Gentiana cruciata (Star Gentian), traditionally known in Hungary as "St. Ladislaus's Herb" (Hungarian: Szent
László füve)

Consolidation of the Christian monarchy[edit]

For centuries, hagiographers and historians have emphasized Ladislaus's prominent role in the consolidation of
the Christian monarchy.[107] The chronicles also stressed his idoneitas, or personal suitability, to reign, because the
legitimacy of his rule was questionable.[107] The Illuminated Chronicle clearly states that Ladislaus knew that "the
right of law between him and [Solomon] was not on his side but only the force of fact".[54][107]
After Ladislaus's victories over the Pechenegs and the Cumans, the nomadic peoples of the Pontic steppes
stopped invading Hungary until the Mongol invasion of 1241.[108] Kristó suggests that the Székely people—a
community of Hungarian-speaking warriors—started settling the easternmost borderlands under
Ladislaus.[59][109] The "historic association of the Kingdom of Hungary and Croatia", which ended in 1918, began with
Ladislaus's conquest of Croatia.[55] His conquest marked the beginning of a period of Hungarian expansion, which
ensured that Hungary developed into a leading Central European power during the following centuries.[108] It
became a customary rite for a newly crowned Hungarian king to make a pilgrimage to Ladislaus's shrine
at Várad.[37] Louis I of Hungary, who made many attempts to expand his territory in the Balkan Peninsula, showed
a special respect for Ladislaus.[110]
Hungary had never had as great as king, so they repute
And the land thereafter never bore that much and splendid fruit.

— Gallus Anonymus: The Deeds of the Princes of the Poles[7]

Veneration[edit]
See also: Saint Ladislaus legend

St. Ladislaus

Reliquary of St Ladislaus in the Cathedral-Basilica of Győr, Hungary

 King and Confessor

Venerated in Roman Catholic Church

Canonized 27 June 1192 (dubious) by Pope Celestine

III (dubious)

Major shrine Cathedral-Basilica of Oradea, Romania and Cathedral-

Basilica of Győr, Hungary

Feast 27 June

Attributes Holy Crown of St. Stephen I

Long sword

Two angels

Banner

Patronage Patron Saint of Hungary

Patron Saint of the Székelys

Protector against pestilence

Gábor Klaniczay emphasizes that Ladislaus "seemed expressly designed to personify the knight-king ideal" of his
age.[107] During the reign of Ladislaus's successor, Coloman the Learned, Bishop Hartvik said that Ladislaus's
"character was distinguished by the respectability of morals and remarkable for the splendor of his
virtues".[80][111] The so-called Gesta Ladislai regis ("The Deeds of King Ladislaus"), which are the texts about
Ladislaus's life and reign preserved in 14th-century Hungarian chronicles, were written during Coloman's
rule.[107] Five significant events of Ladislaus's life, which were not included in his official legend, were only
preserved in the Gesta.[22]
The most popular story describes Ladislaus's fight with a "Cuman" warrior after the Battle of Kerlés (at present-
day Chiraleș, Romania) in 1068.[112][113] In the battle, the united armies of Solomon, Géza and Ladislaus routed a
band of Pechenegs or Oghuz Turks who were plundering the eastern parts of the kingdom.[4][114] According to the
version recorded in the Illuminated Chronicle, Ladislaus spotted a pagan warrior fleeing from the battlefield with a
captive Hungarian maiden.[113] Ladislaus pursued the "Cuman", but he could not stop him.[115] On Ladislaus's advice,
the maiden pulled the warrior off his horse, allowing Ladislaus to kill the "Cuman" after a long fight on the
ground.[115][116] Archaeologist Gyula László says that murals depicting this legend in medieval churches preserved
the elements of pagan myths, including a "struggle between forces of light and darkness".[113][117]
[The] most blessed Duke Ladislaus saw one of the pagans who was carrying off on his horse a beautiful
Hungarian girl. The saintly Duke Ladislaus thought that it was the daughter of the Bishop of Warad, and although
he was seriously vounded, he swiftly pursued him on his horse, which he called by the name of Zug. When he
caught up with him and wished to spear him, he could not do so, for neither could his own horse go any faster nor
did the other's horse yield any ground, but there remained the distance of a man's arm between his spear and the
Coman's back. So the saintly Duke Ladislaus shouted to the girl and said: "Fair sister, take hold of the Coman by
his belt and throw yourself to the ground." Which she did; and the saintly Duke Ladislaus was about to spear him
as he lay upon the ground, for he wished to kill him. But the girl strongly pleaded with him not to kill him, but to let
him go. Whence it is to be seen that there is no faith in women; for it was probably because of strong carnal love
that she wished him to go free. But after having fought for a long time with him and unmanned him, the saintly
Duke killed him. But the girl was not the bishop's daughter.

— The Hungarian Illuminated Chronicle[118]

During the reign of Stephen II of Hungary, Ladislaus's shrine in the cathedral of Várad became a preferred venue
for trials by ordeal.[119] However, it cannot be determined whether Ladislaus became subject to veneration soon
after his death, or if his cult emerged after he was canonized by Béla III of Hungary on 27 June 1192.[120] Béla had
lived in the Byzantine court, where Ladislaus's daughter, Irene, was venerated as a saint.[121]
According to Thomas the Archdeacon, Pope Innocent III declared that Ladislaus "should be enrolled in the
catalogue of saints", but his report is unreliable, because Celestine III was Pope at the time.[122][123] Celestine III's
bulls and charters make no reference to Ladislaus's canonization, implying that Ladislaus was canonized without
the Holy See's authorization.[124] The nearly contemporaneous Regestrum Varadinense says that a bondsman,
named "Tekus, son of the craftsman Dénes", opened Ladislaus's tomb at the beginning of the ceremony, after
which Tekus was granted freedom.[97] Parts of Ladislaus's head and right hand were severed so that they could be
distributed as relics.[97] The 15th-century silver reliquary that contains Ladislaus's head is displayed in the Győr
Cathedral.[125]
Ladislaus's official legend, which was compiled after 1204,[97] attributes a number of miracles to him.[126] According
to one of his legends, a pestilence spread throughout the kingdom during Ladislaus's reign. Ladislaus prayed for a
cure; he then shot an arrow into the air at random, hitting a herb which cured the illness.[126] This plant became
known as "Saint Ladislaus's herb" in Hungary.[126]
Ladislaus is a patron saint of Hungary, especially along the borders.[126][127] In particular, soldiers and the Székely
people venerate him.[119] A late medieval legend says that Ladislaus appeared at the head of a Székely army
fighting against and routing a plundering band of Tatars in 1345.[119] He is also called upon during times of
pestilence.[126] He is often depicted as a mature, bearded man wearing a royal crown and holding a long sword
or banner.[126] He is also shown on his knees before a deer, or in the company of two angels.[126]