|
JosephSmithSr.
So shall it be with my father: he shall be called a prince over his posterity, holding the keys of the patriarchal priesthood over the kingdom of God on earth, even the Church of the Latter Day Saints, and he shall sit in the general assembly of patriarchs, even in council with the Ancient of Days when he shall sit and all the patriarchs with him and shall enjoy his right and authority under the direction of the Ancient of Days. |
HUNGARY, King Bela Harmadik
1148 - 1196 (47 years) 
Submit Photo / Document
Set As Default Person 
-
Name HUNGARY, Bela Harmadik Prefix King Birth Dec 1148 Esztergom, Komárom, Hungary 
Gender Male _TAG Request Submitted for Permission _TAG Temple Death 23 Apr 1196 Székes-fehérvár, Fejer, Hungary Burial 23 Apr 1196 Székesfehérvár, Fejér, Hungary Headstones 
Submit Headstone Photo Person ID I47302 Joseph Smith Sr and Lucy Mack Smith Last Modified 19 Aug 2021
Father HUNGARY, King Geza Masodik , b. 1130, Tolna, Tolna, Hungary Tolna, Tolna, Hungaryd. 31 May 1161, Székesfehérvár, Fejér, Hungary (Age 31 years) Mother KIEV, Princess Evfrosiniya , b. 1130, Kiev, Kiev, Russia Kiev, Kiev, Russiad. 1186, Constantinople, İstanbul, Turkey (Age 56 years) Marriage 1146 Family ID F24463 Group Sheet | Family Chart
Family 1 KOMNENE, Queen Maria , b. Abt 1152, Esztergom, Komarom, Hungary Esztergom, Komarom, Hungaryd. 1217, Puglia, Calendasco, Piacenza, Emilia-Romagna, Italy (Age 65 years) Family ID F24462 Group Sheet | Family Chart Last Modified 24 Jan 2022
Family 2 CHATILLON, Agnes de , b. 1154, Versailles, Seine-Et-Oise, France Versailles, Seine-Et-Oise, Franced. 1184, Székesfehérvár, Fejér, Hungary (Age 30 years) Marriage 1168 Constantinople, İstanbul, Turkey 
Children5 sons and 3 daughters Family ID F24368 Group Sheet | Family Chart Last Modified 24 Jan 2022
Family 3 FRANCE, Queen Marguerite , b. 1158, Paris, Seine, Francia Paris, Seine, Franciad. 18 Sep 1197, Galilee, Israel (Age 39 years) Marriage 1186 Family ID F16791 Group Sheet | Family Chart Last Modified 24 Jan 2022
-
Photos 
At least one living or private individual is linked to this item - Details withheld.
-
Notes - BIO: King of Hungary, 1173.
** from http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/HUNGARY.htm#ConstanzaMPremyslOtakarIBohemia, as of 10/22/2014
BÉLA, son of GÉZA II King of Hungary & his wife Ievfrosina Mstislavna of Kiev (1149-23 Apr 1196, bur Székesfehérvár, transferred to Coronation Church Budapest). The Chronicon Zagrabiense names "dux Stephanus postea rex, secundus…rex Wela, tertius…dux Arpad, quartus…dux Geyza" as the four sons of "Gexcha rex"[751]. The Chronicon Dubnicense names "Stephanum et Belam, Arpad et Geysam" as the four sons of "Geysa"[752]. The Chronicon Varadiense names "primus…rex Bela, tertius…dux Arpad, quartus…dux Geysa" as the four sons of "Geysa rex" (omitting reference to the second son)[753]. Niketas Choniates names "Stephanum et Belam" as the two sons of "Hunnorum princeps Iazas"[754]. The Chronicon Posoniense records that "Bela frater eius" returned from Greece and succeeded King István[755]. Designated Duke of Croatia and Dalmatia by his father in 1162. Under the peace treaty signed in 1164 between his brother István III and Emperor Manuel I, Béla was confirmed as Duke of Croatia and Dalmatia, and sent to Constantinople (where he converted to the Greek Orthodox religion and adopted the name ALEXIOS) as István's acknowledged successor. He was installed as Duke of Szerem by his brother in 1165. The emperor granted him the title despot, betrothed him to his daughter and acknowledged him as his heir in Byzantium. The record of the synod of 1166 records the presence of “imperatore domino Manuele Comneno...despota...genero...eius domino Alexio...regi...”[756]. In 1169, when his own son Alexios Komnenos was born, Béla was demoted from despot to cæsar. The betrothal was terminated, although Béla remained in Constantinople as a member of the imperial family until 1172, when he succeeded his brother as BÉLA III King of Hungary and reconverted to Roman Catholicism. He was crowned 13 Jan 1174. "Bela III secundi Geyzæ regis filius…Ungariæ, Dalmatiæ, Croatiæ, Ramæque rex" confirmed the possessions of the church of Zagreb by charter dated 1175, witnessed by "Farcasio palatino comite, Subano Bano…"[757]. He remained a loyal ally of Byzantium until the death of Emperor Manuel in 1181, even sending troops to help the emperor fight the Seljuks of Konya in Anatolia in 1176[758]. He recovered Dalmatia, part of Croatia and the region of Sirmium in 1181. Following the murder in 1182 of Maria of Antioch, who was Emperor Manuel's widow and the older half-sister of King Béla's first wife, Béla invaded Byzantine territory in 1183, occupying Beograd and Braničevo/Barancs. He formed an alliance with Stefan Nemanja Grand Župan of Serbia, sacked Niš and Sardika [Sofija], and moved into Thrace[759]. His relative status as a monarch is shown by his statement of revenues, sent to France during the negotiations for his third marriage, which showed that they were equal to those of his French and English counterparts and only inferior to those of the two emperors[760]. The Gesta Hungarorum records that "Bela Græcus" "rid the country of robbers and brigands" and introduced the practice of submitting petitions in written form, as at the Roman Curia[761]. Béla III King of Hungary granted "totam terram pertinentem ad comitatum Modrus" to "comitis Bartholomæi de Veglia" by charter dated 1193, witnessed by "Dominico curiali comite et eodem de Budrugensi, Andres comite de Suprum, Both comite de Bohar, Egidio comite de Sala, Fulcone comite de Vosvar, --- comite Sanegg [Macario comite de Zaunuch]"[762]. The Chronicle of Alberic de Trois-Fontaines records the death "1196…in cena Domini" of "rex Hungarie Bela"[763]. The Chronicon Varadiense records the death "IX Kal May" in 1190 of "rex Bela tertius filius Geysæ" and his burial "Albæ"[764]. The Chronicon Dubnicense records the death "IX Kal May" in 1190 of "Bela" and his burial "in Albensi ecclesia"[765]. The necrology of Admunt records the death "VIII Kal Mai" of "Bel rex Ungarorum"[766]. The Gesta Hungarorum records that "Bela Græcus" was buried at Székesfehérvár[767].
Betrothed (1163, contract broken 1169) MARIA Komnene, daughter of Emperor MANUEL I & his first wife Bertha von Sulzbach (Mar 1152-poisoned Jul 1182). Niketas Choniates records the betrothal of "Iazæ filio Belæ" and "imperator…Mariam filiam"[768]. Ioannes Kinnamos records the betrothal between "Belam qui post Stephanum Geizæ filius" and "Mariæ filiæ suæ" (Emperor Manuel I)[769]. She later married Ranieri di Monferrato. William of Tyre names her and gives her parentage, when recording her marriage[770]. Regent of Byzantium, she was put to death with her husband by Emperor Andronikos I.
m firstly (1172) AGNES de Châtillon-sur-Loing, daughter of RENAUD de Châtillon-sur-Loing & his first wife Constance Pss of Antioch (1154-1184, bur Székesfehérvár, transferred to Coronation Church Budapest). The Chronicle of Alberic de Trois-Fontaines names "Agnetam" as second of the three daughters of "Raynaldus de Castellione uxor…relictam principis Raymundi" and her husband "rex Bela de Hungaria"[771]. The Lignages d'Outremer name "Maria e Joanna" as the two daughters of "Rinaldo de Castellion" and his wife "Costanza…la Nova Princessa", stating that Marie married "el re d'Ungaria", "Maria" presumably being an error for "Agnes"[772]. She lived at the court of Emperor Manuel I[773]. She adopted the name ANNA in Hungary. The Memoria Vivorum in the necrology of Salzburg St Rudpert names "Bela rex Ungarie et consors eiusdem regina Anna et liberi amborum Heimricus, Andreas, Margareta"[774].
Betrothed (after Sep 1185) to THEODORA Komnene, widow of ANDRONIKOS Lapardas sébastos, daughter of --- & his wife [Eirene Komnene Anema]. The primary source which confirms her parentage and betrothal has not yet been identified. Stiernon suggests that Theodora was the granddaughter of Theodora, daughter of Emperor Ioannes II[775], but this seems to be based on no more than guesswork. According to Kerbl, her betrothal to King Béla must have taken place after the murder of Emperor Andronikos I, with whom King Béla III did not enjoy close relations[776]. It was presumably arranged by Andronikos's successor Emperor Isaakios II Angelos. Theodora became a nun in 1186.
m secondly ([1185/86]) as her second husband, MARGUERITE de France Ctss de Vexin, widow of HENRY associate-King of England, daughter of LOUIS VII King of France & his second wife Infanta doña Constanza de Castilla y León ([1157]-Acre shortly after 10 Sep 1197). Ralph de Diceto´s Abbreviationes Chronicorum record in 1158 that “...archdiaconus Cantuarensis...Thomas regis Cancellarius” arranged the betrothal of “Henricus primogenitus regis Anglorum” and “Margaritam filiam regis Francorum”, in a later passage recording the marriage of “filium regis Anglorum septennum” and “filiam regis Francorum triennem”[777]. Ralph de Diceto´s Abbreviationes Chronicorum record in 1186 that “Margarita soror regis Francorum” married “Bela regi Hungariæ”[778]. The Chronicle of Alberic de Trois-Fontaines names "Margareta soror regis Philippi" as widow of "iunior Henricus rex Anglorum" and records her second marriage to "Hungarorum regi Bela"[779]. Her parentage and second marriage are confirmed by a charter dated 1194/95, reciting the consanguinity between Philippe II King of France and his second wife Ingebjörg of Denmark on which their divorce was based, which records that “Belæ Regis Hungariæ” married “sororem Philippi Regis Francorum”[780]. Her first husband's father arranged her second marriage so he could retain her dowry. She left for Palestine after being widowed for the second time. The Chronicle of Ernoul records the arrival of "une reine en Hongrie…veve sans hoir" at Tyre [in 1197] and her death eight days later, specifying that she was the sister of the mother of Henri Comte de Champagne King of Jerusalem and had been "feme…le jouene roi d'Englietere…et suer…le roi Phelippe de France"[781].
King Béla III & his first wife had six children:
1. IMRE (1174-30 Nov 1204, Eger Cathedral).
2. MARGIT (1175-after 3 Mar 1229).
3. ANDRÁS (1176-21 Sep 1235, bur Egres, Cistercian Abbey). He succeeded in 1205 as ANDRÁS II King of Hungary.
4. SALAMON (-young).
5. ISTVÁN (-young).
6. KONSTANCIA ([1180]-Kloster Tichnowitz 6 Dec 1240).
** from Wikipedia listing for Béla III of Hungary, as of 10/22/2014
Béla III (Hungarian: III. Béla, Croatian: Bela III, Slovak: Belo III; c. 1148 – 23 April 1196) was King of Hungary and Croatia between 1172 and 1196. He was the second son of Géza II of Hungary who granted him a separate duchy, which included at least Croatia and central Dalmatia, around 1161. In accordance with a peace treaty between his elder brother, Stephen III, and the Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Komnenos Béla moved to Constantinople in 1163. He was renamed Alexios and received the new court title of despotes. He was betrothed to the Emperor's daughter, Maria. Both the Byzantine Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary demanded Béla's patrimony, causing a number of armed conflicts in the following four years. Béla-Alexios, who was designated as Emperor Manuel's heir in 1165, took part in the Byzantine campaigns against Hungary at least three times. After the birth of Emperor Manuel's son, Alexios, Béla-Alexios's betrothal to the Emperor's daughter was dissolved in 1169. He was deprived of his title, and received the inferior rank of kaisar.
Stephen III died on 4 March 1172 and Béla was unanimously proclaimed king. Before returning to Hungary, he pledged that he would not make war against the Byzantine Empire. Lucas, Archbishop of Esztergom accused him of simony and denied to perform his coronation. With Pope Alexander III's approval, the Archbishop of Kalocsa crowned Béla king on 18 January 1173. He came into conflict with his younger brother, Géza whom held in captivity for more than a decade.
Béla reoccupied the provinces lost to the Byzantine Empire during his predecessor's reign in 1180 and 1181. Taking advantage of the internal conflicts within the neighboring countries, he invaded the Byzantine Empire in 1183 and in 1193 and the Principality of Halych in 1188, but his conquests were lost in short time. He promoted the use of written records, contributing to the development of the Royal Chancery in Hungary. His royal palace in Esztergom was the first example of Gothic architecture in Central Europe.
Early life
Childhood (c. 1148–1163)
A man wearing a crown sits on the throne with a scepter and an orb in his hands
The seal of Béla's father, Géza II of Hungary
A bishop puts a crown on the head of a man sitting on the throne
Béla's elder brother, Stephen III of Hungary is crowned king (from the Illuminated Chronicle)
Béla was the second son of Géza II of Hungary and his wife Euphrosyne of Kiev.[1][2] The date of his birth was not recorded.[1][2] He must have been born around 1148, because studies of his skeleton show that he died at the age of about 49.[2]
When writing of Béla, the contemporaneous John Kinnamos referred to "the territory which his father, while still alive, had apportioned to him",[3] showing that Béla received a distinct territory as an appanage from his father.[4] Kinnamos described Dalmatia "as Béla's heritage",[5] proving that Béla's patrimony included the central parts of Dalmatia—Šibenik, Split, and Trogir—which had for decades accepted the suzerainty of the Kings of Hungary.[6][7][8] Ferenc Makk, Gyula Moravcsik and other modern historians agree that Béla also received Croatia from his father.[9] Whether Géza II also granted Syrmium to Béla is uncertain: it was part of Béla's patrimony, according to Florin Curta and Warren Treadgold, but Makk and Paul Magdalino say that Béla acquired it only after his father's death.[6][8][10][11] Treadgold writes that Géza II also granted Bosnia, which connected Dalmatia and Syrmium, to Béla.[11] The exact date of the Géza II's grant cannot be determined.[6] Makk says that Béla received his duchy from his father around 1161.[6]
Géza II, who died on 31 May 1162, was succeeded by his first-born son, Stephen III.[12] He seems to have confirmed Béla in the possession of his patrimony, because Kinnamos referred to the land which was "long before granted"[13] to Béla by his father and brother.[14] Stephen III was expelled from his kingdom by his uncles, Ladislaus II and Stephen IV, who were assisted by the Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Komnenos.[14][15] Stephen III returned to Hungary and regained his crown by force in the middle of 1163.[11] There is no record of Béla's activities during this period, suggesting that he remained neutral.[14]
Emperor Manuel concluded a peace treaty with Stephen III in summer 1163.[14][16] The Emperor renounced the support of Stephen III's uncle, and Stephen III agreed to send Béla to Constantinople and to allow the Byzantines to took possession of Béla's duchy, including Syrmium.[8][10] The Emperor also promised that he would give his daughter, Maria, in marriage to Béla.[11][17]
"When [Emperor Manuel I] came [to Belgrade] and realized that it was then imposseible for [Stephen IV] to rule the Hungarians' land (for already they had hastily installed [Stephen III] son of [Géza II] again), he turned to something else. As stated, he desired with all his might to lay claim to Hungary, which is situated in the midst of the western nations. He therefore intended to unite in marriage Béla, who was [Géza II]'s son after [Stephen III], to his own daughter Maria."
—John Kinnamos: Deeds of John and Manuel Comnenus[18]
Despotes Alexios (1163–1169)
A bearded man wearing a crown
Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Komnenos—Béla-Alexios was the Emperor's designated heir between 1165 and 1169
Emperor Manuel dispatched Sebastos George Palaeologus to escort Béla to the Byzantine Empire.[19] Béla arrived in Constantinople around the end of 1163.[19] He was renamed Alexios, and the Emperor granted him the honour of despotes ("lord"), which had up to that time exclusively used by the Byzantine Emperors.[20][21] His betrothal to the Emperor's daughter was also officially announced.[19]
Stephen III invaded Syrmium in summer 1164.[22][23] Emperor Manuel led his armies against him, stating that he arrived "not to wage war on the Hungarians but to recover his land for Béla",[24] according to Kinnamos.[23] Béla-Alexios—along with his uncle, Stephen IV, and their distant relative, Stephen—accompanied the Emperor during the campaign.[25] Before long a new peace treaty was concluded, forcing Stephen III again to renounce Béla's duchy.[11][26] A Byzantine army occupied Syrmium, which was organized into a Byzantine theme, or district. The towns in Dalmatia remained under Stephen III's suzerainty.[27]
Stephen III launched a new invasion against Syrmium in spring 1165.[26][28] Emperor Manuel directed the counter-attack, and Béla again accompanied him.[29] After the imperial army recaptured Zimony (now Zemun in Serbia), Béla persuaded the emperor to prohibit the execution of the captured Hungarian soldiers.[30] In the meantime, an Byzantine army also occupied Dalmatia.[29] A new peace treaty between Stephen III and Emperor Manuel followed, which confirmed the Emperor's suzerainty in the lands pertaining to Béla's duchy.[31] Dalmatia and Bosnia were converted into Byzantine themes.[29]
Emperor Manuel ceremoniously nominated his daughter and Béla-Alexios as his heir, and forced the Byzantine lords to swear an oath of fidelity to them in autumn 1165.[29][32] Only the Emperor's cousin, Andronikos Komnenos, dared to condemn this act, asking "What madness is this of the emperor to deem every Roman male unworthy of his daughter's nuptial bed, to choose before all others this foreigner and interloper to be an emperor of the Romans and to sit above all as master?",[33] according to the nearly contemporaneous Niketas Choniates.[29] Béla-Alexios participated at the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church where the Emperor and the Ecumenical Patriarch Luke Chrysoberges were also present in spring 1166.[34] He accompanied protostrator Alexios Axuch who led a Byzantine army against Hungary in retaliation of a new Hungarian invasion of Syrmium.[35]
Manuel I confirmed a decision of the Ecumenical Patriarch which declared void a marriage between kin to the seventh degree on 11 April 1166, although his daughter and Béla-Alexios were within this degree of relationship.[36] He even proposed a marriage between his daughter and the new King of Sicily, William II, in autumn 1166.[35] The contemporaneous Rahewin writes that Béla-Alexios "claimed the kingdom"[37] of his brother with Emperor Manuel's assistance, causing a new war between Hungary and the Byzantine Empire in 1167.[38] Many Hungarians joined and served Béla-Alexios, stating that "the Kingdom of Hungary belonged to him by right", according to the chronicle of Henry of Mügeln.[39] In the Battle of Sirmium, the Byzantine army annihilated the Hungarian troops on 8 July 1167.[38][40] The ensuing peace treaty, which put an end to the period of wars between Hungary and the Byzantine Empire for the control of Béla's patrimony, confirmed the dominion of the Byzantine Empire over central Dalmatia, Bosnia and Syrmium.[40]
Kaisar Alexios (1169–1172)
Emperor Manuel's wife, Maria of Antioch, gave birth to a son named Alexios on 14 September 1169.[41][42] In short, the Emperor dissolved his daughter's betrothal to Béla-Alexios and deprived him of the title of despotes.[41] Béla-Alexios was granted the rank of kaisar, which was inferior to his former title.[41][43] Upon the Emperor's initiative, Béla-Alexios's married the Emperor's sister-in-law, Agnes of Antioch, in spring 1170.[41][43]
Béla-Alexios and his wife went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in the first half of 1170.[43] In Jerusalem, they donated 10,000 bezants to the Knights Hospitaller in compensation for their hospitality.[43][44] In the charter of grant, he styled himself "Lord A., Duke of Hungary, Dalmatia and Croatia", showing that he considered his inherited titles more important than the honor that the Emperor had recently bestowed upon him.[41]
Reign
Coronation (1172–1173)
Béla's brother, Stephen III died on 4 March 1172.[45][46] Arnold of Lübeck, who was staying in Esztergom at that time, recorded a rumor suggesting that the young king had been poisoned by Béla's supporters, but no other source verify this hearsay.[47][43] Stephen III's widow, Agnes, left Hungary, although she was pregnant when her husband died.[48]
In short a Hungarian delegation visited Emperor Manuel and Béla in Sardica (now Sophia in Bulgaria), asking that "Béla be dispatched to them as king", because "when Stephen died, the pricinple of justice looked toward him",[49] according to Kinnamos.[48][40] Kinnamos writes that Béla "promised an oath to observe for the whole course of his life whatever would be beneficial to the emperor and the Romans"[50] before Emperor Manuel proclaimed him king.[48] A letter of 1196 by the Byzantine Emperor Isaac II Angelos says that on the same occasion Béla pledged that he would never support the Serbians against the Byzantine Empire.[48]
Béla and his wife soon departed for Hungary and they arrived in Székesfehérvár in late April or early May.[51] The "dignitaries of the Hungarian kingdom" unanimously elected Béla king, according to an 1179 letter of Pope Alexander III.[52] Choniates also writes that Béla was crowned "without trouble with the kingly diadem of Hungary".[53][51][54] However, his coronation was actually delayed, because Lucas, Archbishop of Esztergom denied to perform the ceremony.[51] He accused the king of simony because Béla had given a precious cloak to his delegate.[55][56] Pál Engel, Ferenc Makk and other historians say that Archbishop Lucas actually feared that the influence of the "schismatics" would increase under Béla, but their view have not been universally accepted.[52][46][56] The Archbishop seems to have attempted to promote the interests of Béla's younger brother, Géza.[52] However, the majority of the barons and prelates—including Ispáns Ampud and Denis—remained loyal to Béla.[57][58]
Béla sought the assistance of the Holy See against the unbending archbishop.[55] Finally Pope Alexander III authorized the Archbishop of Kalocsa to anoint Béla king and "place the crown on his head".[59] Béla's coronation took place on 18 January 1173.[45] The unification of the so-called "Greek" and "Latin" crowns into the Holy Crown of Hungary seems to have occurred during the reign of Béla.[60]
Conflicts (1173–1178)
Archbishop Lucas fell into disgrace with Béla who ignored him in the first years of his reign.[61] For instance, Béla's first-born son, Emeric, was baptized in 1174 by the Archbishop of Kalocsa, although administering sacraments to members of the royal family had always been the Archbishops of Esztergom's privilege.[61] On the other hand, Béla issued a charter confirming the right of the Archbishop of Esztergom to crown the Hungarian monarchs.[62]
A Bohemian chronicle—Continuatio Gerlaci abbatis Milovicensis—narrates that Béla imprisoned his younger brother, Géza.[59][63] However, Géza escaped from the prison and fled to Austria accompanied by Stephen III's judge royal, Lawrence in 1174 or 1175.[64] After Duke Henry Jasomirgott refused to extradict Géza, Béla launched plundering raids into Austria in alliance with Soběslav II, Duke of Bohemia.[65] In 1176 Béla sent reinforcements to Emperor Manuel against the Seljuks, but the allied forces suffered defeat in the Battle of Myriokephalon on 17 September.[66][67][68]
Géza attempted to persuade Duke Soběslav to assist him to meet Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor, but the Duke seized him and handed him over to Béla III in 1177.[66][65] Béla soon sent his brother to prison and also put their mother, Euphrosyne, in confinement.[66][65] In retaliation for Géza's seizure, Emperor Frederick I nominated Frederick against Soběslav as Duke of Bohemia, ordering Leopold V, Duke of Austria, who was Béla III's brother-in-law, to assist his appointee.[65] Béla threatened Duke Leopold to invade Austria, forcing him to return to his duchy.[69]
Expansion and reforms (1178–1193)
Andrew, Archbishop of Kalocsa, who had been a favorite of Béla, insulted him around 1178.[70][71] Béla soon deprived the Archbishop and his supporter, the Provost of Székesfehérvár Chapter, of their office and seized the revenues of the archbishopric.[71][70] Pope Alexander III supported the prelates, punishing Béla with ecclesiastic sanctions.[70] Béla III reconciled with Archbishop Lucas of Esztergom, who was willing to absolve him and excommunicated Andrew of Kalocsa.[70] The conflict ended with a compromise mediated by the Holy See: Archbishop Andrew asked the monarch's pardon and the King restored him.[71]
Béla promoted the spread of the Cistercians in Hungary.[72] Upon his invitation Cistercian monks arrived from Pontigny and other great Cistercian monasteries of France, who set up the Egres Abbey in 1179, the Zirc Abbey in 1182, the Szentgotthárd Abbey and the Pilis Abbey in 1184.[73] The building of a lofty royal castle in Esztergom started under the auspices of Béla in the 1180s.[71] Following Byzantine patterns, the new cathedral was erected near the castle at the same time.[71] Nevertheless, Béla was almost continuously wandering throughout the country.[74] For instance, an inscription of a brick testifies that Béla sponsored the baptism of a German "guest settler" in Bulkeszi in Bács County (now Maglić in Serbia).[75][76]
In the imperial court of Constantinople, Béla learnt the importance of a well-organized administration.[77] Béla "introduced the same form of addressing petitions as was customary in the Roman and imperial court",[78] according to the Illuminated Chronicle, suggesting that the Royal Chancery began functioning as a separate office during his reign.[79][77][80] In one of his charters of 1181, he emphasized the importance of written records, ordering that a charter were to be issued of all transactions proceeding in his presence.[79][77][80]
The Byzantine Emperor Manuel I died on 24 September 1180.[81] Within six months, Béla restored his suzerainty in Dalmatia, but no detailed contemporaneous accounts of the events was recorded.[82][83][84] The citizens of Split in Dalmatia "returned to Hungarian lordship"[85] soon after Manuel's death, according to the 13th-century Thomas the Archdeacon.[86] Zadar also accepted Béla's suzerainty in early 1181 at the latest.[86] Historian John V. A. Fine writes that Béla recovered Dalmatia "seemingly without bloodshed and with imperial consent", because the Byzantine authorities preferred his rule in the province to the occupation of Dalmatia by the Republic of Venice.[82]
The details of the reconquest of Syrmium are also obscure.[87] Andronikos Komnenos accused the mother of the young Byzantine Emperor, Alexios II, of inciting Béla—her brother-in-law—to ravage the region of Belgrade and Barancs (now Braničevo in Serbia) in May 1182, implying that Béla had by that time occupied Syrmium.[87] In the same month Andronikos Komnenos captured Béla's sister-in-law and had her murdered by the end of the year.[88][89] Taking advantage of the emerging anarchy in the Byzantine Empire, Béla advanced as far as Niš and Sardica in the first half of 1183.[90] In the latter town, he seized the cascet containing the relics of Saint Ivan of Rila and ordered it "to be transported with great honors to his land and to be laid down with honor in the church"[91] of Esztergom, according to the saint's Life from the Sofia Prologue.[89] Makk writes that Béla withdrew from the regions to the south of the Danube, but historian Paul Stephenson say that Béla preserved these lands.[89][92]
Andronikos Komnenos murdered Emperor Alexios II in late 1183.[92] The contemporaneous Eustathius of Thessalonica writes that the new Emperor's opponents sent letters to many monarchs, including Béla III, urging them to attack the usurper.[93] According to Ansbert and other Western European chroniclers, Béla invaded the Byzantine Empire in early 1185.[93] After the fall of Andronikos I in September, Béla was willing to conclude a peace treaty with the new emperor, Isaac II Angelos.[94] He gave his daughter, Margaret, in marriage to Emperor Isaac and granted the region of Niš and Barancs to his son-in-law as her dowry.[95][96] The relics of Saint Ivan of Rila were also returned to Sardica on this occasion.[95]
Béla married Margaret of France, a sister of Philip II of France, in summer 1186.[97] According to a list completed around that time, Béla's revenues amounted to almost 170,000 marks.[98] If the list is reliable, his income surpassed the revenues of the contemporaneous Kings of France and England, but the reliability of the amount provided in the list is questioned, for instance, by historian Pál Engel.[98][99][100]
Orio Mastropiero, Doge of Venice, laid siege to Zadar in 1187, but the Venetian fleet could not seize the well-fortified town.[94] Vladimir Yaroslavich, Prince of Halych, fled to Hungary at the end of 1188 after his boyars threatened him to murder his wife.[101] Roman Mstyslavych, Prince of Vladimir-in-Volhynia, soon occupied Halych.[101] Urged by Vladimir Yaroslavich, Béla invaded Halych and expelled Roman Mstyslavych from the principality.[101][102] He soon imprisoned Vladimir Yaroslavich and granted the occupied principality to his younger son, Andrew.[103][104] Béla adopted the title King of Galicia in token of his conquest of the Principality of Halych.[103]
The German crusaders marched through Hungary under the command of Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor in summer 1187.[105] Béla welcomed the Emperor and dispatched a troop to escort the crusaders across the Balkan Peninsula.[105][106] At the Emperor's request, Béla released his imprisoned brother, Géza, who soon joined the crusaders and left Hungary.[105][102] Béla mediated a peace treaty between the two emperors (Frederick I and Isaac II) whose mutual mistrust almost caused the outbreak of a war between the German crusaders and the Byzantines.[105]
After a fire destroyed Esztergom, Béla invited French masons to rebuilt the royal palace and the cathedral in about 1190.[71][107] For they introduced new architectural forms, the new royal palace and cathedral became the earliest examples of Gothic architecture in Central Europe.[107][108] Coins depicting a two-barred cross, which was primarily used in the Church of the Byzantine Empire, were minted from around 1190, suggesting that the so-called "double cross" became part of the Hungarian royal heraldry under Béla III[109]
Vladimir Yaroslavich escaped from his captivity in early 1189 or 1190.[103][110] With the assistance of Casimir II of Poland, he expelled Béla's son from Halych and regained the principality by the end of August.[103] However, from the early 1190s Béla focused on the Balkan Peninsula where the authority of the Byzantine Empire had weakened after the Vlach-Bulgarian Rebellion.[111] Béla and his son-in-law, Isaac II, met in Philippopolis (now Plovdiv in Bulgaria) and in Syrmium in 1191, but the results of their discussions remained unknown.[112][113] Upon Béla's initiative, the Holy See approved the canonization of Ladislaus I of Hungary, which was celebrated in Nagyvárad (now Oradea in Romania) in 1192.[114]
Béla III invaded Serbia at the turn of 1192 and 1193.[113] Emperor Isaac II demanded his withdrawal threatening him with war.[113] At the same time Doge Enrico Dandolo made a new attempt to occupy Zadar, but failed.[94]
Last years (1193–1196)
Béla granted Modruš County in Croatia to Bartholomew of Krk, a member of the Frankopan family, in 1193, which is the earliest certain example of the grant of an office as a hereditary dignity in the Kingdom of Hungary.[115][116] Next year Béla appointed his eldest son and heir, Emeric, who had already been crowned, to administer Croatia and Dalmatia.[117][118] A united Bulgarian, Cumanian and Vlach army defeated the Byzantines in the Battle of Arcadiopolis in 1194.[119][120] Urged by his son-in-law, Béla was willing to assist the Byzantine Empire, but his campaign was cancelled because Isaac II was dethroned by his brother Alexios III Angelos in April 1195.[121][122] Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor was willing to launch a campaign against the Byzatine Empire on behalf of the dethroned Isaac, but Béla prohibited his subjects from joining him.[123]
On the other hand, he himself took the cross in token of his will to lead a crusade to the Holy Land.[124] He could not fulfill his oath, because he fell ill and died on 23 April 1196.[102][125][124] He was buried in the Székesfehérvár Cathedral.[102] His remains were confidently identified by archeologists during 19th-century excavations, because contemporaneous source—Richard of London—wrote of Béla's exceptional height.[117] His skeleton shows that Béla was 190 centimetres (75 in) tall.[102][117] Béla's remains were reinterred at the Matthias Church in Budapest, with those of his first wife Agnes.[102][117]
Family
Béla's first wife, Agnes was the daughter of Raynald of Châtillon, Prince of Antioch and his wife, Constance of Antioch.[127] She was born in about 1149 and died around 1184.[43] She was renamed Anna in Constantinople at the time of her marriage in 1170.[43][41]
Béla's and Agnes-Anna's first child, Emeric, was born in 1174.[128] His sister, Margaret, who was renamed Maria in Constantinople, was born in 1175.[129][96] At the age of nine or ten, she was given in marriage to the Byzantine Emperor Isaac II Angelos who was about 30 at that time.[94][96] Her husband died in 1204, before the Sack of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade.[130] Margaret-Maria married one of the leaders of the Crusade, Boniface of Montferrat, who seized Thessaloniki after the fall of the Byzantine Empire.[131] Historian Makk writes that she married Nicholas I of Saint Omer after the death of her second husband in about 1210, but scholar Peter Lock says that Saint Omer's wife and Margaret-Maria were not identical.[132][133] The second son of Béla and Agnes-Anna, Andrew was born around 1177.[134] His two younger brothers, Solomon and Stephen, did not survive infancy.[135] Their younger sister, Constance, became the wife of King Ottokar I of Bohemia in about 1198.[133] A third daughter of Béla and Agnes-Anna, whose name is unknown, died in infancy.[135]
After the death of his first wife, Béla proposed to Theodora, a granddaughter of Emperor Manuel I's sister, Theodora Komnene.[93][96] However, a synod of the Byzantine Church forbade her marriage in 1185, because she had entered a nunnery.[93][96] At the turn of 1185 and 1186 Béla asked for the hand of Matilda of Saxony, a daughter of Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony, but Henry II of England—her grandfather—hindered this marriage.[94] Finally Béla married Henry II's widowed daughter-in-law, Margaret of France, in summer 1186.[94] She was the daughter of Louis VII of France.[136] Queen Margaret survived her husband and moved to the Holy Land after his death.[117]
Legacy
Béla was one of the most outstanding monarchs of Hungary in the Middle Ages.[15] His "rule not only represented the apogee of the kingdom of the Árpádians, but also marked the end of an epoch", according to historian Pál Engel.[15] His establishment of the Royal Chancery contributed to the "expansion of written records" in Hungary: the first charters which were issued by barons appeared in the 1190s.[137][138] According to a contemporaneous list of Béla's revenues, his yearly income amounted to almost 170,000 marks (about 23 tonnes of pure silver).[98][139] If the list is reliable, his income surpassed the revenues of the contemporaneous Kings of France and England, but the reliability of the amount provided in the list is questioned, for instance, by historian Pál Engel.[98][99][100]
Notes
Makk 1994, p. 91.
Kristó & Makk 1996, p. 204.
Deeds of John and Manuel Comnenus by John Kinnamos (5.5), p. 163.
Makk 1989, pp. 77, 123.
Deeds of John and Manuel Comnenus by John Kinnamos (5.17), p. 187.
Makk 1989, p. 77.
Stephenson 2000, pp. 198, 251.
Magdalino 1993, p. 79.
Makk 1989, pp. 77, 155.
Curta 2006, p. 332.
Treadgold 1997, p. 646.
Makk 1989, p. 79.
Deeds of John and Manuel Comnenus by John Kinnamos (5.6), p. 165.
Kristó & Makk 1996, p. 205.
Engel 2001, p. 52.
Makk 1994, p. 86.
Fine 1991, p. 240.
Deeds of John and Manuel Comnenus by John Kinnamos (5.5), p. 163.
Makk 1989, p. 86.
Kristó & Makk 1996, p. 206.
Stephenson 2000, p. 251.
Makk 1989, p. 90.
Stephenson 2000, p. 252.
Deeds of John and Manuel Comnenus by John Kinnamos (5.6), p. 165.
Makk 1989, pp. 68,90.
Makk 1989, p. 91.
Makk 1989, pp. 91-92.
Curta 2006, p. 333.
Makk 1989, p. 92.
Kristó & Makk 1996, p. 207.
Fine 1991, p. 241.
Stephenson 2000, p. 257.
O City of Byzantium, Annals of Niketas Choniates (4.137) , p. 78.
Makk 1989, p. 97.
Makk 1989, p. 99.
Stephenson 2000, p. 258.
The Deeds of Frederick Barbarossa (Appendix), p. 337.
Makk 1989, p. 100.
Makk 1989, p. 101.
Fine 1991, p. 242.
Makk 1989, p. 106.
Treadgold 1997, p. 647.
Kristó & Makk 1996, p. 209.
Magdalino 1993, p. 81.
Bartl et al. 2002, p. 29.
Engel 2001, p. 53.
Stephenson 2000, pp. 267-268.
Makk 1989, p. 107.
Deeds of John and Manuel Comnenus by John Kinnamos (6.11), p. 214.
Deeds of John and Manuel Comnenus by John Kinnamos (6.11), pp. 214-215.
Kristó & Makk 1996, p. 210.
Makk 1989, p. 108.
O City of Byzantium, Annals of Niketas Choniates (4.170) , p. 96.
Stephenson 2000, p. 268.
Kristó & Makk 1996, p. 211.
Berend, Urbańczyk & Wiszewski 2013, p. 383.
Berend, Urbańczyk & Wiszewski 2013, pp. 178, 202.
Makk 1989, pp. 108, 110.
Makk 1989, p. 109.
Berend, Urbańczyk & Wiszewski 2013, pp. 151-152.
Kristó & Makk 1996, p. 212.
Kristó & Makk 1996, pp. 212-213.
Kristó & Makk 1981, p. 63.
Makk 1989, pp. 108, 111.
Makk 1989, p. 111.
Kristó & Makk 1996, p. 213.
Magdalino 1993, pp. 96, 98.
Makk 1989, p. 113.
Makk 1989, p. 112.
Makk 1989, p. 114.
Kristó & Makk 1996, p. 214.
Engel 2001, p. 81.
Berend, Urbańczyk & Wiszewski 2013, p. 359.
Kristó & Makk 1996, p. 215.
Kristó & Makk 1996, p. 219.
Kristó & Makk 1981, p. 86.
Kristó & Makk 1996, p. 217.
The Hungarian Illuminated Chronicle (ch. 171.122), p. 139.
Rady 2000, p. 66.
Kontler 1999, p. 71.
Makk 1989, p. 115.
Fine 1991, p. 289.
Stephenson 2000, pp. 281-282.
Magaš 2007, p. 57.
Archdeacon Thomas of Split: History of the Bishops of Salona and Split (ch. 22.), p. 131.
Stephenson 2000, p. 281.
Makk 1989, p. 116.
Treadgold 1997, pp. 652-653.
Makk 1989, p. 117.
Curta 2006, pp. 334-335.
Life of John of Rila from the Stishen (Sofia) Prologue, p. 266.
Stephenson 2000, p. 282.
Makk 1989, p. 119.
Makk 1989, p. 120.
Curta 2006, p. 335.
Stephenson 2000, p. 283.
Kristó & Makk 1996, p. 220.
Engel 2001, p. 61.
Kontler 1999, p. 70.
Berend, Urbańczyk & Wiszewski 2013, p. 287.
Dimnik 2003, p. 191.
Engel 2001, p. 54.
Makk 1989, p. 121.
Dimnik 2003, p. 193.
Makk 1989, p. 122.
Stephenson 2000, p. 294.
Berend, Urbańczyk & Wiszewski 2013, p. 209.
Kontler 1999, p. 72.
Berend, Urbańczyk & Wiszewski 2013, p. 317.
Dimnik 2003, pp. 193-194.
Makk 1989, pp. 122-123.
Treadgold 1997, p. 121.
Makk 1989, p. 123.
Berend, Urbańczyk & Wiszewski 2013, p. 192.
Curta 2006, p. 347.
Rady 2000, p. 30.
Kristó & Makk 1996, p. 222.
Magaš 2007, p. 58.
Treadgold 1997, p. 659.
Stephenson 2000, p. 303.
Makk 1989, pp. 123-124.
Stephenson 2000, pp. 303-304.
Makk 1989, p. 124.
Berend, Urbańczyk & Wiszewski 2013, p. 234.
Bartl et al. 2002, p. 30.
Kristó & Makk 1996, p. 190, Appendices 2-3.
Runciman 1951, p. 365, Appendix 3.
Kristó & Makk 1996, p. 209, Appendix 4.
Kristó & Makk 1996, p. 220, Appendix 4.
Treadgold 1997, pp. 660, 665-666.
Lock 1995, p. 37.
Lock 1995, p. 371.
Kristó & Makk 1996, p. Appendix 4.
Kristó & Makk 1996, p. 229, Appendix 4.
Makk 1994, p. 92.
Kontler 1999, p. 74.
Engel 2001, p. 122.
Berend, Urbańczyk & Wiszewski 2013, p. 220.
Molnár 2001, p. 46.
Sources
Primary sources
Archdeacon Thomas of Split: History of the Bishops of Salona and Split (Latin text by Olga Perić, edited, translated and annotated by Damir Karbić, Mirjana Matijević Sokol and James Ross Sweeney) (2006). CEU Press. ISBN 963-7326-59-6.
Deeds of John and Manuel Comnenus by John Kinnamos (Translated by Charles M. Brand) (1976). Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-04080-6.
"Life of John of Rila from the Stishen (Sofia) Prologue". In Petkov, Kiril (2008). The Voices of Medieval Bulgaria, Seventh-Fifteenth Century: The Records of a Bygone Culture. Brill. pp. 265–268. ISBN 978-90-04-16831-2.
O City of Byzantium, Annals of Niketas Choniatēs (Translated by Harry J. Magoulias) (1984). Wayne State University Press. ISBN 978-0-8143-1764-8.
The Deeds of Frederick Barbarossa by Otto of Freising and his Continuator, Rahewin (Translated and annotated with an itroduction by Charles Christopher Mierow with the collaboration of Richard Emery) (2004). Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-13419-3.
The Hungarian Illuminated Chronicle: Chronica de Gestis Hungarorum (Edited by Dezső Dercsényi) (1970). Corvina, Taplinger Publishing. ISBN 0-8008-4015-1.
Béla III Árpád (né en 1148 ou 1149 et mort le 24 avril 1196) fut roi de Hongrie du 1er mars 1172 au 24 avril 1196.
Jeunesse
Béla est le fils de Géza II et d’une princesse russe, Euphrosine de Kiev, belle sœur de Éric II de Danemark, et de Knud Lavard, Roi des Obodrites. À la suite d'un accord conclu entre son frère Étienne III de Hongrie et Manuel Ier Comnène il est envoyé à la cour byzantine où il est fiancé en 1163 avec la fille de l’Empereur byzantin et de sa première épouse Berthe de Sulzbach; Marie. Rebaptisé « Alexis » Il est même un temps héritier du trône byzantin et reçoit la qualité de « kaisar ». Les fiançailles sont rompues en 1169 lors de la naissance de Alexis le fils de Manuel Ier et de sa seconde épouse qui est déclaré héritier du trône en 1171.
Roi de Hongrie
Après la mort de son frère le 4 mars 1172 il revient en Hongrie avec l'accord de Manuel Ier mais il doit faire face à un parti favorable à son frères cadet le prince Géza qui revendiquait le trône.
Béla afin d'obtenir l'appui du Saint-Siège abandonne l'antipape soutenu par Frédéric Barberousse. Du fait des réticences de l'intransigeant Lucas d'Esztergom, Alexandre III doit demander à l'archevêque de Kalocsa de le couronner le 13 janvier 1173. Le nouveau roi doit toutefois combattre des partisans de Géza qu'il fait emprisonner. Son frère d'évade et se réfugie en Autriche sous la protection de Henri II d'Autriche. Béla III attaque l'Autriche en 1175 et après la mort d'Henri II, Géza cherche à rejoindre Frédéric Barberousse. mais le prince Sobeslav II de Bohême le livre à son frère qui l'emprisonne ainsi que leur mère qui s'était sans doute impliquée dans le complot.
Béla III mène une politique favorable au pape tout conservant de bonnes relations avec Byzance à qui il fournit des troupes auxiliaires pour combattre les turcs en 1176. Après la mort de Manuel Ier Comnène en 1180, le roi réoriente sa politique et prend le contrôle en 1180/1181 de la Dalmatie et de la Sirmie. Zara se soumet également à la Hongrie. Il intervient ensuite dans la politique de l'empire byzantin et après s'être allié aux Serbes il prend le contrôle de Niš et Sofia vers 1185. Il donne sa fille Marguerite comme épouse au nouvel empereur Isaac II Ange. La reine Agnès d'Antioche étant morte vers 1184 après lui avoir donné plusieurs enfants il se remarie en 1186 avec Marguerite de France, fille de roi Louis VII
À l'intérieur de son royaume, il imite les monarchies occidentales pour améliorer l’administration de la Hongrie et crée une chancellerie et de nouveaux impôts (douanes, péages, droits sur les foires et marchés). Un inventaire des revenus ecclésiastiques et royaux de l’époque de Béla III indique que celui-ci aurait disposé annuellement de l'équivalent de 23 000 kg d’argent. Philippe-Auguste dispose à la même époque de 17 000 kg d’argent fin.
Le roi Béla III fait couronner dès 1182 son fils ainé Imre mais il ne lui attribue un domaine qu'en 1194 en lui inféodant la région côtière de Dalmatie et de Croatie. Béla III meurt le 23 avril 1196 et il est inhumé à Székesfehérvár
Mariages et descendance
En 1172 il épouse Agnès d'Antioche (1154-1184), fille de Renaud de Châtillon et de Constance d'Antioche, avec qui il a :
Imre de Hongrie ou Émeric, roi de Hongrie de 1182 à 1204
Marguerite de Hongrie, épouse en premières noces en 1185 Isaac II Ange, empereur de Byzance ;
André II de Hongrie, roi de Hongrie de 1205 1235
Salomon
Étienne
Constance, fiancée en 1189 à Frédéric VI de Souabe († 1191), Duc d'Alsace et de Souabe, fils de l'Empereur romain germanique Frédéric Barberousse, elle épouse en premières noces, en 1198, Ottokar Ier Premysl, premier roi de Bohême.
En 1186, veuf, il épouse Marguerite de France, sœur de Philippe Auguste.
- BIO: King of Hungary, 1173.
This site powered by The Next Generation of Genealogy Sitebuilding v. 14.0.3, written by Darrin Lythgoe © 2001-2024.
Maintained by Michael A. Kennedy.