Hungary: Political History and Notable Figures

997 - 1000 / 1000 - 1038 - Stephen, as Grand Prince of Hungary / King of Hungary (All Facts)

• First King and Founder of Hungary and Final Grand Prince of Hungary

  • He was also known as Vaik or Istvan

  • He was legitimized to rule because he was the great-great grandson of Arpad, the first Grand Prince of the Magyars (Hungary)

  • He married Gisela, the sister of the Duke of Bavaria

  • He consolidated his rule over the many powerful and pagan semi-independent Magyar chiefs

• He converted to Christianity, having accepted baptism, and thus made Hungary a Christian Kingdom by the start of his reign

  • Like his predecessor Geza, a Magyar Duke, he was Christianized, although was considered to be more devout and truly Christianized unlike his predecessor Geza who had been Christianized for political reasons

  • He was baptized at the age of ten, in a ceremony which he shared with his father

  • His crowning was made with regalia sent by Pope Sylvester II, who authorized his kingship (and who himself was installed by Otto III of the Holy Roman Empire / Germany)

1096 - 1116 - Coloman (All Facts)

• 10th King of Hungary

• He conquered Croatia and brought it within the orbit of Latin Christendom

1116 - 1131 - Stephen II (All Facts)

• 11th King of Hungary

• He and his Magyar forces were defeated by John II Komnenos and the Byzantine Empire in the Battle of Haram during the Byzantine-Hungarian War

1235 - 1270 - Bela IV (All Facts)

• 21st King of Hungary

• He and his forces were defeated by Batu Khan and the Mongols in the Battle of Mohi during the First Mongol Invasion of Hungary

  • He was chased across the frozen Danube River into Croatia by the Mongols, where they invaded and occupied his kingdom with chilling brutality

1272 - 1290 - Ladislaus IV (All Facts)

• 23rd King of Hungary

• He helped King Rudolf of Germany defeat his rival King Ottokar of Bohemia

1308 - 1342 - Charles Robert (All Facts)

• 27th King of Hungary, from the House of Anjou

  • He was born in Naples

  • He was French

• He made a royal monopoly of the Hungarian gold mines and put the monarchy on a sound financial footing

1342 - 1382 - Louis (All Facts)

• 28th King of Hungary, from the House of Anjou

  • He was French

• He took Dalmatia from the Republic of Venice

1387 - 1437 - Sigismund (All Facts)

• 32nd King of Hungary

  • He was from the House of Luxembourg

  • He was the brother of King Wenceslas IV

  • He was elected Holy Roman Emperor

1440 - 1444 - Wladyslaw III (All Facts)

• 34th King of Hungary

• He and his forces were defeated by Murad II and his Turkish forces in the Battle of Varna during the Hungarian-Ottoman Wars

  • He vanished after the Battle of Varna

1442 - 1453 - Janos Hunyadi (All Facts)

• Regent of Hungary under the reign of Ladislaus the Posthumous

• Hungarian General under Wladyslaw III

• He was known for his victories in defending Hungary from the Ottoman Turks

  • He and his forces defeated Ishak Bey and his Turkish forces during the Hungarian-Ottoman Wars in the Battle of Smederevo

  • He and his forces defeated Mezid Bey and his Turkish forces during the Hungarian-Ottoman Wars in the Battle of the Iron Gate

  • He and his forces defeated Mohammed II and his Turkish forces during the Hungarian-Ottoman Wars in the Battle of Belgrade

• He and his forces were defeated by Murad II and his Turkish forces during the Hungarian-Ottoman Wars in the Battle of Varna

• He and his forces were defeated by Murad II and his Turkish forces during the Hungarian-Ottoman Wars in the Battle of Kosovo

• He died three years after his generalship and rule

• He was succeeded by his so

1458 - 1490 - Matthias Corvinus (All Facts)

• 36th King of Hungary

  • He was the son of general Janos Hunyadi

• He secured Silesia, Moravia, and Lusatia via the Peace of Olomuc

• He gained control of Vienna, Lower Austria, Styria, and Carinthia in two campaigns from Frederick III / Frederick V of Austria and the Holy Roman Empire

• He died in Vienna

1490 - 1516 - Vladisaus II (All Facts)

• 37th King of Hungary

• He attended the First Congress of Vienna, where he

  • forged an alliance with Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian and King Sigismund of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania

  • made an agreement in which he had children Louis and Anne married off to the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian’s grandchildren Ferdinand and Mary

1516 - 1526 - Louis II (All Facts)

• 38th King of Hungary

• He and his Hungarian forces were defeated by Suleiman and the Ottomans in the Battle of Mohacs, ending the Hungarian-Ottoman Wars

• Upon his death, Hungary was split into three parts:

  • Habsburg Hungary, which ruled the west and north

  • Ottoman Hungary, which ruled central Hungary around the city of Buda and was a province of the Ottoman Empire

  • Transylvanian Hungary, which ruled east and southeast Hungary and was a vassal of the Ottoman Empire

1526 - 1540 - John Zápolya of Transylvania (All Facts)

• (Transylvanian) King of Hungary

  • His rule was contested by the Habsburg King Ferdinand of Hungary

  • He was “elected” by a section of th Hungarian nobility

  • He was considered a Hungarian nationalist

  • He then became a vassal of Sultan Suleiman of the Ottoman Empire

• He signed the Treaty of Nagyvárad / Treaty of Grosswardein (with Holy Roman Emperor and fellow Hungarian King, Ferdinand)

• He formed an alliance with King Francis of France, signing a peace treaty with him

• He died and was succeeded by his son

1526 - 1867 - Habsburg Hungary (All Facts)

1540 - 1551 - John Sigismund Zápolya (All Facts)

• (Transylvanian) King of Hungary

  • His rule was contested by the Habsburg King Ferdinand of Hungary and Habsburg King Maximilian II of Hungary

1526 - 1564 - Ferdinand (All Facts)

• (Habsburg) King of Hungary

  • His rule was disputed by King John Zapolya of Transylvania

  • He was crowned king in part of Hungary still in Habsburg hands following his defeat of Zapolya

• He rashly sent an envoy to Sultan Suleiman of the Ottoman Empire, demanding the return of fortresses taken from Hungary by the Ottomans after the Battle of Mohacs

• He signed the Treaty of Nagyvárad / Treaty of Grosswardein (with John Zapolya)

• He made the Truce of Constantinople with Suleiman of the Ottoman Empire, ending the Habsburg-Ottoman War of 1529

• He signed the Treaty of Gyalu (with the widow of John Zapolya, Isabella of the House of Jagiellon), which (essentially) ceded the Kingdom of Hungary to the namesake

• Under his reign,

  • The Treaty of Karlsburg was signed