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)

• King of Hungary

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

1116 - 1131 - Stephen II (All Facts)

• 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)

• 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)

• King of Hungary

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

1308 - 1342 - Charles Robert (All Facts)

• 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)

• King of Hungary, from the House of Anjou

  • He was French

• He took Dalmatia from the Republic of Venice

1387 - 1437 - Sigismund (All Facts)

• 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)

• 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)

• 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)

• 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)

• 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

1571 - 1586 - Stephen Bathory (All Facts)

• Prince of Transylvania

1586 - 1598 - Sigismund Bathory (All Facts)

• Prince of Transylvania

• He and his Habsburg forces

  • defeated the Ottoman forces in the Battle of Giurgiu during the Long Turkish War / Thirteen Years’ War / Fifteen Years’ War / Sixth Habsburg-Ottoman War

  • were defeated by Mehmed III and his Ottoman forces in the Battle of Mezőkeresztes during the Long Turkish War / Thirteen Years’ War / Fifteen Years’ War / Sixth Habsburg-Ottoman War

1572 - 1608 - Rudolf II (All Facts)

• (Habsburg) King of Hungary

• Under his reign,

  • The Catholic Counter-Reformation took place in Hungary, where Protestants were heavily persecuted

1613 - 1629 - Gabriel Bethlen (All Facts)

• Prince of Transylvania

  • He was also Prince of Transylvania

• He signed the Treaty of Nikolsburg (with Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand)

• He renounced his title of king of Hungary

1619 - 1637 - Ferdinand II (All Facts)

• (Habsburg) King of Hungary

1630 - 1648 - George Rákóczi (All Facts)

• Prince of Transylvania

• He formulated the Peace of Linz, guaranteeing religious freedom to all Hungarians

1637 - 1657 - Ferdinand III (All Facts)

• (Habsburg) King of Hungary

1655 - 1705 - Leopold (All Facts)

• (Habsburg) King of Hungary

• He suspended Hungary’s constitution in order to suppress the Magnate Conspiracy, making Hungary a part of the Holy Roman Empire

  • He attended the Diet of Sopron, where he allowed the Hungarian nobility to restore the Hungarian constitution

• His diplomats succeeded in securing the Truce of Ratisbon with King Louis XIV of France and arranged alliances with Poland and the Republic of Venice

• Under his reign,

  • Rakoczi’s War of Independence occurred against Habsburg rule over Hungary

    • He looked to wealthy Hungarian magnates for support against Rakoczi, given that much of his forces were fighting in the War of the Spanish Succession

1682 - 1685 - Emeric Thököly (All Facts)

• Hungarian Protestant Nobleman and Kuruc Leader of the Anti-Habsburg Revolts in Hungary

• He was leader of one of the Kuruc Revolts against Holy Roman Emperor and Hungarian “King” Leopold

• He was proclaimed “king” of (Upper) Hungary by the Ottomans, as a vassal of the Ottoman Empire

1687 - 1711 - Joseph (All Facts)

• (Habsburg) King of Hungary

• His coronation effectively put Austria and Hungary under a Habsburg crown

  • This was achieved despite the Magyars’ reluctance, who had just been freed from Ottoman occupation

• During his reign,

  • He attended the Transylvanian Diet, in which Hungary was handed over from the Ottoman Empire to the Holy Roman Empire and Habsburgs

• Under his reign,

  • Rakoczi’s War of Independence occurred against Habsburg rule over Hungary

1704 - 1711 - Francis II Rákóczi (All Facts)

• Prince of Transylvania and Leader of Hungary during his namesake war of independence against the Habsburgs of Hungary

  • He is considered a national hero of Hungary today

  • He was a Magyar exile who returned to lead the peasants

  • However, his revolt against the Habsburgs ultimately failed

  • He was helped by Miklós Bercsényi

  • He was a Hungarian noble

• Under his reign,

  • the Budapest Parliament declared the fall of the Habsburgs and independence of Hungary

• He was forced to come to terms of agreement with the Habsburgs following the failure of his revolt and his failure to secure assistance in his revolt against the Habsburgs from France or Russia (who were both anti-Habsburg)

1665 - 1725 - Miklós Bercsényi (All Facts)

• Hungarian Military Officer and Chief General during Rákóczi's War of Independence against the Habsburgs

  • He was a Magyar exile who returned to lead the peasants