Béla IV.

King Bela IV.


(1206 - 1270)
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Belo was born in 1206. His father was Ondrej II and his mother Gertrude, daughter of the Istrian-Kran margrave and Duke of Merano Bertold IV.


As early as 1214, Bela had his father crowned him. In 1220, Belo became Duke of Slavonia and began to administer this eel province. In the same year he married Maria the daughter of the Emperor of Nicaea Teodor I. Laskaris. This wedding was arranged by Andrew II. still on the way back from the expedition to the Holy Land.


Belo often got into an argument with his father. The son blamed his father for the reckless distribution of royal property. Their dispute escalated in 1223, Belo had to flee to Austria. Shortly after the initiative of Pope Honor III. the two reconciled and Belo returned to Hungary. Although Andrew took away the voivodeship of Slavonia, he entrusted the administration of Transylvania to him. In 1231, together with his brother Koloman, they confirmed the validity of the Bull issued by their father in 1222.


Andrew II died in 1235. and Belo IV. planted on the Hungarian throne. He decided to return power in Hungary to the royal hands. He confiscated the property of all the participants in the conspiracy in which his mother Gertrude was murdered. He set up commissions to examine the validity of donations given to the king Imrich and his father Andrew II. With these revisions, Bel managed to regain only a small part of the former royal property and at the same time made enemies of the high nobility. That's why you had to Belo IV. look for allies, within Hungary, somewhere else. And he found them in the cities. In the early years of his reign, he granted city privileges to many older economic centers. He supported the creation of new craft towns, but mainly contributed to the creation of new mining towns. When it seemed that Hungary had recovered from the evil rule of Andrew II, an unexpected blow came.


On the Hungarian border, the Tatar (Mongolian, in all Hungarian medieval chronicles, chroniclers call the Mongols Tatars, so I use the term Tatar and not Mongol) army led by Khan Bata. This happened in March 1241. Since the relationship between the king and his nobility was almost hostile at the time, Bel managed to bring together an army. The decisive battle took place at the river Slaná on April 11, 1241. The royal army was literally massacred and Bel himself managed to escape with great luck. The country was then plundered by the Tatar army for a year. When in 1242 Belo IV. returned to Hungary found a scorched earth. Residents who survived Tatar invasion at the end of 1242 was affected by famine. Historians estimate that only half of Hungary's population survived the Tartar invasion and famine.


Belo IV. embarked on the restoration of the ruined country. He granted city rights to other cities, confirmed and extended the rights to other cities. He allowed the Hungarian nobility to build fortified settlements. And most importantly, he invited "guests" from Western countries to settle the depopulated country. Thus, the German population settled in Hungary (and especially in Slovakia), which retained their identity until of the Second World War. German "guests" inhabited cities and especially mines.


In three years, under Bel's rule, Hungary rose so much that Belo could stand against the Austrian duke Frederick II. In 1246 in the battle of Lithuania was Belo IV. defeated, but in battle he lost the life of Frederick II. Babenbergský. With the death of Frederick, the Babenberg family died by the sword. Belo also joined the fight for Babenberg's inheritance. His biggest opponent in this fight was the future Czech king Přemysl II. Otakar. In 1254, the first phase of the struggle for the Austrian lands ended. Přemysl II. and Belo IV. concluded an agreement according to which Bel fell to Styria. In 1258, an uprising broke out in Styria. After his suppression, Belo put him in administration to his son Štefan V. He came a year later. The open fight between Bel and Přemysl ended on the 13th.July 1260 battle of Kressenbrunn, defeat of the Hungarian army. After this defeat, Belo IV. gave up claims to Styria and in 1261 concluded with Přemysl II. peace treaty. Belo gave Přemysl II. his granddaughter Kunigundu (Kunhutu) for his wife.


The last ten years of Bel's reign were marked by the dispute between Bel and his son Štefan V. Štefan vehemently demanded rule over Hungary. In 1262, only an agreement prevented the armed meeting, according to which Štefan began to use the titles "younger king" and "lord Kumánov". Belo also entrusted the eastern part of Hungary to Štefan's administration. Another conflict began to emerge in 1264. Pope Urban VI wanted to resolve this dispute, and in connection with this problem the pope wanted to solve the problem of pagan semi-nomadic Kumans. .


Just before his death, Belo IV asked. its former opponent Přemysl II. Otakar to take to the protection of his closest relatives and followers after his death. To this requirement Přemysl II. complied. After Bel's death, his daughter Anna went to Bohemia, among others, and took with her a large part of the Hungarian royal treasure. Among other things, the sword of King Stephen I the Holy. It is still stored in the Church of St. Vitus in Prague.


Belo died on May 3, 1270 on Zajač (Margitin) Island in Budapest.
He and his only wife, Maria, had ten children. Namely Kunigunda, Margita, Anna, Katarína, Alžbetu, Konštanciu, Jolanu (Helena), Margita (saint) and the sons Bel and Štefan V.


Belo did not win any significant battle, but laid the foundations for the further development of Hungarian cities, which was of great importance in later times. The Hungarian kings, who fought against the Hungarian oligarchs in the 14th century, could, thanks to Bel's policy of urban development, fully rely on the support of Hungarian cities.
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Béla IV. - Zdroj: Archív autora. Zberateľské kartičky panovníkov.

Zdroj: Archív autora. Zberateľské kartičky panovníkov.
URL : https://www.valka.cz/Bela-IV-t21818#427159 Version : 0
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