| Peter Urseolo | |
|---|---|
| King of Hungary | |
 |
|
| Reign | 1038 – 1041 and 1044 – 1046 |
| Coronation | 1038 |
| Full name | Peter Otto Orseolo |
| Born | 1011 |
| Venice (Italy) | |
| Died | 30 August 1059 |
| Predecessor | Stephen I (before 1038) Samuel Aba (1041 – 1044) |
| Successor | Samuel Aba (1041 – 1044) Andrew I (1046 után) |
| Royal House | Árpád dinasty |
| Father | Ottone Orseolo, the doge of Venice[1] |
| Mother | Mary of Hungary |
Peter I the Venetian (Hungarian: I. (Velencei) Péter) (c. 1010-1015, Venice, Italy – ?), king of Hungary (1038-1041, 1044-1046).
Contents |
Venice and Hungary
He was the son of the sister of Saint Stephen, the first king of Hungary, and Ottone Orseolo, the doge of Venice. In 1026 his father was deposed as doge by a revolt of the Venetians and he had to excape to Constantinople. Peter, however, did not followed his father to the Byzantine court but went with his mother to Hungary, where they were wellcomed by his uncle king Stephen I. On September 2, 1031 the king's only surviving son Imre was killed by a boar while hunting. Stephen I wanted to secure the position of the Christianity in his semi-converted kingdom; therefore he was planning to name Peter as his successor. However, the elderly king's cousin, Vazul, who was suspected to be following pagan-costums, took part in a conspiracy aimed at the murder of Stephen I. But the assassination attempt failed and Vazul had is eyes gouged out and molten lead poured in his ears and his sons Levente, Andrew and Béla were exiled. After these tragical events Peter's succession rights were confirmed.
His first rule
When Stephen I died on August 15, 1038 ascended the throne without any open oposition. He wanted to follow his predecessor's policy and he firmly repressed the pagan costums; therefore he issued severe decrees against the pagans and decreased the duties payable to the royal treasury. He pushed the Hungarian nobility into the background and appointed his German and Italian partisans to his council. He allied himself with prince Břetislav I of Bohemia against the Holy Roman Emperor, Henry III and made several military campaigns against the neighbouring German territories. In 1041 confiscated the estates of his predecessor's widow, queen Giselle and arrested two bishops who tried to intercede on behalf of the dowager queen. His acts resulted in a conspiracy organised by the members of different fractions of the court against his rule. The conspirators killed one of his chief councillors, Budó and Peter was obliged to slip away to the court of his brother-in-low, Adalbert, Margrave of Austria. After his escape, the leaders of the conspirators proclaimed Saint Stephen's brother-in-law, Samuel Aba king.
In exile
In October Peter visited emperor Henry III in Regensburg and offered to accept his supremacy in case the emperor restores him to the Hungarian throne. The emperor accepted the offer, but he had to deal with his internal problems before leading his army against Hungary.
His second rule
In June 1044 the imperial troops attacked Hungary and won a decisive victory over king Samuel Aba on 5 July, 1044 in the Battle of Ménfő. Samuel Aba could hardly escape from the battlefield and he died soon. After his rival's death, Peter's power was restored, but he, and with him the Kingdom of Hungary, became Henry's vassal. In the next year emperor Henry III returned to Hungary and accepted Peter's solemn homage on May 26, 1045 in Székesfehérvár. Peter, however, was not able to strengthen his rule in Hungary. Although in 1045 he could wind up the conspiracy of some Hungarian nobles, but in the next year he lost the support of the clergy, because he exiled the dowager queen Giselle from Hungary. The Hungarian prelates, lead by bishop Gerard Sagredo, called back to the country duke Vazul's formerly expelled sons, who have been living in Kiev. In the summer of 1046 an extensive revolt of the pagan Hungarians broke out, lead by Vata and Peter had to flee to the Western region of his kingdom.
Captivity and last years
Meanwhile, the expiled dukes came back to Hungary, and they allied themselves with the pagan rebels. Peter fall into captivity near Zámoly and he was blinded by the rebels and then he was expelled from the country. A contemporary source inform us that in 1055 he married the widow of Břetislav I of Bohemia. He was buried in the Benedictine Abbey of Pécsvárad.
Family
- Tuta of Ratisbona, daughter of Ruprecht of Ratisbona
- Vitalia, wife of Albert Azzo II, Margrave of Milan
- (???) Martine Orseolo (???)
- Judith of Schweinfurt, widow of Bretislaus I of Bohemia
See also
Sources
- Kristó, Gyula - Makk, Ferenc: Az Árpád-ház uralkodói (IPC Könyvek, 1996)
- Korai Magyar Történeti Lexikon (9-14. század), főszerkesztő: Kristó, Gyula, szerkesztők: Engel, Pál és Makk, Ferenc (Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, 1994)
- Magyarország Történeti Kronológiája I. – A kezdetektől 1526-ig, főszerkesztő: Benda, Kálmán (Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, 1981)
References
| Preceded by Stephen I |
King of Hungary 1038–1041 |
Succeeded by Samuel Aba |
| Preceded by Samuel Aba |
King of Hungary 1044–1046 |
Succeeded by Andrew I |
