Stephen III of Hungary

Stephen III (Hungarian: III. István, Croatian: Stjepan IV, Slovak: Štefan III), (in the summer of 1147 – 4 March 1172), king of Hungary and Croatia (1162-1172).

Early years

Stephen was the eldest son of King Géza II by his wife Euphrosyne of Kiev. His godfather was king Louis VII of France, who was passing through Hungary to the Holy Land when Stephen was born. Although Stephen was named as his father's heir already in 1152, his succession could not be secured, because his uncles, Stephen and Ladislaus escaped to the court of Emperor Manuel I Komnenos.

Struggle for the throne

Some days after his father's death on 31 May 1162 Lukas, Archbishop of Esztergom crowned Stephen, but shortly afterwards he had to face the campaign of Emperor Manuel I Komnenos who supported the claim of his uncles to the throne. Stephen was obliged to escape to Bratislava (Pozsony), while the Hungarian barons proclaimed his elder uncle, Ladislaus king. Stephen could only count on the support of Archbishop Lukas, who denied to crown the pretender and was arrested. On 14 January 1163 king Ladislaus II died, and his followers proclaimed king his younger brother, Stephen IV. The new king supported the claims of the Byzantine Empire without compromise which resulted in growing indignation among the Hungarian barons. In the beginning of 1163 the members of the gens (clan) Csák rebelled against the usurper, but they were defeated. In the meantime the young Stephen sought assistance of Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor, and leading the troops sent by the emperor to him he defeated and arrested his uncle on 19 June 1163 at Székesfehérvár. After the battle the young Stephen retrieved the throne, and following Archbishop Lukas' advice he set his uncle free, but the dethroned usurper fled to the Byzantine Empire.

Wars with the Byzantine Empire

Emperor Manuel I Komnenos did not give up his plan to extend his influence over Hungary and lead his armies to the Southern part of the kingdom on behalf of the pretender. But Stephen could resist the Byzantine attack; therefore the parties concluded peace at the end of the year, under which the emperor withdrew of his support for Stephen IV but Stephen III agreed to sent his brother, Béla, whom their father had named as duke of Croatia and Dalmatia in his last will, to Constantinople. In the second half of 1164, Emperor Manuel I Komnenos made a new campaign against Hungary on the pretext of ensuring duke Béla's paternal inheritance. King Vladislaus II of Bohemia, Duke Henry II of Austria and Prince Yaroslav I of Halych came personally to Hungary with his armies to help Stephen agains the Emperor's invasion. Finally, with the mediation of the King of Bohemia, Stephen made peace with the Emperor by transferring Syrmia (Szerémség) to the Byzantine Empire. In the beginning of 1165, Stephen tried to reconquer Syrmia, and occupied the fortress of Zemun (Zimony), but Emperor Manuel I Komnenos made a counter-attack, reoccupied the fortress and conquested Bosnia, Croatia and Dalmatia. In 1166, Stephen tried again to reoccupy Syrmia, but his troops were defeated soon. He married Agnes of Austria, a daughter of Duke Henry II and in 1167 made a campaign against the Byzantine Empire with the support of his father-in-law, but their troops were defeated near Zemun.

Last years

Stephen raised money to fund the expenses of his continuous wars with the Byzantine Empire by using the goods of the Church, which resulted in a conflict with Archbishop Lukas, who imposed ecclesiastical punishemnt on him. The conflict was solved by papal legate Manfred, who persuaded Stephen to renounce of the right of investiture. Stephen granted estates to the Knights Templar in Hungary, and he was the first king of Hungary who issued a charter for a town, i.e. for the Walloon hospes of Székesfehérvár. In 1172 he met his father-in-law, who was on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, but during the meeting he fell suddenly ill and died. He was buried in Esztergom.

Marriage

# 1168: Agnes of Austria (c. 1154 – 13 January, 1182), daughter of Henry II, Duke of Austria and his second wife, Theodora Comnena (Stephen's only child, Béla died in childhood in 1167.)

Sources

• Engel, Pat. Realm of St. Stephen : A History of Medieval Hungary, 2001
• 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)
• G. Vég, Magyarország királyai és királynői, Maecenas, 1990.
• Magyarország Történeti Kronológiája I. – A kezdetektől 1526-ig, főszerkesztő: Benda Kálmán (Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, 1981)
• (primary source) The Hungarian Illuminated Chronicle, A. West, trans., Corvina, 1969.
• (primary source) John Kinnamos, Deeds of John and Manuel Comnenus, C.M. Brand, trans., Columbia University Press, 1976.