Béla II (Hungary)

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Béla II. The Blind , Béla I in Croatia, (* around 1110 ; † February 13, 1141 ) from the Arpáden family was King of Hungary from April 28, 1131 until his death . He was the son of Prince Álmos and Predslava, daughter of the Kiev Grand Duke Svyatopolk II.

childhood

Béla II in the illustrated chronicle
Béla II., Lithograph by Josef Kriehuber after a drawing by Moritz von Schwind ,; approx. 1828.

In 1113 King Koloman blinded his brother Álmos and his son, who later became Béla II . The reason was Álmo's continued opposition to the king. The blinded then fled to Constantinople . From there, Koloman's son and successor Stephan II brought his cousin Béla back and appointed him as his successor because he himself had remained without an heir.

government

Béla's reign began in 1131 with the meeting near Arad , during which he had all the nobles killed who were believed to have helped to blind him. According to the sources, 68 aristocrats were killed. Queen Ilona probably played an important role in the act of revenge .

Foreign policy

During Béla's reign, a foreign policy offensive took place, during which Béla met his sister Hedwig with a son of Leopold III. of Austria and his sister Adelheid married Soběslav I of Bohemia. Hungary was thus integrated into a solid alliance system with the previously hostile Austria and Bohemia .

Béla's entire reign was overshadowed by the conflict with Boris, a son of Koloman of dubious legitimacy. Boris was supported by Poland and Russia . Bolesław III. Wrymouth even led a campaign with Russian and Polish troops to support Boris in Hungary in 1132.

Domestic politics

During his reign, the royal chancellery began to force itself, which deals centrally with the written affairs of the court.

Béla maintained good contacts with the church. In 1137 the monastery church in Pannonhalma was rebuilt with his support.

Béla ruled in close collaboration with the royal council, partly because of his blindness as he was completely dependent on his surroundings. Queen Ilona also played an important role in making it possible for Béla to exercise power.

family

Bela was married to Ilona , daughter of Prince Uroš Nemanjić of Serbia , since 1127 ; her children were:

  • Elisabeth (1128–1155), ⚭ King Mieszko III. from Poland
  • Géza II (1130–1162), King of Hungary
  • Ladislaus II (1131–1163), King of Hungary
  • Stefan IV († 1165), King of Hungary
  • Álmos (1134–1138)
  • Zsófia, or Sofie, was born in 1139 with (King) Heinrich (VI.), The son of King Conrad III. engaged. The marriage did not take place, Sofie died as a nun in Admont Monastery .

literature

  • János M. Bak: Béla II. , In: Biographical Lexicon on the History of Southeast Europe . Vol. 1. Munich 1974, p. 173 f.
  • Iván Bertényi among others: Királyok Königyve. Officina Nova, Budapest 1997, ISBN 963-548-580-8 .
  • Gyula Kristó : Az Álmos-ág. In: Rubicon. 2000/3.
  • Gyula Kristó: Háborúk és hadviselés az Árpádok korában. ISBN 963-9441-87-2 .
  • Ferenc Makk: II. Béla. In .: Kristó Gyula, Makk Ferenc: Az Árpádok - fejedelmek és királyok. ISBN 963-9278-48-3 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Tobias Weller : The marriage policy of the German aristocracy. Böhlau, Cologne et al. 2004, ISBN 3-412-11104-X , pp. 47–52.
  2. ↑ Martina Hartmann : Studies on the letters of Abbot Wibald von Stablo and Corvey as well as on letter literatures in the early Staufer period. Hahn, Hannover 2011, ISBN 978-3-7752-5712-1 , p. 113.
predecessor Office successor
Stephan II King of Hungary
1131–1141 		Géza II.
Stephan II King of Croatia, Dalmatia and Rama
1131–1141 		Géza II.
personal data
SURNAME Béla II.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bela the blind
BRIEF DESCRIPTION King of Hungary
DATE OF BIRTH around 1110
DATE OF DEATH February 13, 1141