Michael of Hungary

Michael ( Hungarian Mihály , 960–995 or c. 997) belonged to the Árpáden family and was a younger son of Taksony, the Grand Duke of Hungary. Most of the details of his life are uncertain. Almost all the kings of Hungary after 1046 descended from him.

According to the Hungarian historian György Györffy , Michael received a ducatus, or principality, from his brother, the Grand Duke Géza . Slovak historians state that he administered the principality of Nitra between around 971 and 997 . Neither of these two theories, however, has been widely accepted by historians.

Life

Michael's father Taksony , depicted in the Hungarian Illustrated Chronicle

Anonymus , the unknown author of the Gesta Hungarorum from the late 12th century, tells that Michael's father Taksony took his wife "from the land of the Cumans " with him, the country that was ruled by the Cumans at the time of Anonymous up to the Was controlled by the Pechenegs in the 1050s . Accordingly, Györffy suspects that Taksony's wife was the daughter of a Pechenegen tribal leader. Other historians, including Zoltán Kordé and Gyula Kristó, say that Anonymous' s account could refer to either their Khazar or Volga-Bulgarian origins.

Michael was Taksony's younger son. Györffy writes that he was still a minor when he was baptized around 972. He was baptized with his older brother Géza, who followed their father as Grand Duke around this time. Michael was named after the Archangel Michael . According to Györffy, the frequent use of the name "Béla" by his descendants - four kings and two dukes from the House of Árpád carried this name - suggests that it was Michael's original pagan name. He also writes that the "a" ending of his name rules out that it was borrowed from a Slavic language , since "a" is a feminine ending in these languages. Instead, he suspects that the name was derived from the Turkish bojla title.

Michael's brother Géza , depicted in the Hungarian Illustrated Chronicle

According to Györffy, Michael was a close ally of his brother as there is no evidence that their relationship was ever strained. Therefore, Györffy continues, Géza Michael “probably gave one of the ducats” in the Principality of Hungary, although there are no records of these events. According to Steinhübel, Michael received the Duchy of Nitra around 971 . His colleague, Ján Lukačka, adds that it was Michael who “broke the resistance of the local nobles” in this duchy.

Michael's fate is unknown; Györffy suspects that he either died before his brother († 997) or that he renounced his duchy without resistance in favor of Géza's son Stephan . On the other hand, Steinhübel writes that Michael was murdered in 995, an act "for which his brother Géza was probably responsible". Lukačka also says that Michael was murdered "apparently on the orders of" Géza. Finally, Vladimír Segeš also says that, according to his statements, Géza had Michael murdered between 976 and 978, but he writes that Michael was replaced by his own son Ladislaus the Bald.

family

The names of Michael's two sons, Vazul (Basil) and Ladislas, have been preserved. According to Györffy, "it is likely" that Michael's wife was related to Samuel of Bulgaria , since the names of his two sons were popular with Orthodox rulers, including members of the Cometopuli family. Györffy adds that Michael married his Bulgarian wife when he came of age around 980.

literature

• Anonymus, Notary of King Béla: The Deeds of the Hungarians (edited, translated and commented by Martyn Rady and László Veszprémy) (2010). In: Rady, Martyn; Veszprémy, László; Bak, János M. (2010); Anonymous and Master Roger ; CEU Press; ISBN 978-963-9776-95-1 . (English)
• Györffy György: King Saint Stephen of Hungary . Ed .: Atlantic Research and Publications. 1994, ISBN 0-88033-300-6 .
• Györffy György: István király és műve (German: King Stephan and his work) . Ed .: Balassi Kiadó. 2000 (Hungarian).
• Kordé Zoltán: Korai magyar történeti lexikon (9-14. Század) (German: Encyclopedia of Hungarian Early History (9th-14th centuries)) . Ed .: Gyula Kristó, Pál Engel, Ferenc Makk, Akadémiai Kiadó. 1994, ISBN 963-05-6722-9 , Taksony, pp. 659 (Hungarian).
• Gyula Kristó, Ferenc Makk: Az Árpád-ház uralkodói (German: Ruler of the House of Árpád) . Ed .: IPC Könyvek. 1996, ISBN 963-7930-97-3 (Hungarian).
• Lukačka Ján: The beginnings of the nobility in Slovakia . In: Mikuláš Teich, Dušan Kováč, Martin D. Brown (Eds.): Slovakia in History . Cambridge University Press, 2011, ISBN 978-0-521-80253-6 , pp. 30-37 (English).
• Vladimír Segeš: Nitra Appanage Duchy . In: Július Bartl, Viliam Čičaj, Mária Kohútova, Róbert Letz, Vladimír Segeš, Dušan Škvarna (eds.): Slovak History: Chronology & Lexicon . Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers, Slovenské Pedegogické Nakladatel'stvo, 2002, ISBN 0-86516-444-4 , p. 278 (English).
• Ján Steinhübel: The Duchy of Nitra . In: Mikuláš Teich, Dušan Kováč, Martin D. Brown (Eds.): Slovakia in History . Cambridge University Press, 2011, ISBN 978-0-521-80253-6 , pp. 15-29 (English).