Individual Details
Stephan V King of Hungary
(1240 - 1 Aug 1272)
Stephan was born about 1240, the eldest son of Bela IV, king of Hungary, whom he succeeded in 1270. His mother was Maria Laskarina, a daughter of Theodoros I Komnenos Laskaris, emperor of Nicea, and Anna Komnene Angelina, the daughter of Alexios III Komnenos Angelos, emperor of Byzantium.
As crown prince Stephan had exhibited considerable ability, but also a disquieting restlessness and violence. He was appointed duke of Transylvania, then duke of Styria. After the loss of Styria, he became duke of Transylvania again. In 1262 Stephan convinced his father Béla to give him twenty-nine counties as a reward for his assistance in the war against Bohemia; hence Hungary was virtually divided into two kingdoms. Stephan was crowned junior king of Hungary. Though Hungary was de facto divided into two kingdoms the legal unity remained, because Stephan theoretically ruled by the grace of God and his father. He subsequently seized the southern banate of Macsó and defeated his father in the ensuing civil war. In 1268 he undertook an expedition against the Bulgarians, penetrating as far as Veliko Tarnovo and styling himself as king of Bulgaria.
Stephan's father, attempting to bind the powerful but pagan Cuman tribe more closely to the dynasty, had arranged for Stephan's marriage in about 1254 to Erzsebet, the daughter of a Cuman chieftain. Though Erzsebet, in preparation for the marriage, had been baptised and remained a Christian, Western Europe almost universally considered Stephan as semi-pagan.
To secure foreign support, Stephan formed a double matrimonial alliance with the Angevins, chief partisans of the pope. The first of these was the marriage in 1270 of his daughter Maria of Hungary to Charles II, king of Naples, Sicily and Jerusalem (they became grandparents of Charles II Robert, king of Hungary). The second alliance was the marriage of Stephan's infant son Laszlo to Charles II's sister Elisabeth d'Anjou.
Andronikus II Palaikologos, emperor of Byzantium, married Anna, another of Stephan's daughters, and Stefan Dragutin, king of Serbia, married Stephan's daughter Katalin.
Adversaries of Stephan, especially Przemysl Ottokar II, king of Bohemia, believed that Stephan was too great a friend of the mighty Cumans (who could field 16,000 men) to be a true Catholic. Ottokar endeavoured with the aid of the Hungarian malcontents to conquer the western provinces of Hungary, but they were utterly routed by Stephan in 1271 near Mosony. Ottokar relinquished all his conquests the same year in the Peace of Pressburg.
Stephan died suddenly on 1 August 1272 as he was raising an army to rescue his kidnapped infant son Laszlo from the rebellious vassals.
Source: Leo van de Pas
As crown prince Stephan had exhibited considerable ability, but also a disquieting restlessness and violence. He was appointed duke of Transylvania, then duke of Styria. After the loss of Styria, he became duke of Transylvania again. In 1262 Stephan convinced his father Béla to give him twenty-nine counties as a reward for his assistance in the war against Bohemia; hence Hungary was virtually divided into two kingdoms. Stephan was crowned junior king of Hungary. Though Hungary was de facto divided into two kingdoms the legal unity remained, because Stephan theoretically ruled by the grace of God and his father. He subsequently seized the southern banate of Macsó and defeated his father in the ensuing civil war. In 1268 he undertook an expedition against the Bulgarians, penetrating as far as Veliko Tarnovo and styling himself as king of Bulgaria.
Stephan's father, attempting to bind the powerful but pagan Cuman tribe more closely to the dynasty, had arranged for Stephan's marriage in about 1254 to Erzsebet, the daughter of a Cuman chieftain. Though Erzsebet, in preparation for the marriage, had been baptised and remained a Christian, Western Europe almost universally considered Stephan as semi-pagan.
To secure foreign support, Stephan formed a double matrimonial alliance with the Angevins, chief partisans of the pope. The first of these was the marriage in 1270 of his daughter Maria of Hungary to Charles II, king of Naples, Sicily and Jerusalem (they became grandparents of Charles II Robert, king of Hungary). The second alliance was the marriage of Stephan's infant son Laszlo to Charles II's sister Elisabeth d'Anjou.
Andronikus II Palaikologos, emperor of Byzantium, married Anna, another of Stephan's daughters, and Stefan Dragutin, king of Serbia, married Stephan's daughter Katalin.
Adversaries of Stephan, especially Przemysl Ottokar II, king of Bohemia, believed that Stephan was too great a friend of the mighty Cumans (who could field 16,000 men) to be a true Catholic. Ottokar endeavoured with the aid of the Hungarian malcontents to conquer the western provinces of Hungary, but they were utterly routed by Stephan in 1271 near Mosony. Ottokar relinquished all his conquests the same year in the Peace of Pressburg.
Stephan died suddenly on 1 August 1272 as he was raising an army to rescue his kidnapped infant son Laszlo from the rebellious vassals.
Source: Leo van de Pas
Events
| Birth | 1240 | ||||
| Marriage | 1254 | Erzsébet of the Cumans | |||
| Death | 1 Aug 1272 |
Families
| Spouse | Erzsébet of the Cumans (1240 - 1291) |
| Child | Maria of Hungary (1257 - 1322) |
| Child | Princess Anna of Hungary ( - 1281) |
| Father | Béla IV King of Hungary (1206 - 1270) |
| Mother | Maria Laskarina (1206 - 1270) |
| Sibling | Anna of Hungary ( - ) |