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Árpád Dynasty
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Introduction
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The Árpáds were rulers of Hungary from the late 9th century until the early 14th
century. Under the rule of the Árpád Dynasty, the Hungarian nation was transformed
from a confederation of Hungarian tribes into a powerful state of East-Central Europe.
Árpád united seven Magyar military units who had elected him Supreme Chief and lead
them westward from their dwelling on the Don River and took possession of the
area around the Danube. He became the founder of Hungary's first Magyar Dynasty which
ruled Hungary from 902 until 1301.
Árpád was the son of Álmos, a chieftain of the Magyars. The Magyars had been
migrating from their original home to the north of the Black Sea. Forced out of
Russia by other tribes, the Magyar horsemen turned to raiding that was as rapid,
widespread and savage as that of the northern Vikings. Setting out to cross the
Carpathians from the east by the Verecke Pass, they arrived at the sparsely populated
Carpathian Basin in 895 and by the 900's they occupied all of the area.
St. Istvan (the great-great-grandson of Árpád) was the first King of Hungary and was
crowned in the year 1000 on Christmas Day. The Árpád Dynasty ended with Andrew III in
1301, marking the end of an era that was so substantial in the history of Hungary. All
in all, the House of Árpád gave the church five saints: King Stephen, King László,
Prince Imre, Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret (daughter of Béla IV, the Great).
There have been numerous claims of the Árpáds and their origin. Supposedly, the Árpád
line can trace its decendancy back to Attila the Hun, and through him, to the Emperors
of China. However, these are merely claims that have not yet been proven.
Click here to view the family tree of the entire Árpád Dynasty. It is recommended to have this open while reading the following text about the Árpád Dynasty.
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The House of Árpád
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A 19th century painting of Árpád, the founder of the Árpád Dynasty and Hungary.
Árpád
896-907 |
Árpád was the High Prince of the Magyars and was the son of Álmos. He led a
Magyar occupation of Hungary and was the progenitor of the Árpád Dynasty. He
married an unknown woman and his children were Tarhos, Üllo, Jutas, an unknown
child and Zoltán.
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Zoltán
907-946 |
Zoltán was born in 896 and died in 949. He was the son of Árpád and an unknown
woman. He married a woman with the surname of Von Bihar and had son Taksony. He
ruled Hungary from 907 to 946 and under his reign, the tribal leaders had most of
the powers. In this era, the raids of Hungarians were common in the whole of
Europe.
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Taksony
952-972 |
Taksony was born in 931 and died in 972. He was the son of Zoltán and an unknown
mother. He married a Cuman woman and his children were Géza and Mihály. He was
the High Prince of Hungary between 955 and 970 and his politics was a change from
the previous habit of Hungary of leading rapid raids on the neighbouring countries.
He arranged the marriage of his son, Géza and Sarolt, the daughter of the
Transylvanian Gyula, but didn't follow Gyula's opening politics to the spreading
of Christianity.
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Géza
972-997 |
Grand Prince of the Magyars and was great-grandson of the Árpád and son of
Taksony. He was accepted as King of Hungary by Otto I in 972. Géza
permitted Christian missionaries to come to his country, was Baptized in 985 and
permitted his son and successor Stephen to be baptized as well. His wife was
called Sarolt and in the last years of Géza's reign, she had a strong influence
on the leadership of the country.
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István I
997-1038 |
Son of Géza, István was the first King of Hungary. He was married in 995 to
Giselle of Bavaria. István and Giselle had many children, of which was a son
Imre. István successfully united all the Magyar clans in the Carpathian Basin
territory under his rule in the year 997. Pope Silvester II sent a magnificent
jewelled gold crown to Stephen along with an apostolic cross and a letter of
blessing in the beginning of January, 1001 to officially recognize him as a
Christian King of Europe.
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András I
1047-1061 |
With the death of István's son, Imre, there was a dynastic struggle and Pagan
uprising. András was the cousin of St. István who fled Hungary before István's
death to avoid a possible attempt on his life. He went to Russia and settled in
the court of Yaroslav the Wise in Kiev. András married Princess Anastasia and
they both became faithful Christians. András then returned to Hungary to help
the Christians in the war against the Pagans. The Pagan revolt was suppressed and
András was crowned King.
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