Grand Prince (997–1000) Grand Prince Géza died in 997. Stephen convoked an assembly at Esztergom where his supporters declared him grand prince. Initially, he only controlled the northwestern regions of the
Carpathian Basin; the rest of the territory was still dominated by tribal chieftains. Stephen's ascension to the throne was in line with the principle of
primogeniture, which prescribed that a father was succeeded by his son. On the other hand, it contradicted the traditional idea of
seniority, according to which Géza should have been succeeded by the most senior member of the
Árpád dynasty, which was
Koppány at that time. Koppány, who held the title Duke of
Somogy, had for many years administered the regions of
Transdanubia south of
Lake Balaton. 's execution after his defeat by Stephen, depicted in the
Chronicon Pictum Koppány proposed to Géza's widow, Sarolt, in accordance with the pagan custom of
levirate marriage. He also announced his claim to the throne. Although it is not impossible that Koppány had already been baptized, in 972, most of his supporters were pagans, opponents of the Christianity represented by Stephen and his predominantly German
retinue. A charter of 1002 for the
Pannonhalma Archabbey writes of a war between "the Germans and the Hungarians" when referring to the armed conflicts between Stephen and Koppány. Even so, Györffy says that
Oszlar ("
Alan"),
Besenyő ("
Pecheneg"),
Kér and other place names, referring to ethnic groups or
Hungarian tribes in Transdanubia around the supposed borders of Koppány's duchy, suggest that significant auxiliary units and groups of Hungarian warriorswho had been settled there by Grand Prince Gézafought in Stephen's army. Kristó states that the entire conflict between Stephen and Koppány was only a feud between two members of the
Árpád dynasty, with no effect on other Hungarian tribal leaders. placed the brothers
Hont and Pázmány at the head of his own guard and nominated
Vecelin to lead the royal army. The last was a German knight who had come to Hungary in the reign of Géza. Hont and Pázmány were, according to
Simon of Kéza's
Gesta Hunnorum et Hungarorum and the
Illuminated Chronicle, "knights of
Swabian origin" who settled in Hungary either under Géza or in the first years of Stephen's reign. before being crowned king. If the latter report is valid, the
dioceses of Veszprém and
Győr are the most probable candidates, according to historian
Gábor Thoroczkay.
Coronation (1000–1001) By ordering the display of one part of Koppány's quartered corpse in Gyulafehérvár, the seat of his maternal uncle,
Gyula the Younger, Stephen asserted his claim to rule all lands dominated by Hungarian lords. He also decided to strengthen his international status by adopting the title of king. However, the exact circumstances of his coronation and its political consequences are subject to scholarly debate. Thietmar of Merseburg writes that Stephen received the crown "with the favour and urging" In a contrasting report, Stephen's
Greater Legend states that the King offered Hungary to the
Virgin Mary. Modern historiansincluding Pál Engel, and Miklós Molnárwrite that Stephen always asserted his sovereignty and never accepted papal or imperial suzerainty. For instance, none of his charters were dated according to the years of the reign of the contemporary emperors, which would have been the case if he had been their vassal. Furthermore, Stephen declared in the preamble to his
First Book of Laws that he governed his realm "by the will of God". The exact date of Stephen's coronation is unknown. According to later Hungarian tradition, he was crowned on the first day of the second millennium, which may refer either to 25 December 1000 or to 1 January 1001. Details of Stephen's coronation preserved in his
Greater Legend suggest that the ceremony, which took place in Esztergom or
Székesfehérvár followed the rite of the coronation of the German kings. Accordingly, Stephen was
anointed with
consecrated oil during the ceremony. Stephen's portrait, preserved on his royal cloak from 1031, shows that his crown, like the Holy Roman Emperor's diadem, was a
hoop crown decorated with
gemstones. Besides his crown, Stephen regarded a spear with a flag as an important symbol of his sovereignty. For instance,
his first coins bear the inscription LANCEA REGIS ("the king's spear") and depict an arm holding a spear with flag. According to the contemporaneous
Adémar de Chabannes, a spear had been given to Stephen's father by Emperor Otto III as a token of Géza's right to "enjoy the most freedom in the possession of his country". Stephen is styled in various ways
Ungarorum rex ("king of the Hungarians"),
Pannoniorum rex ("king of the Pannonians") or
Hungarie rex ("king of Hungary")in his charters.
Consolidation (1001– 1009) Although Stephen's power did not rely on his coronation, the ceremony granted him the internationally accepted legitimacy of a Christian monarch who ruled his realm "
by the Grace of God". All his legends testify that he established an
archbishopric with its see in Esztergom shortly after his coronation. This act ensured that the Church in Hungary became independent of the prelates of the Holy Roman Empire. The earliest reference to an archbishop of Esztergom, named
Dominic, has been preserved in the deed of foundation of the Pannonhalma Archabbey from 1002. According to historian
Gábor Thoroczkay, Stephen also established the
Diocese of Kalocsa in 1001. Stephen invited foreign priests to Hungary to evangelize his kingdom. Associates of the late Adalbert of Prague, including
Radla and
Astrik, arrived in Hungary in the first years of his reign. The presence of an unnamed "Archbishop of the Hungarians" at the
synod of 1007 of
Frankfurt and the consecration of an altar in
Bamberg in 1012 by Archbishop Astrik show that Stephen's
prelates maintained a good relationship with the clergy of the Holy Roman Empire. The transformation of Hungary into a Christian state was one of Stephen's principal concerns throughout his reign. Although the Hungarians' conversion had already begun in his father's reign, it was only Stephen who systematically forced his subjects to give up their pagan rituals. His legislative activity was closely connected with Christianity. For example, his
First Book of Laws from the first years of his reign includes several provisions prescribing the observance of
feast days and the
confession before death. His other laws protected property rights and the interests of widows and orphans, or regulated the status of serfs. Many Hungarian lords refused to accept Stephen's suzerainty even after his coronation. The new King first turned against his own uncle, Gyula the Younger, whose realm "was most wide and rich", according to the
Illuminated Chronicle. Stephen invaded Transylvania and seized Gyula and his family around 1002 or in 1003. The contemporary
Annals of Hildesheim adds that Stephen converted his uncle's "country to the Christian faith by force" after its conquest. Accordingly, historians date the establishment of the
Diocese of Transylvania to this period. If the identification, proposed by Kristó, Györffy and other Hungarian historians, of Gyula with one Prokuiwho was Stephen's uncle according to Thietmar of Merseburgis valid, Gyula later escaped from captivity and fled to
Bolesław I the Brave,
Duke of Poland (r. 992–1025). About a hundred years later, the chronicler
Gallus Anonymus also made mention of armed conflicts between Stephen and Bolesław, stating that the latter "defeated the Hungarians in battle and made himself master of all their lands as far as the
Danube". Györffy says that the chronicler's report refers to the occupation of the valley of the river
Moravaa tributary of the Danubeby the
Poles in the 1010s. On the other hand, the
Polish-Hungarian Chronicle states that the Polish duke occupied large territories north of the Danube and east of the Morava as far as Esztergom in the early 11th century. According to Steinhübel, the latter source proves that a significant part of the lands that now form Slovakia were under Polish rule between 1002 and 1030. In contrast with the Slovak historian, Györffy writes that this late chronicle "in which one absurdity follows another" contradicts all facts known from 11th-century sources. The
Illuminated Chronicle narrates that Stephen "led his army against Kean, Duke of the Bulgarians and Slavs whose lands are by their natural position most strongly fortified" following the occupation of Gyula's country. According to a number of historians, including Zoltán Lenkey and Gyula Kristó, Kean was the head of a small state located in the southern parts of Transylvania and Stephen occupied his country around 1003. Other historians, including Györffy, say that the chronicle's report preserved the memory of Stephen's campaign against
Bulgaria in the late 1010s. Likewise, the identification of the "
Black Hungarians"who were mentioned by Bruno of Querfurt and Adémar de Chabannes among the opponents of Stephen's proselytizing policyis uncertain. Györffy locates their lands to the east of the river
Tisza; while Thoroczkay says they live in the southern parts of Transdanubia. Bruno of Querfurt's report of the Black Hungarians' conversion by force suggests that Stephen conquered their lands at the latest in 1009 when "the first mission of Saint Peter"a
papal legate, Cardinal Azoarrived in Hungary. The latter attended the meeting in
Győr where the royal charter determining the borders of the newly established
Bishopric of Pécs was issued on 23 August 1009. The
Diocese of Eger was also set up around 1009. According to Thoroczkay, "it is very probable" that the bishopric's establishment was connected with the conversion of the
Kabarsan ethnic group of
Khazar origin and their chieftain. The head of the Kabarswho was either
Samuel Aba or his father married Stephen's unnamed younger sister on this occasion. The
Aba clan was the most powerful among the native families who joined Stephen and supported him in his efforts to establish a Christian monarchy. The reports by
Anonymus, Simon of Kéza and other Hungarian chroniclers of the Bár-Kalán,
Csák and other 13th-century noble families descending from Hungarian chieftains suggest that other native families were also involved in the process. Stephen set up a territory-based administrative system, establishing
counties. Each county, headed by a royal official known as a count or
ispán, was an administrative unit organized around a royal fortress. Most fortresses were earthworks in this period, but the castles at Esztergom,
Székesfehérvár and Veszprém were built of stone. Forts serving as county seats also became the nuclei of Church organization. The settlements developing around them, where markets were held on each Sunday, were important local economic centers.
Wars with Poland and Bulgaria ( 1009–1018) Stephen's brother-in-law,
Henry II, became
King of Germany in 1002 and Holy Roman Emperor in 1013. Their friendly relationship ensured that the western borders of Hungary experienced a period of peace in the first decades of the 11th century. Even when Henry II's discontented brother,
Bruno, sought refuge in Hungary in 1004, Stephen preserved the peace with Germany and negotiated a settlement between his two brothers-in-law. Around 1009, he gave his younger sister in marriage to
Otto Orseolo,
Doge of Venice (r. 1008–1026), a close ally of the
Byzantine Emperor,
Basil II (r. 976–1025), which suggests that Hungary's relationship with the
Byzantine Empire was also peaceful. On the other hand, the alliance between Hungary and the Holy Roman Empire brought her into a war with Poland lasting from around 1014 until 1018. The Poles occupied the Hungarian posts along the river Morava. Györffy and Kristó write that a
Pecheneg incursion into Transylvania, the memory of which has been preserved in Stephen's legends, also took place in this period, because the Pechenegs were close allies of the Polish duke's brother-in-law, Grand Prince
Sviatopolk I of Kiev (r. 1015–1019). Poland and the Holy Roman Empire concluded the
Peace of Bautzen in January 1018. Later in the same year, 500 Hungarian horsemen accompanied
Bolesław of Poland to
Kiev, suggesting that Hungary had been included in the peace treaty. The historian Ferenc Makk says that the Peace of Bautzen obliged Bolesław to hand over all the territories he had occupied in the Morava valley to Stephen. According to Leodvin, the first known
Bishop of Bihar (r. 1050 – 1060), Stephen allied with the Byzantines and led a military expedition to assist them against "
barbarians" in the
Balkan Peninsula. The Byzantine and Hungarian troops jointly took "Cesaries" which Györffy identifies as the present-day town of
Ohrid. Leodvin's report suggests that Stephen joined the Byzantines in the war ending with
their conquest of Bulgaria in 1018. However, the exact date of his expedition is uncertain. Györffy argues that it was only in the last year of the war that Stephen led his troops against the Bulgarians.
Domestic policies (1018–1024) and his disciple, Prince
Emeric (both were canonized along with King Stephen in 1083). Püspökkút-statue in
Székesfehérvár, installment , established by Stephen Bishop Leodvin wrote that Stephen collected
relics of a number of saints in "Cesaries" during his campaign in the Balkans, including
Saint George and
Saint Nicholas. He donated them to his new triple-naved basilica dedicated to the Holy Virgin in Székesfehérvár, where he also set up a
cathedral chapter and his new capital. His decision was influenced by the opening, in 1018 or 1019, of a new
pilgrimage route that bypassed his old capital, Esztergom. The new route connected Western Europe and the
Holy Land through Hungary. Stephen often met the pilgrims, contributing to the spread of his fame throughout Europe. Abbot
Odilo of Cluny, for example, wrote in a letter to Stephen that "those who have returned from the
shrine of our Lord" testify to the king's passion "towards the honour of our divine religion". Stephen also established four hostels for pilgrims in Constantinople,
Jerusalem,
Ravenna and
Rome. In addition to pilgrims, merchants often used the safe route across Hungary when travelling between Constantinople and Western Europe. Stephen's legends refer to 60 wealthy Pechenegs who travelled to Hungary, but were attacked by Hungarian border guards. The king sentenced his soldiers to death in order to demonstrate his determination to preserve internal peace. Regular minting of coinage began in Hungary in the 1020s. His silver dinars bearing the inscriptions STEPHANUS REX ("King Stephen") and REGIA CIVITAS ("royal city") were popular in contemporary Europe, as demonstrated by counterfeited copies unearthed in
Sweden. Stephen convinced some pilgrims and merchants to settle in Hungary.
Gerard, a
Benedictine monk who arrived in Hungary from the
Republic of Venice between 1020 and 1026, initially planned to continue his journey to the Holy Land, but decided to stay in the country after his meeting with the king. Stephen also established a number of Benedictine monasteriesincluding the abbeys at
Pécsvárad,
Zalavár and
Bakonybélin this period. The
Long Life of Saint Gerard mentions Stephen's conflict with
Ajtony, a chieftain in the region of the river
Maros. Many historians date their clash to the end of the 1020s, although Györffy and other scholars put it at least a decade earlier. The conflict arose when Ajtony, who "had taken his power from the Greeks", according to Saint Gerard's legend, levied tax on the salt transported to Stephen on the river. The king sent a large army led by
Csanád against Ajtony, who was killed in battle. His lands were transformed into a Hungarian
county and the king set up a
new bishopric at Csanád (Cenad, Romania), Ajtony's former capital, which was renamed after the commander of the royal army. According to the
Annales Posonienses, the Venetian Gerard was consecrated as the first bishop of the new diocese in 1030.
Conflicts with the Holy Roman Empire (1024–1031) Stephen's brother-in-law, Emperor Henry, died on 13 July 1024. He was succeeded by a distant relative,
Conrad II (r. 1024–1039), who adopted an offensive foreign policy. Conrad II expelled Doge Otto Orseolothe husband of Stephen's sisterfrom Venice in 1026. He also persuaded the Bavarians to proclaim his own son,
Henry, as their duke in 1027, although Stephen's son Emeric had a strong claim to the
Duchy of Bavaria through his mother. Emperor Conrad planned a marriage alliance with the Byzantine Empire and dispatched one of his advisors, Bishop
Werner of Strasbourg, to Constantinople. In the autumn of 1027, the bishop seemingly travelled as a pilgrim, but Stephen, who had been informed of his actual purpose, refused to let him enter into his country. Conrad II's biographer
Wipo of Burgundy narrated that the Bavarians incited skirmishes along the common borders of Hungary and the Holy Roman Empire in 1029, causing a rapid deterioration in relations between the two countries. Emperor Conrad personally led his armies to Hungary in June 1030 and plundered the lands west of the River
Rába. However, according to the
Annals of Niederalteich, the emperor, suffering from consequences of the
scorched earth tactics used by the Hungarian army, returned to Germany "without an army and without achieving anything, because the army was threatened by starvation and was captured by the Hungarians at
Vienna". Peace was restored after Conrad had ceded the lands between the rivers
Lajta and
Fischa to Hungary in the summer of 1031.
Last years (1031–1038) 's funeral and the blinding of
Vazul (
Chronicon Pictum, 1358)|left Stephen's biographer, Hartvic, narrates that the King, whose children died one by one in infancy, "restrained the grief over their death by the solace on account of the love of his surviving son",
Emeric. However, Emeric was wounded in a hunting accident and died in 1031. After the death of his son, the elderly King could never "fully regain his former health", according to the
Illuminated Chronicle. Kristó writes that the picture, which has been preserved in Stephen's legends, of the king keeping the
vigils and washing the feet of paupers, is connected with Stephen's last years, following the death of his son. Emeric's death jeopardized his father's achievements in establishing a Christian state, because Stephen's cousin,
Vazulwho had the strongest claim to succeed himwas suspected of an inclination towards paganism. According to the
Annals of Altaich Stephen disregarded his cousin's claim and nominated his sister's son, the Venetian
Peter Orseolo, as his heir. The same source adds that Vazul was captured and blinded, and his three sons,
Levente,
Andrew and
Béla, were expelled from Hungary. Stephen's legends refer to an unsuccessful attempt upon the elderly king's life by members of his court. According to Kristó, the legends refer to a plot in which Vazul participated and his mutilation was a punishment for this act. That Vazul's ears were filled with molten lead was only recorded in later sources, including the
Illuminated Chronicle. In the view of some historians, provisions in Stephen's
Second Book of Laws on the "conspiracy against the king and the kingdom" imply that the book was promulgated after Vazul's unsuccessful plot against Stephen. However, this view has not been universally accepted. Györffy states that the law book was issued, not after 1031, but around 1009. Likewise, the authenticity of the decree on tithes is debated: according to Györffy, it was issued during Stephen's reign, but Berend, Laszlovszky and Szakács argue that it "might be a later addition". Stephen died on 15 August 1038. He was buried in the basilica of Székesfehérvár. His reign was followed by a long period of civil wars, pagan uprisings and foreign invasions. The instability ended in 1077 when
Ladislaus, a grandson of Vazul, ascended the throne. == Family ==