THE AGE OF THE FOUNDATION OF THE STATE
Chief prince Géza
In the 970s - as a pressing result of the changed domestic and foreign affairs - chief prince Géza adopted Christianity, the faith of the victors, and started spreading it in the country. At the same time he started to organize the central power, too. He hardly ever made war against foreign countries during his 25-year-long principality. His peace policy was reinforced by dynastic marriages - which were quite natural at that time - between his children and members of foreign ruling families.
His eldest daughter became wife of the Polish prince, Boleslo the Brave, and his other daughter was married to Gavril Radomir, the Bulgarian heir to the crown. Settling the relationship with the Germans was an extremely important issue: his son, Vajk, who received the name István after baptism, married Gizella, daughter of Bavarian prince, Henry the Wrangler, and hereby he became the new Bavarian prince, Henry IV's brother-in-law. His third daughter was married to Otto Orseolo, the Doge of Venice. He had a peaceful relationship with countries to the east, that is, with the Russian princes of Kiev, the Petchenegs and the Bulgarians. His brother, Mihály, made things smooth for him, since he married a Bulgarian princess.
In connection with the adoption of Christianity, the question of vital importance was whether Hungary should join the western or the eastern Church. Formerly (around 948) the Hungarian noblemen joined the Byzantine Church. The decision on the choice was made by current foreign affairs. The last phase of the Hungarian raids was directed against the southeast, and this alienated Byzantine relations. It could have been a warning for the Hungarian principality that the Byzantine emperor abolished the political and religious independence of Bulgaria.
When Byzantium and the Holy Roman Empire were direct neighbours of Hungary, orientation to the west seemed a more promising support for chief prince Géza, since Otto I. also realised that embracing the cause of the Hungarians would reinforce his own political influence in the region. The Holy Roman emperor selected the members of the mission to Hungary with the advice and cooperation of his immediate followers. He chose Prunwart (later Saint Bruno) from Saint Gallen as the missionary bishop. So in the autumn of 972 the archbishop of Mainz consecrated friar Bruno as bishop of the Hungarians, who converted many pagans to Christianity. He was the one who christened chief prince Géza and his family. Géza got the name István when he was christened. His wife, Sharolt, was baptised by the Greek bishop Hierotheos in her early childhood.
The Hungarian chief prince needed the political, moral and occasional military help of the German empire because of the Byzantine threat. Adopting Christianity was both a cultural and a political event for the Hungarians. During Géza's reign the plundering campaigns came to an end. By the same token the sources of rich booty also ceased. All the wealth they brought from abroad so far had to be obtained from inner sources. Only part of the former military groups could save their independence. From those, who were no longer needed for military purposes, various services were demanded. In certain territories it became common to collect the obligatory presents and taxes in the form of produce or products. Thus the villages of servants around the courts started to grow (cooks, goldsmiths and smiths). Part of the collected products went to foreign markets, while local noblemen brought luxury items - which they plundered formerly - from merchants. Customs duties (the main source of income of which was the profit of salt-mines and silver-mines) and the income of different ports were the legal due of the principal. The spreading of new religion with methods not free from violence, and the need to establish a new internal order brought about resistance among the free, and the leaders of tribes and clans did not necessarily follow these trends either.
Chief prince Géza relied first and foremost on the clergymen and German knights in his immediate entourage to carry out his plans. To realize his strive for centralisation he needed the help of his strong military escort. He replaced the pagan tribal leaders and heads of clans with Christian German knights, who supported him loyally, and who were likely to get the property of the rebelling leaders. These knights formed the center of the heavily armed forces. The Hungarian soldiers were equipped only with light weapons. Subsidiary troops might have belonged to the military force of the principality, like the Petcheneg soldiers among others.
Géza intended to leave a country to his successors which was independent of all outer powers. At the same time, the issue of succession to the throne created tension at the court: by ancestral right Koppány should have claimed the throne, but the ruler chose his first-born son to be his successor. The fight in the chief prince's family started after Géza's death, in 997.
King Stephen's reign
Géza's efforts to establish a stable state power and guarantee the throne for his son were not really successful, because he had to share some of the country with the other members of the principal family. Prince Koppány also lay his claim for the throne. In the Hungarian succession the theory of seniority - the right of the oldest living brother - prevailed. Koppány also laid claim on the principal's widow, Sharolt. Géza's will, that his first-born son should inherit the throne, contradicted the ancestral right.
Koppány took up arms, and many people joined him in Transdanubia. The rebels represented the old faith and order, the ancient human rights, tribal independence and the pagan belief.
Together with his warriors, Koppány marched to Veszprém, which was also Sharolt's residence. István was prepared for the attack, too: before the battle his followers authorised him to be chief prince by girding a sword on him. With this army - which consisted of Hungarian and foreign troops as well - he left the fortress of Esztergom for Veszprém. The leaders of István's (Stephen's) guardsmen were Hont and Pázmány, German "principles". The Swabian guest (hospes), Vecellin took the lead of the army, and he killed Koppány near Veszprém during the battle. After the victory, István rewarded the knights who supported him, and he had Koppány quartered and hung his bodily remains from four castle gates as a deterrent. The warning sent to the Transdanubian Székesfehérvár, Veszprém, Győr and the Transsylvanian (Gyula)Fehérvár was addressed to the whole nation: with this he wanted to threaten those who intended to turn against the new order he represented.
The foreigners who were staying at the court arrived in the country with Gizella, and their role was very important; not only in armed fights, but in other respects as well. Their activity in the church and politics was of equal importance: the ruler followed their advice in governing the country. During the organising of the castle districts and counties, the developed western form made its way into public administration. Centers that guaranteed the king's power had to be established, and these centers were the castles.
The estate and the servants provided the castle. A huge part of the estate surrounded the castle itself, but further territories could belong to it as well. The bailiff directed the life of the castle: he was the judge, he collected taxes, he took the lead of the army of the castle. He was the supervisor of the villeins - the supporting pillar of the new power. The clerks of the castle administration were chosen from among them, and they formed the bigger part of the army. The common people of the castle retained their freedom by right, but actually they were chained to the service of the castle forever. In the first place they were engaged in agriculture and animal husbandry, and only some of them were employed in the army. They paid tax in money and land produce. The incomes were shared by the ruler and the bailiff (in the proportion of 2/3 - 1/3).
The royal court set out for journeys quite frequently. Then their numerous escort was stationed in the castles and its surrounding villages. The servants of the castle were obliged to supply them. If they failed to do so, an accommodation-tax (descensus) may have been claimed from them instead.
The bailiff and his men collected road tax at the borders of the county, and bridge tax at the crossing places of rivers. Outside the castle walls, not very far from the castle there was a fair, a weekly market on a particular day of the week. In the beginning, this day was Sunday (the Hungarian word for Sunday - vasárnap - means market day). With the spread of Christianity this day, however, became a holiday - on Sunday working was prohibited, the people in the village went to church, so market days were put off to other days of the week.
Counties consisted of castle districts, and they were in charge of public administration. They did not serve military purposes at first place. The Hungarian word "megye" (county) is of Slav origin and it means "border". The borders of the newly arising counties were determined by the castles, the dioceses and tribal territories, which still existed at that time. In contrast with castle districts, the counties were contiguous estates, and the dependants of royal, ecclesiastical and secular landlords lived within their borders. The number of counties may have been about 35-45, less than that of the castle districts. The head of the counties were the county bailiffs, who were appointed by the king.
After Koppány's defeat and the reorganisation of public administration, chief prince István was of the opinion that strengthening his power and becoming king were issues of crucial importance. In the autumn of 1000 he sent ministers to the Pope to ask for a crown and the royal title. It was important for him to ask support from the Pope, and not the German ruler, because by doing so he did not become the vassal of the German empire - though in respect of the church he depended on Rome. Pope Sylvester II - in concert with the German ruler, Otto III - fulfilled István's request.
With the coming of the new millennium - according to different calendars it might have been on 25th December 1000, or 1st January 1001 - István was crowned king, and hereby Hungary joined the Christian community of European peoples. So the organisation of the church could start in the new kingdom.
At the Easter of 1001 the Pope founded the archbishopric at Esztergom and gave István a free hand to organise bishoprics. The first archbishop was Randla, followed by Astric, the former bishop of Kalocsa. King István founded and sponsored ten dioceses. The church possessed huge estates, these provided the economic background. Besides, the payment of tithe for the church, the constructions of churches, and church going were regulated by laws.
King István considered his power to be of divine origin; this appears in his certificates and in the preface of his first book of laws. The king had a number of royal emblems. The royal coronation cloak - originally designed for a chasuble - is from 1031, and on this we can see the crown, the orb and the spear. The sword and the sceptre were royal emblems as well, and centuries later the silver cross was also added.
At the time of its foundation, the Hungarian kingdom preserved its freedom and sovereignity. István strengthened his power by minting money, framing laws and issuing diplomas.
Minting money in Hungary - after German patterns - posed a number of debated questions. Experts usually attribute two different mints to István. One of them is the "dénár" (denarius) with the writing "LANCEA REGIS" (the king's spear) and a hand holding a winged spear on its face, and on its back there is a legend "REGIA CIVITAS" (royal town) and a church in the center. Such coins survived only in a very small number. The other mint is the "obulus" (half-denarius), with the legend STEPHANUS REX (King Stephen) on its face, and REGIA CIVITAS - referring to Esztergom - on the back. These coins, however, were found in such a large quantity that we must come to the conclusion that this currency was widespread throughout the country. It was in circulation in home and foreign trade as well.
The German influence could be noticed also in legislation. Two law-books are attributed to István. These contain a total of 56 acts. There are no manuscripts, though, that would contain all of them. The king's orders were probably collected in these law-books only after his death. The general view is that the acts of the first book were codified at the beginning of István's reign, and those of the second book were brought into legislation towards the end of his life. There are no relevant dates in them, though. The codex of Admont from the 12th century divides the laws into two parts: the first one contains the booklet of moral teachings written to his son (Exhortations), the second one contains a set of criminal laws.
Laws were enacted by the body of the king's councillors. The royal senate (senatus) consisted of the episcopal board and the bailiffs. Its two leading figures were the archbishop of Esztergom (the head of the episcopal board) and the most respected bailiff, the palatin of Hungary. They could give advice to the king, but their advice could not restrict the king's will.
Nine diplomas survived under István's name. The majority of these are forgeries from the 13th-17th centuries, but some of them contain original elements from the 11th century. All in all, three authentic diplomas can be linked to the age of István (the Letter of Foundation of Pannonhalma, the Letter of Foundation of the bishopric at Pécs and that of the bishopric at Veszprém). These diplomas were made by a clerk from the chancellery of Otto III., who settled down in Hungary after the German emperor's death on 23rd January 1002. On the basis of the handwriting we can identify C. Heribert's work, who was the composer of the Letter of Foundation of Pannonhalma, and who left king István's thoughts to the succeeding generations with his specific decorative letters.
With the help of the laws - the most important contemporary group of sources - we can outline the society of István's age, which can be divided into two parts; the basis of differentiation was whether one was free (liber) or a servant (servus).
The legally uniform society of the freemen consisted of further layers. On top of the hierarchy was the king (rex); surrounded by the aristocracy - ecclesiastical and secular dignitaries. The groups of the freemen were the following - on the basis of their financial situation-, according to contemporary laws: bailiff (comes), warrior (miles) and common (vulgaris). The warriors (milites), who composed the middle layer, were on military duty; they possessed private property (houses, lands, servants). The common people (vulgari) had smaller properties (horses, weapons), they had to pay the chimney tax - the denarius of the free - per family. They could become impoverished easily, losing more and more of their human and political rights, and gradually sinking to the level of the servants.
Servants (servi) did not have personal and political rights (such as free marriages, moving, making wills, carrying arms, participation in public affairs) that could be summarised as public or golden liberty (aurea libertas).
Attacks against the new order
After the coronation, István became king of Hungary, but in reality his power extended only over western and northern Hungary. In the eastern part of the country significant forces were in opposition to his uniting and centralising policy.
The king made his uncle (on the mother's side), the Transylvanian Gyula, surrender first, in 1003. Gyula and his people lived according to pagan traditions, he refused to obey, and intended to create a self-supporting, independent principality. István himself led a campaign against the disloyal Gyula, who - in the end - did not go against his nephew's army, but surrendered. After depriving him of the title of lord of province - by this he spread his power to Transylvania -, the king set up the Transylvanian episcopacy.
In course of the fights in the organisation of the state István's next enemy was Ajtony, who developed an independent rule in the territory bordered by the rivers Körös, Tisza, Lower-Danube, and the Transsylvanian mountain range. Although he took up Byzantine Christianity, he lived according to pagan traditions - as many other people did at that time. He resisted the king, in his own territory he functioned as a sovereign ruler. The royal army marched against him with the leader, Csanád at around 1008. They gained a total victory. In Ajtony's territory county Csanád was organised, and in 1038 the episcopacy of Csanád was set up, the prelate of which was Gerald from Venice.
As a result of a series of military victories, István managed to unite the Carpathian Basin both politically and religiously. Arranging home affairs required tremendous energy, thus he followed his father's policy concerning foreign affairs. He entered into alliance with the German empire, Venice and Byzantium. When battles were unavoidable, he proved to be a successful commander. In military affairs the Hungarian king was supported by the armies of the castle districts, the armed forces of ecclesiastical and secular dignitaries and the help of some privileged peoples.
King István defeated the Bulgarians in 1015 as an ally of Byzantium. In 1017 Polish troops arrived in the country to help Gyula, but they were defeated. The Hungarian ruler made peace with the Polish chief prince in 1018, and after 1019 a good relationship developed between Hungary and the Kievian ruler, Yaroslav the Wise. As a result, Russian and Varegian warriors came to the court, who were enlisted as the king's guardsmen, the leader of whose was prince Emeric. After the fall of Bulgaria in 1018, peace was brought to the Balkans. Thus Hungary had a common border with Byzantium till the end of the 12th century.
After 1018 István, a respected ruler throughout contemporary Europe, opened the Hungarian section of the pilgrims' route to Jerusalem, offering protection to the travellers. As a result, Hungary could join the economic, political and intellectual circulation between the eastern and western parts of Europe. As this route excluded Esztergom, István set up a new residence at Székesfehérvár, where he had a huge basilica built. He destined it for a royal chapel and burial place. Later the annual law-days were held here, in the royal headquarters, when everyone could appear before the king.
In 1030 the Hungarian kingdom had to face an enormous trial of strength. There was a German attack against the country, led by emperor Konrad, and at the same time the Czechs also launched an attack. The German emperor wanted to make Hungary its vassal and restore the former borders of the Carolingian Empire. The German army, however, suffered a defeat. Famine brought forth by tactics of well-built border zones and burnt land annihilated the armed forces of the enemy and made them turn back. During the pursuit István took over Vienna, as well. The peace signed by the Hungarians, Germans and the Czechs in 1031 granted Hungary territorial growth along the Lajta and Morva rivers.
Concerning succession, István believed that the suitability to rule (idoneitas) was the most important factor, as we can read it in his Exhortation. In connection with succession, he had to cope with a difficult problem in his last years. He had two sons: Otto, who died very early, so prince Emeric became the successor. He was provided with a good education, his teacher was the learned bishop Gerald (Gellért). In 1031 the royal family had to face a disaster: prince Emeric died in course of a wild-boars hunt.
After Emeric's death, István had to look for a new successor. Finally he chose his nephew, Peter of Orseolo, who was born from his sister's marriage to the Venetian Doge, and who had been living in the Hungarian royal court after his father's fall in Italy. István adopted him as his son. His decision hurt the sons of his father's brother - Mihály (Michael), Vazul and László (Leslie) Szár, in their hopes for the throne.
In 1032 a murderous attempt was made on the ill king's life. The plan, however, did not succeed, and a serious punishment was the result. The king rendered Vazul unable to rule (he had him blinded and poured lead into his ears), and his children - Levente, András and Béla - were exiled from the country. The successor, Peter of Orseolo had to make an oath, that he would obey István, have a respect for the queen, Gisella, whom he would not molest in property, and whom he should protect from everyone.
Our first king died on the 15th August, 1038. According to his will, he was buried in the basilica of Székesfehérvár. He was canonized in 1083, during king Ladislas's reign. His memory and relics were preserved by the passing centuries.
