Béla III
Béla III was the king of Hungary and Croatia.
History
Béla III was a younger son of Géza II He was granted a duchy of Dalmatia that, either originally or after subsequent conquests, covered Bosnia and Syrmia.
After Géza's death in 1162, his elder brothers Stephen III, Stephen IV, and Ladislaus II would war over the crown. Manuel I Komnenos invaded and successfully forced Hungary to accept suzerainty.
Béla went to the imperial court in Constantinople, became a protege of Manuel, and had his duchy ceded to the empire. Stephen would repeatedly attempt to recapture this land, but would be repelled each time. Béla himself led a counterattack in 1166.
Reign
When Roman the Great seized the principality of Halych in 1187, Valdimir (Володимир) fled to Béla's court. Béla ordered the invasion of Halych but placed his son Andrew in power, and imprisoned Vladimir instead. Bela thereafter claimed the title king of Galicia.
Validmir escaped captivity in 1190, fled to the court of Casimir II, and organized a new invasion to expel Hungary from Galicia.
Legacy
Béla was directly succeeded by Emeric, but his younger son Andrew would serve as regent for his grandson Ladislaus III and then reign in his own name.