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.
In 1187, the principality of Halych was caught up in a succession crisis and then captured by Roman; Vladimir II (Володимир), one of the claimants, came to Béla pleading for aid. He instead imprisoned Vladimir and seized the principality for himself. He dispatched his son Andrew to rule as prince, while he himself claimed the title king of Galicia. In 1190 Vladimir escaped and, with Polish aid, recaptured the principality.
Béla declared his intent to launch a crusade but died shortly after in 1196.