Coloman

Coloman (Kalman) was the king of Hungary and Croatia. He founded the union of those two kingdoms.

History

Coloman was the eldest son of Geza I. When his father died on April 25, 1077, he was passed over for the crown owing to his youth and poor health. St. Ladislaus I instead was crowned. Furthermore, Ladislaus I arranged for succession to pass over Coloman again. He preferred Coloman's younger brother Almos.

Coloman became a priest and, by the 1090s, a leading bishop.

Reign

St. Ladislaus I died on July 29, 1095. In early 1096, Coloman was crowned. He appointed Almos duke, a title which conferred significant income and a variety of counties, but no singular principality.

By 1097, Coloman had completed the conquest of Croatia that St. Ladislaus I had begun in 1091. He continued to consolidate control over the Dalmatian city-states into the early 12th century. In 1102 he was elected king of Croatia by the local nobility. In 1108 he was crowned as king of Hungary, Croatia, and Dalmatia. He granted charters of liberty to many of the city-states to secure their loyalty.

Coloman initiated a comprehensive review of all laws and decrees of the Arpad dynasty and raised taxes on trade.

Legal charters suggest that Coloman established the voivodeship of Transylvania in 1111.

Throughout Coloman's reign, there was a power struggle against Almos. It peaked in 1107 when he seized the duchy that he had previously granted Almos; and again in 1113 when he retaliated against a conspiracy by having Almos, his son Bela II, and many of their supporters blinded.

Coloman died on February 3, 1116.

Legacy

Coloman's union of the kingdoms of Hungary and Croatia would persist until Ottoman conquest.

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