Saint Stephen I
Stephen I (Istvan) was the founding king of Hungary and a saint of the Roman Catholic Church.
Contents
History
Stephen was the only son and preferred heir of Geza, grand prince of the Hungarian tribes. Geza arranged his marriage to the daughter of the duke of Bavaria, Henry II. At some point he was baptized.
Following Geza's death, Stephen was declared grand prince by his supporters in Esztergom. His uncle Koppany contested the claim as the senior Arpad heir, and by levirate marriage. Stephen won through the support of foreign powers, especially Swabian and/or Slovak knights.
Otto III and/or Sylvester II raised Stephen to king of Hungary.
Reign
Stephen organized the borderlands into a series of castle districts led by appointed ispans. The kingdom was also divided into administrative counties. These titles were often held together, and over time the roles merged under the latter term.
Stephen spread Christianity throughout the new kingdom. Bishoprics were established; most importantly an archbishopric was established in Esztergom. Clergy were invited to the kingdom under his protection. Public pagan rituals were forbidden.
To the west, Stephen maintained peace for much of his reign. His brother-in-law Henry II (son of the aforementioned duke with the same name) was elected Holy Roman Emperor early on. After Henry II died in 1024, Conrad II took a more bellicose policy. Border skirmishes in Bavaria led to the cession of lands to the kingdom of Hungary.
To the south, his policy seems to have centered on maintaining positive relations with the Byzantine Empire at the expense of the Slavs. He joined with Basil II (the "Bulgar Slayer") in his conquest of Bulgaria.
To the north, Stephen unsuccessfully warred with Bolesław I.
Towards the end of his reign, Stephen moved the capital to Szekesfehervar.
His son, St. Emeric, died unexpectedly in 1031. To avoid a reversion into paganism under his cousins, he designated his nephew Peter Orseolo as the preferred heir.
Stephen died on August 15, 1038. He would be canonized as a saint on August 15, 1083 (simultaneously with Emeric, his son, and Gellert, bishop of Csanad).
Legacy
The Arpad dynasty continued to dominate Hungarian politics for centuries. Even after the male line ended, other dynasties asserted claims based on the female line.
After a short succession war, Peter Orseolo did win the throne. He was quickly overthrown in the Vata pagan uprising, which also saw the martyrdom of some of the early clergy that Stephen I brought to Hungary. Notably St. Gellert (more commonly known as Gerard), the founding bishop of Csanad, was killed in Buda.
It would remain unclear for centuries whether the new kingdom of Hungary owed suzerainty to either or both of the Holy Roman Empire or the Catholic Church. Over time, Hungarian politics became increasingly tied to Holy Roman Empire politics. Being at the frontier of the Ottoman Empire, kings of Hungary plead for assistance on the basis of Christendom and answered calls to crusade.