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| Stephen III was the eldest son and designated heir of '''Geza II'''. Early on his uncles '''Ladislaus II''' and '''Stephen IV''' made clear that they would contest the throne, and they joined the Byzantine court. | Stephen III was the eldest son and designated heir of '''Geza II'''. Early on his uncles '''Ladislaus II''' and '''Stephen IV''' made clear that they would contest the throne, and they joined the Byzantine court in Constantinople. |
Stephen III
Stephen III (Istvan) was the king of Hungary and Croatia.
Contents
History
Stephen III was the eldest son and designated heir of Geza II. Early on his uncles Ladislaus II and Stephen IV made clear that they would contest the throne, and they joined the Byzantine court in Constantinople.
Reign
After the death of Geza II on May 31, 1162, Stephen III was crowned as king. Manuel I Komnenos invaded Hungary in an effort to install Stephen IV as king. Stephen III was forced to flee to Austria. The Byzantines negotiated a compromise with local nobility; Hungary became a vassal but Ladislaus II was crowned instead.
Ladislaus died on January 14, 1163 and Stephen IV was crowned as his successor. Stephen III returned to Hungary and quickly reclaimed the realm; by June Szekesfehervar was captured. He then negotiated for peace with Manuel I. The kingdom remained a vassal. His brother Bela III went to the imperial court in Constantinople, became a protege of Manuel I, and had his lands (duchy of Dalmatia, banate of Bosnia, and voivodeship of Syrmia) ceded to the empire.
Stephen III would attempt to reclaim the ceded lands repeatedly, but the Byzantines repelled them all. Bela III himself led a counterattack in 1166.
Stephen III died on March 4, 1172.
Legacy
The unsuccessful wars under Stephen III and the political maneuvers of his rivals cemented Byzantine control over Bosnia and much of the Dalmatian coast.