Stephen III of Hungary

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Stephen III or better István III (Hungarian: III. István, Croatian: Stjepan IV.), (1147–March 4, 1172), king of Hungary from 1162 to 1172.

István III was the eldest son of King Géza II by his wife Euphrosyne of Kiev (Hungarian: Fruzsina). His maternal grandpather was Mstislav I of Kiev.

István III succeeded to the throne on the death of his father (May 31, 1162), but the Hungarian nobility was forced by the Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Komnenos to accept his uncle László II as king on July 15. After László's death in January 1163, his younger brother István IV attempted to maintain himself on the throne, but his oppressive rule provoked a reaction and he was defeated by the nobility and forced to flee to the Byzantine Empire.

The victory of June 19, 1163 brought István III back to the throne, even though his uncle attempted to gain the support of the Byzantine emperor again and to regain his position in Hungary. A Byzantine expedition in 1164 ended with a truce and the withdrawal of Byzantine support for István IV. But István III's forces resumed the offensive and besieged his uncle in Semlin, and István IV died of poison in 1165. This secured István III on his throne, although he had to face further Byzantine intervention in favor of his younger brother Béla, whose lands in central Dalmatia he had appropriated.

The Hungarian king raided Byzantine territory in Syrmia and Dalamatia in 1166 and won some successes, but the Byzantines were eventually victorious in 1167. The Byzantine Empire recovered both Syrmia and Dalmatia and Hungary was forced to recognize the nominal suzerainty of the emperor. István III spent the rest of his reign at peace. His brother Béla had been originally groomed for the Byzantine throne as the intended son-in-law of Manuel I Komnenos, but succeeded to the throne of Hungary on István III's death on March 4, 1172.

István III had married Agnes of Babenberg, by whom he had a son named Béla.

Preceded by
Géza II		 King of Hungary
1162–1172		 Succeeded by
Béla III

[edit] References

  • G. Vég, Magyarország királyai és királynői, Maecenas, 1990.
  • P. Magdalino, The Empire of Manuel Komnenos 1143-1180, Cambridge University Press, 1993.
  • (primary source) The Hungarian Illuminated Chronicle, A. West, trans., Corvina, 1969.
  • (primary source) John Kinnamos, Deeds of John and Manuel Comnenus, C.M. Brand, trans., Columbia University Press, 1976.
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