Stephen II of Hungary

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Stephen II (Hungarian: II. István, Slovak: Štefan II, Croatian: Stjepan III) (1101 – March 1, 1131) was a King of Hungary of the Arpad dynasty from 1116 until his death. He was the son and successor of King Kálmán. His mother was Felicia, a daughter of Roger I of Sicily by his second wife Eremburge of Mortain.

Almost immediately, the young king involved his kingdom in warfare. Soon after his accession in 1116, Stephen went to war with Bohemia and was defeated. In 1123 he intervened in Kievan Rus on behalf of the opposition to Vladimir Monomakh, together with Polish and Bohemian troops. However the siege of the city of Vladimir was broken off prematurely, when his generals threatened to elect a new king unless he called off the campaign - traditionally regarded as the first successful rebellion of Hungarian nobles against the king. In 1124 he succeeded in regaining Dalmatia from the Republic of Venice, but lost it again the next year.

He died in 1131 at Oradea (Nagyvárad), and was interred at the cathedral there.

Preceded by Kálmán	King of Hungary	Succeeded by Béla II
Preceded by Kálmán	King of Croatia 1116–1131	Succeeded by Béla I

[edit] Sources

• Engel, Pat. Realm of St. Stephen : A History of Medieval Hungary, 2001