Tercia pars regni
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The Tercia pars regni (i.e., one-third parts of the kingdom) is the denomination for territories occasionally governed separately by members (dukes) of the Árpád dynasty within the Kingdom of Hungary in the 11th-12th centuries. The symbol of the ducal power was a sword, while the royal power was represented by the crown.
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[edit] Origins
The origins of separated territorial governments within the Kingdom of Hungary are debated among modern scholars.
Some of them claim that the institution was the adaptation of the practise followed by leaders of nomadic tribal federations who entrusted their heirs with the government of some tribes joined recently to the federation. The practise was followed within the tribal federation of the Magyars and later it became the pattern for developing separated governments on territorial basis (e.g., Koppány's government in Somogy).
Other sources mention that the practise of separating a territory for the heir of the monarch was followed by the rulers of Great Moravia.
Another view is that the institution was developed when King Andrew I of Hungary assigned the government of one-third of his kingdom to his brother, the future King Béla I in 1048.
[edit] Territories
The exact borders of the "Tercia parsi regni" have not been determined yet. The counties entrusted to the members of the ruling dynasty did not form a separate province within the kingdom, but they were organized around two or three centers.
The eastern block of the counties were located around Bihar (Romanian: Biharea), a city that was also the see of a Roman Catholic diocese in that time. The north-western parts of the territories were centered around Nyitra (Slovak: Nitra, German: Neutra). A third possible center of the territories was Krassó, a fortress destroyed later in the first half of the 13th century, located near to the present-day Dupljaja in Serbia.
The dukes' principal hunting-grounds lay in the "Holy Forest" (Igyfon) on the territory of the Seş Mountains (today in Romania) in the 11th century.
[edit] History
The practise of dynastical divisions of the kingdom's territories commenced in 1048 when King Andrew I of Hungary conceded one-third of the counties of his kingdom in appanage to his brother, Béla. At that time, Duke Béla was the heir presumptive, but later King Andrew I fathered a son, Solomon. The birth of Solomon gave rise to conflicts between the two brothers that resulted in a civil war. The civil war stopped in 1060 when Béla defeated his brother and ascended the throne.
When Béla died in 1063, his sons Géza, Ladislaus and Lampert had to flee from the Kingdom of Hungary, because their cousin, Solomon (who had already been crowned in 1057) returned followed by the troops his brother-in-law, King Henry IV of Germany provided him. Shortly afterwards, King Bolesław II of Poland provided military assistance to the three dukes thus they could return to the kingdom. However, the parties wanted to avoid the emerging civil war and therefore they made an agreement on 20 January 1064 in Győr. Under the agreement, the three brothers, Dukes Géza, Ladislaus and Lampert accepted the rule of their cousin, King Solomon who conceded them their father's former duchy (the "Tercia pars regni").
Following a nine-year-long period of cooperation, conflicts arose among the king and the dukes, and the latter could expand their power over the larger part of the kingdom and the king had to flee to the western borders. In 1074, the eldest duke, Géza was proclaimed king, while King Solomon could maintain his rule only in some western counties of the kingdom. Following his ascension to the throne, King Géza confirmed his brothers, Ladislaus and Lampert in the possession of the "Tercia pars regni". When Géza died on 25 April 1077, his partisans proclaimed Ladislaus king who could enforce King Solomon to accept his rule in 1081. During Ladislaus' reign, the "Tercia pars regni" may have governed by his brother, Duke Lampert, but it has not been proven, yet.
The "Tercia pars regni" revived in 1095-1096, when King Coloman of Hungary made and agreement with his brother, Álmos, who had been debating Coloman's right to the throne following the death of King Ladislaus I, and conceded the territories in appanage to him. In 1105, Duke Álmos rebelled against his brother and sought for military assistance from the Holy Roman Empire and Poland, but his troops were defeated by the king shortly afterwards. In 1107, Duke Álmos made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and taking advantage of his absence, King Coloman occupied the territories of the "Tercia pars regni".
When Duke Álmos returned from the Holy Land and realised that his territories had been incorporated into the royal domains, he escaped to the court of Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor. Upon the duke's request, the Emperor laid siege to Pozsony (Slovak: Bratislava, German: Pressburg). However, King Coloman sought the assistance of Duke Bolesław III of Poland, who attacked Bohemia. In November, the emperor made a peace with Coloman, who let his brother come back to his court, but the duchy of Álmos and his ducal power was not to be restored. Shortly afterwards, Coloman set up the bishopric of Nyitra in one of the seats of the "Tercia pars regni".
The last revival of the "Tercia pars regni" occurred in 1162, when King Ladislaus II of Hungary, who had been proclaimed king under the menaces of the Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Komnenos against his nephew, King Stephen III, granted its territories to his brother, Stephen following his coronation on 25 December 1162. When King Ladislaus II died in three weeks (on 14 January 1163), Duke Stephen was proclaimed king (and, in some months, he was defeated by King Stephen III]]) and therefore the territories of his former duchy were incorporated into the royal domains definitely.
During the 13-14th centuries, members of the royal dynasties received some provinces (e.g., Slavonia, Transylvania) of the kingdom in appanage and the "Tercia pars regni" was never re-established.
[edit] Dukes
The list of the members of the Árpád dynasty who were dukes of the "Tercia pars regni" follows:
- Béla the Champion / the Bison (1048-1060)
- Géza (1064-1074)
- Saint Ladislaus (1064-1077)
- Lampert (1064- cca. 1095)
- Álmos (1095/1096-1107)
- Stephen (1162-1163)
[edit] Sources
- Kristó, Gyula (editor): Korai Magyar Történeti Lexikon (9-14. század) (Encyclopedia of the Early Hungarian History - 9-14th centuries), Akadémiai Kiadó, 1994, Budapest, ISBN 963 05 6722 9
- Kristó, Gyula - Makk, Ferenc: Az Árpád-ház uralkodói (The rulers of the Árpád dynasty), IPC Könyvek, 1996, ISBN 963 7930 973
