How the young Hungarian Kingdom nearly vanished after King Stephen I died
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King Stephen I (1000-1038) of Hungary remains a towering figure in national memory for good reason: his state-building efforts laid the foundations for a strong Christian kingdom in the Carpathian Basin. But did Hungary’s first king experience any failures during his nearly 40-year reign?
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King Stephen and his legacy
King Stephen is widely praised in superlatives, and it’s not without merit. He established institutions that lasted for over a thousand years, including the system of bishoprics and counties, like Veszprém County, which still exists today. Throughout his 38-year reign, he never lost a single battle and successfully unified the kingdom by crushing every rebellion, including those led by members of his own family.
The consensus among modern historians is that Stephen’s success was made possible, in part, by the groundwork laid by his father, Prince Géza. One of Géza’s shrewd political moves was arranging a marriage between Stephen and a Bavarian princess from a ducal family, one of whose members later became Holy Roman Emperor. While Géza couldn’t predict the future, the alliance granted Stephen and the fledgling Christian Hungarian state valuable time to solidify their power.
Where did Hungary’s first king fall short?
Like many medieval rulers, Stephen made some miscalculations. One controversial decision was neutralizing his rival Vazul. Although many criticised Stephen for rendering Vazul unfit to rule, he could have gone further: executing Vazul and his sons (future kings Andrew and Béla, and their elder brother Levente) was not unheard of at the time. Instead, the trio was exiled to Bohemia, then moved on to Poland and Kievan Rus.
Stephen’s sole point of failure is closely linked to this episode. Though he had multiple sons, only Prince Emeric lived to adulthood. When Emeric died during a hunting trip in 1031, Stephen had Vazul blinded and exiled his sons. He then named Peter Orseolo (his sister Ilona’s son and the child of exiled Venetian Doge Otto Orseolo) as his heir. Peter, who had grown up at the royal court, was later adopted formally by the king.
