Julius I Rátót

{{Short description|Hungarian baron and landowner}}

{{Infobox noble

| name = Julius (I) Rátót

| native name =

| title =

| image = Rátót I Gyula országbíró pecsét 1236.jpg

| caption = Seal of Julius Rátót (1236)

| succession = Judge royal

| reign = 1219–1221
1235–1239

| coronation =

| predecessor = Atyusz Atyusz (1st term)
Ladislaus Kán (2nd term)

| successor = Bánk Bár-Kalán (1st term)
Andrew, son of Serafin (2nd term)

| regent =

| spouse =

| issue =none

| noble family = gens Rátót

| father = Leustach I

| mother =

| birth_date = ?

| birth_place =

| death_date = 1239

| death_place =

| place of burial=

|signature =

}}

Julius (I) from the kindred Rátót ({{langx|hu|Rátót nembeli (I.) Gyula}}; died 1239) was a powerful Hungarian baron and landowner, who held several secular positions during the reign of kings Andrew II and Béla IV. He was the founder of the gens Rátót's economical and political power.Markó 2006, p. 290.

He was the second son of Leustach Rátót, who served as voivode of Transylvania from 1176 to 1196. As Julius I had no descendants, his brother Rathold, ispán (comes) of Somogy County carried on the clan's name through his two sons.{{cite web |last=Marek |first=Miroslav |url=http://genealogy.euweb.cz/hung/ratot.html |title= Rátót family tree |publisher= Genealogy.EU}}

His influence arose during the reign of Andrew II. He served as ispán of Nyitra County in 1214.Zsoldos 2011, p. 174. He functioned as judge royal between 1219 and 1221, besides that he also served as ispán of Keve County.Zsoldos 2011, p. 28. He lost the office during the constitutional crisis around the Golden Bull of 1222. After that he held several county functions: he was the ispán of Moson (1221),Zsoldos 2011, p. 169. Bihar (1222)Zsoldos 2011, p. 139. and Vas Counties (1225).Zsoldos 2011, p. 223.

Julius I was appointed voivode of Transylvania in 1229.Engel 2001, p. 381.Zsoldos 2011, p. 38. During that time, he joined to the liege of prince Béla, who became duke of Transylvania in 1226, following the agreement between the king and his son after a series of conflicts for the throne. The fact could be played a role in his betrayal that his cousin, Matthias Rátót, who functioned as provost of Zagreb, held the dignity of chancellor for Béla, future king of Hungary. Julius served as voivode until 1231. It is plausible he is identical with that "Iula", mentioned by a charter of Innocent, Bishop of Syrmia in November 1233, who served as Ban of Severin. He held the dignity perhaps until 1235.{{sfn|Zsoldos|2016|p=443}} When Béla IV ascended the throne in 1235, Julius was appointed judge royal for the second time and remained in office until his death in 1239. Besides that he also served as ispán of Csanád (1235) and Keve Counties (1236–1238).Zsoldos 2011, p. 29.