Ladislaus II of Hungary

File:Chronicon Pictum P113 Az aradi véres gyűlés.JPG and Queen Helena of Rascia{{mdash}}at the assembly of Arad in 1131 (from the Illuminated Chronicle)]]

Born in 1131,{{sfn|Kristó|Makk|1996|p=197}} Ladislaus was the second son of King Béla the Blind and his wife, Helena of Rascia.{{sfn|Makk|1994|p=396}} A few months after his birth, his mother took him and his elder brother, Géza, to an assembly held at Arad where the barons who were considered responsible for the blinding of the King were massacred upon the Queen's order.{{sfn|Kristó|Makk|1996|p=197}}

Béla II's army invaded Bosnia in 1136,{{sfn|Curta|2006|p=329}} which he commemorated by adopting the title King of Rama after a small river.{{sfn|Engel|2001|p=50}}{{sfn|Makk|1989|p=33}} The following year, the King appointed Ladislaus Duke of Bosnia at an assembly of the prelates and barons in Esztergom.{{sfn|Kristó|Makk|1996|p=197}}{{sfn|Makk|1989|p=33}} However, Ladislaus never personally ruled the territory and administration was overseen by the Ban, who was either an appointed or an elected official.{{sfn|Kristó|Makk|1996|p=197}}{{sfn|Makk|1989|p=33}}

Béla II died on 13 February 1141{{sfn|Bartl|Čičaj|Kohútova|Letz|2002|p=28}} and was succeeded by his oldest son, Ladislaus's elder brother, Géza II.{{sfn|Bartl|Čičaj|Kohútova|Letz|2002|pp=28–29}} The Illuminated Chronicle writes that during his reign King Géza "granted ducal revenues to his brothers",The Hungarian Illuminated Chronicle (ch. 167.121), p. 139. Ladislaus and his younger brother, Stephen, in an unspecified year,{{sfn|Kristó|Makk|1996|p=197}} although according to historian Bálint Hóman, this happened in 1146. Scholars Ferenc Makk and Gyula Kristó argue that the two dukes only received this grant around 1152, when the King appointed his son, Stephen, his successor.{{sfn|Kristó|Makk|1996|p=197}}{{sfn|Makk|1989|pp=56, 145}}

Ladislaus's younger brother, Stephen, conspired against King Géza but failed in 1156 or 1157.{{sfn|Makk|1989|pp=68–69}}{{sfn|Engel|2001|p=51}} Stephen first sought refuge in the Holy Roman Empire but later fled to the Byzantine Empire.{{sfn|Engel|2001|p=51}} Ladislaus followed him and also settled in Constantinople around 1160.{{sfn|Makk|1989|p=76}}

Contemporaneous sources disagree on the cause of Ladislaus' departure for Constantinople.{{sfn|Makk|1994|p=76}} According to John Kinnamos, both Stephen and Ladislaus "became extremely hateful"Deeds of John and Manuel Comnenus by John Kinnamos (5.1), pp. 154–155. towards King Géza after they had quarreled with him.{{sfn|Makk|1994|p=76}} On the other hand, Niketas Choniates wrote that Ladislaus "defected to Manuel, not so much because Géza loved him less than he should or that he feared a plot on his brother's part, but more because he was fascinated"O City of Byzantium, Annals of Niketas Choniates (4.126), p. 72. by Stephen's favorable reception by the Emperor.{{sfn|Makk|1994|p=76}}

Géza II died on 31 May 1162{{sfn|Kristó|Makk|1996|p=191}} and was succeeded by his son, the 15-year-old Stephen III.{{sfn|Kristó|Makk|1996|p=191}} However, Emperor Manuel, who "put a high value on the overlordship of Hungary", according to the contemporaneous John Kinnamos, decided to intervene on behalf of the late King's two brothers, stating that "it is law among the Hungarians that the crown passes always to the survivors of brothers".Deeds of John and Manuel Comnenus by John Kinnamos (5.1), p. 154.{{sfn|Kristó|Makk|1996|p=198}} Initially, the Emperor planned to assist the younger of the two brothers, Stephen, as claimant to the throne.{{sfn|Stephenson|2000|p=249}} Bribed by Emperor Manuel's envoys, most Hungarian lords were willing to dethrone the young monarch but instead of Stephen, whom they viewed as a puppet of the Emperor, Ladislaus was chosen to be king.{{sfn|Stephenson|2000|p=249}}{{sfn|Makk|1994|p=82}} Six weeks after the young Stephen III's coronation, his partisans were routed at Kapuvár forcing him to leave Hungary and seek refuge in Austria.{{sfn|Makk|1989|p=82}}

{{blockquote|The Emperor ... concluded that it was necessary to assist [Ladislaus's brother, Stephen], by the use of greater force. He marched out of Sardica and when arrived in the region of the Danube adjacent to Braničevo and Belgrade dispatched his nephew Alexios Kontostephanos with an armed force to [Stephen]. Once in control of Chramon, they did everything possible to secure the throne, winning over the most powerful of the Hungarians with gifts, seducing them with flattery, and inciting them with the greatest promises; however, the only thing they achieved was that the Hungarians accepted Ladislaus as their ruler..|author=Niketas ChoniatesO City of Byzantium, Annals of Niketas Choniates (4.127), pp. 72–73.}}

Ladislaus was crowned king in July 1162.{{sfn|Kristó|Makk|1996|p=198}}{{sfn|Bartl|Čičaj|Kohútova|Letz|2002|p=29}} The ceremony was performed by Mikó, Archbishop of Kalocsa, as the Archbishop of Esztergom, Lucas, was loyal to Stephen III and considered Ladislaus an usurper.{{sfn|Kristó|Makk|1996|p=198}}{{sfn|Makk|1989|p=82}}{{sfn|Bartl|Čičaj|Kohútova|Letz|2002|p=29}} Archbishop Lucas excommunicated Ladislaus, but was arrested and imprisoned in return.{{sfn|Makk|1989|p=83}}

According to the chronicle of Henry of Mügeln, Ladislaus granted one-third of the kingdom to his brother, Stephen, and the title of duke.{{sfn|Makk|1989|p=82}} Kinnamos wrote that Ladislaus granted the title urum ("My lord") to his brother as "among the Hungarians, this name means he who will succeed to the royal authority".Deeds of John and Manuel Comnenus by John Kinnamos (5.1), p. 155.{{sfn|Makk|1989|p=87}} Ladislaus attempted to reconcile himself with his opponents and released Archbishop Lucas at Christmas upon the request of Pope Alexander III.{{sfn|Makk|1989|pp=83, 157}}{{sfn|Kristó|Makk|1996|pp=198–199}} However, the Archbishop did not yield to him and continued to support Stephen III, who had returned to Hungary and captured Pressburg (present-day Bratislava in Slovakia).{{sfn|Kristó|Makk|1996|p=199}}{{sfn|Makk|1989|pp=82–83}} Ladislaus did not attack his nephew in Pressburg, but again imprisoned Archbishop Lucas.{{sfn|Kristó|Makk|1996|p=199}}

Ladislaus "usurped the crown for half a year",The Hungarian Illuminated Chronicle (ch. 169.121), p. 139. according to the Illuminated Chronicle{{sfn|Makk|1989|pp=82, 156}} and died on 14 January 1163.{{sfn|Stephenson|2000|p=249}}{{sfn|Bartl|Čičaj|Kohútova|Letz|2002|p=29}} He was buried in the Székesfehérvár Basilica.{{sfn|Kristó|Makk|1996|p=199}}

{{ahnentafel

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|title=Ancestors of Ladislaus II of Hungary{{sfn|Kristó|Makk|1996|p=197, Appendices 2–3}}

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|1=1. Ladislaus II of Hungary

|2=2. Béla II of Hungary

|3=3. Helena of Rascia

|4=4. Álmos, Duke of Croatia

|5=5. Predslava of Kiev

|6=6. Uroš I of Serbia

|7=7. Anna Diogenissa

|8=8. Géza I of Hungary

|9=9. Sophia

|10=10. Sviatopolk II of Kiev

|11=

|12=12. Vukan I of Serbia/Marko

|13=

|14=14. Constantine Diogenes

|15=15. Theodora Komnene

|16=16. Béla I of Hungary

|17=17. Richeza or Adelaide of Poland

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Ladislaus seems to have been a widower when he arrived in Constantinople in about 1160, but both the name of his wife and her family are unknown.{{sfn|Kristó|Makk|1996|p=198}} Ladislaus "could have married a woman of royal blood" at Constantinople, according to Choniates.{{sfn|Makk|1994|p=76}} However, continues Choniates, Ladislaus "refrained from marriage so that he should not forget to return to his country and thus bring ruin to his domestic affairs, enchanted by the spell of a wife".{{sfn|Kristó|Makk|1996|p=198}} Ladislaus's daughter, Mary was married to Nicholas Michiel, son of Vitale II Michele, Doge of Venice.{{sfn|Kristó|Makk|1996|p=198}}

{{Reflist|3}}

{{Refbegin}}

• Deeds of John and Manuel Comnenus by John Kinnamos (Translated by Charles M. Brand) (1976). Columbia University Press. {{ISBN|0-231-04080-6}}.
• O City of Byzantium, Annals of Niketas Choniatēs (Translated by Harry J. Magoulias) (1984). Wayne State University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-8143-1764-8}}.
• The Hungarian Illuminated Chronicle: Chronica de Gestis Hungarorum (Edited by Dezső Dercsényi) (1970). Corvina, Taplinger Publishing. {{ISBN|0-8008-4015-1}}.

{{Refend}}

{{Refbegin}}

• {{cite book |last1=Bartl |first1=Július |last2=Čičaj |first2=Viliam |last3=Kohútova |first3=Mária |last4=Letz |first4=Róbert |last5=Segeš |first5=Vladimír |last6=Škvarna |first6=Dušan |year=2002|title=Slovak History: Chronology & Lexicon |publisher= Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers, Slovenské Pedegogické Nakladatel'stvo |isbn=0-86516-444-4}}
• {{cite book |last=Curta |first=Florin |year=2006 |title=Southeastern Europe in the Middle Ages, 500–1250 |url=https://archive.org/details/southeasterneuro0000curt |url-access=registration |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-89452-4}}
• {{cite book |last=Engel |first=Pál |year=2001 |title=The Realm of St Stephen: A History of Medieval Hungary, 895–1526 |publisher= I.B. Tauris Publishers |isbn=1-86064-061-3}}
• {{Cite book |last1=Kristó |first1=Gyula |last2=Makk |first2=Ferenc |year=1996 |title=Az Árpád-ház uralkodói [Rulers of the House of Árpád]|publisher=I.P.C. Könyvek | isbn=963-7930-97-3|language=hu}}
• {{cite book |last=Makk |first=Ferenc |year=1989 |title=The Árpáds and the Comneni: Political Relations between Hungary and Byzantium in the 12th century (Translated by György Novák)|publisher=Akadémiai Kiadó |isbn=963-05-5268-X}}
• {{cite book |last=Makk |first=Ferenc |editor1-last=Kristó |editor1-first=Gyula |editor2-last=Engel |editor2-first=Pál |editor3-last=Makk |editor3-first=Ferenc | title=Korai magyar történeti lexikon (9–14. század) [Encyclopedia of the Early Hungarian History (9th–14th centuries)] |publisher=Akadémiai Kiadó |year=1994 |page=396 |chapter=II. László |isbn=963-05-6722-9|language=hu}}
• {{Cite book |last=Stephenson |first=Paul |year=2000 |title=Byzantium's Balkan Frontier: A Political Study of the Northern Balkans, 900–1204 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn= 978-0-521-02756-4}}

{{Refend}}

{{Commons category|Ladislaus II of Hungary}}

{{S-start}}

{{s-hou|House of Árpád| |1131|14 January|1163}}

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{{succession box|title=King of Hungary and Croatia|before=Stephen III|after=Stephen IV|years=1162–1163}}

{{S-vac|unknlast=Stephen Vojislavljević|as=knez}}

{{S-ttl|title = Duke of Bosnia | years = 1137 – before 1160}}

{{S-vac| next = Borić|as=ban}}

{{S-end}}

{{Hungarian kings}}

{{Croatian kings}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ladislaus 02 Of Hungary}}

Category:12th-century Hungarian monarchs

Category:Kings of Hungary

Category:Kings of Croatia

Category:1131 births

Category:1163 deaths

Category:House of Árpád

Category:Burials at the Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Category:People excommunicated by the Catholic Church

Category:Dukes of Bosnia

Category:Medieval Hungarian people of Serbian descent

Category:Usurpers