Árpád

Magyar founder of Hungary

• Born: 0850
• Birthplace: Southern Siberia
• Died: 907
• Place of death: Óbuda (now Budapest), Hungary

Árpád, the first great leader of a united Hungarian people and the founder of a dynasty, led the tribal Magyars in a conquest and settlement of the land that is now Hungary.

Conflict between the Hungarians and the indigenous population of Lebedia soon forced Árpád's people to look for another site for settlement. The Petchenegs, a people of Turkish origin, attacked and defeated the Hungarians in 889 and prompted them to move farther west. The Hungarians named their second settlement Etelköz, now known as the region of Bessarabia. The defeat at the hands of the Petchenegs created conditions that brought Árpád to power soon afterward.

Life's Work

The chieftains of the seven tribes met soon after the move to Etelköz to appoint a leader to rule over the whole of the Hungarian people. This was previously unheard of in times of peace, but the chieftains realized that there was much greater strength in unity than in divided leadership such as they had in the past. They first chose Lebed to be their permanent leader, but he was quite old and declined the honor. He suggested that either Almos of the Magyar tribe or his son Árpád should receive the post. Almos became leader, with the understanding that Árpád would inherit the position. The existing sources conflict on the exact date of Árpád's assumption of power, but by 896, he had become the leader of the united nation of Hungarians; according to ancient custom, when he assumed power he was raised on a shield and presented to the people. Henceforth, ethnic Hungarians became known as “Magyars” after his tribe, which was the strongest of the seven.

Early Life

Details of the childhood and formative years of Árpád (AHR-pahd) are scarce. Most of the information concerning the early history of the Hungarians comes from accounts written hundreds of years later that relied on traditional lore passed through the generations by word of mouth. According to the Chronica Hungarorum (1488; Chronicle of the Hungarians

Árpád assumed the title of gyula, the military commander of the nation. Another post, the kundu, was held by a man named Kurszán. The kundu was technically the religious and political head of the nation, but the position held nominal power because the success or failure of the nation depended on events on the battlefield. Árpád wielded the majority of the power in the newly united Hungarian nation and officially assumed both positions following the death of Kurszán in 904. Subsequent leaders also combined the powers of these two posts as absolute rulers of the Hungarians.

The settlement of Etelköz, on the northern border of the Byzantine Empire, attracted the attention of the Byzantines soon after the Hungarians settled there. The Byzantines sent merchants to trade with the newly established nation who returned with a report on the new Hungarian ruler. The merchants described Árpád as a wise man who was valiant and quite capable of governing a nation. More important, these merchants also reported that Árpád was a strict disciplinarian with a well-trained army. Because of the potential security concern that the Hungarians posed to the Byzantine Empire, the Byzantine emperor, Leo VI (r. 886-912), did not take the information lightly. To the west of Etelköz lay the Bulgar Empire, which had been expanding its borders to include not only present-day Bulgaria but also most of present-day Hungary. Leo VI believed that the possibility of an alliance between the Bulgars and the Hungarians constituted a serious threat on his northern border. His solution was to entice Árpád into an alliance and to make war on the Bulgar Empire. The threat would be greatly reduced if one of the two nations were destroyed in war.

Leo was successful, and the alliance of Árpád and Leo declared war on Czar Simeon the Great (d. 927) of the Bulgars in 895. The Byzantines provided ships for Árpád's troops to sail across the Danube River to attack the Bulgars. This army, led by Árpád's son Levante, crushed the Bulgar army and devastated Simeon's kingdom. However, the destruction of the Bulgarian army proved to be a crucial turning point in Árpád's life that was initially for the worse. Leo VI had accomplished his goal with the defeat of the Bulgarians, and he consequently made a separate peace with Simeon in 895. This peace held disastrous consequences for Árpád and his people, as it deprived Árpád's army of the ships they needed to cross the Danube and return home to Etelköz. Levante and the army were thus trapped in the Bulgar Empire.

Czar Simeon took advantage of the situation by concluding an alliance with the Petchenegs, the old foes of the Hungarians. Árpád found his nation attacked on the western frontier of Etelköz by the Bulgarians and in the east by the Petchenegs. This combined attack defeated the Hungarians, who were without the aid of Levante's army. Faced with the possibility of continuing attacks that would inevitably destroy his nation, Árpád made the decision in 895 to move the Hungarian nation a third time, to a place that was more easily defendable than Etelköz.

The plan to evacuate Etelköz was a well-orchestrated operation founded on information Árpád received from a band of Hungarians who had conducted raids across the Carpathian Mountains in the region between the Danube and Tisza Rivers in 894. They reported that this area, the Pannonian Plain, had good land in which to settle and was well protected by dense forest to the east and north and high mountains to the south. The Bulgars had laid claim to the area, but Árpád realized that they could not defend the territory alone. Isolated from their Petcheneg allies by the Carpathian mountains, the Bulgars were easy prey to the superior power of the well-trained Hungarian army. Árpád heeded the advice of his subjects that the Pannonian Plain was the best place in which to resettle the Hungarian nation.

Árpád realized that an immediate evacuation of Etelköz was impossible, given the threat of attack on two fronts from the Bulgars and the Petchenegs. Following a thorough exploration of the proposed resettlement area, Árpád resolved to invade the region by numerous different routes and to withdraw from Etelköz gradually. This plan kept the Hungarians’ enemies unaware of the move and also allowed the migrants to gain a foothold in the new country before most of them had left for their new home. Except for the route he himself traveled, the paths that Árpád chose for his people to take are uncertain. According to the chroniclers, Árpád and his contingent traveled north, entering the Pannonian Plain via the Verecke Pass in the northeast Carpathian mountain range. The other paths were probably through the southeast Carpathians and across the lower Danube.

Árpád's plan succeeded, and by 898, the entire Hungarian nation had evacuated Etelköz, conquered the indigenous population of the Pannonian Plain, and established a firm base from which to expand. In the ensuing years, Árpád augmented his new kingdom with the conquest of much of the land to the south of the Pannonian Plain, his armies reaching as far as Bavaria, Austria, and the northern border of Italy. The final stage of Árpád's conquest was the occupation in 902 of Moravia, which was weakened by internal strife that undermined its defenses. With the fall of Moravia, Árpád established a large eastern European kingdom that would be consolidated by his descendants. He died in 907 and is believed to be buried in Óbuda, part of modern Budapest.

Significance

Árpád's contribution to history is apparent despite the lack information on his reign. His leadership allowed the Hungarian nation to survive certain defeat and subjugation by the Bulgars and Petchenegs. More important, through his conquests, he became the father of modern Hungary. He had little time to consolidate his realm before his death, but the Árpád dynasty dominated Hungarian history until 1301, when the last of the line, Andrew III, died. Árpád's successors built on his work, transforming Hungarian society from a largely nomadic one to a society based on agriculture. Future leaders also established a firm hold on the territorial holdings won by Árpád, ensuring Hungary's position as one of the most powerful nations of medieval Europe.

Árp´d Kings of Hungary, c. 896-1301

Reign

• Ruler

c. 896-907

• Árp´d

d. 947

• Zsolt

d. 972

• Taksony

997

• Géza

997-1038

• Saint Stephen (István) I

1038-1041

• Peter Orseleo

1041-1044

• Samuel

1044-1046

• Peter (second rule)

1047-1060

• Andrew I

1060-1063

• Béla I

1063-1074

• Salamon

1074-1077

• Géza I

1077-1095

• Saint László (Ladislas) I

1095-1116

• Kalman

1116-1131

• Stephen II

1131-1141

• Béla II

1141-1162

• Géza II

1162-1163

• László II

1163-1172

• Stephen III

1163-1165

• Stephen IV

1172-1196

• Béla III

1196-1204

• Imre

1204-1205

• László III

1205-1235

• Andrew II

1235-1270

• Béla IV

1270-1272

• Stephen V

1272-1290

• László IV

1290-1301

• Andrew III

Bibliography

Bowlus, Charles R. Franks, Moravians, and Magyars: The Struggle for the Middle Danube, 788-907. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1995. Controversial in its contention that Great Moravia was actually located in modern Serbia. This text is considered a lightning-rod for renewed debate about early Magyar history. Maps, bibliography, index.

Györffy, György. King Saint Stephen of Hungary. Boulder, Colo.: Social Science Monographs, 1994. Although largely devoted to the life of Árpád’s successor, Stephen I, this work contains a summary of Árpád’s reign and highlights the difficulties collecting concrete information on the early history of the Hungarians. Maps, bibliography, index.

Halász, Zoltán. Hungary: Geography, History, Political and Social System, Economy, Living Standard, Culture, Sports. 2d ed. Budapest: Corvina Press, 1963. Includes sections on history and geography that are useful examining Árpád’s life and legacy. The history section contains a discussion of his conquests and the geography section illustrates the gradual expansion of the Hungarian state.

Kosztolnyik, Z. J. Hungary Under the Early Árpáds, 890’s to 1063. Boulder, Colo.: East European Monographs, 2002. A historical survey of the House of Árpád. Discusses the early years of the Magyars, their migrations and settlement patterns, military campaigns, and more. Genealogical tables, maps, bibliography, index.

Lázár, István. Hungary: A Brief History. Translated by Albert Tezla. 6th ed. Budapest: Corvina Press, 2001. Presents a brief but concise history of Hungary, from its beginnings during the days of Árpád through the present day. Maps, index.

Lukinich, Imre. A History of Hungary in Biographical Sketches. 1937. Reprint. Translated by Catherine Dallas. Freeport, N.Y.: Books for Libraries Press, 1968. Covers the history of Hungary through a biographical examination of each of its major figures. Contains a chapter on Árpád and the early history of the Hungarians as well as good sections on other Árpád Dynasty rulers.

Macartney, C. A. The Magyars in the Ninth Century. London: Cambridge University Press, 1968. Examines the existing source material on Árpád and his successors and comparatively evaluates the usefulness of each source.

Róna-Tas, András. Hungarians and Europe in the Early Middle Ages: An Introduction to Early Hungarian History. New York: Central European University Press, 1999. A comprehensive survey of the history of Hungary. A good introduction for general readers unfamiliar with the region. Maps, extensive bibliography, index.

Sinor, Denis. History of Hungary. 1959. Reprint. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1976. A good account of Hungarian history from before Árpád’s rise to power. Provides a good description of ninth century Hungarian society and how it changed following the migration from Etelköz. Maps, index.

Thuróczy, János. Chronicle of the Hungarians. Translated by Frank Mantello. Bloomington, Ind.: Indiana University, Research Institute for Inner Asian Studies, 1991. The best known and most widely accepted account of Árpád’s reign, this fifteenth century work serves as a base for study about Árpád and the early history of the Hungarians.

Vámbéry, Ármin. Hungary in Ancient, Mediaeval, and Modern Times. 1886. Reprint. Freeport, N.Y.: Books for Libraries Press, 1972. Provides a good summary of Árpád’s contributions and importance. The section concerning Árpád focuses on his defeat of the Moravians, which ended his conquests. Illustrations.