The Árpád dynasty consisted of the members of the royal House of Árpád (), also known as Árpáds (, ). They were the ruling dynasty of the Principality of Hungary in the 9th and 10th centuries and of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1000 to 1301. The dynasty was named after the Hungarian Grand Prince Árpád who was the head of the Hungarian tribal federation during the conquest of the Carpathian Basin, c. 895. Previously, it was referred to as the Turul dynasty or kindred.
Both the first Grand Prince of the Hungarians (Álmos) and the first king of Hungary (Saint Stephen) were members of the dynasty. Christianity was adopted as the state religion for the Kingdom of Hungary by the dynasty, and the Árpád kings used the title of apostolic king; the descendants of the dynasty gave the world the highest number of saints and blesseds from one family. The Árpád dynasty ruled the Carpathian Basin for four hundred years, influencing almost all of Europe through its extensive dynastic connections. Eight members of the dynasty were canonized or beatified by the Catholic Church; therefore, since the 13th century the dynasty has often been referred to as the Kindred of the Holy Kings. Two Árpáds were recognized as Saints by the Eastern Orthodox Church.
The dynasty came to end in 1301 with the death of King Andrew III of Hungary, while the last member of the House of Árpád, Andrew's daughter, Blessed Elizabeth of Töss, died in 1336 or 1338. All of the subsequent kings of Hungary (with the exception of King Matthias Corvinus) were cognatic descendants of the Árpád dynasty. The House of Croÿ and the Drummond family of ScotlandMoravský historický sborník: ročenka Moravského národního kongresu, Moravský národní kongres, 2002, p. 523 claim to descend from Géza and George, sons of medieval Hungarian kings: Géza II and Andrew I, respectively.
Anthropology and genetics
According to recent Y-STR and Y-SNP archaeogenetic studies of the skeletal remains of dynasty descendant and King Béla III of Hungary and unknown Árpád member named as "II/52" / "HU52" from the Royal Basilica of Székesfehérvár, it was established that the male lineage belonged to the Y-haplogroup R1a rare subclade R-Z2125 > R-Z2123 > R-Y2632 > R-Y2633 > R1a-SUR51. The subclade was also found in nearest contemporary matches of 48 Bashkirs from the Burzyansky and Abzelilovsky districts of the Republic of Bashkortostan in the Volga-Ural region, and 1 individual from the region of Vojvodina, Serbia. The Árpád members and one individual from Serbia share additional private SNPs making a novel subclade R1a-SUR51 > R-ARP, and as the mentioned individual has additional private SNPs it branches from the medieval Árpáds forming R-ARP > R-UVD.
Based on the data of the distribution, appearance and coalescence estimation of R-Y2633 the dynasty traces ancient origin near Northern Afghanistan about 4500 years ago, with a separation date of R-ARP from the closest kin Bashkirs from the Volga-Ural region to 2000 years ago, while the individual from Serbia (R-UVD) derives from the Árpáds about 900 years ago. As also the separation of haplogroup N-B539 between the Hungarians and Bashkirs is estimated to have occurred 2000 years ago, it implies that the ancestors of Hungarians left the Volga Ural region about 2000 years ago and started a migration that eventually culminated in settlement in the Carpathian Basin.
9th and 10th centuries Medieval chroniclers stated that the Árpáds' forefather was Ügyek, whose name derived from the ancient Hungarian word for "holy" (igy).Kristó 1996 Az Árpád p. 9. The Gesta Hunnorum et Hungarorum ("The Deeds of the Huns and Hungarians") mentioned that the Árpáds descended from the gens (clan) Turul,Kristó 1994 Korai p. 693. and the Gesta Hungarorum ("The Deeds of the Hungarians") recorded that the Árpáds' totemic ancestor was a turul (a large bird, probably a falcon).
Medieval chroniclers also referred to a tradition that the Árpáds descended from Attila the Hun – the anonymous author of the Gesta Hungarorum, for example, has Árpád say:
The first member of the dynasty mentioned by a nearly contemporary written source was Álmos. The Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII recorded in his De Administrando Imperio that Álmos was the first Grand Prince of the federation of the seven Magyar tribes (megas Turkias arkhon).Kristó 1996 Az Árpád p. 13. Álmos probably accepted the supremacy of the Khagan of the Khazars in the beginning of his rule, but, by 862, the Magyar tribal federation broke free from the Khazar Khaganate.Kristó 1996 Az Árpád p. 14. Álmos was either the spiritual leader of the tribal federation (kende) or its military commander (gyula).Kristó 1994 Korai p. 40.
The Hungarians took possession of the Carpathian Basin in a pre-planned manner, with a long move-in between 862–895. Prince Álmos, the sacred leader of the Hungarian Great Principality died before he could reach Pannonia, he was sacrificed in Transylvania.
Between 899 and 970, the Magyars frequently conducted raids into the territories of present-day Italy, Germany, France and Spain and into the lands of the Byzantine Empire.Bóna 2000 A magyarok pp. 29–65. Such activities continued westwards until the Battle of Lechfeld (955), when Otto, King of the Germans destroyed their troops; their raids against the Byzantine Empire ended in 970.Bóna 2000 A magyarok pp. 62–65.
From 917, the Magyars made raids into several territories at the same time, which may have led to the disintegration of their tribal federation.Kristó 1995 A magyar állam p. 304. The sources prove the existence of at least three and possibly five groups of tribes within the tribal federation, and only one of them was led directly by the Árpáds.Kristó 1995 A magyar állam pp. 308–309.
The list of the Grand Princes of the Magyars in the first half of the 10th century is incomplete, which may also prove a lack of central government within their tribal federation.Kristó 1996 Az Árpád p. 22. The medieval chronicles mention that Grand Prince Árpád was followed by his son, Zoltán, but contemporary sources only refer to Grand Prince Fajsz (around 950).Kristó 1996 Az Árpád p. 23. After the defeat at the Battle of Lechfeld, Grand Prince Taksony (in or after 955 – before 972) adopted the policy of isolation from the Western countries – in contrast to his son, Grand Prince Géza (before 972–997) who may have sent envoys to Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor in 973.Kristó 1996 Az Árpád pp. 25, 28.
Géza was baptised in 972, and although he never became a convinced Christian, the new faith started to spread among the Hungarians during his reign.Kristó 1996 Az Árpád p. 28. He managed to expand his rule over the territories west of the Danube and the Garam (today Hron in Slovakia), but significant parts of the Carpathian Basin still remained under the rule of local tribal leaders.Kristó 1996 Az Árpád p. 30.
Géza was followed by his son Stephen (originally called Vajk), who had been a convinced follower of Christianity.Kristó 1996 Az Árpád p. 32. Stephen had to face the rebellion of his relative, Koppány, who claimed Géza's inheritance based on the Magyar tradition of agnatic seniority.Kristó 1996 Az Árpád p. 35. He was able to defeat Koppány with the assistance of the German retinue of his wife, Giselle of Bavaria.Kristó 1996 Az Árpád pp. 35–36.
11th century The Grand Prince Stephen was crowned on 25 December 1000 or 1 January 1001, becoming the first King of Hungary (1000–1038) and founder of the state.Kristó 1996 Az Árpád p. 39.Kristó 1994 Korai p. 290. He unified the Carpathian Basin under his rule by 1030, subjugating the territories of the Black Magyars and the domains that had been ruled by (semi-)independent local chieftains (e.g., by the Gyula Prokuj, Ajtony).Kristó 1996 Az Árpád pp. 40–41, 47.Kristó 1994 Korai pp. 216, 245. He introduced the administrative system of the kingdom, based on counties (comitatus), and founded an ecclesiastic organization with two archbishoprics and several bishoprics.Kristó 1996 Az Árpád pp. 40–41. Following the death of his son, Emeric (2 September 1031), King Stephen I assigned his sister's son, the Venetian Peter Orseolo as his heir which resulted in a conspiracy led by his cousin, Vazul, who had been living imprisoned in Nyitra (today Nitra in Slovakia). Vazul was blinded on King Stephen's order and his three sons (Levente, Andrew and Béla) were exiled.Kristó 1996 Az Árpád pp. 49–50.Kristó 1994 Korai p. 721.
When King Stephen I died on 15 August 1038, Peter Orseolo ascended to the throne, but he had to struggle with King Stephen's brother-in-law, Samuel Aba (1041–1044).Benda 1981 Magyarország pp. 83–84. King Peter's rule ended in 1046 when an extensive revolt of the pagan Hungarians broke out and he was captured by them.Benda 1981 Magyarország p. 85.
With the assistance of the pagans, Duke Vazul's son, Andrew, who had been living in exile in the Kievan Rus' and had been baptized there, seized power and was crowned; thus, a member of a collateral branch of the dynasty seized the crown.Kristó 1996 Az Árpád pp. 70–71.Kristó 1994 Korai p. 42. King Andrew I (1046–1060) managed to pacify the pagan rebels and restore the position of Christianity in the kingdom.Kristó 1996 Az Árpád p. 72. In 1048, King Andrew invited his younger brother, Béla to the kingdom and conceded one-third of the counties of the kingdom (Tercia pars regni) in appanage to him.Kristó 1994 Korai. This dynastic division of the kingdom, mentioned as the first one in the Chronicon Pictum (prima regni huius divisio), was followed by several similar divisions during the 11th through 13th centuries, when parts of the kingdom were governed by members of the Árpád dynasty.Kristó 1979 A feudális p. 44. In the 11th century, 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 dukes governing the Tercia pars regni accepted the supremacy of the kings of Hungary, but some of them (Béla, Géza and Álmos) rebelled against the king in order to acquire the crown and allied themselves with the rulers of the neighboring countries.Benda 1981 Magyarország pp. 85–100.
King Andrew I was the first king who had his son, Solomon crowned during his life in order to ensure his son's succession (1057).Benda 1981 Magyarország pp. 87. However, the principle of agnatic primogeniture was not able to overcome the tradition of seniority, and following King Andrew I, his brother, King Béla I (1060–1063) acquired the throne despite the claims of the young Solomon.Kristó 1996 Az Árpád pp. 79–81. From 1063 until 1080 there were frequent conflicts between King Solomon (1057–1080) and his cousins, Géza, Ladislaus and Lampert who governed the Tercia pars regni.Benda 1981 Magyarország pp. 88–92. Duke Géza rebelled against his cousin in 1074 and was proclaimed king by his partisans in accordance with the principle of seniority.Benda 1981 Magyarország p. 90. When King Géza I died (25 April 1077) his partisans, disregarding his young sons, proclaimed his brother Ladislaus king.Kristó 1996 Az Árpád p. 126. King Ladislaus I (1077–1095) managed to persuade King Solomon, who had been ruling in some western counties, to abdicate the throne.Kristó 1996 Az Árpád p. 95. During his reign, the Kingdom of Hungary strengthened and Ladislaus I was able to expand his rule over neighboring Kingdom of Croatia (1091).Kristó 1996 Az Árpád pp. 112–124. He entrusted the government of the newly occupied territories to his younger nephew, Álmos.Benda 1981 Magyarország p. 94.
On 20 August 1083, two members of the dynasty, King Stephen I and his son, Duke Emeric, were canonized in Székesfehérvár upon the initiative of King Ladislaus I.Kristó 1996 Az Árpád p. 119.Benda 1981 Magyarország p. 93. His daughter Eirene, the wife of the Byzantine Emperor John II Komnenos, is venerated by the Eastern Orthodox Church.Klaniczay 2000 Az uralkodók pp. 159–160.