Peter Urseolo of Hungary

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Peter I the Venetian (Hungarian: I. (Velencei) Péter) (c. 1010-1015, Venice, Italy – ?), King of Hungary (1038-1041, 1044-1046). He continued his predecessor's policy and tried to strengthen the Christianity in his semi-pagan kingdom, but his arbitrary actions resulted in his deposition. He could only restore his rule with the assistance of the Holy Roman Emperor whose overlordship he had to acknowledge, but shortly afterwards he was again dethroned during a revolt of the pagan Hungarians.

Contents 1 Venice and Hungary 2 His first rule 3 In exile 4 His second rule 5 Captivity and last years 6 Marriage and children 7 See also 8 Sources 9 References

[edit] Venice and Hungary

He was the son of a sister of Saint Stephen, the first King of Hungary; his father was Ottone Orseolo, the Doge of Venice.

In 1026, his father was deposed as doge by a revolt of the Venetians and he had to escape to Constantinople. Peter, however, did not follow his father to the Byzantine court but went with his mother to Hungary, where they were welcomed by his uncle, King Stephen I.

On September 2, 1031, the king's only surviving son, Imre was killed by a boar while hunting. King Stephen I wanted to secure the position of Christianity in his semi-converted kingdom; therefore, he was planning to name Peter as his successor. However, the elderly king's cousin, Vazul, who was suspected to be following pagan customs, took part in a conspiracy aimed at the murder of King Stephen. But the assassination attempt failed and Vazul had his eyes gouged out and molten lead poured in his ears. His sons Levente, Andrew and Béla were exiled. Following these tragical events, King Stephen confirmed Peter's succession rights but Peter had to swear solemnly that he would not harm Queen Giselle's estates after ascensing the throne.

[edit] His first rule

When King Stephen I died on August 15, 1038, Peter ascended the throne without any open oposition. He wanted to follow his predecessor's policy and he firmly repressed the pagan costums; therefore he issued severe decrees against the pagans. He also increased the duties payable to the royal treasury.

He pushed the Hungarian nobility into the background and appointed his German and Italian partisans to his council^[1].

He allied himself with Prince Břetislav I of Bohemia against the Holy Roman Emperor, Henry III and made several military campaigns against the neighbouring German territories.

In 1041, Peter confiscated the estates of his predecessor's widow, Queen Giselle and arrested two bishops who tried to intercede on behalf of the dowager queen. These acts resulted in a conspiracy organised by the members of the different fractions of his court against him. The conspirators killed one of his chief councillors, Budó. Shortly afterwards, Peter was obliged to slip away to the court of his brother-in-law, Adalbert, Margrave of Austria. After his escape, the leaders of the conspiracy proclaimed King Stephen's brother-in-law, Samuel Aba king.

[edit] In exile

In October, Peter visited the Emperor Henry III in Regensburg and offered to accept his supremacy in case the Emperor restored him to the Hungarian throne. The Emperor accepted the offer, but he had to deal with his internal problems before leading his army against Hungary.

Finally, in September 1042, the Emperor lead his army to Hungary and occupied nine fortresses north of the Danube. However, even the Hungarian barons allied with the Emperor did not want to accept Peter's rule; therefore the Emperor granted the fortresses to one of King Stephen's relatives (probably to Duke Béla)^[2].

[edit] His second rule

In June 1044, the imperial troops attacked Hungary again and won a decisive victory over king Samuel Aba on 5 July 1044 in the Battle of Ménfő. King Samuel Aba could hardly escape from the battlefield and he died soon. After his rival's death, Peter's power was restored, but he, and with him the Kingdom of Hungary, became the Emperor's vassal.

In the next year, the Emperor Henry III returned to Hungary and accepted Peter's homage on May 26, 1045 in Székesfehérvár. Peter, however, was not able to strengthen his rule in his kingdom. Although, in 1045, he could wind up the conspiracy of some Hungarian nobles, but in the next year, he lost the support of the clergy, because he exiled the Dowager Queen Giselle from Hungary. The Hungarian prelates, lead by Bishop Gerard of Csanád, called back to the country the two elder of Duke Vazul's formerly expelled sons, who have been living in Kiev. In the summer of 1046, an extensive revolt of the pagan Hungarians broke out, lead by Vata and Peter had to flee to the Western region of his kingdom.

[edit] Captivity and last years

Meanwhile, the expiled dukes returned to Hungary, and they allied themselves with the pagan rebels. Peter fall into captivity near Zámoly and he was blinded by the rebels and then he was expelled from the country. A contemporary source inform us that he married the widow of Prince Břetislav I of Bohemia in 1055.

He was buried in the Benedictine Abbey of Pécsvárad.

[edit] Marriage and children

#1.: Unknown^[3]

#2.: Judith of Schweinfurt, a daughter of Henry of Schweinfurt and his wife, Gerberga (1010/1015 – 2 August 1058)

[edit] See also

• Kings of Hungary

[edit] Sources

• Kristó, Gyula - Makk, Ferenc: Az Árpád-ház uralkodói (IPC Könyvek, 1996)
• Korai Magyar Történeti Lexikon (9-14. század), főszerkesztő: Kristó, Gyula, szerkesztők: Engel, Pál és Makk, Ferenc (Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, 1994)
• Magyarország Történeti Kronológiája I. – A kezdetektől 1526-ig, főszerkesztő: Benda, Kálmán (Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, 1981)

[edit] References

Preceded by Stephen I	King of Hungary 1038–1041	Succeeded by Samuel Aba
Preceded by Samuel Aba	King of Hungary 1044–1046	Succeeded by Andrew I