Elizabeth the Cuman
Encyclopedia
Daughter of Kuthen
She was born in about 1239/40, a daughter of Kuthen/Kotyan/Kotony , khan of the CumansCumans
The Cumans were Turkic nomadic people comprising the western branch of the Cuman-Kipchak confederation. After Mongol invasion , they decided to seek asylum in Hungary, and subsequently to Bulgaria...
(he fought in the war against the Mongols), and his wife whose identity has not been established. The Cumans were the western tribes of the Cuman-Kipchak confederation. The Cumans were a confederation of Turkic speaking peoples who spoke the Cuman language
Cuman language
Cuman was a Kipchak Turkic language spoken by the Cumans and Kipchaks; the language was similar to the today's Crimean Tatar language...
/Kipchak languages. Her people followed a Shamanist religion
Shamanism
Shamanism is an anthropological term referencing a range of beliefs and practices regarding communication with the spiritual world. To quote Eliade: "A first definition of this complex phenomenon, and perhaps the least hazardous, will be: shamanism = technique of ecstasy." Shamanism encompasses the...
and were considered Pagans
Paganism
Paganism is a blanket term, typically used to refer to non-Abrahamic, indigenous polytheistic religious traditions....
by their contemporary Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
s of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
.
In 1238, Kuthen led the Kuni and a number of other clans in invading the Kingdom of Hungary
Kingdom of Hungary in the Middle Ages
The Kingdom of Hungary was formed from the previous Principality of Hungarywith the coronation of Stephen I in AD 1000. This was a result of the conversion of Géza of Hungary to the Western Church in the 970s....
while fleeing from the advancing hordes of the Mongol Empire
Mongol Empire
The Mongol Empire , initially named as Greater Mongol State was a great empire during the 13th and 14th centuries...
. In time, Béla IV of Hungary
Béla IV of Hungary
Béla IV , King of Hungary and of Croatia , duke of Styria 1254–58. One of the most famous kings of Hungary, he distinguished himself through his policy of strengthening of the royal power following the example of his grandfather Bela III, and by the rebuilding Hungary after the catastrophe of the...
negotiated an alliance with Kuthen and his people, granting them asylum in exchange for their conversion to the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
and loyalty to the King.
The agreement was sealed with the betrothal of Elizabeth to Stephen, eldest son of Béla IV. The agreement seems to have occurred while Stephen was an infant
Infant
A newborn or baby is the very young offspring of a human or other mammal. A newborn is an infant who is within hours, days, or up to a few weeks from birth. In medical contexts, newborn or neonate refers to an infant in the first 28 days after birth...
. Elizabeth was unlikely to have been older than her future husband. In 1241, the Mongol invasion of Europe
Mongol invasion of Europe
The resumption of the Mongol invasion of Europe, during which the Mongols attacked medieval Rus' principalities and the powers of Poland and Hungary, was marked by the Mongol invasion of Rus starting in 21 December 1237...
under the leadership of Batu Khan
Batu Khan
Batu Khan was a Mongol ruler and founder of the Ulus of Jochi , the sub-khanate of the Mongol Empire. Batu was a son of Jochi and grandson of Genghis Khan. His ulus was the chief state of the Golden Horde , which ruled Rus and the Caucasus for around 250 years, after also destroying the armies...
and Subutai
Subutai
Subutai was the primary military strategist and general of Genghis Khan and Ögedei Khan...
began, with Hungary among its primary targets. Kuthen was assassinated by Hungarian nobles fearing he would lead a defection to the other side.
Béla IV and the Hungarian forces suffered a crushing defeat at the Battle of Mohi
Battle of Mohi
The Battle of Mohi , or Battle of the Sajó River, was the main battle between the Mongol Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary during the Mongol invasion of Europe. It took place at Muhi, Southwest of the Sajó River. After the invasion, Hungary lay in ruins. Nearly half of the inhabited places had...
(11 April 1241). The King fled to the Duchy of Austria
Archduchy of Austria
The Archduchy of Austria , one of the most important states within the Holy Roman Empire, was the nucleus of the Habsburg Monarchy and the predecessor of the Austrian Empire...
while Batu Khan and Subutai tried to set up the Mongol occupation of Hungary until the end of 1242. However news eventually reached them that their overlord Ögedei Khan
Ögedei Khan
Ögedei Khan, born Ögedei was the third son of Genghis Khan and second Great Khan of the Mongol Empire by succeeding his father...
, Khagan
Khagan
Khagan or qagan , alternatively spelled kagan, khaghan, qaghan, or chagan, is a title of imperial rank in the Mongolian and Turkic languages equal to the status of emperor and someone who rules a khaganate...
of the Mongol Empire, had died in 1241. His widow Töregene Khatun
Töregene Khatun
Töregene Khatun was the Great Khatun and regent of the Mongol Empire from the death of her husband Ögedei Khan in 1241 until the election of her eldest son Güyük Khan in 1246.-Background:...
was serving as regent
Regent
A regent, from the Latin regens "one who reigns", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there are only two ruling Regencies in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein and the Malaysian constitutive state of Terengganu...
until a successor could be elected in a Kurultai
Kurultai
Kurultai is a political and military council of ancient Mongol and Turkic chiefs and khans. The root of the word "Khural" means political "meeting" or "assembly" in the Mongolian language, it is also a verb for "to be established"...
. Batu decided to return to Karakorum
Karakorum
Karakorum was the capital of the Mongol Empire in the 13th century, and of the Northern Yuan in the 14-15th century. Its ruins lie in the northwestern corner of the Övörkhangai Province of Mongolia, near today's town of Kharkhorin, and adjacent to the Erdene Zuu monastery...
for the Kurultai. He called off the invasion, and Mongol troops were withdrawn from most of Europe, thus evacuating Hungary.
Princess of Hungary
Béla IV returned from AustriaAustria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
following the Mongol evacuation. Upon his return to power, Béla began rebuilding his country, including a massive construction campaign which produced the system of castles as a defense against the threat of a Mongol return.
Kuthen was deceased but the betrothal was still in effect. Elizabeth was converted to Roman Catholicism in preparation for her marriage. The marriage of Stephen and Elizabeth occurred in 1253. The groom was twelve-years-old and the bride close in age to him.
In 1262, Stephen convinced his father to give him twenty-nine counties as a reward of assistance in the war against Ottokar II of Bohemia
Ottokar II of Bohemia
Ottokar II , called The Iron and Golden King, was the King of Bohemia from 1253 until 1278. He was the Duke of Austria , Styria , Carinthia and Carniola also....
. He was crowned junior co-ruler and in practice ruled his regions as a separate kingdom, setting up his own capital and adopting foreign policies directly contrary to those of his father. Elizabeth was now his Queen.
Queen consort
Béla IV died on 3 May 1270. Stephen succeeded him as senior King. Among his successes were the conclusion of the war against Ottokar II of BohemiaOttokar II of Bohemia
Ottokar II , called The Iron and Golden King, was the King of Bohemia from 1253 until 1278. He was the Duke of Austria , Styria , Carinthia and Carniola also....
. According to the Peace of Pressburg
Peace of Pressburg
The Peace of Pressburg refers to four peace treaties concluded in Pressburg . The fourth Peace of Pressburg of 1805 during the Napoleonic Wars is the best-known.-First:...
(2 July 1271, Stephen renounced his claims on parts of present-day Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
and Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
while Ottokar renounced his claims on territories of Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
briefly conquered by him during the war.
Stephen died on 6 August 1272. Elizabeth became Regent
Regent
A regent, from the Latin regens "one who reigns", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there are only two ruling Regencies in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein and the Malaysian constitutive state of Terengganu...
for their ten-year-old son Ladislaus IV of Hungary. Her regency lasted until 1277 and saw palace revolutions and civil wars.
Her upbringing of her son would cause further problems for his reign. Ladislaus favored the society of the "semi-pagan" Cumans, from whom he was descended through his mother. He wore Cuman dress as his court wear, surrounded himself with Cuman concubines and thus alienated the Hungarian nobility. His later attempts to regain Hungarian loyalty instead alienated parts of the Cumans. He was murdered in his tent by Cumans while camped in Bihar county
Bihar (county)
Bihar is the name of a historic administrative county of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory is presently mostly in northwestern Romania, where it is administered as Bihor County, and a smaller part in eastern Hungary...
on 10 July 1290.
By that time Elizabeth herself seems to have also been deceased. There is no mention of her in the reign of his successor Andrew III of Hungary. There is a tradition that she died in the year 1290.
Children
She and her husband Stephen V of HungaryStephen V of Hungary
Stephen V , was King of Hungary from 1270 to 1272.-Early years:...
were parents to six known children:
- Elizabeth of HungaryElizabeth of Hungary, Queen of SerbiaElizabeth of Hungary the widow was one of younger children of King Stephen V of Hungary and his wife Elizabeth the Cuman. She was a member of the House of Arpad and later became Queen consort of Serbia by her marriage to Stefan Uroš II Milutin of Serbia....
(c. 1255 - 1313). Married firstly Zavis Vítkovci, Lord of Rosenberg, Skalitz and Falkenstein. Married secondly Stefan Uroš II Milutin of SerbiaStefan Uroš II Milutin of SerbiaStefan Uroš II Milutin was a king of Serbia , and member of the House of Nemanjić.-Early:...
. - Catherine of HungaryCatherine of Hungary, Queen of SerbiaCatherine of Hungary was the second daughter of Stephen V of Hungary and his wife Elizabeth, a member of the Cuman tribes. Catherine became Queen consort of Serbia by her marriage to Stephen Dragutin of Serbia.-Family:...
(c. 1256 - after 1314). Married Stefan Dragutin of SerbiaStefan Dragutin of SerbiaStephen Dragutin was a 13th and 14th-century Serb monarch, the King of Serbia from 1276 to 1282 and King of Syrmia from 1282 to 1316.He ruled Serbia until his abdication in 1282, when he became ill...
. - Maria of Hungary (c. 1257 - 25 March 1323). Married Charles II of NaplesCharles II of NaplesCharles II, known as "the Lame" was King of Naples, King of Albania, Prince of Salerno, Prince of Achaea and Count of Anjou.-Biography:...
. - Anna of HungaryAnna of HungaryAnna of Hungary was a daughter of Stephen V of Hungary and Elizabeth the Cuman, who was daughter of Kuthen, a chief of the Cuman tribe. Her mother had been a pagan before her marriage....
(c. 1260 - 1281). Married Andronikos II PalaiologosAndronikos II PalaiologosAndronikos II Palaiologos , Latinized as Andronicus II Palaeologus, was Byzantine emperor from 1282 to 1328. He was the eldest surviving son of Michael VIII Palaiologos and Theodora Doukaina Vatatzina, grandniece of John III Doukas Vatatzes...
. - Ladislaus IV of Hungary (August, 1262 - 10 July 1290).
- András, Duke of SlavoniaSlavoniaSlavonia is a geographical and historical region in eastern Croatia...
(1268–1278).
External links
- A listing of descendants of Árpád dynasty, including her husband and children
- Her listing in "Medieval lands" by Charles Cawley. The project "involves extracting and analysing detailed information from primary sources, including contemporary chronicles, cartularies, necrologies and testaments."
- Her profile in Peerage.com