Taksony of Hungary
Encyclopedia
Taksony Grand Prince of the Hungarians
Grand Prince of the Hungarians
Grand Prince was the title used by contemporary sources to name the leader of the federation of the Hungarian tribes in the tenth century.-The title:...

 (c. 955 or 955 - bef. / c. 972).

Taksony was the son of Zoltán
Zoltán of Hungary
Zoltán , also known as Zaltas and Solt, according to the mediaeval chronicles, was the third Grand Prince of the Magyars from 907 to 947.He was the youngest son of Árpád...

 (Zaltas), the fourth son of Árpád
Árpád
Árpád was the second Grand Prince of the Hungarians . Under his rule the Hungarian people settled in the Carpathian basin. The dynasty descending from him ruled the Hungarian tribes and later the Kingdom of Hungary until 1301...

, the second Grand Prince of the Hungarians. The Gesta Hungarorum
Gesta Hungarorum
Gesta Hungarorum is a record of early Hungarian history by an unknown author who describes himself as Anonymi Bele Regis Notarii , but is generally cited as Anonymus...

 mentions that his mother was a daughter of Menmarót
Menumorut
For the residential district named after him, see Menumorut, Satu MareMenumorut or Menumorout ruled, according to the 13th century Gesta Ungarorum , the land between the rivers Tisa, Mureş and Someş when the Magyars invaded the Carpathian Basin around 895...

, the local military leader in the region of Bihar  at the time of the Hungarian settlement occupation (Honfoglalás). Taksony married a Pecheneg or Bulgar
Volga Bulgaria
Volga Bulgaria, or Volga–Kama Bolghar, is a historic Bulgar state that existed between the seventh and thirteenth centuries around the confluence of the Volga and Kama rivers in what is now Russia.-Origin:...

 woman.

In 947, Taksony led a raid to Italy as far as Apulia
Apulia
Apulia is a region in Southern Italy bordering the Adriatic Sea in the east, the Ionian Sea to the southeast, and the Strait of Òtranto and Gulf of Taranto in the south. Its most southern portion, known as Salento peninsula, forms a high heel on the "boot" of Italy. The region comprises , and...

, and King Berengar II of Italy
Berengar II of Italy
Berengar of Ivrea , sometimes also referred to as Berengar II of Italy, was Margrave of Ivrea and usurper King of Italy from 950 until his deposition in 961, the last before Italy's incorporation into the Holy Roman Empire...

 had to buy the peace by paying a large amount of money to him and his followers. He might have taken part in the Battle of Lechfeld
Battle of Lechfeld
The Battle of Lechfeld , often seen as the defining event for holding off the incursions of the Hungarians into Western Europe, was a decisive victory by Otto I the Great, King of the Germans, over the Hungarian leaders, the harka Bulcsú and the chieftains Lél and Súr...

  where King Otto I
Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor
Otto I the Great , son of Henry I the Fowler and Matilda of Ringelheim, was Duke of Saxony, King of Germany, King of Italy, and "the first of the Germans to be called the emperor of Italy" according to Arnulf of Milan...

 of Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 won a decisive victory over the Hungarians. After the defeat the Hungarians stopped their raids (kalandozások) in Western Europe
Western Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...

, but they began to pillage the Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...

.

Taksony became the Grand Prince of the Hungarians just or shortly after the Battle of Lechfeld, but his authority must have been only nominal over some regions of the Carpathian Basin inhabited by the Hungarians. During his rule a large number of Pechenegs and Khalyzians
Khalyzians
The Chalyzians or Khalyzians or Khalis or Khwalis The Chalyzians or Khalyzians or Khalis or Khwalis The Chalyzians or Khalyzians or Khalis or Khwalis (Arabic: Khwarezmian, Byzantine Greek: Χαλίσιοι, Khalisioi, Magyar: Kaliz were a people mentioned by the 12th-century Byzantine historian John...

 immigrated to the territory of the future Hungary.

In 963, Pope John XII
Pope John XII
Pope John XII , born Octavianus, was Pope from December 16, 955, to May 14, 964. The son of Alberic II, Patrician of Rome , and his stepsister Alda of Vienne, he was a seventh generation descendant of Charlemagne on his mother's side.Before his death, Alberic administered an oath to the Roman...

 ordained the first Roman Catholic
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...

 missionary bishop, Zacheus for the Hungarians, but he probably never visited them.

Taksony arranged the marriage of his son Géza of Hungary
Géza of Hungary
Géza , Grand Prince of the Hungarians .Géza was the son of Taksony of Hungary, Grand Prince of the Hungarians and his Pecheneg or Bulgar wife. Géza's marriage with Sarolt, the daughter of Gyula of Transylvania, was arranged by his father.After his father's death , Géza followed him as Grand Prince...

 to Sarolt
Sarolt
Sarolt was wife of Géza, Grand Prince of the Magyars.She was a daughter of Gyula of Transylvania and was probably educated in the Eastern Orthodox faith...

, the daughter of Gyula
Gyula II
Gyula II was a Hungarian tribal leader in the middle of the 10th century. He visited Constantinople where he was baptized. His baptismal name was Stephen .- Life :...

 of Transylvania
Transylvania
Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...

.

Marriage and children

He married an unnamed woman # c. 945: "of the territories of the Cumans
Cumans
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...

"
  • Géza of Hungary
    Géza of Hungary
    Géza , Grand Prince of the Hungarians .Géza was the son of Taksony of Hungary, Grand Prince of the Hungarians and his Pecheneg or Bulgar wife. Géza's marriage with Sarolt, the daughter of Gyula of Transylvania, was arranged by his father.After his father's death , Géza followed him as Grand Prince...

    , Grand Prince of the Hungarians
    Grand Prince of the Hungarians
    Grand Prince was the title used by contemporary sources to name the leader of the federation of the Hungarian tribes in the tenth century.-The title:...

     (c. 945 – 997)
  • Michael (Mihály), Duke between Morava and Esztergom
    Esztergom
    Esztergom , is a city in northern Hungary, 46 km north-west of the capital Budapest. It lies in Komárom-Esztergom county, on the right bank of the river Danube, which forms the border with Slovakia there....

     (– ca 978 or bef. 997), married Adelajda of Poland (– aft. 997), daughter or sister of Mieszko I of Poland
    Mieszko I of Poland
    Mieszko I , was a Duke of the Polans from about 960 until his death. A member of the Piast dynasty, he was son of Siemomysł; grandchild of Lestek; father of Bolesław I the Brave, the first crowned King of Poland; likely father of Świętosława , a Nordic Queen; and grandfather of her son, Cnut the...

    , and had:
    • Vazul
      Vazul
      Vazul was a Hungarian noble of the Árpád family, Duke between March and Gran or Prince of Nitra, with realm between Morava and Esztergom ....

    • László (Ladislas "the Bald"), Duke between March
      March (disambiguation)
      March or Marche may refer to:*March *March -Marching:* Marching, the walking of military troops and such in procession according to a steady rhythm* March , a music genre for marching* Parade, a procession of people...

       and Gran
      Gran
      -Places:*Gran, the historical German name for Esztergom, a city and primatial seat of Hungary.*Gran, Norway-Other:*Widely used, predominantly British abbreviation for grandmother*Gran children's animation from the early 80's...

       (d. 1029), married c. 1000 Premislava (d. c. 1015), daughter of Great Prince Vladimir I of Kiev
      Vladimir I of Kiev
      Vladimir Sviatoslavich the Great Old East Slavic: Володимѣръ Свѧтославичь Old Norse as Valdamarr Sveinaldsson, , Vladimir, , Volodymyr, was a grand prince of Kiev, ruler of Kievan Rus' in .Vladimir's father was the prince Sviatoslav of the Rurik dynasty...

      , and had:
      • Bonuslo, Duke between March
        March (disambiguation)
        March or Marche may refer to:*March *March -Marching:* Marching, the walking of military troops and such in procession according to a steady rhythm* March , a music genre for marching* Parade, a procession of people...

         and Gran
        Gran
        -Places:*Gran, the historical German name for Esztergom, a city and primatial seat of Hungary.*Gran, Norway-Other:*Widely used, predominantly British abbreviation for grandmother*Gran children's animation from the early 80's...

         (d. 1048)

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)

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