Jan | |
|---|---|
| Ispán of Sopron | |
| Reign | 1071 |
| Predecessor | first known |
| Successor | Heidrich (?) |
| Died | after 1071 |
Jan was a Hungarian nobleman and military general in the second half of the 11th century. He played a decisive role in the royal campaign against the Byzantine Empire in 1071.
Jan (also Ian or John) elevated into the position of ispán of Sopron County by 1071, during the reign of Solomon, King of Hungary. His dignity is the earliest evidence of the existence of the county since at least the second half of the 11th century. [1]
[...] Thinking that the siege [of Belgrade] placed them in peril, the Greeks and the Bulgarians secretly sent messengers to the Bisseni [Pechenegs] and asked them to come without fear to their help; [...] Misled by these deceitful words, the Bessi hastened to their help, and in their greed for the booty which they hoped to gain from the defeat of Count Vid they threw themselves upon the ranks of the men from Supronium [Sopron], whose commander was Count Ian. He with his men gallantly and courageously withstood the assault of the Bessi, many of whom fell there beneath the edge of the sword, while the rest were taken captive. With very few others, the prince of the Bisseni, whose name was Kazar, barely escaped by flight from the hands of the Hungarians. The King [Solomon] and the Duke [Géza] generously bestowed royal gifts and worthy rewards upon the soldier Ian, who had [himself] brought destruction to many thousands of the Bisseni as a finely polished flint shatters vessels of clay, even before the King and the Duke with their army had arisen from their early meal. [...]
Pecheneg troops pillaged Syrmia (now in Serbia) in 1071. As King Solomon and his cousin, Duke Géza suspected that the soldiers of the Byzantine garrison at Belgrade (Hungarian : Nándorfehérvár) incited the marauders against Hungary, they decided to attack the fortress. The Hungarian army crossed the river Sava and laid siege to Belgrade. Upon the request of the Byzantine commander, Niketas, the Pechenegs sent a relief army, but they were defeated and annihilated by Jan and his troops from Sopron County on their route to Belgrade. Thereafter, the Hungarians took Belgrade after a siege of three months. Following the campaign, Solomon and Géza have gifted and rewarded Jan generously. [3]
Historian Péter Kovács considers the author of the 14th-century Illuminated Chronicle used biblical, antique and medieval literary tropes of the metaphor "tamquam lapis limpidissimus vasa fictilia contrivisset", when described Jan's heroism. Earlier assumptions (for instance, literary historian János Horváth, Jr.) sought that metaphor in the folk tradition. The motif set and lexical-phraseology of Jan's role in the war is based on the biblical story (Books of Samuel) of David and Goliath. [4]
Stephen I, also known as King Saint Stephen, was the last Grand Prince of the Hungarians between 997 and 1000 or 1001, and the first King of Hungary from 1000 or 1001, until his death in 1038. The year of his birth is uncertain, but many details of his life suggest that he was born in, or after, 975, in Esztergom. At his birth, he was given the pagan name Vajk. The date of his baptism is unknown. He was the only son of Grand Prince Géza and his wife, Sarolt, who was descended from a prominent family of gyulas. Although both of his parents were baptized, Stephen was the first member of his family to become a devout Christian. He married Gisela of Bavaria, a scion of the imperial Ottonian dynasty.
Ladislaus IV, also known as Ladislas the Cuman, was king of Hungary and Croatia from 1272 to 1290. His mother, Elizabeth, was the daughter of a chieftain from the pagan Cumans who had settled in Hungary. At the age of seven, he married Elisabeth, a daughter of King Charles I of Sicily. Ladislaus was only 10 when a rebellious lord, Joachim Gutkeled, kidnapped and imprisoned him.
Ladislaus I or Ladislas I, also Saint Ladislaus or Saint Ladislas was King of Hungary from 1077 and King of Croatia from 1091. He was the second son of King Béla I of Hungary. After Béla's death in 1063, Ladislaus and his elder brother, Géza, acknowledged their cousin, Solomon as the lawful king in exchange for receiving their father's former duchy, which included one-third of the kingdom. They cooperated with Solomon for the next decade. Ladislaus's most popular legend, which narrates his fight with a "Cuman" who abducted a Hungarian girl, is connected to this period. The brothers' relationship with Solomon deteriorated in the early 1070s, and they rebelled against him. Géza was proclaimed king in 1074, but Solomon maintained control of the western regions of his kingdom. During Géza's reign, Ladislaus was his brother's most influential adviser.
Géza I was King of Hungary from 1074 until his death. He was the eldest son of King Béla I. His baptismal name was Magnus. With German assistance, Géza's cousin Solomon acquired the crown when his father died in 1063, forcing Géza to leave Hungary. Géza returned with Polish reinforcements and signed a treaty with Solomon in early 1064. In the treaty, Géza and his brother, Ladislaus acknowledged the rule of Solomon, who granted them their father's former duchy, which encompassed one-third of the Kingdom of Hungary.
Béla I the Boxer or the Wisent was King of Hungary from 1060 until his death. He descended from a younger branch of the Árpád dynasty. Béla's baptismal name was Adalbert. He left Hungary in 1031, together with his brothers, Levente and Andrew, after the execution of their father, Vazul. Béla settled in Poland and married Richeza, daughter of Polish king Mieszko II Lambert.
Stephen II, King of Hungary and Croatia, ruled from 1116 until 1131. His father, King Coloman, had him crowned as a child, thus denying the crown to his uncle Álmos. In the first year of his reign, Venice occupied Dalmatia and Stephen never restored his rule in that province. His reign was characterized by frequent wars with neighbouring countries.
Solomon, also Salomon was King of Hungary from 1063. Being the elder son of Andrew I, he was crowned king in his father's lifetime in 1057 or 1058. However, he was forced to flee from Hungary after his uncle, Béla I, dethroned Andrew in 1060. Assisted by German troops, Solomon returned and was again crowned king in 1063. On this occasion he married Judith, sister of Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor. In the following year he reached an agreement with his cousins, the three sons of Béla I. Géza, Ladislaus and Lampert acknowledged Solomon's rule, but in exchange received one-third of the kingdom as a separate duchy.
Koppány, also known as Cupan, was the Duke of Somogy in Hungary in the late 10th century. According to modern scholars' consensual view, he was a member of the royal Árpád dynasty. Koppány was the lord of the southern region of Transdanubia during the reign of Géza, Grand Prince of the Hungarians, who ruled between the early 970s and 997. After the death of Géza, Koppány laid claim to the throne against Géza's devout Christian son, Stephen. His claim was mainly supported by pagan Hungarians, but the royal army routed his army near Veszprém in 997 or 998. Koppány was killed either in the battle or in his duchy, to which he had fled from the battlefield. His corpse was cut in four pieces to be displayed on the walls of four major strongholds of Hungary, Győr, Veszprém, Esztergom and Gyulafehérvár.
Boris, also known as Boris Kalamanos was a claimant to the Hungarian throne in the middle of the 12th century. He was the son of Euphemia of Kiev, the second wife of Coloman the Learned, King of Hungary. After Euphemia was caught in adultery, Coloman expelled her from Hungary and never acknowledged that he was Boris's father. However, Boris, who was born in the Kievan Rus', regarded himself as the king's lawful son. He laid claim to Hungary after Coloman's firstborn and successor, Stephen II of Hungary, died in 1131. Boris made several attempts to assert his claims against kings Béla II and Géza II with the assistance of Poland, the Holy Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire, but failed and was killed in a battle.
Desiderius or Ders was a Hungarian prelate in the 11th century, who served as Archbishop of Kalocsa from around 1064 to 1076.
Nehemiah was a Hungarian prelate and politician, who served as Archbishop of Esztergom in the 1070s, during the reigns of Géza I and Ladislaus I of Hungary.
The Banate of Macsó or the Banate of Mačva was an administrative division (banate) of the medieval Kingdom of Hungary, which was located in the present-day region of Mačva, in modern Serbia.

Ivan Kőszegi was an influential lord in the Kingdom of Hungary at the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries. Earlier historiographical works also refer to him Ivan Németújvári. He was Palatine in 1281, between 1287 and 1288, and from 1302 until 1307, Ban of Slavonia in 1275, from 1284 until 1285 and in 1290, and Master of the treasury in 1276 and 1291.
Héder, also Hedrich, Heindrich and Henry was a German knight possibly from the Duchy of Swabia, who, alongside his brother Wolfer, settled down in the Kingdom of Hungary and became a member of the Hungarian nobility. Héder was also eponymous co-founder of the powerful Héder clan and ancestor of the Hédervári family.
Lawrence was a nobleman in the Kingdom of Hungary, who served as Judge royal between 1164 and 1172, during the reign of Stephen III of Hungary.
Zerind the Bald was a Hungarian lord in the 10th century. According to modern scholars' consensus, he was a member of the royal Árpád dynasty. He was the father of Koppány, the late 10th-century rebellious Duke of Somogy.
The Battle of Kerlés or Battle of Chiraleș, also known as the Battle of Cserhalom, was an engagement between an army of Pechenegs and Ouzes commanded by Osul and the troops of King Solomon of Hungary and his cousins, Dukes Géza and Ladislaus, in Transylvania in 1068. The Pechenegs had been the dominant power of the westernmost regions of the Eurasian steppes since around 895. However, large Pecheneg groups moved to the Balkan Peninsula at the same time as the westward migration of the Ouzes and Cumans in the 1040s. The first recorded Pecheneg invasion of Transylvania occurred during the reign of Stephen I of Hungary.
Csépán (I) from the kindred Győr was a Hungarian influential lord at the turn of the 12th and 13th centuries, who served as Palatine of Hungary from 1206 until his murder.
Reynold (II) from the kindred Básztély was a Hungarian baron, soldier and courtier, who was a staunch supporter of Duke Stephen. Originating from a royal servant family, he elevated into the nobility due to his military successes and loyalty. At the peak of his career, he served as Palatine of Hungary in 1289. He was the ancestor of the powerful Rozgonyi family.
Desiderius Hédervári de Világosvár was a Hungarian medieval nobleman and soldier, one of the first members of the prestigious Hédervári family. He held important positions in the queenly court since the 1320s. He sacrificed himself protecting King Charles I in the Battle of Posada.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by first known | Ispán of Sopron 1071 | Succeeded by Heidrich (?) |