Grand Prince of the Hungarians
High Prince (Hungarian: nagyfejedelem) was the title used by contemporary sources to name the leader of the federation of the Magyar tribes in the Tenth Century[1].
The title
The High Prince was probably elected by the leaders of the seven Magyar tribes. However, the first High Prince, Álmos had been more probably appointed by the Khagan of the Khazars. It is still under discussion that the High Prince was the spiritual leader of the federation (kende), he was the military commander of the Magyar tribes (gyula) or the title was a new creation.
The High Prince also ruled over the three Kabar tribes that joined to the federation before 881.
When the Magyars were obliged to leave Etelköz and move to the Carpathian Basin (Honfoglalás), the High Prince's power seemed to be decreasing. By the time of Géza Transylvania had been ruled by a (semi-)independent leader (gyula). Stephen (Vajk) had to conquer not only the territories of the gyula, but also the lands of Ahtum (Ajtony) and the Black Magyars.
The title disappeared by the coronation of Stephen I (Vajk) on 25 December 1000 or 1 January 1001.
High Princes of the Magyars
- Álmos (c. 855 – c. 895)
- Árpád (c. 895– c. 907)
- Unknown(s) / Zoltán (Zaltasz) (? – ?)
- [[Fajsz] (c. 950)
- Taksony (c. 955 – c. 973)
- Géza (c. 973 – 997)
- Stephen (Vajk) (997 – 1000/1001)
Sources
- Korai Magyar Történeti Lexikon (9-14. század), főszerkesztő: Kristó, Gyula, szerkesztők: Engel, Pál és Makk, Ferenc (Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, 1994)
- Kristó, Gyula: A Kárpát-medence és a magyarság régmúltja (1301-ig) (Szegedi Középkortörténeti Könyvtár, Szeged, 1993)
References
- ^ Kōnstantinos Porhyrogennētos mentioned Árpád in his book De Administrando Imperio as "megas Turkias arkhon", while Bruno of Querfurt refered to Géza in his Sancti Adalberti Pragensis episcopi et martyris vita altera as "Ungarorum senior magnus".