Andrew I of Hungary

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Andrew I (I. András) born c. 1014, died 1061, Zirc, Hungary) was King of Hungary 1047-1061.

Andrew was from a younger branch of the Árpád dynasty, born to Vazul, former lord of Gran and regions mostly corresponding to today's Slovakia, and Katun Anastazya of Bulgaria. Hungarian tribal society was not in favor of primogeniture, favoring instead agnatic seniority for determining the order of succession. This made other males of the Árpád dynasty's cadet lines dangerous to the incumbent king. Andrew's branch of the dynasty had long been rivals to the elder branch, to which Stephen I of Hungary and his father belonged. For the previous half century, the familial rivalry had centered mostly on the conflict between paganism and Christianity, represented (and utilized), respectively, by the younger and elder branch. The elder branch went extinct in the male line in 1038, which opened new opportunities for the younger, surviving male line. Hungarian clan society of the eleventh century still believed in exclusive inheritance through the male line. Stephen's female-line successors Samuel Aba and Peter Urseolo felt it necessary to suppress the rival family. In all probability, Andrew's mother was a daughter of the Tsar of Bulgaria.

A period of dynastic struggle following the death of Stephan I in 1038 was finally concluded with the death of Peter Urseolo. Andrew I assumed the Hungarian throne as a representative of his cadet branch of the Árpád dynasty.

Tihany abbey, burial place of Andrew.
Tihany abbey, burial place of Andrew.

Under Sámuel Aba's rule Andrew and his brothers Levente and Béla were exiled from Hungary, fearing for their lives. Fleeing first to Bohemia, they continued to Poland where Béla married into the Piast royal family. Andrew and Levente, possibly feeling overshadowed by their brother, continued on, settling in Kiev. There, Andrew married Anastasia, a daughter of Grand Duke Yaroslav the Great.

The return of Andrew and his brothers to Hungary in 1046 sparked the Vatha pagan rising, where Andrew through pagan support managed to wrest the crown from Peter Urseolo. Andrew had strengthened his rule through military success, in part thanks to pagan support and was crowned in 1047. Nevertheless, he continued the policies of Christianization that were already in place and maintained Hungary's alliance with his former hosts in exile, the Kievan Rus'.

Relations with the Holy Roman Empire remained tense. The previous king, Peter Urseolo, had been a close ally of Emperor Henry III, and during the latter's reign, Hungary had become a vassal of the Holy Roman Empire. In 1051 and again in 1052, Henry undertook two largely unsuccessful campaigns against Hungary. Andrew then formed an alliance in 1053 with Conrad II, Duke of Bavaria, supporting the opposition against the emperor.

In 1057 Andrew tried to ensure his succession, by having his five-year-old son Solomon crowned as king. This proved unsuccessful, as several years later Andrew's brother Béla I managed to unseat Andrew at the Theben Pass and wrest the throne, if only for a short time.

Andrew and his family are buried in the Tihany abbey, which he founded on the shores of Lake Balaton.

Andrew's son Solomon never properly managed to establish himself as king; Andrew's younger brother Béla gradually took over, particularly since neither Solomon, nor David (Andrew's youngest son) left surviving male descendants. Andrew's daughter Adelaide Arpad married Duke Vratislav II of Bohemia, and her other daughter, Judith Premyslid, married Wladyslaw I, Duke of Poland and became mother of Boleslaw III, Duke of Poland (1085-1138) (great-grandson of Andrew). Thus, Andrew's line continued in the Piast dynasty but not in Hungary.

Preceded by
Peter Urseolo
King of Hungary
10471061
Succeeded by
Béla I
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