- Andrew III of Hungary
Infobox Monarch
name =Andrew III
title =King ofHungary
reign =1290 – 1301
queen =Fenenna of Kujavia
queen =Agnes of Austria |Andrew III the Venetian ( _hu. III. (Velencei) András/Endre, _hr. Andrija II, _sk. Ondrej III) (c. 1265,
Venice ,Italy –14 January 1301 ,Buda ,Hungary ),King of Hungary andCroatia (1290-1301).Early years
He was a grandson of
Andrew II of Hungary (reigned 1205-35), being the only son of Andrew II's youngest and posthumous son (possibly illegitimate), Stephen, Duke of Slavonia who was born of the old king's third marriage with Beatrice d'Este. His mother wasTomasina Morosini , descendant of a patrician family ofVenice . After the death of his father (1272), he was educated with his Venetian relatives.In 1278, Ivan Kőszegi, an aristocrat who held several strongholds in the Western part of the
kingdom of Hungary , invited him. Having arrived to the kingdom, Andrew claimed the government of the duchy ofSlavonia , but kingLadislaus IV of Hungary refused him. After this failure, Andrew returned toVenice .In the beginning of 1290
Ivan Kőszegi andArchbishop Lodomer of Esztergom , who had excommunicated kingLadislaus IV of Hungary , invited Andrew to Hungary and offered him the crown. Andrew accepted the offer, but he was arrested by a Hungarian noble, Arnold "de genere" Hahót who handed him over to DukeAlbert I of Austria .King of Hungary
On July 10, 1290 king
Ladislaus IV of Hungary was assassinated by his ownCuman followers; thus the main branch of theÁrpád dynasty became extinct. Andrew, having been informed on the king's death, escaped fromVienna and went toEsztergom , where Archbishop Lodomer crowned him with theHoly Crown on July 23, 1290. After his coronation an assembly of the 'prelates, barons and nobles' of the kingdom of Hungary inÓbuda authorized the new king to reßexamine his predecessor's donations. Andrew was hastily married to a Polish princess,Fenenna of Kujavia .The legitimacy of Andrew's rule was soon questioned, since his father had been declared bastard by his brothers; therefore the new king had to face several pretenders during his reign. On August 31, 1290 King
Rudolph I of Germany , who considered thatHungary belonged to theHoly Roman Empire , invested his son, DukeAlbert I of Austria , with the kingdom. An adventurer fromPoland also claimed the kingdom, pretending to bePrince Andrew of Slavonia , the younger brother of kingLadislaus IV of Hungary , but his troops were defeated by Andrew's followers. In April 1291Maria of Hungary , queen ofCharles II of Naples , the assassinated king's sister, also announced her claim to the kingdom. She later transferred her claim to her son, PrinceCharles Martell of Salerno , and after his death (1295) to her grandsonCharles Robert .In early 1291 Andrew III visited the Eastern part of his kingdom, where the assemblies of the local nobility held in
Oradea (Nagyvárad) andAlba Iulia (Gyulafehérvár) accepted his rule. Afterwards he led his armies against Austria and defeated the Austrian troops. DukeAlbert I of Austria , in the peace concluded on 26 August, 1291 in Hainburg, renounced his claim to Hungary. In compensation Andrew III promised to demolish several smaller fortresses, held by the Kőszegi clan, on the border of the two countries; thereuponMiklós Kőszegi rebelled against Andrew, in alliance with theBabonić (Babonics) andFrankopan (Frangepán) families, followers of the queen of Naples. The king tried to pacify the rebellion, but he was captured byMiklós Kőszegi and had to pay ransom to regain his freedom.In 1293 Andrew III invited his mother to
Hungary . She successfully negotiated with several rebellious barons (Henrik Kőszegi,Stefan Dragutin ), who accepted her son's rule. During 1294 and 1295 Andrew III and his mother lead several campaigns against the followers ofCharles Martell .After the death of his first wife, on February 6, 1296 Andrew III married
Agnes of Austria , the daughter of DukeAlbert I of Austria . Afterwards, with his father-in-law's support, he managed to defeat the revolt ofMiklós Kőszegi andMáté Csák , and occupy the castles ofKőszeg andPozsony . In 1298 Andrew supported with troops his father-in-law's revolt against KingAdolf of Germany .However,Andrew III never managed to strengthen his position in Hungary, because major parts of the kingdom were held by powerful barons like
Miklós Kőszegi ,Máté Csák , andLászló Kán . Moreover, the newArchbishop of Esztergom ,Gergely Bicskei , appointed by PopeBenedict VIII in 1298, supported the claims of the Neapolitan pretenders. Although the assembly of the 'prelates, nobles, Saxons and Cumans', held in August, 1298 at Pest, re-confirmed Andrew's reign, the Archbishop soon began to organise the party of the Neapolitan prince,Charles Robert among the prelates. When in the next year the Archbishop openly refused to appear at the assembly held by the 'prelates and nobles', Andrew occupied the estates of the Archbishopric.In August 1300,
Charles Robert landed inSplit and managed to take Zagreb with the support of his Croatian followers. Andrew was prevented from counter-attacking by the sudden death of his mother and later by his own mortal disease. He was buried in the Greyfriars Church inBuda .The death of Andrew III on
January 14 ,1301 , ended the male line of the Árpáds. One of his contemporaries called him 'the last golden twig of the Árpáds'.Marriages and children
"#1. 19 August/24 September 1290:"
Fennena of Kujavia (c. 1276 – c. 1295), daughter of princeZiemomysł of Kujavia and his wife,Salome of Pommerellen
* Elizabeth (1292 – 6 May 1338, Töss, Switzerland), nun in the Dominican monastery inTöss "#2. 13 February 1296:"Agnes of Austria (18 May, 1281 – 10 Juny 1364,Königsfelden ), daughter of dukeAlbert I of Austria (later king Albert I of Germany) and his wife,Elisabeth of Tirol .Ancestors
Ancestors of Andrew III of HungaryLegacy
An interregnum followed Andrew's death.
Otto III, Duke of Bavaria ("Bela V"), the futureVenceslas III of Bohemia andCharles Robert of Anjou ("Charles I") were proclaimed kings by different factions.After a short interregnum the
Angevin dynasty seized power andCharles Robert (grandson of Maria of Hungary, sister ofLadislaus IV of Hungary , and son and heir to Charles Martel) became the recognized king.ee also
*
List of Hungarian rulers
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