- Battle of the Theben Pass
The Battle of the Theben Pass was fought in the Theben pass near
Wieselburg , where the March meets theDanube , in1060 . It was a victory for the nationalist part in Hungary over that of their own pro-German king.In 1058, Solomon, son of
Andrew I of Hungary was betrothed to Judith, daughter of theEmperor Henry III . In Hungary, however, a party opposed to such close ties with Germany arose, led by Bela, Andrew's brother. A German embassy composed ofEppo, Bishop of Naumburg , andWilliam, Margrave of Meissen , was sent to Hungary to negotiate with the national party, but this merely provoked a backlash.In 1060, Andrew and his queen, Anastasia, attempted to flee Hungary for the
March of Austria , but were trapped by Bela in the pass of Theben. Andrew was immediately taken captive, but Anastasia with her son and the royal treasure escaped to the monastery ofMelke . Andrew was killed in a subsequent charge of the Hungarian cavalry, but the Margrave William and a certainBavaria n named Poto fought from sunset until sunrise so that "the deeds of the very bravest of men of former times seem small in comparison." ["Annales Altahenses ", quoted in Thompson, 601.] They held out until Bela promised to spare their lives; surrender was then made. William, Poto, and the rest of the embassy were all taken captive by the Bela and expelled.ources
*Thompson, James Westfall. "Feudal Germany, Volume II". New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Co., 1928.
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