The Battle of Vértes (
Hungarian: ''vértesi csata''), was a conflict that broke out in 1051, when the Emperor
Henry III tried to invade Hungary and was defeated by King
Andrew I of Hungary
Andrew I the White or the Catholic ( hu, I. Fehér or ; 1015 – before 6 December 1060) was King of Hungary from 1046 to 1060. He descended from a younger branch of the Árpád dynasty. After spending fifteen years in exile, he ascended ...
and Duke
Béla of Hungary.
Background
After the death of King
Saint Stephen I of Hungary in 1038, a series of succession conflicts arose in the kingdom, until King
Andrew I secured power in 1046. After the death of the Emperor
Saint Henry II, his successor, Emperor
Conrad II
Conrad II ( – 4 June 1039), also known as and , was the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire from 1027 until his death in 1039. The first of a succession of four Salian emperors, who reigned for one century until 1125, Conrad ruled the kingdoms ...
, a member of another dynasty, tried to take Hungary as a vassal kingdom. His son, Emperor
Henry III, also continued this same policy, and thus attacked the
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...
in 1051.
Andrew I was prepared that in time
Henry III would want revenge for his previously lost estate. Andrew persuaded his brother, Béla, to return from Poland to Hungary in 1048, and made Prince
Béla
Béla may refer to:
* Béla (crater), an elongated lunar crater
* Béla (given name), a common Hungarian male given name
See also
* Bela (disambiguation)
* Belá (disambiguation)
* Bělá (disambiguation) Bělá, derived from ''bílá'' (''whit ...
the commander-in-chief of the Hungarian armies, who had extensive political and military experience. He also granted his brother
one third of the kingdom with the title of duke, also meant a high degree of independence for
Béla
Béla may refer to:
* Béla (crater), an elongated lunar crater
* Béla (given name), a common Hungarian male given name
See also
* Bela (disambiguation)
* Belá (disambiguation)
* Bělá (disambiguation) Bělá, derived from ''bílá'' (''whit ...
.
Skirmishes on the frontier between Hungary and the Holy Roman Empire first occurred in 1050. Emperor Henry III invaded Hungary in August 1051.
Battle
The German army approached the Hungarians from two directions. One of the teams crossed the
Vág River and penetrated until the
Nitra River
The Nitra ( Slovak: Nitra, german: Neutra, hu, Nyitra) is a river in western Slovakia. It flows into the Váh river in Komoča. Its source is in the Malá Fatra (Lesser Fatra) mountains north of Prievidza. The river Nitra passes through the tow ...
. Bypassing the western border gate (Bufferzone (
Hungarian: ''gyepű'') of
Moson
Moson ( German: Wieselburg, Slovak: Mošon) was an administrative county (comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary, situated mostly on the right (south) side of the Danube river. Its territory is now divided between Austria and Hungary, except a sm ...
-
Sopron
Sopron (; german: Ödenburg, ; sl, Šopron) is a city in Hungary on the Austrian border, near Lake Neusiedl/Lake Fertő.
History
Ancient times-13th century
When the area that is today Western Hungary was a province of the Roman Empire, a ...
), Henry III broke into
Transdanubia
Transdanubia ( hu, Dunántúl; german: Transdanubien, hr, Prekodunavlje or ', sk, Zadunajsko :sk:Zadunajsko) is a traditional region of Hungary. It is also referred to as Hungarian Pannonia, or Pannonian Hungary.
Administrative divisions Trad ...
from
Styria
Styria (german: Steiermark ; Serbo-Croatian and sl, ; hu, Stájerország) is a state (''Bundesland'') in the southeast of Austria. With an area of , Styria is the second largest state of Austria, after Lower Austria. Styria is bordered to ...
. The other army was led by Bishop Gebhard of Regensburg, this corps secured the
Danube River
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...
and on which the supply was transported to the army.
The German troops sought the battle, but the Hungarians used the
scorched earth
A scorched-earth policy is a military strategy that aims to destroy anything that might be useful to the enemy. Any assets that could be used by the enemy may be targeted, which usually includes obvious weapons, transport vehicles, communi ...
tactics against the imperial troops, just as
Stephen
Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; ...
did in 1030 against
Conrad II
Conrad II ( – 4 June 1039), also known as and , was the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire from 1027 until his death in 1039. The first of a succession of four Salian emperors, who reigned for one century until 1125, Conrad ruled the kingdoms ...
. The population was evacuated from the German army, food was taken away or destroyed. Despite this, the Germans reached
Vértes Hills
Vértes is a mountain range in north-western Hungary, in the Central Transdanubian region, between the ranges Bakony and Gerecse. The Vértes Mountains are part of the Transdanubian Mountains.
Geography
The area of the Vértes occupies . It is abo ...
and, according to some sources
Székesfehérvár
Székesfehérvár (; german: Stuhlweißenburg ), known colloquially as Fehérvár ("white castle"), is a city in central Hungary, and the country's ninth-largest city. It is the regional capital of Central Transdanubia, and the centre of Fejér ...
. However, Duke
Béla
Béla may refer to:
* Béla (crater), an elongated lunar crater
* Béla (given name), a common Hungarian male given name
See also
* Bela (disambiguation)
* Belá (disambiguation)
* Bělá (disambiguation) Bělá, derived from ''bílá'' (''whit ...
directed his armies into the backs of the Germans to strengthen the part between
Zala River
The Zala is a river in south-western Hungary. Its source is in the hills northwest of Szalafő near the borders with Austria and Slovenia. Its length is and drains water from . Several smaller rivers feed into it, including the Felső-Válic ...
and
Rába River, as well as the bufferzones of
Moson
Moson ( German: Wieselburg, Slovak: Mošon) was an administrative county (comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary, situated mostly on the right (south) side of the Danube river. Its territory is now divided between Austria and Hungary, except a sm ...
. The Germans were starving because they found no food and their supply was hampered. The German army were constantly accompanied by the Hungarians and minor clashes were almost in every day. The Hungarian horse archers struck the guards at night, wandered between the marching troops and disappeared after firing an arrow or two. It was then that the German decided, leaving the Vértes Hills, to turn north to the ships carrying the supplies. But the ships were no longer there, because Duke
Béla
Béla may refer to:
* Béla (crater), an elongated lunar crater
* Béla (given name), a common Hungarian male given name
See also
* Bela (disambiguation)
* Belá (disambiguation)
* Bělá (disambiguation) Bělá, derived from ''bílá'' (''whit ...
captured one of their couriers and sent a letter to the bishop on behalf of the Germans stating that the campaign was over and return to
Regensburg
Regensburg or is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the Danube, Naab and Regen rivers. It is capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the state in the south of Germany. With more than 150,000 inhabitants, Regensburg is the f ...
.
According to a legend documented in medieval Hungarian chronicles, the
Vértes mountains were named after this incident: during the unsuccessful campaign of 1051–1052, the withdrawing German troops of
Henry III, emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, scattered their armours to ease their escape through the mountains, hence the name Vértes (''vért:'' Hungarian word for armor).
Aftermath
After this defeat, the German armies were repelled by
Andrew I of Hungary
Andrew I the White or the Catholic ( hu, I. Fehér or ; 1015 – before 6 December 1060) was King of Hungary from 1046 to 1060. He descended from a younger branch of the Árpád dynasty. After spending fifteen years in exile, he ascended ...
in the Battle of Pozsony in 1052, definitively ending
Henry III's claims on Hungary.
References
Bibliography
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Battles involving Hungary in the Middle Ages
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11th-century conflicts
1050s conflicts
1051