Smaragd (II) from the kindred Smaragd ( hu, Smaragd nembeli (II.) Smaragd; died after 1223) was a Hungarian distinguished nobleman from the ''gens'' Smaragd, who held several positions during the reign of

Andrew II of Hungary Andrew II ( hu, II. András, hr, Andrija II., sk, Ondrej II., uk, Андрій II; 117721 September 1235), also known as Andrew of Jerusalem, was King of Hungary and Croatia between 1205 and 1235. He ruled the Principality of Halych from 1188 ...

Family

His father was ''

ispán The ispánRady 2000, p. 19.''Stephen Werbőczy: The Customary Law of the Renowned Kingdom of Hungary in Three Parts (1517)'', p. 450. or countEngel 2001, p. 40.Curta 2006, p. 355. ( hu, ispán, la, comes or comes parochialis, and sk, župan)Kirs ...

'' (''comes'') Smaragd I (d. after 1167). He moved to 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 ...

from

Champagne Champagne (, ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, that demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, spe ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. Smaragd II had a brother, Egidius (or Giles). Together with him, Smaragd built the Premontre monastery church of Zsámbék around 1220. During the foundation, Smaragd donated his estates Szentkirály (within

Esztergom Esztergom ( ; german: Gran; la, Solva or ; sk, Ostrihom, known by alternative names) is a city with county rights in northern Hungary, northwest of the capital Budapest. It lies in Komárom-Esztergom County, on the right bank of the river Danu ...

), Marót, Perbál, Répás (today a borough of

Sajópálfala Sajópálfala is a village in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County in northeastern Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia t ...

), Szörény,

Zsámbék Zsámbék (german: Schambeck) is a town in Pest County, Hungary. Location Zsámbék is located 30 km west of Budapest along the M1 motorway in the Gerecse Mountains. Its neighbouring villages are Tök, Perbál, Páty, Herceghalom, Mány ...

, Ság,

Seregélyes Seregélyes is a village in Fejér county, Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the north ...

and Szerdahely to the monastery. Egidius and Smaragd possibly also had another brother Paul. Smaragd had three children, one of them was Smaragd III,

archbishop of Kalocsa In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdioc ...

. Aynard I served as ''ispán'' of Valkó County from 1244 to 1246, while Gilét I was count of the tárnoks ("''comes udvornicorum''"). Both of them belonged to the retinue of Queen

Maria Laskarina Maria Laskarina (c. 1206 – 16 July or 24 June 1270) was a Greek Queen consort of Hungary by marriage to Béla IV of Hungary. She was the daughter of Theodore I Laskaris and Anna Komnena Angelina. Life She was a younger sister of Irene Lascarina ...

, wife of

Béla IV of Hungary Béla IV (1206 – 3 May 1270) was King of Hungary and Croatia between 1235 and 1270, and Duke of Styria from 1254 to 1258. As the oldest son of King Andrew II, he was crowned upon the initiative of a group of influential noblemen in his father ...

. They were the ancestors of the Ajnárdfi and Zsámboki (Gilétfi) noble families, respectively.

Career

Smaragd served as

judge royal The judge royal, also justiciar,Rady 2000, p. 49. chief justiceSegeš 2002, p. 202. or Lord Chief JusticeFallenbüchl 1988, p. 145. (german: Oberster Landesrichter,Fallenbüchl 1988, p. 72. hu, országbíró,Zsoldos 2011, p. 26. sk, krajinsk� ...

(''iudex curiae'') between 1205 and 1206. Besides that he was the ''ispán'' of Szolnok County. After that he was appointed

voivode of Transylvania The Voivode of Transylvania (german: Vojwode von Siebenbürgen;Fallenbüchl 1988, p. 77. hu, erdélyi vajda;Zsoldos 2011, p. 36. la, voivoda Transsylvaniae; ro, voievodul Transilvaniei) was the highest-ranking official in Transylvania wit ...

in 1206. According to László Markó he also held that office until 1207. Smaragd owned

Szeghalom Szeghalom is a town in Békés county, in southeastern Hungary. History The jewish community In the 19th and 20th centuries, a Jewish community with hundreds of members lived in the village. On March 19, 1944, after the German army entered Hungar ...

and Csökmő in 1208, according to a contemporary document. Between 1208 and 1209, he functioned as ''ispán'' of

Bihar County Bihar was an administrative county (comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary and a county of the Eastern Hungarian Kingdom and Principality of Transylvania (since the 16th century, when it was under the rule of the Princes of Transylvania). Most of ...

. He served as ''ispán'' of Szolnok County for the second time in 1213. He was the ''ispán'' of

Pozsony County Pozsony county was an administrative county ( comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory is now mostly part of Slovakia, while a small area belongs to Hungary. In 1969, the three villages that remained in Hungary were combined to form Du ...

from 1214 to 1222. He participated in Andrew II's

Fifth Crusade The Fifth Crusade (1217–1221) was a campaign in a series of Crusades by Western Europeans to reacquire Jerusalem and the rest of the Holy Land by first conquering Egypt, ruled by the powerful Ayyubid sultanate, led by al-Adil, brother of Sala ...

between 1217 and 1218. Smaragd served as ''ispán'' of

Bács County BACS is the Bankers Automated Clearing Services, a scheme for the electronic processing of financial transactions. BACS or Bács may also refer to: Organisations * Bay Area Christian School, in League City, Texas, US * Boston Archdiocesan Choir ...

at the end of 1222.

References

Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Smaragd of Transylvania Smaragd II Judges royal Voivodes of Transylvania Christians of the Fifth Crusade Hungarian people of French descent 12th-century Hungarian people 13th-century Hungarian people