The Battle of the Theben Pass, also known as the Battle of Moson, was fought in the Theben pass near

Wieselburg Wieselburg (Central Bavarian: ''Wieslbuag'') is a town in Lower Austria, Austria, located near the River Erlauf. Its name roughly translates to castle where two rivers meet, as there are two rivers that run together to create the Erlauf. Its popu ...

, where the

March March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of Marc ...

meets the

Danube 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 ...

, in 1060. It was a victory for the nationalist part in Hungary over that of their own pro-German king. In 1058,

Solomon Solomon (; , ),, ; ar, سُلَيْمَان, ', , ; el, Σολομών, ; la, Salomon also called Jedidiah (Hebrew language, Hebrew: , Modern Hebrew, Modern: , Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: ''Yăḏīḏăyāh'', "beloved of Yahweh, Yah"), ...

, son of

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 ...

was betrothed to Judith, daughter of the

Emperor Henry III Henry III (28 October 1016 – 5 October 1056), called the Black or the Pious, was Holy Roman Emperor from 1046 until his death in 1056. A member of the Salian dynasty, he was the eldest son of Conrad II and Gisela of Swabia. Henry was raised by ...

. In Hungary, however, a party opposed to such close ties with Germany arose, led by

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 ...

, Andrew's brother. A German embassy composed of Eppo, Bishop of Naumburg, and

William, Margrave of Meissen William IV, Count of Weimar (died 1062) was Margrave of Meissen from 1046 until his death. Life He was the eldest son of Count William III of Weimar from his second marriage with Oda, a daughter of Margrave Thietmar of the Saxon Eastern March. He ...

, was sent to Hungary to negotiate with the national party, but this merely provoked a backlash. In 1060, Andrew and his queen,

Anastasia Anastasia (from el, Ἀναστασία, translit=Anastasía) is a feminine given name of Greek origin, derived from the Greek word (), meaning "resurrection". It is a popular name in Eastern Europe, particularly in Russia, where it was the most ...

, attempted to flee Hungary for the

March of Austria The Margraviate of Austria (german: Markgrafschaft Österreich) was a medieval frontier march, centered along the river Danube, between the river Enns and the Vienna Woods (''Wienerwald''), within the territory of modern Austrian provinces of Up ...

, but were trapped by Béla in the pass of Theben. Andrew was immediately taken captive, but Anastasia with her son and the royal treasure escaped to the

Melk Abbey Melk Abbey (german: Stift Melk) is a Benedictine abbey above the town of Melk, Lower Austria, Austria, on a rocky outcrop overlooking the Danube river, adjoining the Wachau valley. The abbey contains the tomb of Saint Coloman of Stockerau and the ...

. Andrew was killed in a subsequent charge of the Hungarian cavalry, but the Margrave William and a certain

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

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 The ''Annales Altahenses'' was an early medieval royal annals compiled in the Niederaltaich Abbey which contains records of the events of almost all years in the period between 708 and 1073. In a tour de force of scholarship, Wilhelm von Giesebrech ...

'', quoted in Thompson, 601. They held out until Béla promised to spare their lives; surrender was then made. William, Poto, and the rest of the embassy were all taken captive by the Béla and expelled. Poto would henceforth be known to the world as Poto the Brave.

Sources

* Thompson, James Westfall. ''Feudal Germany, Volume II''. New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Co., 1928.

Notes

{{coord, 48, 10, 26, N, 16, 59, 00, E, display=title Theben Pass Theben Pass the Theben Pass 1060 in Europe 11th century in the Holy Roman Empire 1060s in the Holy Roman Empire