Záh (''Zaah'' or ''Zách'') was the name of a ''gens'' (Latin for "clan"; ''nemzetség'' in Hungarian) in the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

. The clan was one of the 108 ''gentes'' during the

Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin The Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin, also known as the Hungarian conquest or the Hungarian land-taking (), was a series of historical events ending with the settlement of the Hungarians in Central Europe in the late 9th and early 10t ...

and located in

Nógrád County Nógrád (, ; ) is a counties of Hungary, county () of Hungary. It sits on the northern edge of Hungary and borders Slovakia. Description Nógrád county lies in northern Hungary. It shares borders with Slovakia and the Hungarian counties Pest ( ...

along with the Kacsics, Kartal, Kökényesradnót and Tomaj clans. The

gens In ancient Rome, a gens ( or , ; : gentes ) was a family consisting of individuals who shared the same ''nomen gentilicium'' and who claimed descent from a common ancestor. A branch of a gens, sometimes identified by a distinct cognomen, was cal ...

provided several high dignitaries in the era of Árpáds, including Nicholas, son of Borsa who served as

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. (, , and ),Kirschbaum 2007, p. 315. deriving from title of župan, ...

(Count; ''comes'') of

Sopron County Sopron (German language, German: ''Ödenburg'', Slovak language, Slovak: ''Šopron'') was an administrative county (Comitatus (Kingdom of Hungary), comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory is now divided between Austria and Hungary. Th ...

between 1221 and 1233. Conrad, son of Albős (c. 1240–1269) was ispán of Győr County and chief cellarer for the Queen.

Job Work, labor (labour in Commonwealth English), occupation or job is the intentional activity people perform to support the needs and desires of themselves, other people, or organizations. In the context of economics, work can be seen as the huma ...

functioned as

bishop of Pécs A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

from 1252 until c. 1282 and ispán of Moson County since 1272. He was the uncle of Felician Záh. Klara Zach 2

The clan divided into two branches: the first one had estates in

Transdanubia Transdanubia ( ; , or ', ) is a traditional region of Hungary. It is also referred to as Hungarian Pannonia, or Pannonian Hungary. Administrative divisions Traditional interpretation The borders of Transdanubia are the Danube River (north and ...

, Tolna, Somogy and Baranya Counties. The second one remained landowner in Nógrád County. Felician belonged to the Nógrád branch. He was a supporter of Matthew Csák.

Notable members

* Job from the kindred Záh (13th century),

Bishop of Pécs A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

(1252 – before 1282), Chancellor (1278) * Felician from the kindred Záh (died 17 April 1330, Visegrád), who attempted to kill

Charles I of Hungary Charles I, also known as Charles Robert (; ; ; 128816 July 1342), was King of Hungary and Croatia in the union with Hungary, Croatia from 1308 to his death. He was a member of the Capetian House of Anjou and the only son of Charles Martel of A ...

and the entire royal family.Henri Marczali, ''LE PROCÈS DE FÉLICIEN ZÁH. UNE CAUSE CÉLÈBRE DU XIV e SIÈCLE'', Revue Historique, T. 107, Fasc. 1 (1911), pp. 43-58. Elizabeth of Poland, Queen of Hungary was seriously injured in the attack when she tried to protect her sons, princes

Louis Louis may refer to: People * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer Other uses * Louis (coin), a French coin * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also ...

and

Andrew Andrew is the English form of the given name, common in many countries. The word is derived from the , ''Andreas'', itself related to ''aner/andros'', "man" (as opposed to "woman"), thus meaning "manly" and, as consequence, "brave", "strong", "c ...

. The members of the royal guard and John Pataki, the deputy master of the stewards for the Queen stopped and killed the assassin. The cause of the assassination attempt is disputed. According to some, the attack was part of the oligarchs' conspiracy. However the historiography accept the words of an Italian chronicler, who remembered the tragic events fifteen years later. Accordingly, Queen Elizabeth's younger brother, Prince

Casimir Casimir is a Latin version of the Polish male name Kazimierz (). The original Polish feminine form is Kazimiera, in Latin and other languages rendered as Casimira. It has two possible meanings: "preacher of peace" or alternatively "destroyer of p ...

, future

King of Poland Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of Royal elections in Poland, free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electab ...

, allegedly seduced Klara Záh and her father wanted revenge for that. * Klara from the kindred Záh, after the assassination attempt, she was brutally executed. The other members of the clan were also murdered or imprisoned. Some children from the clan were banished to

Rhodes Rhodes (; ) is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece and is their historical capital; it is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, ninth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Administratively, the island forms a separ ...

References

Sources

* János Karácsonyi: ''A magyar nemzetségek a XIV. század közepéig.'' Budapest: Magyar Tudományos Akadémia. 1900–1901. * Gyula Kristó (editor): Korai Magyar Történeti Lexikon - 9-14. század ''(Encyclopedia of the Early Hungarian History - 9-14th centuries)''; Akadémiai Kiadó, 1994, Budapest; . {{DEFAULTSORT:Zah (genus)