Byzantine–Hungarian War (1162–1167)
| Byzantine-Hungarian war | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Komnenian restoration | |||||||||
Illustration of the coronation of Stephen III of Hungary (from the Chronicon Pictum) | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
|
Byzantine Empire |
Kingdom of Hungary
| ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
|
Manuel I Komnenos Andronikos Kontostephanos Alexios Axouch John Doukas Andronikos Lapardas Béla–Alexios Supported by:
|
Stephen III Dénes Ampud Supported by: | ||||||||
| Units involved | |||||||||
Total: 15,000 (1167) [1]
|
Total: 15,000 (1167) [2]
| ||||||||
The Byzantine-Hungarian War was a series of border conflicts between the Byzantine Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary that took place in the Balkans between 1162 & 1167 that took place shortly after the death of King Géza II of Hungary and the recent treaty a year prior to his death, which presented the opportunity for Manuel I Komnenos to take advantage of the Succession crisis & interfere in his neighbor’s realm under their ruler Stephen III six weeks after his Coronation. The war was mainly fought near strategic regions of strategic regions of Dalmatia, Croatia, & Sirmium.
Aftermath
Following their defeat after a battle near Sirmium in 1167, The Hungarians would sue for peace on Byzantine terms and recognized the empire’s control over Bosnia, Dalmatia, Croatia south of the Krka River as well as the Fruška Gora.
After Stephen died in 1172, Béla succeeded him after being deprived of his title of despot & position as heir to the imperial throne that same year, Hungary would agree to pay tribute & supply troops upon request and provide hostages to ensure their continued compliance to the Byzantine Empire.
Béla had to swear an oath that he would never harm Manuel and he remained loyal to the Empire & Manuel until his death in September of 1180, he later conquered & annexed those lands held previously by the Byzantines after he was requested by Maria of Antioch for aid by devastating Byzantine border regions like belgrade and Barancs in may of 1182 which lead to the Byzantine–Hungarian War between 1180 & 1185, due to the rising usurper Andronikos I Komnenos to protect her regency & the interests of her son Alexios II Komnenos, Maria later recognized Hungarian territorial claims on certain Byzantine lands as exchange for his support.
Background
After the Byzantine–Hungarian War between 1149–1155, relations had yet again soured. emperor Manuel I Komnenos attempted to achieve a diplomatic and dynastic settlement with Hungary. In 1163, under the terms of an existing peace treaty, King Stephen III’ younger brother Béla was sent to Constantinople to be raised under the personal tutelage of the emperor himself, Since he was also the heir to the Hungarian throne, a union between the two states was a distinct possibility. But in 1167, King Stephen refused to give Manuel control of the former Byzantine territories allocated to Béla-Alexios as his appanage; this directly led to a large scale war that would later result in a decisive Byzantine victory near Sirmium.
References
- ^ Birkenmeier 2002, p. 241
- ^ Kinnamos & Brand 1976, p. 203.
Sources
- Birkenmeier, John W. (2002). The Development of the Komnenian Army: 1081–1180. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill. ISBN 90-04-11710-5.
- Szabó, János (2013). Háborúban Bizánccal. Magyarország és a Balkán a 11–12. században [War with the Byzantium. Hungary and the Balkans in the 11–12th Century] (in Hungarian). Corvina. ISBN 978-963-13-6150-6.
- Fine, John Van Antwerp (1994). The Late Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman Conquest. University of Michigan Press. ISBN 978-0-472-08260-5.
- Kinnamos, John; Brand, Charles M. (trans.) (1976). Deeds of John and Manuel Comnenus. New York, New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-04080-6.
- S Z A B Ó, PÁ L D I Ó S Z E G I (2022). Hungarian-Byzantine relations In the Árpád Era.