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Andras IIIThe last king of Hungary 1290-1301 from the Arpad dynasty.
Country:
 Hungary |
Biography of Andras III
Andras III was the last king of Hungary from 1290 to 1301, belonging to the Arpad dynasty. He was born in Venice around 1265 and his mother was Tomazina, a member of the prominent Venetian Morosini family. After the death of his father in 1272, Andras was sent to be raised by his Venetian relatives.
In 1278, Andras was invited to the kingdom by Ivan Kosegi, an aristocrat who had gained control of several fortresses in western Hungary. Andras claimed his rights to the Duchy of Slavonia, but King Laszlo IV of Hungary denied him. After this unsuccessful attempt, Andras returned to Venice.
In early 1290, Kosegi and Archbishop Lodomer of Esztergom, who had excommunicated King Laszlo IV from the church, invited Andras back to Hungary, this time offering him the crown. However, Andras was arrested by Hungarian nobleman Arnold Hagot and handed over to Duke Albert I of Austria.
On July 10, 1290, childless King Laszlo IV was killed by his Polovtsian allies, leading to the end of the main branch of the Arpad dynasty. Upon hearing about the king's death, Andras fled from Vienna and arrived in Esztergom, where Archbishop Lodomer crowned him with the Holy Crown of St. Stephen on July 23, 1290. After his coronation, a congress of "prelates, barons, and nobles" authorized the new king to review the grants made by his predecessor. At the same time, Andras III hastily married Polish princess Fenenna of Kuyavia.
During Andras III's reign, he faced constant power struggles with Hungarian nobility who disputed the legitimacy of his election. As his father, Istvan Posthumus, had been declared a bastard by his brothers, the new king immediately faced several contenders for the throne. In August 1290, Emperor Rudolf I, who considered Hungary part of the Holy Roman Empire, nominated his son, Duke Albert I of Austria, for the Hungarian throne. Simultaneously, a Polish adventurer claiming to be Andras of Slavonia, the younger brother of King Laszlo IV, also presented his claims to the throne, but his army was defeated by supporters of Andras III. Queen Maria of Naples, sister of the deceased king, declared her own claims to the crown in April 1291. She later passed these claims to her son, Charles Martel of Anjou, and after his death in 1295, to her grandson, Charles Robert.
In early 1291, Andras III visited the eastern part of his kingdom, where the nobility of Oradea and Delft swore allegiance to him. He then led his army against Austria and achieved success. Duke Albert I requested peace, and according to the treaty signed on August 26, 1291, in Heinfurt, he renounced his claims to the Hungarian crown. As compensation, Andras III agreed to destroy several small fortresses owned by the Kosegi clan on the border of the two countries. Following this, Miklos Kosegi rebelled against the king, forming an alliance with the Babonic and Frankopan families, supporters of Queen Maria of Naples. The king attempted to suppress the rebellion but was captured by Miklos Kosegi and had to pay a ransom to regain his freedom.
In 1293, Andras III invited his mother, Tomazina Morosini, to Hungary. She successfully negotiated with several rebellious barons, including Henrik Kosegi, who eventually recognized her son's authority. In 1294-1295, Andras III and his mother conducted several campaigns against the supporters of Charles Martel of Anjou.
After the death of his first wife in February 1296, Andras III married Agnes of Austria, daughter of Duke Albert I of Austria, on February 13, 1296. With the support of his father-in-law, he managed to suppress the uprising of Miklos Kosegi and Matyas III Cak, and occupied the castles of Koseg and Pozsony. In 1298, Andras III supported his father-in-law's rebellion against King Adolf of Germany.
However, Andras III was unable to consolidate his position in Hungary as the defiant barons were protected by the major magnates of the kingdom, including Miklos Kosegi, Matyas Cak, and Laszlo Kan. Additionally, the new Archbishop of Esztergom, Gyorgy Bicskei, appointed by Pope Benedict VIII in 1298, supported the claims of the Neapolitan pretenders.
Although a congress of "prelates and nobles, Saxons and Polovtsians" held in Pest in August 1298 reaffirmed Andras III's authority, Archbishop Bicskei began organizing a faction of clergymen in support of Charles Robert. When the archbishop openly refused to attend the congress the following year, the king seized his properties.
In August 1300, Charles Robert received an invitation from Croatian magnate Pavle I Subic to become the new king of Hungary. He landed in Split and occupied Zagreb with the support of his Croatian followers.
Andras III was unable to counterattack due to the sudden death of his mother and subsequently died himself. He was buried in Buda.
With the death of Andras III on January 14, 1301, the Arpad dynasty's reign on the Hungarian throne came to an end. One of his contemporaries referred to him as the "last golden branch of the Arpad tree."
Charles Robert, representative of the Angevin-Sicilian house, ascended to the throne.
Marriages and Children:
1. August 19/24, 1290: Fenenna of Kuyavia (c. 1276 - c. 1295), daughter of Duke Ziemomysl of Kuyavia.
- Elizaveta Tess (1292 - May 6, 1338), a nun at the Dominican monastery in Tess (Switzerland).
2. February 13, 1296: Agnes of Austria (May 18, 1281 - June 10, 1364), daughter of Albert I, King of Germany.
