Koppány

File:István és Koppány.jpg

Medieval depiction of the battle between István and Koppány.

Koppány was a Hungarian nobleman of the tenth century. Brother of the ruling prince of Hungary, Géza of the Árpád dynasty, Koppány ruled as Prince of Somogy in the region south of Lake Balaton. Following the death of Géza he claimed the right of succession: inheritance of the crown was determined by the principle of agnatic seniority, and Koppány was the oldest surviving member of the House of Árpád. However, his claim to power was challenged by Géza's son Vajk, Koppány's nephew, who had by then been baptized a Christian and given the name of István.

István claimed a divine right to succession and wanted to complete his father's work in turning Hungary into a European Christian kingdom; Koppány in contrast stood for the old tribal values and pagan religion of the ancient Magyars. In 998 A.D. the supporters of István and followers of Koppány fought near Veszprém. István's army, bolstered by the support of a regiment of Bavarian knights, won a decisive victory over Koppány and had him executed. According to the legend his body was cut in four pieces, which were sent to be displayed on the walls of the four major strongholds of the Kingdom (Győr, Veszprém, Esztergom and Gyulafehérvár) as a warning to all troublemakers.

The victory of the Christian István over the pagan Koppány in the battle for succession was of the utmost importance in determining the future course of Hungarian history. István created the Apostolic Kindgom of Hungary and became its first King in the year 1000 AD. (Ironically, since István's only son died before he could inherit the throne, after a time of internal strife, the descendants of Koppány were called back to claim the crown. It was Koppány's grandson, King László I who initiated the canonization process of István in the Vatican. He was elevated to sainthood by Pope Gregory VII in 1083.) Hungary became a European Christian kingdom, and began a period of territorial expansion as well as consolidation of the Magyar tribes into one unified nation.

Hungary celebrated the 1000th anniversary of Hungarian statehood in 2000.

References

• Lendvai, Paul: The Hungarians: A Thousand Years of Victory in Defeat, Princeton University Press, 2003. pp 29–31