Coloman, King of Hungary

Who was Coloman, King of Hungary?

Coloman the Learned, also the Book-Lover or the Bookish was King of Hungary from 1095 and King of Croatia from 1097. Coloman and his younger brother, Álmos were still under-age when their father, King Géza I of Hungary died and their uncle, Ladislaus I, ascended the throne in 1077. According to late medieval Hungarian chronicles, the king decided to prepare Coloman—who was physically challenged—for a church career. Coloman was even appointed bishop of Eger or Várad in the early 1090s.

The dying King Ladislaus preferred the younger Álmos to Coloman when nominating his heir in early 1095. Coloman fled from Hungary, but returned around 19 July 1095 when his uncle died. The circumstances of Coloman's accession to the throne are unknown, but he was only crowned in early 1096. He granted the so-called "duchy"—one-third of the Kingdom of Hungary—to Álmos.

In the year of Coloman's coronation, at least five large groups of crusaders arrived in Hungary on their way to the Holy Land. Coloman allowed the organized groups to pass through Hungary peacefully, but mercilessly annihilated the bands entering his kingdom unauthorized or pillaging the countryside. He invaded Croatia and defeated its last native king, Petar Svačić in 1097. He was crowned king of Croatia in 1102. According to the late 14th-century Pacta conventa, the authenticity of which is not universally accepted by scholars, Coloman was only crowned after having ratified a treaty with the leaders of the Croatian nobility.