Aba is a noble kindred (''genus'') of 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 ...

which according to the ''

Gesta Hungarorum ''Gesta Hungarorum'', or ''The Deeds of the Hungarians'', is the earliest book about Kingdom of Hungary, Hungarian history which has survived for posterity. Its genre is not chronicle, but ''gesta'', meaning "deeds" or "acts", which is a medie ...

'' ("The Deeds of the Hungarians" part 32) derives from Pata (Latin: Pota) who was a nephew to Ed and Edemen and the ancestor of Samuel Aba. Some modern scholars have proposed that the family's ancestors may have been among the tribal leaders of the

Kabar The Kabars (), also known as Qavars (Qabars) or Khavars, were Khazar rebels who joined Magyar tribes and the Rus' Khaganate confederations in the 9th century CE. Sources The Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII is the principal source of the Kaba ...

s (three nomadic tribes that joined the tribal federation of the

Magyars Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common culture, language and history. They also have a notable presence in former parts of the Kingdom of Hungary. The Hungarian language belongs to the ...

in the 9th century).Peter F. Sugar, Péter Hanák,

Tibor Frank Tibor Frank (3 February 1948 – 15 September 2022) was a Hungarian historian who was professor of history at the School of English and American Studies of the Faculty of Humanities of the Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE). He was director o ...

, A History of Hungary, Indiana University Press, 1994 page 1

/ref> The ''

Gesta Hunnorum et Hungarorum The ''Gesta Hunnorum et Hungarorum'Reader's encyclopedia of Eastern European literature'', 1993, Robert B. Pynsent, Sonia I. Kanikova, p. 529. (Latin: "Deeds of the Huns and Hungarians") is a medieval chronicle written mainly by Simon of K� ...

'' ("The Deeds of the Huns and the Hungarians", 1282–85) connects the family to

Attila the Hun Attila ( or ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in early 453. He was also the leader of an empire consisting of Huns, Ostrogoths, Alans, and Gepids, among others, in Central and East ...

. The Gesta Hungarorum mentions that Ed and Edemen received land possession around the forest of the

Mátra The Mátra () is a mountain range in northern Hungary, between the towns Gyöngyös and Eger. The country's highest peak, Kékestető (1014 m), belongs to this mountain range. Formation Pre-volcanic formations The formation of the Mátra ...

Mountains, especially in Gyöngyöspata –

Heves County Heves county (, ) lies in northern Hungary, between the right bank of the river Tisza and the Mátra and Bükk mountains. It shares borders with the Hungarian counties Pest (county), Pest, Nógrád (county), Nógrád, Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén and ...

, after the conquest of the

Carpathian Basin The Pannonian Basin, with the term Carpathian Basin being sometimes preferred in Hungarian literature, is a large sedimentary basin situated in southeastern Central Europe. After the Treaty of Trianon following World War I, the geomorphologic ...

by the Magyars (around 895). Pata built a castle in their forest where centuries later Oliver, Pata's descendant through Samuel Aba was slain by the descendants of Ed and Edemen during the reign of Ladislaus IV.

Notable members

Prince Shaba who wed Princess Sarolta the daughter of

Géza, Grand Prince of the Hungarians Géza ( 940 – 997), also Gejza, was Grand Prince of the Hungarians from the early 970s. He was the son of Grand Prince Taksony of Hungary, Taksony and his OrientalKhazars, Khazar, Pechenegs, Pecheneg or Volga Bulgarianwife. He married Sar ...

Samuel Aba Samuel Aba (; before 990 or 1009 – 5 July 1044) reigned as King of Hungary between 1041 and 1044. He was born to a prominent family with extensive domains in the region of the Mátra Hills. Based on reports in the ''Gesta Hungarorum'' and ...

was the most prominent member of the family who became

King of Hungary The King of Hungary () was the Monarchy, ruling head of state of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1000 (or 1001) to 1918. The style of title "Apostolic King of Hungary" (''Magyarország apostoli királya'') was endorsed by Pope Clement XIII in 1758 ...

(1041–1044). The ''gens'' may have been named after him.

Countess Claudine Rhédey de Kis-Rhéde Countess Claudine Susanna Rhédey de Kis-Rhéde (; 21 September 18121 October 1841) was the Hungarian wife of Duke Alexander of Württemberg (1804–1885), Duke Alexander of Württemberg. Her son, Francis, Duke of Teck, was the father of Mary of ...

who were descent of samuel Aba Oliver of the House of Aba who inherited Pata's Castle in the forest of the Mátra was slain there by the descendants of Ed and Edemen during the reign of Ladislaus IV.

Makján Aba Makján (II) from the kindred Aba (; died after 1288) was a Hungarian nobleman who served as Palatine of Hungary from 1286 to 1287. He was a staunch supporter of Ladislaus IV of Hungary. Ancestry Makján (or Mokyanus) was born into the minor and ...

was Palatine of Hungary in the 13th century and a staunch supporter of Ladislaus IV.

Amade Aba Amadeus Aba or Amade Aba (; ; ? – 5 September 1311) was a Hungarian oligarch in the Kingdom of Hungary who ruled ''de facto'' independently the northern and north-eastern counties of the kingdom (today parts of Hungary, Slovakia and Ukrai ...

is another prominent descendant of the family; he held several castles and possessions on the northern and north-eastern parts of the kingdom in the first decade of the 14th century.

Ladislaus Aba Ladislaus from the kindred Aba (; died 1299/1301) was a Hungarian cleric in the second half of the 13th century, who served as Provost of Titel from around 1280 to 1299. He was vice-chancellor in the court of Andrew III of Hungary in 1299. Life ...

, from the Lipóc branch, was vice-chancellor and provost of

Titel Titel ( sr-Cyrl, Тител, ) is a town and municipality located in the South Bačka District of the province of Vojvodina, Serbia. The town of Titel has a population of 4,522, while the population of the municipality of Titel is 13,984 (2022 ...

Lawrence I Aba Lawrence (I) from the kindred Aba (; died between 1277 and 1279) was a Hungarian influential baron and soldier in the 13th century, who was considered a loyal supporter of Béla IV of Hungary. He served as Master of the stewards from 1259 to 1270. ...

, he served as

Master of the stewards The master of the stewards or master of the table (, , and ) was one of the high officials of the royal household in the Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 ...

from 1259 to 1270.

Lawrence II Aba Lawrence (II) from the kindred Aba (; died after 1290) was a Hungarian nobleman in the 13th century, who served as Master of the treasury three times in the court of Ladislaus IV of Hungary. He was the forefather of the Atyinai noble family, which ...

, served as

Master of the treasury The master of the treasury or treasurerSegeš 2002, p. 316.Rady 2000, p. 113. (Fallenbüchl 1988, p. 80. or , ,Zsoldos 2011, p. 61. , or , )General Encyclopedia of the Yugoslav Lexicographical Institute, second edition, sixth volume SKA-ŽV. p 3 ...

Finta Aba Finta from the kindred Aba (; died 1287) was a Hungarian lord in the Kingdom of Hungary, who served as Palatine of Hungary from 1280 to 1281. He is best known for capturing King Ladislaus IV of Hungary in early 1280. Family Finta was born into t ...

, served as

Palatine of Hungary The Palatine of Hungary ( or , , ) was the highest-ranking office in the Kingdom of Hungary from the beginning of the 11th century to 1848. Initially, Palatines were representatives of the monarchs, later (from 1723) the vice-regent (vi ...

from 1280 to 1281.
Count Peter of Aba
Lord of Szalánc (ancestor of the Báthory branch of the Clan Aba) Nicholas I (I. Miklós in Hungarian) served as

Voivode of Transylvania The Voivode of Transylvania (;Fallenbüchl 1988, p. 77. ;Zsoldos 2011, p. 36. ; ) was the highest-ranking official in Transylvania within the Kingdom of Hungary from the 12th century to the 16th century. Appointed by the King of Hun ...

from 1342 to 1344

Branches

The ''gens'' divided into several families in the course of the centuries. Today there are nineteen noble families that directly descend from the Royal House of Aba, and belong to Clan Aba – “Genus Aba”. They are: Athinai, Báthory of the Clan Aba, Báthory de Gagy, Bertóthy, Budaméry, Csirke, Csobánka, Frichi, Gagyi, Hedry, Keczer, Kompolthi, Laczkffy de Nádasd, Lapispataky, Rhédey, Sennyey, Sirokay, Somosy de Somos, Vendéghy and Vitéz. Various members of the Rhédey von Kis-Rhéde branch of Genus Aba held many royal offices and acquired many hereditary titles. Among them – Voivod (Dukes) and Princes of Transylvania, Counts of Rhédey von Kis-Rhéde, Hereditary Count Palatines of the Holy Roman Empire, Papal Count Palatines of the Lateran Palace and Countess von Hohenstein.

Genetics

Genetic samples from 19 individuals were collected at the necropolis in Abasár, from the political centre of the Aba clan. In 2024, archaeogenetic analysis revealed East Eurasian paternal origin to the Aba royal family of Hungary. It revealed that members of the Aba family were related to members of prominent Hungarian medieval noble families, including the Hungarian royal

House of Árpád A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

, the Báthory family, and the Hunyadi family, as well as to the first-generation immigrant elite of the

Hungarian conquest 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 ...

, all of which had been previously studied through archaeogenetic analysis. In medieval

Hungarian chronicles Hungarian may refer to: * Hungary, a country in Central Europe * Kingdom of Hungary, state of Hungary, existing between 1000 and 1946 * Hungarians/Magyars, ethnic groups in Hungary * Hungarian algorithm, a polynomial time algorithm for solving the ...

both the Aba and the

Árpád dynasty The Árpád dynasty consisted of the members of the royal House of Árpád (), also known as Árpáds (, ). They were the ruling dynasty of the Principality of Hungary in the 9th and 10th centuries and of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1000 to 130 ...

are identified as descendants of

Attila Attila ( or ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in early 453. He was also the leader of an empire consisting of Huns, Ostrogoths, Alans, and Gepids, among others, in Central Europe, C ...

, King of the

Hunnic empire The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th centuries AD. According to European tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was pa ...

. Detailed

whole genome sequencing Whole genome sequencing (WGS), also known as full genome sequencing or just genome sequencing, is the process of determining the entirety of the DNA sequence of an organism's genome at a single time. This entails sequencing all of an organism's ...

data revealed the paternal ancestry of the Árpád dynasty originating from East Eurasia, with potential Hun connections. In the archaeogenetic study, the Abas also demonstrated Asian Hun (

Xiongnu The Xiongnu (, ) were a tribal confederation of Nomad, nomadic peoples who, according to ancient Chinese historiography, Chinese sources, inhabited the eastern Eurasian Steppe from the 3rd century BC to the late 1st century AD. Modu Chanyu, t ...

) phylogenetic connections.

Sources

* Kristó, Gyula (editor): Korai Magyar Történeti Lexikon – 9–14. század ''(Encyclopedia of the Early Hungarian History – 9–14th centuries)''; Akadémiai Kiadó, 1994, Budapest; .

References

External links