Amade Aba
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Amadeus Aba or Amade Aba (; ; ? – 5 September 1311) was a Hungarian oligarch in 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 ...
who ruled ''de facto'' independently the northern and north-eastern
counties A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...
of the kingdom (today parts of Hungary, Slovakia and
Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
). He held the office of
Palatine A palatine or palatinus (Latin; : ''palatini''; cf. derivative spellings below) is a high-level official attached to imperial or royal courts in Europe since Roman Empire, Roman times.
() several times (1288–1289, 1290–1291, 1291–1293, 1295–1296, 1297–1298, 1299–1300, 1302–1310), and he was also
judge royal The judge royal, also justiciar,Rady 2000, p. 49. chief justiceSegeš 2002, p. 202. or Lord Chief JusticeFallenbüchl 1988, p. 145. (,Fallenbüchl 1988, p. 72. ,Zsoldos 2011, p. 26. , ), was the second-highest judge, preceded only by the Palati ...
() twice (1283–1285, 1289). He was assassinated at the south gate in the city of Kassa by Saxon burghers.


Family and early career

He was born as the son of David I, a member of the ''genus'' (clan) Aba, who was mentioned as () in contemporary sources and ancestor of the Berthóty family. Amadeus had three siblings, Palatine Finta, who had rebelled against the King in 1281, Royal Judge
Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...
, who was a close ally of Amadeus and a daughter who married Simon from the Kacsics genus. Amadeus had at least six sons and a daughter from his unidentified wife, who had survived him. The eldest son was
John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...
, who served as
Master of the horse Master of the Horse is an official position in several European nations. It was more common when most countries in Europe were monarchies, and is of varying prominence today. (ancient Rome) The original Master of the Horse () in the Roman Rep ...
according to his own charter. His other two sons, Nicholas III and David II were killed in the
Battle of Rozgony The Battle of Rozgony or Battle of Rozhanovce was fought between King Charles Robert of Hungary and the family of Palatine Amade Aba on 15 June 1312, on the Rozgony (today Rozhanovce) field. ''Chronicon Pictum'' described it as the "most cruel ...
. Amadeus' only daughter Catherine married Blessed
Maurice Csák Maurice Csák (, ; ''c''. 1270 – 20 March 1336) was a Hungarian Dominican Order, Dominican friar. He was beatified by Pope Alexander VI in 1494. Early life Maurice was born around 1270 into the Ugod branch of the prestigious and wealthy Csák ...
in 1301, who later became a Dominican friar. Catherine also joined the nuns at
Margaret Island Margaret Island ( ; ) is a long island, wide, ( in area) in the middle of the Danube in central Budapest, Hungary. The island is mostly covered by landscape parks, and is a popular recreational area. Its medieval ruins are reminders of its impo ...
. This act angered Amadeus, who imprisoned Maurice in
Buda Buda (, ) is the part of Budapest, the capital city of Hungary, that lies on the western bank of the Danube. Historically, “Buda” referred only to the royal walled city on Castle Hill (), which was constructed by Béla IV between 1247 and ...
for a short time, but later released him. Amadeus fought in the
Battle of Marchfeld The Battle on the Marchfeld (''i.e. Morava Field''; ; ; ); at Dürnkrut and Jedenspeigen took place on 26 August 1278 and was a decisive event for the history of Central Europe for the following centuries. The opponents were a Bohemian (Cz ...
in the troops King
Ladislaus IV of Hungary Ladislaus IV (, , ; 5 August 1262 – 10 July 1290), also known as Ladislaus the Cuman, was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1272 to 1290. His mother, Elizabeth, was the daughter of a chieftain from the pagan Cumans who had settled in Hung ...
sent to King
Rudolph I of Germany Rudolf I (1 May 1218 – 15 July 1291) was the first King of Germany of the Habsburg dynasty from 1273 until his death. Rudolf's election marked the end of the Great Interregnum which had begun after the death of the Hohenstaufen Emperor ...
against King
Ottokar II of Bohemia Ottokar II (; , in Městec Králové, Bohemia – 26 August 1278, in Dürnkrut, Austria, Dürnkrut, Lower Austria), the Iron and Golden King, was a member of the Přemyslid dynasty who reigned as King of Bohemia from 1253 until his death in 1278 ...
(26 August 1278). In 1280, Aba became the head of Hermannstadt (today ''Sibiu'' in Romania), ''i.e.'', the royal officer appointed to administer the
Transylvanian Saxons The Transylvanian Saxons (; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjer Såksen'' or simply ''Soxen'', singularly ''Sox'' or ''Soax''; Transylvanian Landler dialect, Transylvanian Landler: ''Soxn'' or ''Soxisch''; ; seldom ''sa ...
. Following the dismissal of Finta as Palatine, he rebelled against Ladislaus in 1281. As Peter Aba was appointed
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 ...
and there is no mention of Amadeus Aba, it is likely to be declared that only Finta rebelled against the king and not the whole Aba clan. King Ladislaus IV appointed Amadeus to the office of judge royal in 1283. In February 1285, he fought successfully against the
Mongols Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China ( Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family o ...
who were pillaging the north-eastern parts of the kingdom. He received land and special privileges in Poland from Wladyslaw Lokietek King of Poland, and was referred to as ''Amadej'' in Polish.


The powerful magnate

After 9 August 1288, Amadeus Aba became Palatine and he held the office for the first time until 1289 when he received the office of judge royal again. Later, he rebelled against the king whose troops occupied one of his castles,
Tokaj Tokaj () is a historical town in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county, Northern Hungary, 54 kilometers from county capital Miskolc. It is the centre of the Tokaj-Hegyalja wine district where Tokaji wine is produced. History The wine-growing area ...
(before 27 May 1290). Following the king's death (10 July 1290), Aba became a loyal supporter of King
Andrew III of Hungary Andrew III the Venetian (, , ; – 14 January 1301) was King of Hungary and King of Croatia, Croatia between 1290 and 1301. His father, Stephen the Posthumous, was the posthumous son of Andrew II of Hungary although Stephen's older half brother ...
who appointed him Palatine. Although the king appointed a new Palatine already in 1291, he still continued to use the title until his death, and later he was confirmed in the office several times by the kings. After 1297, Aba was among the most powerful supporters of King Andrew III and he even made a formal alliance with the king and his other followers in the second half of 1298. When King Andrew III died (14 January 1301), some of the powerful aristocrats became the supporters of
Wenceslaus Wenceslaus, Wenceslas, Wenzeslaus and Wenzslaus (and other similar names) are Latinized forms of the Slavic names#In Slovakia and Czech_Republic, Czech name Václav. The other language versions of the name are , , , , , , among others. It origina ...
, the
crown prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title, crown princess, is held by a woman who is heir apparent or is married to the heir apparent. ''Crown prince ...
of
Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...
, while others, including Aba, supported the claim of
Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...
, a member of the Angevin dynasty. Charles laid siege to
Buda Buda (, ) is the part of Budapest, the capital city of Hungary, that lies on the western bank of the Danube. Historically, “Buda” referred only to the royal walled city on Castle Hill (), which was constructed by Béla IV between 1247 and ...
, the capital of the kingdom, in September 1302, but
Ivan Kőszegi Ivan Kőszegi (, ; died 5 April 1308) was an influential lord in the Kingdom of Hungary at the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries. Earlier historiographical works also refer to him Ivan Németújvári (, , ). He was Palatine of Hungary, Palatin ...
relieved the town. Charles's charters show that he primarily stayed in the southern parts of the kingdom during the next years. However, he also visited Amadeus Aba in the fortress of Gönc. In 1304, Scepusian Saxons and the citizens of Kassa supported by Wenceslaus unsuccessfully besieged Amadeus' centre, Gönc. Later, Wenceslaus left the kingdom (August 1304), and shortly afterwards, Aba concluded an agreement with Charles and Duke
Rudolph III of Austria Rudolf I ( – 3/4 July 1307), also known as Rudolf of Habsburg, was a member of the House of Habsburg, the King of Bohemia and titular King of Poland from 1306 until his death. He was also Duke of Austria (as Rudolf III) and Styria from 1298. ...
against Wenceslaus' father, King
Wenceslaus II of Bohemia Wenceslaus II Přemyslid (; ; 27 SeptemberK. Charvátová, ''Václav II. Král český a polský'', Prague 2007, p. 18. 1271 – 21 June 1305) was King of Bohemia (1278–1305), Duke of Cracow (1291–1305), and King of Poland (1296–130 ...
. In 1304 and 1305, he gave military assistance to Duke Władysław of Cuiavia against King Wenceslaus II who had occupied
Lesser Poland Lesser Poland, often known by its Polish name ''Małopolska'' (; ), is a historical region situated in southern and south-eastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Kraków. Throughout centuries, Lesser Poland developed a separate cult ...
. Władysław also resided in Gönc for several years. This case proves that Amadeus followed an independent foreign policy, similarly to the other oligarchs of the realm. As the ''
Illuminated Chronicle The ''Chronicon Pictum'' or ''Illuminated Chronicle'' (, , , also referred to as the ''Illustrated Chronicle'', ''Chronica Hungarorum'', ''Chronicon Hungarie Pictum'', ''Chronica Picta'' or ''Chronica de Gestis Hungarorum'') is a medieval illust ...
'' notes, he considered Charles as his King "only with words but not with deeds". Amadeus Aba was present at the Assembly of Rákos (10 October 1307) where the participants confirmed Charles' claim for the throne. Charles was proclaimed king at the Assembly in Pest (27 November 1308), in the presence of Aba. In 1308, he became the head () of Szepes. He was present when King Charles was crowned in
Buda Buda (, ) is the part of Budapest, the capital city of Hungary, that lies on the western bank of the Danube. Historically, “Buda” referred only to the royal walled city on Castle Hill (), which was constructed by Béla IV between 1247 and ...
(15 June 1309). Afterwards, he mediated between the king and
Ladislaus Kán Ladislaus ( or according to the case) is a masculine given name of Slavic origin. It may refer to: * Ladislaus of Hungary (disambiguation) * Ladislaus I (disambiguation) * Ladislaus II (disambiguation) * Ladislaus III (disambiguation) * La ...
, the powerful
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 ...
who made a promise that he would transfer the
Holy Crown of Hungary The Holy Crown of Hungary ( , ), also known as the Crown of Saint Stephen, named in honour of Saint Stephen I of Hungary, was the coronation crown used by the Kingdom of Hungary for most of its existence; kings were crowned with it since the tw ...
to the king.
King Charles King Charles may refer to: Kings A number of kings of Albania, Alençon, Anjou, Austria, Bohemia, Croatia, England, France, Holy Roman Empire, Hungary, Ireland, Jerusalem, Naples, Navarre, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Sardinia, Scotland, Sicily, S ...
stripped him of his titles around May 1310, as Amadeus was mentioned as "former palatine" in a royal charter. In the course of the year, Amadeus occupied several castles. He wanted to expand his influence over Kassa, but the citizens rebelled against him and they killed Amadeus in a skirmish on 5 September 1311. Two of his sons, Amadeus II and Dominic were captured and held hostage alongside other 45 family members and vassals.


Dominion Aba

Amadeus and his brother, Finta inherited Nevicke (today Nyevickoje,
Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
) from their father, where Amadeus had a castle built. They may also have inherited Szokoly (today ''Sokoľ'' in Slovakia). His dominion developed gradually in the course of the last decades of the 13th century. In 1288, King Ladislaus IV granted him the County Ung, thus he could hold the former royal possessions in the county until his death. Around 1300, he acquired Boldogkő Castle and Gönc, later he also held
Regéc Regéc is a village in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County in northeastern Hungary.Lubló (today ''Stará Ľubovňa'' in Slovakia) and Munkács (today ''Mukachevo'' in Ukraine). By 1311, Amadeus ruled Abaúj (from his castle in Abaújvár and Gönc), Zemplén, Ung, Bereg and Szepes County, but in addition, he also had influence in some parts of
Borsod Borsod was an administrative county (comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. The capital of the county was Miskolc. After World War II, the county was merged with the Hungarian parts of Abaúj-Torna County and Zemplén counties to form Borsod-Aba ...
, Gömör and
Szabolcs County Szabolcs was an administrative county (Comitatus (Kingdom of Hungary), comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory is now part of Hungary, except for three villages which are in the Zakarpattia Oblast of Ukraine. The capital of the county ...
. He usurped
royal prerogative The royal prerogative is a body of customary authority, Privilege (law), privilege, and immunity recognised in common law (and sometimes in Civil law (legal system), civil law jurisdictions possessing a monarchy) as belonging to the monarch, so ...
s in his dominion, e.g., he granted lands and nobility to his followers. He governed his possessions from his North-Eastern Hungarian castle in Gönc. He also expropriated the judicial function in his territory as he had an own court of justice in Vizsoly. Amadeus arbitrarily imposed duties and built castles and appointed castellans among his familiars without the permission of the king. Amadeus had own provincial court, where he elected chancellors, notaries, judges and even a Judge royal, imitating the functions of royal court. Beside duties, the trade and the business of traders were also under his influence. He continuously harassed and oppressed the town markets and traders, especially Kassa. The local nobles were forced to swear allegiance to the Aba kindred. According to a diploma issued in 1302, his troops seized the possessions of a local noble in Abaúj County and the owner himself was imprisoned and threatened with death to persuade him to pass on the family's deed of gift. Historian Attila Zsoldos draws a distinction between the "oligarchs" (e.g. Matthew Csák) and "provincial lords" (e.g.
Ugrin Csák Ugrin (III) from the kindred Csák (, , ; died in 1311) was a prominent Hungarian baron and Oligarch (Kingdom of Hungary), oligarch in the early 14th century. He was born into an ancient Hungarian clan. He actively participated in the various int ...
) regarding the role of the royal power in the provincial administration. Amadeus Aba exercised sovereign rights in his domain but remained loyal to the kings (he rebelled against the central power only once in 1288, when the unpopular Ladislaus IV lost all domestic and foreign support), thus Zsoldos refers to him as a "loyal oligarch", alongside
Stephen Ákos Stephen (I) from the kindred Ákos (; died 1315) was an influential Hungarian nobility, baron in the Kingdom of Hungary in the late and the early . He was born into an ancient Hungarian clan. He was a staunch supporter of Andrew III of Hungary. H ...
. Following his death, Charles's envoys arbitrated an agreement on 3 October 1311 between Amadeus' widow, sons and the town, which also prescribed that the Abas should withdraw from two counties and allow the noblemen inhabiting their domains to freely join Charles. This marked end of the Aba province in North-East Hungary. However, the Abas soon entered into an alliance with Matthew Csák, the most powerful oligarch in the realm, against the king. Nonetheless, his sons could not maintain his power, and after their defeat at the
Battle of Rozgony The Battle of Rozgony or Battle of Rozhanovce was fought between King Charles Robert of Hungary and the family of Palatine Amade Aba on 15 June 1312, on the Rozgony (today Rozhanovce) field. ''Chronicon Pictum'' described it as the "most cruel ...
(today ''Rozhanovce'' in Slovakia) his dominion disintegrated. Taking advantage of their downfall, Peter, son of Petenye built up a dominant power in
Zemplén County Zemplén (, , , ) was an administrative county (Comitatus (Kingdom of Hungary), comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. The northern part of its territory is now situated in eastern Slovakia (Zemplín (region), Zemplín region), while a smaller so ...
, while some of Amadeus' former castles and possessions were obtained by members of the Drugeth family in the 1320s–1340s.


Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Aba, Amadeus 13th-century births 1311 deaths
Amadeus Amadeus may refer to: People and fictional characters * Amadeus (name) Amadeus is a theophoric name, theophoric given name derived from the Latin words ' – the Imperative mood, imperative of the word ' ("to love") – and ' ("god"). As a Compou ...
13th-century Hungarian nobility 14th-century Hungarian nobility Palatines of Hungary Judges royal Oligarchs of the Kingdom of Hungary Assassinated Hungarian people History of Slovakia People assassinated in the 14th century Date of birth unknown