The ''kende'' (or ''kündü'') was one of the kings of the dual-monarchy of the early

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an Ethnicity, ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common Culture of Hungary, culture, Hungarian language, language and History of Hungary, history. They also have a notable presence in former pa ...

along with the '' gyula'' or war-chief. The function of the ''kende'' is believed to have been a religious one ("sacral prince").Victor Spinei
The Great Migrations in the East and South East of Europe from the Ninth to the Thirteenth Century: Hungarians, Pechenegs and Uzes
Hakkert, 2006, p. 42Kevin Alan Brook
The Jews of Khazaria
Rowman & Littlefield, 2009, p. 253 At the time of the Magyar migration to

Pannonia Pannonia (, ) was a Roman province, province of the Roman Empire bounded on the north and east by the Danube, on the west by Noricum and upper Roman Italy, Italy, and on the southward by Dalmatia (Roman province), Dalmatia and upper Moesia. It ...

, the ''kende'' was named

Kurszán Kurszán or Kusál (died 904), was a Hungarian (Magyar) chieftain at the turn of the 9th and 10th centuries, who had a crucial role in the Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin. He was '' kende'' of the Magyars in the dual leadership with Á ...

. Upon Kurszán's death in a raid in approximately 904 CE, the office was taken up by the ''gyula''

Árpád Árpád (; 845 – 907) was the head of the confederation of the Magyar tribes at the turn of the 9th and 10th centuries. He might have been either the sacred ruler or '' kende'' of the Hungarians, or their military leader or '' g ...

, creating a single-head monarchy for

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

. Though there are some scholars (for example Gyula Kristó) who believe that Árpád was the ''kende'', who later took up the functions of the ''gyula''. Some scholars have speculated that the early Magyar dual kingship derived from their time as vassals of the

Khazars The Khazars ; 突厥可薩 ''Tūjué Kěsà'', () were a nomadic Turkic people who, in the late 6th century CE, established a major commercial empire covering the southeastern section of modern European Russia, southern Ukraine, Crimea, a ...

. Indeed, the Khazars were described by

Ahmad ibn Fadlan Ahmad ibn Fadlan ibn al-Abbas al-Baghdadi () or simply known as Ibn Fadlan, was a 10th-century traveler from Baghdad, Abbasid Caliphate, famous for his account of his travels as a member of an embassy of the Abbasid caliph al-Muqtadir to the king ...

as having an officer titled

Kündür According to ibn Fadlan, the Kündür was an official in the Khazar government under the command of the Khagan Bek. Ibn Fadlan did not describe the duties of this officer, nor does any extant source. The Magyars had a dual-kingship system in which p ...

which may have been either identical to, a model for, or the forerunner of the office of kende.

House of Kende

''Kende'' also refers to the noble Hungarian House of Kende settled in the eastern region of the

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

monarchy of Kölcse. In 1181, the family received several settlements from the king: Kölcse,

Istvándi Istvándi () is a village in Somogy county, Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to t ...

, Kóród, Csécse, Cseke,

Milota Milota is a village in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county, in the Northern Great Plain region of eastern Hungary. Geography It covers an area of and is located on the river Tisza. Milota has a population Population is a set of humans or othe ...

, Czégény.

Sources

* Nagy Iván, "Magyarország családai (Houses of Hungary)" * Borovszky Samu, "Szatmár vármegye (The County of Szatmár)"

References

{{Hungary-hist-stub Magyar tribal chieftains Hungarian prehistory