Sarolt ( 950 – c. 1008) was the wife 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 ...

. She was born a daughter of Zombor (or

Gyula II Zombor, also referred to as Gyula II or Gylas, was a Hungarians, Hungarian tribal leader in the middle of the 10th century. He visited Constantinople, where he was baptism, baptized in 952 with the baptismal name of Stephen. Life Ancestry He des ...

), ''gyula'' of Transylvania, second in rank among the leaders of the Hungarian tribal federation. Sarolt exerted a powerful influence on her husband which allowed her to also influence his government. She was watched with suspicion by

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

missionaries. The chronicles accused her of drinking insatiably and even committing manslaughter. Sarolt and her husband received baptism late in life. They raised their son as a Christian and changed his name from Vajk to

Stephen Stephen or Steven is an English given name, first name. It is particularly significant to Christianity, Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; he is w ...

as a sign of their faith. After her husband's death in 997, one of his distant cousins, Koppány, who declared his claim to the leadership 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 ...

against her son, Stephen (Vajk), wanted to marry Sarolt, referring to the Hungarian tradition. Koppány, nevertheless, was defeated, and shortly afterward Sarolt's son was crowned as the first

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 ...

Ancestry and early life

Sarolt was the daughter of a ''gyula'' who reportedly converted to Byzantine Christianity in

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

after 950, and who then established the first

Christian mission A Christian mission is an organized effort to carry on evangelism, in the name of the Christian faith. Missions involve sending individuals and groups across boundaries, most commonly geographical boundaries. Sometimes individuals are sent and a ...

in Hungary. It is likely that his family and household, including his daughter Sarolt was baptised in the Byzantine rite, too. It is unsure whether Sarolt's father was named Gyula or Zombor, but he was the ''gyula'' of Transylvania and as such, the second-highest-ranking leader in the Hungarian tribal federation after the

Grand Prince of the Hungarians Grand Prince () was the title used by contemporary sources to name the leader of the federation of the Hungarian tribes in the tenth century.Constantine VII mentioned Árpád in his book De Administrando Imperio as ', while Bruno of Querfurt re ...

. He was a grandson of Tétény (also known as Töhötöm or Tühütüm), one of the seven chieftains of the Hungarians who led the seven tribes of the Hungarians when they arrived in 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 ...

. 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 ...

'', Sarolt had a sister named Karold and a brother. This brother can be identified as

Gyula III Gyula III, also Iula or Gyula the Younger, Geula or Gyla, was an early medieval ruler in Transylvania ( – 1003/1004). Around 1003, he and his family were attacked, dispossessed and captured by King Stephen I of Hungary (1000/1001-1038). The name " ...

. Sarolt was born around 950 (based on the birth years of her children). Her name is of Turkic origins (Šar-oldu) and means white

stoat The stoat (''Mustela erminea''), also known as the Eurasian ermine or ermine, is a species of mustelid native to Eurasia and the northern regions of North America. Because of its wide circumpolar distribution, it is listed as Least Concern on th ...

. She was married to

Géza Géza () is a Hungarian given name and may refer to any of the following: As regnal or forename * Géza, Grand Prince of the Hungarians * Géza I of Hungary, King of Hungary * Géza II of Hungary, King of Hungary * Géza, son of Géza II of Hungar ...

around 970, which was likely also the start of his rule as Grand Prince of the Hungarians. Géza was a great-grandson of

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 ...

, who led the Hungarian tribes during the

Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin 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 ...

Marriage and children

Married to

(c. 945 – 997) *

Judith The Book of Judith is a deuterocanonical book included in the Septuagint and the Catholic Church, Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christianity, Christian Old Testament of the Bible but Development of the Hebrew Bible canon, excluded from the ...

(? – after 988), wife of the future King Bolesław I of Poland * Margaret (? – after 988), wife of the future Tsar

Gavril Radomir of Bulgaria Gavril Radomir (; ; anglicized as Gabriel Radomir; died 1015) was the Emperor (Tsar) of the First Bulgarian Empire from October 1014 to August or September 1015. He was the son of tsar Samuel (). Biography During his father's reign, his cousin ...

* King

Stephen I of Hungary Stephen I, also known as King Saint Stephen ( ; ; ; 975 – 15 August 1038), was the last grand prince of the Hungarians between 997 and 1000 or 1001, and the first king of Hungary from 1000 or 1001 until his death in 1038. The year of his bi ...

(967/969/975 – 15 August 1038) * Grimelda (? – after 1026), wife of

Otto Orseolo Otto Orseolo (, also ''Urseolo''; c. 992−1032) was the Doge of Venice from 1008 to 1026. He was the third son of Doge Pietro II of the House of Orseolo, and Maria Candiano, whom he succeeded at the age of sixteen, becoming the youngest doge ...

Doge of Venice The Doge of Venice ( ) – in Italian, was the doge or highest role of authority within the Republic of Venice (697–1797). The word derives from the Latin , meaning 'leader', and Venetian Italian dialect for 'duke', highest official of the ...

* Sarolt? (? – ?), wife of the future King

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 ...

of Hungary

Sources

* Kristó Gyula - Makk Ferenc: ''Az Árpád-ház uralkodói'' (IPC Könyvek, 1996) * ''Korai Magyar Történeti Lexikon (9-14. század)'', főszerkesztő: Kristó Gyula, szerkesztők: Engel Pál és Makk Ferenc (Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, 1994)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sarolt House of Árpád Queens consort of Hungary 10th-century Hungarian people 10th-century Hungarian women 11th-century Hungarian people 11th-century Hungarian women 950s births 1000s deaths Year of death uncertain Mothers of Hungarian monarchs