The Duchy or Ducatus () is the denomination for territories occasionally governed separately by members (dukes) of 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 ...

within 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 ...

in the 11th-12th centuries. The symbol of the ducal power was a sword, while the royal power was represented by the crown.

Origins

Modern historians do not share a consensual view on the origins of the ''Duchy'' or territorial units administered by members of the royal family within the medieval

György Györffy György Györffy (26 September 1917 – 19 December 2000) was a Hungarian historian, and member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (). Biography Györffy was born in Szucság (Suceagu, today part of Baciu, Romania), Hungary the son of ethnog ...

writes that the ''Ducatus'' or "Duchy" developed from the command over the

Kabars 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 ...

and other ethnic groups which joined the federation of the

Hungarian tribes The Magyar or Hungarian tribes ( , ) or Hungarian clans were the fundamental political units within whose framework the Hungarians (Magyars) lived, before the Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin and the subsequent establishment of the Prin ...

. According to his opinion, this command was initially, even before 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 ...

around 895, bestowed upon the heir to the supreme head of the Hungarian tribal federation, in accordance with the customs of the

Turkic peoples Turkic peoples are a collection of diverse ethnic groups of West Asia, West, Central Asia, Central, East Asia, East, and North Asia as well as parts of Europe, who speak Turkic languages.. "Turkic peoples, any of various peoples whose members ...

of the

Eurasian steppes The Eurasian Steppe, also called the Great Steppe or The Steppes, is the vast steppe ecoregion of Eurasia in the temperate grasslands, savannas and shrublands biome. It stretches through Manchuria, Mongolia, Xinjiang, Kazakhstan, Siberia, Euro ...

. Therefore, Györffy continues, the crown prince's command over these ethnic groups transformed, in the course of the 10th century, into his authority over the territories where they settled. Tringli says that it is possible that

Koppány Koppány, also called Cupan was a Hungarian lord in the late 10th century and leader of pagans opposing the Christianization of Hungary. As the duke of Somogy, he laid claim to the throne based on the traditional idea of seniority, but was defea ...

's domains in Transdanubia and

Saint Emeric Emeric (), also ''Emericus,'' ''Emerick, Emery or Emory.'' Venerated as Saint Emeric (c. 1007 – 2 September 1031), was the son of King Stephen I of Hungary and Giselle of Bavaria. Life Family Emeric is believed to have been the second son ...

's territories (he bore the title of Duke of Russians) were duchies too in accordance with steppe tradition. On the other hand, Gyula Kristó, who rejected Györffy's theory, writes that the ''Duchy'' only came into being when King

Andrew I of Hungary Andrew I the White or the Catholic ( or ; 1015 – before 6 December 1060) was King of Hungary from 1046 to 1060. He descended from a younger branch of the Árpád dynasty. After he spent fifteen years in exile, an extensive revolt by the paga ...

granted one third of his kingdom to his younger brother,

Béla Béla may refer to: * Béla (crater), an elongated lunar crater * Béla (given name), a common Hungarian male given name See also * Bela (disambiguation) * Belá (disambiguation) * Bělá (disambiguation) Bělá may refer to: Places in the Cze ...

around 1048. He cites 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 ...

'' which clearly states that this was the "first division of the kingdom".''The Hungarian Illuminated Chronicle:'' (ch. 60.88), p. 113. Clifford Rogers argues that possession of the Duchy owes its roots to the tradition of senioratus. The dukes regarded the control of the duchy as a pathway to the throne.

Territories

The exact borders of the Duchy have not been determined yet. The

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 ...

entrusted to the members of the ruling dynasty did not form a separate province within the kingdom, but they were organized around two or three centers. The duchy made up one-third of the kingdom's territory. The eastern block of the counties were located around Bihar (), a city that was also the see of a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...

in that time. The north-western parts of the territories were centered around Nyitra (, ). A third possible center of the territories was Krassó, a fortress destroyed later in the first half of the 13th century, located near to the present-day

Dupljaja Dupljaja () is a village in Serbia. It is situated in the Bela Crkva municipality, in the South Banat District, Vojvodina province on the bank of the river Karaš. The village has a Serb ethnic majority (90.74%) and a population of 996 (2002 ce ...

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

. The dukes' principal hunting-grounds lay in the "Holy Forest" ''(Igyfon)'' on the territory of the

Apuseni Mountains The Apuseni Mountains (, "Western Mountains"; , "Transylvanian Mountains") are a mountain range in Transylvania, Romania, which belongs to the Western Romanian Carpathians. The highest peak is the Bihor Peak at . The Apuseni Mountains have ab ...

(today in

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

) in the 11th century.

Dukes

The list of the members of the Árpád dynasty who were dukes of the Ducatus ("Tercia pars regni") follows: * Béla the Champion / the Bison (1048–1060) *

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 ...

(1064–1074) * Saint Ladislaus (1064–1077) * Lampert (1064- cca. 1095) *

Álmos Álmos (), also Almos or Almus ( 820 – 895), was—according to the uniform account of Hungarian chronicles—the first head of the "loose federation" of the Hungarian tribes from around 850. Whether he was the Sacred king, sacred ruler (''k ...

(1095/1096-1107) *

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 ...

(1162–1163)

Sources

* * * * * * * * * *''The Hungarian Illuminated Chronicle:'' Chronica de Gestis Hungarorum (Edited by Dezső Dercsényi) (1970). Corvina, Taplinger Publishing. . {{Refend Medieval Kingdom of Hungary Transylvania in the Kingdom of Hungary Slovakia in the Kingdom of Hungary Historical regions in the Kingdom of Hungary

Dukes Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...