Századok – 2017
2017 / 4. szám - KÖZLEMÉNYEK - Kádár Tamás: Saul herceg, Bors ispán és Iván úr. Megjegyzések, észrevételek a II. István király uralkodása vége körüli trónutódlási küzdelmek történetéhez
SAUL HERCEG, BORS ISPÁN ÉS IVÁN ÚR 808 PRINCE SAUL, ISPÁN BORS AND THE LORD IVÁN Notes and reflections on the struggle for the Royal Succession in the Last Years of Stephen II’s Reign by Tamás Kádár SUMMARY Late in the reign of Stephen II (1116-1131), as many as five candidates who could have succeeded him emerged. Prince Álmos and his son Béla had a claim based on royal kinship, but their chance of implementing this right appeared hopeless on account of the revolts that had previously been fomented by Álmos. Accordingly, in around 1127 the king designated Saul, the son of his sister, as his successor. A couple of years later, however, the discontented lords elected as king an individual known as Bors, and then another called Iván. Identification of these pretenders is highly problematic, the only certainty being their descent from illustrious Hungarian kindred. Moreover, the identification of Bors with a pretender called Boris who emerged in 1132 can safely be excluded. Recovering his sanity, Stephen II suppressed the conspiracy with an iron fist: Iván was beheaded, and Bors was exiled to Byzantium. Yet after the king’s death it was not Saul who occupied the throne, but – probably after a short civil war – Prince Béla, who in the meantime had somehow returned to royal favour.
