Ladislaus II of Hungary - King of Hungary

King of Hungary

When the Emperor Manuel I Komnenos was informed that King Géza II had died on 31 May 1162 and his son Stephen III had been crowned, he decided to begin a campaign against Hungary in order to have his niece's husband, Duke Stephen, ascend the throne. On hearing the Emperor's demand, the Hungarian barons sent an embassy to his camp and offered to accept Ladislaus' rule pursuant to the Hungarian custom which gave precedence to the eldest male member of the royal family over a deceased king's son. The Emperor accepted the barons' offer and sent Ladislaus to Hungary.

By the time Ladislaus arrived in Székesfehérvár, his nephew, King Stephen III, had escaped to Pozsony, and Ladislaus was proclaimed king. However, Lukas, Archbishop of Esztergom, who remained loyal to the young king, denied Ladislaus' coronation; therefore he was crowned by Mikó, Archbishop of Kalocsa in July 1162. On the occasion of his coronation, Ladislaus granted Tercia pars Regni (i.e., one third of the Kingdom of Hungary) to his brother, Stephen.

As Archbishop Lukas still denied the legitimacy of Ladislaus' rule and excommunicated him, Ladislaus had the Archbishop arrested. Ladislaus set Archbishop Lukas free on 25 December 1162, at the request of Pope Alexander III, but the prelate did not want to absolve the king.

Ladislaus may have died of poisoning and was buried in Székesfehérvár. In medieval times, he was not counted as a king (being only an anti-king), so Ladislaus III was also counted as Ladislaus II in the 13th century.

The terms Nobilissimus (most noble) and nobilissima familia (most noble family) have been used since the 11th century for the King of Hungary and his family, but it were then only a few, among them also Ladislaus II, which were mentioned in official documents as such.