Gyula (title) - The List of The gyulas

The List of The gyulas

The list of persons who held the gyula office is still subject to debate.

Many historians (e.g., György Györffy, Florin Curta) suggest that at the time of the Hungarian conquest Árpád was the gyula, who was later considered to be the ancestor of the dynasty that ruled Hungary until 1301. At any rate, Hungarian chroniclers are unanimous in reporting that the conquest of the Carpathian Basin was directed by Árpád. Florin Curta suggests that when the kende of the conquest (whom he does not name) died in 902, the leadership passed onto Árpád, and one of Árpád’s kinsmen became gyula.

Other scholars (e.g., Gábor Vékony, C. A. Macartney) argues that Árpád was the kende, and the gyula was Kurszán (Chussal, Chussol) whose name, in contrast to Árpád, can be found in contemporary Western texts.

The Slavic source narrating the baptism of the Gyula in Constantinople in the middle of the 10th century mentions that his baptismal name was Stefan. According to the chronicle of Thietmar of Merseburg (975-1018), the name of King Stephen’s uncle whose country was occupied by the Hungarian king in 1003 was Procui.

The following is the list of the gyulas supposed by modern historians:

• Kurszán (before 894 - 902) or Árpád (before 894 - 902/after 902)
• "Gyula I" or an unknown member of the Árpád dynasty (? - ?); "Gyula I" may be identical to Kurszán
• "Gyula II" (c. 952/953); his baptismal name was Stefan
• "Gyula III"/ (c. 980 - c. 1003); his name may have been Procui