Béla I of Hungary

Béla I
Idealized bust of Béla at the Ópusztaszer National Heritage Park
King of Hungary
Reign	1060–1063
Coronation	6 December 1060, Székesfehérvár
Predecessor	Andrew I
Successor	Solomon
Born	between 1015 and 1020
Died	11 September 1063 (aged 44–45) at the Kinizsa Creek, Kingdom of Hungary
Burial	Szekszárd Abbey
Spouse	Richeza or Adelaide of Poland
Issue	Géza I of Hungary Ladislaus I of Hungary Lampert Sophia Euphemia Helena one or two further daughters
Dynasty	Árpád dynasty
Father	Vazul
Mother	Unknown woman from Tátony kindred
Religion	Roman Catholic

Béla I the Champion or the Wisent (Hungarian: I. Bajnok or Bölény Béla,Slovak: Belo I.; before 1020 – 11 September 1063) was King of Hungary from 1060 until his death. He descended from a younger branch of the Árpád dynasty. Béla's baptismal name was Adalbert. He left Hungary in 1031, together with his brothers, Levente and Andrew, after the execution of their father, Vazul. Béla settled in Poland and married Richeza (or Adelaide), daughter of King Mieszko II of Poland.

He returned to his homeland upon the invitation of his brother Andrew, who had in the meantime been crowned King of Hungary. Andrew assigned the administration of the so-called ducatus or "duchy", which encompassed around one-third of the territory of the Kingdom of Hungary, to Béla. The two brothers' relationship became tense when Andrew had his own son, Solomon, crowned king, and forced Béla to publicly confirm Solomon's right to the throne in 1057 or 1058. Béla, assisted by his Polish relatives, rebelled against his brother and dethroned him in 1060. He introduced monetary reform and subdued the last uprising aimed at the restoration of paganism in Hungary. Béla was fatally injured when his throne collapsed while he was sitting on it.

Most Hungarian chronicles, including Simon of Kéza's Gesta Hungarorum and the Illuminated Chronicle, record that Béla's father was Ladislaus the Bald, a cousin of Stephen, the first King of Hungary. However, many of the same sources add that it "is sometimes claimed" that Béla and his two brothers—Levente and Andrew—were in fact the sons of Ladislaus the Bald's brother, Vazul. The chronicles also refer to gossip claiming that the three brothers were their father's illegitimate sons, born to "a girl from the Tátony clan". Modern historians, who accept the latter reports' reliability, unanimously write that the three brothers were the sons of Vazul and his concubine.