Margaret of Hungary
| Margaret of Hungary | |
|---|---|
| Empress consort of the Byzantine Empire | |
| Tenure | 1185–1195 1203–1204 |
| Queen consort of Thessalonica | |
| Tenure | 1205–1207 |
| Born | 1175 |
| Died | living 1223 |
| Spouse |
Isaac II Angelos Boniface of Montferrat Nicholas of Saint Omer |
| Issue | Manuel Angelos John Angelos Demetrius of Montferrat Bela of Saint Omer William of Saint Omer |
| House | House of Árpád |
| Father | Béla III of Hungary |
| Mother | Agnes of Antioch |
Margaret of Hungary (Margit) (born 1175, living 1223) was the Empress consort of Isaac II Angelos, Byzantine Emperor.
Margaret was the eldest daughter of Béla III of Hungary and his first wife Agnes of Antioch. She was a younger sister of Emeric, King of Hungary. Her younger siblings were Andrew II of Hungary and Constance of Hungary. Two other siblings, Solomon and Stephen, are mentioned in the "Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten" (1878) by Detlev Schwennicke. They reportedly died young.
Her paternal grandparents were Géza II of Hungary and Euphrosyne of Kiev. Her maternal grandparents were Raynald of Châtillon and Constance of Antioch (joint princes of Antioch).
In January 1185, Margaret married the Byzantine Emperor Isaac II Angelos, who wanted a politically strategic alliance with Hungary in order to strengthen his claim to the throne. Upon this marriage, Margaret took the baptismal name "Maria".
With Isaac, she had two sons:
Isaac had been deposed and blinded in 1195 by his brother Alexios III Angelos who then assumed the throne. Isaac was imprisoned, but it's not yet clear if Margaret was also. Her step-son Alexios IV Angelos had escaped and went to join the military discussions which were shortly to launch the Fourth Crusade. There, he and others convinced the Crusaders to attack Constantinople in order to depose this false uncle and restore his imprisoned father and himself to the throne. This was done, but this restored reign was short-lived.
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