Michael of Hungary
| Michael | |
|---|---|
| Duke of Nyitra (debated) | |
| Reign | c. 971 –c. 977 or 995 |
| Predecessor | Géza |
| Successor | Stephen or Ladislas the Bald |
| Born | c. 960 |
| Died | c. 977 or 995 or c. 997 |
| Spouse | a member of the Cometopuli dynasty (debated) |
| Issue |
Vazul Ladislas the Bald |
| Dynasty | Árpád dynasty |
| Father | Taksony |
Michael (Hungarian: Mihály; after 960–995 or c. 997) was a member of the House of Árpád, a younger son of Taksony, Grand Prince of the Hungarians. Most details of his life are uncertain. Almost all kings of Hungary after 1046 descended from him.
According to the Hungarian historian, György Györffy, Michael received a ducatus or duchy from his brother, Grand Prince Géza. Slovak historians specify that he administered the "Duchy of Nitra" between around 971 and 997. However, neither of these theories have universally been accepted by historians.
Anonymus, the unknown author of the late 12th-century Gesta Hungarorum narrates that Michael's father, Taksony took his wife "from the land of the Cumans". However, the lands which were dominated by the Cumans at Anonymus's time had been controlled by the Pechenegs up until the 1050s. Accordingly, Györffy proposes that Taksony's wife was the daughter of a Pecheneg tribal leader. Other historians, including Zoltán Kordé and Gyula Kristó, say that Anonymous's report may refer either to her Khazar or to her Volga Bulgarian origin.
Michael was Taksony's younger son. Györffy writes that he was still a minor when he was baptized around 972. He received baptism together with his elder brother, Géza, who succeeded their father as Grand Prince around that time. Michael was named after the Archangel Michael. According to Györffy, the frequent use of the name "Béla" by his descendants – four kings and two dukes from the House of Árpád bore this name – implies that it was Michael's original pagan name. He also writes that the "a" ending of his name excludes that it was borrowed from a Slavic language, because "a" is a feminine ending in these languages. Instead he proposes, that the name derived from the Turkic bojla title.
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